Dell UltraSharp 3008WFP 30-inch LCD With DisplayPort

Like high-end graphics cards setup in multi-GPU configurations, terabyte desktop drives, and 3GHz quad-core processors, 30-inch wide screen LCDs cater to what we like to call the "enthusiast" niche. And though this niche obviously drives lower volume demand versus the mainstream, you have to remember that the enthusiast end-user is a very influential segment of the market, often times assisting in the definition of what will become mainstream technology tomorrow. Not to mention 30 inches of screen real-estate is a professional workstation designer's nirvana, so perhaps this niche isn't as small as it would appear on the surface.

Regardless, though there are fewer in our audience who might find it practical to justify the cost of a 30" monitor, the undeniable allure of a panel of this size makes these products easily one of our most popular areas of coverage here at HotHardware.com. There's just something about them. Maybe it's a size thing. We've got people buzzing over tiny, little Eee PCs and they're also in a tizzy at the other end of the spectrum about huge LCDs. Sexy is in the extremes we would surmise, though the ever-present "newness" factor is obviously a head-turner for these products as well.

It's easy to see where Dell was going with the introduction of their new UltraSharp 3008 WFP 30" LCD. Calling upon the input received from previous 30" panel incarnations and marrying these feature requests in with new technologies like a wider color gamut and the bleeding-edge of display interface technologies. As the first DisplayPort-enabled LCD from Dell, the 3008 WFP is claiming that sexy is back. No Justin, not you -- she's getting a Dell?





Dell UltraSharp 3008 WFP 30" Widescreen LCD
Specifications and Features
Viewable Image Size 30 inches
Diagonal Size 30 inches
Display Type Active Matrix - TFT LCD
Color Gamut 117%
Image Scaling Built in image scaler/processor
Depth 9.35 inches
Height
18.98 inches compressed
22.52 inches extended
Width 27.43 inches
Weight (with stand) 34.36 lbs.
Stand Adjustability Tilt, Swivel, Height Adjustable
Horizontal Viewing Angle 178o (typical)
Vertical Viewing Angle 178o (typical)
Color Support 16.7 million colors
Contrast Ratio 3000:1
Response Time
8 ms (grey-to-grey)
Brightness 370 cd/m2
Resolution 2560x1600 (max)
Pixel Pitch (Dot Pitch) 0.2505 mm
Ports
Analog, DVI-D (dual link) with HDCP x2, S-Video, Composite, Component, HDMI, DisplayPort
USB 2.0 (4)
9-in-2 Media Card Reader
Kensington security port
Power Consumption
250W(max)
Less than 2W switched off

Taking what we know of Dell's previous 30" LCD product, the 3007 WFP HC, you'll note that there are more than a few upgrades provided with this newer 3008 version. Specifically, the 3008 WFP now has a 117% color gamut, in addition to having a 3000:1 contrast ratio versus the 1000:1 performance of its predecessor. The panel also comes with the same pixel response time of 8ms but now has enhanced brightness capability at 370 cd/m2 (or nits if you prefer) versus 300 for the previous 3007 model. Finally, Dell also heard our plea back when they introduced the 3007 WFP, and saw fit to adding significantly more connectivity to the panel, with not only two DVI-D inputs, but also HDMI, Composite, Component, S-Video and the new DisplayPort interface. In short, anything you could want to hook up now or in the future, can be hooked up to this new Dell 30" panel. Bravo, Dell, bravo.

Dell Assures Users They're Safe With The Jolting XPS Notebooks

Dell has finally issued a response regarding its notebooks that have been reported to give their users frequent electrical shocks. Users previously complained on the manufacturer's forums
that they either receive a continuous electrical tingling, or they suffer brutal electrical discharges whenever they touch the aluminum casings of the XPS M1330 and XPS M1530 notebook models.

The company finally acknowledged in a Knowledge Base ticket that "a tingling sensation may be noticed when connecting devices to Dell notebook computers or printers and touching exposed metal parts of the devices being connected or the parent device."

However, the company refused to admit that these electric jolts might be dangerous for the human operator. According to previous evaluations, the electric discharges are the result of a two-pronged connection between the main lead and the power adapter, which is not grounded because there is no available third pin on the power adapter. The jolts occur due to the electrical potential that accumulates between the laptop's aluminum coating and the earth.

According to the company, "the voltage does not present any risk of injury to the user," but I strongly doubt that some user paid for this kind of "bonus" feature, as well as I doubt that any sane user would find pleasure in this "side effect". One more thing: although Dell states that there is no risk of injury, a voltage test shows that the notebook's case may give off more than 100 volts of power, which totally contradicts the company's statements.

The simplest solution to solve the problem is to provide the users with three-pronged power adapters that would connect the notebook case to the ground. However, the manufacturer has been shipping two-prong (unearthed) power adapters with the majority of its systems worldwide for some time and thus it cannot immediately provide such a great number of customers with the proper, three-pronged adapters.

Dell is currently looking for a solution to sell properly-earthed adapters to its laptop customers at a discounted price.