Dell Professional 27 Plus assessment: Good 4K monitor, however the USB-C hub steals the present

Finest Costs In the present day: Dell Professional 27 Plus

$519.99

Generally a monitor is extra than simply a pc show. And generally, the show itself looks like an adjunct to its different options.

That’s actually the case with the Dell Professional 27 Plus. The monitor has a vibrant, colourful 4K show. But for most individuals, the headline characteristic is probably going the monitor’s intensive USB connectivity and Ethernet help. It’s an workplace monitor constructed particularly to be used with mid-range enterprise and productiveness laptops which have fashionable USB-C connectivity. And, in that position, it’s nice.

Learn on to be taught extra, then see our roundup of the perfect USB-C displays for comparability.

Dell Professional 27 Plus (P2725QE) specs and options

The Dell Professional 27 Plus P2725QE’s primary specs are exactly what I count on from a mid-range to high-end productiveness monitor. It’s a 27-inch IPS panel with 4K decision. The one spotlight is the 100Hz refresh charge — although, regrettably, it’s not paired with Adaptive Sync.

• Show measurement: 27-inch 16:9 side ratio
• Native decision: 3840×2160
• Panel kind: IPS LCD
• Refresh charge: As much as 100Hz
• Adaptive sync: No
• HDR: None
• Ports: 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 1x USB Sort-C 5Gbps upstream with DisplayPort 1.4 and 90-watt USB Energy Supply, 3x USB-A 5Gbps downstream, 1x USB-C 5Gbps downstream information solely, Gigabit Ethernet (RJ45)
• Audio: Slots for non-compulsory soundbar
• Value: $519.99 MSRP

Nonetheless, the specs checklist makes it clear that ports, not the show panel, are the precedence. The monitor has three video inputs together with a USB-C port with DisplayPort and Energy Supply. There are 4 extra downstream USB ports (three USB-A, one USB-C), plus Gigabit Ethernet.

Dell Professional 27 Plus P2725QE design

The Dell Professional 27 Plus P2725QE, like a number of different latest Dell productiveness displays, differs from its predecessors by ditching the silver or white rear panel design in favor of a matte black look. It’s skilled, to make sure, however the stand remains to be silver. I discover that an odd alternative, because it gives the look that the stand wasn’t made to ship with this monitor.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

Appears to be like apart, the stand is respectable. It’s heavy and durable however has a flat, compact base that minimizes its footprint on a desk. The stand additionally has a very good vary of ergonomic adjustment: 25 levels of tilt, 90 levels of swivel, and 150mm of peak adjustment. It rotates 90 levels right into a portrait orientation, too. All of that is typical for a high-end workplace and productiveness monitor, although the peak adjustment is on the higher finish of what’s frequent (some opponents persist with 110mm).

The monitor additionally has a 100x100mm VESA mount to be used with third-party monitor stands and arms. It weighs about 10 kilos with out the stand, so it’s gentle sufficient that the majority stands and arms can maintain it.

Dell Professional 27 Plus P2725QE connectivity

Dell made a transparent (and, in my view, correct) guess that, for a lot of workplace and residential workplace employees, a monitor’s connectivity is extra essential than its picture high quality. Due to that, the Dell Professional 27 Plus is filled with ports.

Video connectivity spans DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.1, and a USB-C port with DisplayPort alternate mode. That’s typical for many displays that help USB-C.

Nonetheless, the USB-C port expands connectivity to 4 extra USB ports. Three of those are USB-A and one is USB-C. The monitor additionally has Gigabit Ethernet. That’s a variety of ports, and it’s helpful should you personal a Home windows or Mac with a USB-C port. Connecting a laptop computer to the Dell Professional 27 Plus instantly provides 4 USB ports and Ethernet.

One of many downstream USB-A ports, and the one downstream USB-C port, are present in a pop-out hub on the monitor’s chin. It feels flimsy, nevertheless it permits for fast, straightforward connections with out fumbling round behind the monitor.

Whereas the Dell Professional 27 Plus has a variety of connectivity, it’s not with out drawbacks. The monitor depends on USB with a knowledge charge of simply 5Gbps, so it’s not a very good match should you use high-speed exterior storage. Individuals who want high-speed connectivity ought to take into account a Thunderbolt 4 monitor just like the Dell Ultrasharp 27 U2724DE or BenQ PD3226G (although these are dearer).

Dell Professional 27 Plus P2725QE menus and options

Homeowners can entry the Dell Professional 27 Plus P2725QE’s menu system with a joystick hidden round the fitting aspect of the monitor. It gives fast, responsive entry to menu choices. The menu is straightforward to navigate and has a big font, so it’s straightforward to learn. Alternatively, homeowners can entry and alter menu settings with Dell’s Show and Peripheral Supervisor (DPPM) software program.

The monitor’s choices are restricted, although. The monitor has only a handful of colour modes and doesn’t goal particular colour gamuts, colour temperatures, or gamma values. The menu system as a substitute focuses extra on controlling connectivity like USB-C charging and information charges.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

Dell doesn’t present audio system with the Dell Professional 27 Plus. The monitor as a substitute helps an non-compulsory soundbar. Unusually, although, the monitor’s product web page doesn’t point out which soundbar is supported. The handbook additionally lacks that info. In any case, Dell didn’t present it for assessment, so I can’t touch upon its high quality.

Dell Professional 27 Plus P2725QE SDR picture high quality

The Dell Professional 27 Plus is all about SDR picture high quality. It doesn’t help HDR, and even when it did, the work and productiveness apps this monitor is designed for (I’m speaking Microsoft Phrase, VSCode, and Notion, amongst many others) aren’t meant to be used with HDR turned on.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

First up is SDR brightness which, amongst all monitor classes, is arguably most essential to these constructed for work and productiveness. That’s as a result of workplace displays are seemingly for use in a well-lit areas.

The Dell Professional 27 Plus does nicely right here with a brightness of about 375 nits. Although not the brightest monitor out there, it’s greater than vibrant sufficient to be used in most conditions. In my house workplace, which has a number of home windows that don’t obtain direct daylight, I discovered the monitor comfy at 50 to 60 p.c of its most brightness.

A semi-gloss coat retains glare to a minimal. It’s not absolutely matte, although, so vibrant gentle sources are nonetheless noticeable.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

Distinction is the weak spot of the Dell Professional 27 Plus. It’s not unhealthy for an IPS panel however in 2025, with OLED, VA, Mini-LED, and IPS Black panels in the marketplace, it’s among the many least contrast-rich and immersive show applied sciences out there.

That doesn’t matter in Phrase, nevertheless it’s noticeable when taking part in a sport or watching a film. The picture seems flat and uninteresting in comparison with the high-contrast options.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

The Dell Professional 27 Plus has cheap colour gamut efficiency. Nonetheless, because the graph exhibits, the Dell Professional 27 Plus is nicely behind some high-end options, just like the Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED and the BenQ PD3226G.

That’s an essential level. The Dell Professional 27 Plus is supposed for workplace work and productiveness, not content material creation (comparable to picture, video, and digital artwork, amongst different digital media). When you care about colour grading or tone mapping, you’ll need to set your sights on a dearer different.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

I used to be shocked, then, by the Dell Professional 27 Plus’ wonderful colour accuracy. Although not a pacesetter, it delivered outcomes on par with displays meant for content material creation. The one important colour error was in cyan (a typical consequence for IPS LED backlight displays). I felt that led to a slight blue push in inexperienced and blue-green hues however, to my eyes, it was delicate.

The Dell Professional 27 Plus additionally did nicely in colour temperature (6400K, barely under the goal of 6500K) and gamma (2.2, proper on the right track). Meaning the colour temperature seems a lot as anticipated and that content material seems about as luminous as supposed.

Sharpness is a perk. Spreading 3840×2160 decision throughout a 27-inch show leads to a pixel density of about 163 pixels per inch. Small fonts look crisp and high-contrast edges present little to no aliasing. There are sharper displays, to make sure (just like the Asus ProArt Show 5K), however they are typically rather more costly.

The Dell Professional 27 Plus has strong SDR picture high quality. With that stated, it additionally looks like what I described earlier: a USB hub with a show connected. The show is sweet, nevertheless it’s extra like a bonus than the principle purpose to purchase the monitor.

Dell Professional 27 Plus P2725QE HDR picture high quality

HDR will not be supported by the Dell Professional 27 Plus. Which may appear uncommon for a monitor that has a retail MSRP above $500, and it’s. With that stated, I don’t assume most individuals shopping for the Dell Professional 27 Plus will want HDR, because it’s meant primarily for day-to-day workplace productiveness.

Dell Professional 27 Plus P2725QE movement efficiency

Although not meant for gaming, the Dell Professional 27 Plus has a refresh charge of 100Hz. Meaning the monitor could have much less movement blur than 60Hz options. Scrolling textual content, for instance, is less complicated to learn.

Adaptive Sync will not be supported, nevertheless. That’s an enormous bummer. The dearth of it means the monitor can’t sync its refresh charge with the output of a video supply for clean gameplay in 3D video games. Whereas the P2725QE isn’t a gaming monitor, it might be good to have the choice to take pleasure in clean gameplay if wanted.

Must you purchase the Dell Professional 27 Plus P2725QE?

The Dell Professional 27 Plus P2725QE is a boring monitor. However in order for you a monitor for workplace productiveness, coding, or every other use case that’s largely about looking the online or working with textual content, it’s a protected guess. It combines a vibrant, crisp 4K IPS panel with USB-C connectivity that makes it a very good companion for a thin-and-light Home windows or Mac laptop computer.