Dell UltraSharp UP2720Q 27" Black 2024

The Dell UltraSharp UP2720Q is a 27-inch 4K monitor built for color-critical work, with a built-in colorimeter and 100% Adobe RGB coverage. It's not for gamers, with a 60Hz refresh rate and 6ms response time that land it in the 9th percentile for performance. Prices range from USD 700 to USD 1,099, so shop around. If you need accurate color without external calibration gear, this is a strong pick at the right price.

Let's talk about what this panel does well first. The contrast ratio is listed at 1,300:1, which is genuinely good for an IPS display. Most IPS panels hover around 1,000:1, so this one digs a bit deeper into the blacks. The dark luminance of 0.26 nits means shadow detail stays visible without crushing, which matters when you're grading footage or retouching low-key portraits. The 250 nits brightness is modest by today's standards, but for color-critical work in a controlled lighting environment, that's actually fine. You're not fighting sunlight with this thing.

The 60Hz refresh rate and 6ms response time are where the performance score tanks. For office work and photo editing, 60Hz is completely fine. But if you've ever used a 120Hz or 144Hz display, even just for scrolling through documents, the difference is noticeable. And 6ms response time means you'll see some ghosting in fast-moving content. This is not a monitor for competitive gaming, and it's not pretending to be. The performance percentile reflects that reality, and it's the biggest trade-off you're making here.

The competitors in our database tell an interesting story. The LG UltraGear 45GX950A-B, ASUS ROG Strix XG27UCDMG, MSI MPG 271QR QD-OLED X50, Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 G60SF, and Alienware AW2725D are all gaming-focused displays with high refresh rates and OLED or QD-OLED panels. They'll absolutely smoke the UP2720Q in response time and motion clarity. But none of them have a built-in colorimeter, and most don't cover 100% Adobe RGB. They're built for speed, not for color-critical work.

The ASUS ROG Strix XG27UCDMG is probably the closest competitor in terms of resolution and size, but it's a gaming monitor through and through. If you need 4K at 27 inches and you also want to game, that's the direction to look. The Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 G60SF will give you incredible contrast and deep blacks that this Dell can't touch, but OLED panels have their own color accuracy quirks out of the box. The Dell's advantage is consistency and calibration. It's a tool, not a toy.

Pricing on this thing is all over the map. In the US, we're seeing listings from USD 700 to USD 1,099, which is a USD 399 spread for the same monitor. That's a huge gap, and it means you should absolutely shop around before pulling the trigger. The lower end of that range is where this monitor starts to make sense. At USD 700, you're getting a color-accurate 4K panel with a built-in colorimeter, which is genuinely hard to find at that price. At USD 1,099, you're paying a premium that's harder to justify.

For Canadian buyers, the spread is even wider in absolute terms: CAD 2,018 to CAD 2,459. That's a CAD 441 difference between listings. If you're in Canada, the CAD 2,018 listing is the one to hunt down. The value proposition here depends entirely on which price you land on. This is a monitor that's worth it at the low end of the range and a tough sell at the high end.

The Dell UltraSharp UP2720Q is a monitor that knows exactly what it is, and it's not trying to be anything else. This is a 27-inch 4K IPS panel built for people who care about color accuracy more than frame rates. The headline feature is the built-in colorimeter, which means you can calibrate the display on demand or on a schedule without buying extra hardware. That's a big deal for photographers, video editors, and anyone who needs to trust what they're seeing.

At 163 pixels per inch, the 3840x2160 resolution gives you plenty of detail for editing high-res photos or scrubbing through 4K video timelines. The panel covers 100% Adobe RGB, 98% DCI-P3, and 80% BT.2020, which puts it in serious color-critical territory. The included shading hood snaps on with magnets and helps cut down on glare and ambient light, which is the kind of thoughtful touch you don't see on gaming monitors.

But here's the thing: this monitor sits in a weird spot in our database. Its connectivity is top-tier, landing in the 97th percentile, and the display quality is strong at the 90th percentile. Yet its overall performance score is in the 9th percentile. That's because performance here means gaming-style metrics like refresh rate and response time, and this panel is 60Hz with a 6ms response time. If you're buying this for gaming, you're shopping in the wrong aisle.

Gamers should absolutely skip this monitor. The 60Hz refresh rate and 6ms response time are simply not competitive in 2025, and you'd be paying a premium for color features you won't use. Look at the ASUS ROG Strix XG27UCDMG or the Alienware AW2725D if you want 4K or high refresh rates for gaming. The OLED panels in those displays will also give you better contrast and motion clarity.

Office workers and general users should also think twice. If you're mostly doing email, spreadsheets, and web browsing, you don't need a built-in colorimeter or 100% Adobe RGB coverage. You'd be better off with a cheaper 4K monitor or even a 1440p display with a higher refresh rate. The UP2720Q is a specialized tool, and if you're not doing color-critical work, you're paying for capabilities that will sit unused.

If you're a photographer, video editor, or designer who needs a color-accurate display and doesn't want to mess with external calibration hardware, the UP2720Q is a solid choice. The built-in colorimeter is the killer feature here, and the 100% Adobe RGB coverage means you can trust your edits. The included shading hood is a nice bonus that shows Dell actually thought about how this monitor gets used in the real world. Just make sure you find it at the lower end of the price range.

For anyone else, this monitor is a harder sell. Office workers will find it overpriced for what they need, and gamers should look elsewhere entirely. The 60Hz refresh rate and 6ms response time are dealbreakers for fast-paced content. If you're not doing color-critical work, you're paying for features you'll never use. And if you are doing color-critical work, the 250 nits brightness means you'll want a controlled lighting setup to get the most out of it.