Dell G3223D – Display Profiles for Reaching the Boundaries of Color Accuracy
Dell is certainly not playing around with its gaming monitors. The Dell G3223D that we have today is a fantastic piece of machinery that can be used by both gamers and content creators.
First of all, it’s a fantastic screen to look at, thanks to the big 31.5-inch diagonal and Quad HD resolution, which makes for an impressive canvas that you can immerse yourself in once you get to gaming or your work. Multitasking is also very good, as with all the screen space you can stretch at least two programs at the same time, which can improve your workflow.
Going into its gaming capabilities, with a 165Hz refresh rate, a 1ms response time, and both FreeSync Premium and G-Sync support, you’ll get a smooth, responsive, and tear-free gaming experience, at a high resolution so you’ll see all the details beautifully.
As for content creation on the Dell G3223D, just wait until you get to the Display Quality section, you will be stunned at how good a Gaming monitor can be. All we’ll say is that specialized Creator monitors better watch out, as the Dell G3223D is here to take everything.
You can check the current price of the Dell G3223D here: Buy from Amazon.ca (#CommissionsEarned)
Contents
Specs sheet, Assembly, Drivers, Design, Connectivity
Screen size | 31.5 inch (80.1 cm) |
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Refresh rate | 165Hz |
Response time | 1ms |
Panel type | IPS |
Backlight type | LED |
Screen finish | Matte |
Resolution | 2560 x 1440 (QHD) |
Technologies |
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I/O |
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What’s in the box? Assembly
In the box, there’s a standard DC power cable, a DisplayPort cable, and a USB cable, as well as the base, stand, monitor itself, and manuals on how to set it up properly. Just follow the steps below, and you’ll be well on your way to spending quality time gaming and creating content.
Drivers and Software
Dell provides drivers and the DisplayManager software for the G3223D, all available on their Product Support page. The Dell Display Manager has all the controls that you’d need, including the brightness and contrast, as well as which color gamut to use. In case you have multiple monitors, you can control all of them through the app. You can also make presets and layouts of how apps appear on the screen, which is great for multitasking and utilizing all the available screen space. You can read more about it on the official Dell Display Manager page.
OSD Menu
Design and Connectivity
Dell has done a good job with the design of the G3223D, clearly taking inspiration from Alienware and their gaming monitors. The monitor looks futuristic, with a dark grey color that resembles metal on the backside and the front bezel. There’s also a bright LED strip on the back, which illuminates in blue and really spices up the design. Oh, and let’s not forget the buttons on the back, which are used to access the OSD menu.
We also have to talk about the stand a little bit. It brings height adjustment, swivel, as well as tilt. Generally, swivel movements aren’t the most useful, however, here, it’s well integrated into the stand and the movement is smooth. The stand also has a cable channel which can help with cable management. Overall really good job by Dell.
Sadly, this time we don’t have any inbuilt speakers, however, you do have an audio jack for plugging in your speakers or headphones directly to the monitor, easing up cable management further. In terms of connectivity and ports, you get a lot of stuff, including two HDMI 2.0 ports, a single DisplayPort 1.4 port, one USB Type-C port, two Type-A 3.0 ports, as well as the aforementioned audio jack.
Display quality, Buy our profiles, Verdict
The display here is one of the best that we’ve seen so far, both in terms of color coverage and accuracy. The fact that it’s pretty fast at 165Hz and utilizes both AMD FreeSync Premium and NVIDIA G-Sync can only help it when it comes to gaming. And now comes the fun stuff, namely the color tests. Below is a simple explanation about what the results mean as well as the different color gamuts that are used in the digital world.
Color coverage
Here’s an illustration (Fig. 1). The whole “sail-shaped” map below consists of all the colors we can see, while the black crooked line shows all the colors from real-world scenes and nature around us.
Then, we’ve drawn some of the most important and interesting color spaces, compared to the colors the panel of Dell G3223D can show:
Standard/For Web: sRGB – widely used color space for most consumer devices, ideal for Web design and development
For Print: AdobeRGB – used in professional photo editing, graphic design, and print
For Photographers/Video Editors: DCI-P3 – used in high-end film production, post-production, and digital cinema
Premium HDR: Rec.2020 – the widest consumer ITU color standard, covering a massive 75.8% of the visible spectrum, a benchmark for premium HDR content
Dell G3223D: the yellow dashed triangle (– – – – – –) represents the range of colors this monitor can display. In our tests, we calculated the total color coverage of the monitor at 99% of the sRGB color gamut and 96% of the DCI-P3 color gamut.
(Fig.1) Dell G3223D covers 99% of the Web colors (sRGB)
This means that if the Dell G3223D tries to show any color outside of its triangle, it will show the closest color to it that’s inside the triangle.
Color accuracy
Now let’s see how big is the difference between the real colors and the one you’ll see on the Dell G3223D. We measure that distance in DeltaE – the bigger the number, the more different they look.
For the next illustration, we’ve chosen 24 common colors like dark and light skin, blue sky, green grass, etc.
Values below 2.0 are considered suitable for color-sensitive work. Before our calibration of the Dell G3223D, the Average color accuracy was 1.5 dE (Fig. 2), and with our Web Design and Office Work profile, it lowered to 0.6 dE (Fig. 3). Thanks to our profile, the dE value goes way below 1, which becomes indistinguishable to the human eye. This makes it ready for professional color work, be it design, color grading, or anything else.
Comparison in the Display P3 color space
Health-Guard eliminates the harmful Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) and reduces the negative Blue Light which affects our eyes and body. Since it’s custom-tailored for every panel, it manages to keep the colors perceptually accurate (they may seem strange at first but after a few minutes our brain will start recognizing them as accurate ones – that’s how Health-Guard differs from alternatives like f.lux).
Pro Tip: As the Health-Guard profile simulates paper and has as accurate as possible colors, it could be a great tool for prepress designers!
Left: No Profile | Drag the slider to see the difference | Right: Health-Guard Profile
Gaming and Movies
We also have a third Gaming and Movies profile, which regulates the black colors, making dark areas in games and movies appear more visible, thus giving you a better viewing experience. Shooting at your opponent first can be a make-or-break moment, so make sure you’re best prepared with our profile.
Left: No Profile | Drag the slider to see the difference | Right: Gaming and Movies Profile
BUY OUR DISPLAY PROFILES
Since our profiles are tailored for each individual display model, this article and its respective profile package are meant for the Dell G3223D.
*Should you have problems with downloading the purchased file, try using a different browser to open the link you’ll receive via e-mail. If the download target is a .php file instead of an archive, change the file extension to .zip or contact us at [email protected].
Read more about the profiles HERE.
In addition to receiving efficient and health-friendly profiles, by buying LaptopMedia's products you also support the development of our labs, where we test devices in order to produce the most objective reviews possible.
Office Work
Office Work should be used mostly by users who spend most of the time looking at pieces of text, tables or just surfing. This profile aims to deliver better distinctness and clarity by keeping a flat gamma curve (2.20), native color temperature and perceptually accurate colors.
Design and Gaming
This profile is aimed at designers who work with colors professionally, and for games and movies as well. Design and Gaming takes display panels to their limits, making them as accurate as possible in the sRGB IEC61966-2-1 standard for Web and HDTV, at white point D65.
Health-Guard
Health-Guard eliminates the harmful Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) and reduces the negative Blue Light which affects our eyes and body. Since it’s custom tailored for every panel, it manages to keep the colors perceptually accurate. Health-Guard simulates paper so the pressure on the eyes is greatly reduced.
Get all 3 profiles with 33% discount
Verdict
The Dell G3223D comes in being one of the best overall monitors out here, thanks to the high refresh rate, and response time, as well as the support for the two best and most used variable refresh rate technologies (FreeSync Premium and G-Sync).
The design of the monitor is also very good, both in terms of visuals, and practicality. The silvery, almost gunmetal finish looks really good, and the blue LED strip on the back …*chef’s kiss*. In terms of practicality, the stand has height adjustment, tilt, as well as swivel movements, which give you tons of customization and the ability to adapt the monitor ergonomically to you.
And now for the elephant in the room, the Dell G3223D is a fantastic monitor for designers and content creators, who need a bright and colorful canvas for their ideas to come to life. With 99% sRGB and 96% DCI-P3 coverage, you get a vibrant and punchy image.
With our Web Design and Office Work profile, the monitor becomes a color accuracy rockstar, as a dE value of just 0.6, it becomes more than ready for all types of professional color work. A great fusion between gaming and creativity, the Dell G3223D should be on your radar, if you’ve got the budget for it.
You can check the current price of the Dell G3223D: Buy from Amazon.ca (#CommissionsEarned)
Pros
- Amazing design – LED strip and a fantastic stand
- 99% sRGB and 96% DCI-P3 coverage
- Professional-level color accuracy with our Web Design and Office Work profile (dE of 0.6)
- Rich OSD menu with tons of settings
- Tons of ports and connectivity
Cons
- The monitor is pricy