Dell UP3218k (32" 8k monitor) non-review

[BobKnDP]

This has sorta been covered in another thread. UP3218K

In case anyone wants more details, here are a few:

It was introduced in 2017. It's far from new.

It'll do 10 bit color at 7680 X 4310, but the refresh rate must be reduced to 48Hz. (Apparently, this is due to a bandwidth limitation of the pair of DisplayPort connections.) 60Hz is available in 8 bit. (The panel is a true 10 bit one.)

The inputs are a pair of DisplayPorts. Both are needed to get 7680 X 4320 @ 60Hz (48Hz at 10bit). Using a single port, that resolution is available only at 30 Hz (and 24 Hz).

HDR is unavailable at any resolution and refresh rate.

It has two memory slots for a hardware calibration. The required X-Rite i1Display Pro (Calibrite ColorChecker Display Pro) colorimeter is not included. The Dell calibration software is a specialized version provided by X-Rite.

The screen is high gloss, so take care to avoid reflections.

As far as I know, it is still the best 32" 8k monitor in existence. It appears to be the only 32" 8k monitor in existence. ;-)

(It's very nice.)

A setup hint: get it running with a single DisplayPort cable, then connect the second one. That may be needed to get the graphics card to use both DisplayPorts.

The link to the display "driver" (Windows .inf file) at the Dell support site is for the wrong file, unless you'd prefer the SDK (software development kit) for the monitor. Here's a direct link: UP3218k Windows driver

Sorry that I can't supply information for Mac or Linux users.

 

[All Bushs Fault]

This has sorta been covered in another thread. UP3218K

In case anyone wants more details, here are a few:

It was introduced in 2017. It's far from new.

It'll do 10 bit color at 7680 X 4310, but the refresh rate must be reduced to 48Hz. (Apparently, this is due to a bandwidth limitation of the pair of DisplayPort connections.) 60Hz is available in 8 bit. (The panel is a true 10 bit one.)

The inputs are a pair of DisplayPorts. Both are needed to get 7680 X 4320 @ 60Hz (48Hz at 10bit). Using a single port, that resolution is available only at 30 Hz (and 24 Hz).

I think somebody from the thread linked below posted to another thread I was involved with. This is where I learned that Dsiplayport 2.0 (which solves the above) might actually arrive this year. Actually, I've stopped thinking about the Dell. I wonder if Dell will release a Displayport 2.0 version.

HDR is unavailable at any resolution and refresh rate.

It has two memory slots for a hardware calibration. The required X-Rite i1Display Pro (Calibrite ColorChecker Display Pro) colorimeter is not included. The Dell calibration software is a specialized version provided by X-Rite.

The screen is high gloss, so take care to avoid reflections.

As far as I know, it is still the best 32" 8k monitor in existence. It appears to be the only 32" 8k monitor in existence. ;-)

(It's very nice.)

A setup hint: get it running with a single DisplayPort cable, then connect the second one. That may be needed to get the graphics card to use both DisplayPorts.

The link to the display "driver" (Windows .inf file) at the Dell support site is for the wrong file, unless you'd prefer the SDK (software development kit) for the monitor. Here's a direct link: UP3218k Windows driver

Sorry that I can't supply information for Mac or Linux users.

 

[BobKnDP]

A current high-end graphics card (RTX 3090 ti) has an HDMI 2.1 port, buts is DisplayPort outputs are 1.4a, with the same bandwidth as 1.3. No ide when DP 2.0 may become available. A preview of the RTX 4090 (techpowerup ) says still DP 1.4a.

I didn't keep the UP3218k. It had too much image retention, which was not adequately eliminated by the utility built into the monitor. I thought that unacceptable for a $2.5k monitor (refurb price), completely aside from its other limitations.

Too bad. AFAIK, it is the first and only 4320p monitor on the market. There seems to be no rush by other makers to compete with it. (2017 model.)

 

[Michael Firstlight]

It'll do 10 bit color at 7680 X 4310, but the refresh rate must be reduced to 48Hz. (Apparently, this is due to a bandwidth limitation of the pair of DisplayPort connections.) 60Hz is available in 8 bit. (The panel is a true 10 bit one.)

I am running my 8K Dell UP3217K at full resolution at 60Hz 10-bit color 280ppi @ 6ms using a dual 4.1a connection (GeForce RTX 3090 Ti).

"To display 7680 x 4320 at 60 Hz, both DP1 and DP2 must be connected to the same graphics card. DP source’s graphics card must be DP1.4 certified and Tile display feature, capable of supporting resolution up to 7680 x 4320 at 60Hz and its driver supports DisplayID v1.3."

So I don't know your source for asserting that the refresh rate must be reduced to 48Hz - at full 10-bit 8K rez - that is not my experience owning this 8K display, which is simply stunning and is worth every penny to me. Others need to individually assess whether it's worth the cost for their needs. I wanted the highest resolution for image editing as well as 8K video editing and rendering captured with my Nikon Z9. It struggles not all with anything I've thrown at it so far.

Maybe you read a post in the Dell forum where one user reported refresh rate reduced to 48Hz due to the limitations specific to NVidia Quadro cards will default to 10 bpc which yields a maximum video resolution of 7680 x 4320 at 48Hz? That was a limitation of that and a few other cards a couple of years ago, not the monitor. Other users have reported the same as I have.



Here's a link to my full build: https://pcpartpicker.com/user/ncmike/builds/#view=BwMcCJ

Mike

 

[BobKnDP]

It'll do 10 bit color at 7680 X 4310, but the refresh rate must be reduced to 48Hz. (Apparently, this is due to a bandwidth limitation of the pair of DisplayPort connections.) 60Hz is available in 8 bit. (The panel is a true 10 bit one.)

I am running my 8K Dell UP3217K at full resolution at 60Hz 10-bit color 280ppi @ 6ms using a dual 4.1a connection (GeForce RTX 3090 Ti).

"To display 7680 x 4320 at 60 Hz, both DP1 and DP2 must be connected to the same graphics card. DP source’s graphics card must be DP1.4 certified and Tile display feature, capable of supporting resolution up to 7680 x 4320 at 60Hz and its driver supports DisplayID v1.3."

So I don't know your source for asserting that the refresh rate must be reduced to 48Hz - at full 10-bit 8K rez - that is not my experience owning this 8K display, which is simply stunning and is worth every penny to me. Others need to individually assess whether it's worth the cost for their needs. I wanted the highest resolution for image editing as well as 8K video editing and rendering captured with my Nikon Z9. It struggles not all with anything I've thrown at it so far.

Maybe you read a post in the Dell forum where one user reported refresh rate reduced to 48Hz due to the limitations specific to NVidia Quadro cards will default to 10 bpc which yields a maximum video resolution of 7680 x 4320 at 48Hz? That was a limitation of that and a few other cards a couple of years ago, not the monitor. Other users have reported the same as I have.



Here's a link to my full build: https://pcpartpicker.com/user/ncmike/builds/#view=BwMcCJ

Mike

Your speculations are incorrect.

My "source" was me, via actual hardware testing.

I'm mildly ashamed to admit this, but I ran a UP3218k with an RTX 3090 ti for a time.

This was on an Asus Prime Z690-A MB with an I9-12900k CPU, although I doubt that the MB and CPU matter. The DP cables were the two supplied by Dell. I don't recall the nVidia driver version, but it would have been the Studio driver that was current around the beginning of May.

With the monitor's resolution set to native (7280 x 4320), the color settings in the control panel were set thus:



(These were not taken with the UP3218k, but I think they're identical to what I had with that). Does that match your settings?

The maximum refresh rate allowed was 48 Hz. If I set the color depth to 8 bit, 60Hz.

Question: how does your UP3218k show up in Device Manager?

I had to hunt down the monitor drivers at Dell. (Not to be confused with the display adapter drivers from nVidia.) If the monitor is showing up as generic, I don't know what refresh rates would be available.

Have you had any image retention issues? They showed for me as red images, when the screen was mostly black. The utility to remove the image retention didn't work very well. That was the reason I didn't keep the monitor. I could have lived with 48Hz and no HDR.

If you have Photoshop, and would like to double check the 10 bit-ness of the display, download and view a very shallow 10 bit test ramp . If you see banding, the display isn't 10 bit. (It's not that subtle when I switch the Nvidia control panel to 8 bit.)

 

[Michael Firstlight]

I've been trying to hunt down the UP3218K display driver from Dell so that it doesn't show up as generic. I found the firmware update but it doesn't install (it throws an error -something to the effect to try running a DLL which isn't an executable) - then I want back to your OP - thanks for the link to the correct driver. The default is to run the monitor in 8K, 60Hz, so yah, when I switch to the Nvidea control it only permits 10bbc at 48Hz, but when using the default it doesn't say - and I wondered if the Nvidea control limited the choice because it only sees the display as a generic PnP. I have yet to install the correct driver.

What's the actual bandwidth rate needed to run at 8K, 10 bbc, at 60Hz require? I think I read that it's about 32Gbps and does display stream compression of 1.4 play into the equation any? Also, does the use of dual DP1.4 lines have any effect on the overall bandwidth supplied? I'm guessing not as when I roughly calculate the bandwidth needed the 1.4 spec does indeed seem to be insufficient, but I can still run at 48Hz with no flicker or other issues for apps and video (and I'm not a gamer). There is amazingly little technical detail on this anywhere; Dell support even with premier support was useless when I told them it wasn't installed on a Dell rig and refused to provide support (frankly the Dell support agent was rather clueless).

Mike

--
The one thing everyone can agree on is that film photography has its negatives. It even has its positives and internegatives.

 

[BobKnDP]

A naive calculation: 7680 X 4320 X 60Hz X 24bits is 47.8 Gbps.

7680 X 4320 X 48Hz X 30bits gives the same 47.8 Gbps. Raising that to 60Hz would give 59.7Gbps.

These are the data rates without DSC (display stream compression). A quick online check suggests that there aren't many PC monitors that support DSC.

I have no idea how much overhead would be needed for an RGB video stream.

The specified data rate for DP 1.4 is 25.92 Gbps, so twice that is 51.84 Gbps.

A single HDMI 2.1 connection was originally rated at 48Gbps, but I have read that the definition may now be more flexible (in the downwards direction).

I wonder whether 8k monitors will become more common after DP 2.0 appears in the market? That is claimed to support 77.37Gbps over a single connection.

 

[Michael Firstlight]

Thanks for the data rates; confirms everything. I'm OK running 10-bit at a lower rate; if I want to run anything that requires faster scan rates can always just change the settings, but for my purposes, I care most about image definition and color so I'm keeping the default at 8x30x48.

Oh yah, and the monitor driver did install properly, but I'm still unsure what the correct drive adds in terms of function or quality over the generic PnP, but I do prefer the right drivers be installed for everything.

Thanks,
Mike