Dell Professional P1913 19" Black

The Dell Professional P1913 is a 19-inch office monitor that still makes sense as a budget secondary display. Its stand is genuinely excellent with full height, tilt, swivel, and pivot adjustment, and the build quality is solid. But the TN panel, 1440 x 900 resolution, and lack of HDMI mean it's not a good choice as a primary monitor in 2024.

Let's be honest about what this panel can and can't do. The 1440 x 900 resolution on a 19-inch screen gives you a pixel density that's acceptable but not sharp by modern standards. Small fonts can look a bit soft, and if you're used to a 1080p or 1440p display, you'll notice the difference immediately. The 5ms response time is fine for office tasks, but motion blur shows up on fast-moving content. Don't expect to play competitive shooters on this thing and have a good time.

In our database, the P1913 sits in the 21st percentile for performance and the 2nd percentile for display quality among monitors we track. That's not a typo. The display ranking is near the bottom of the barrel. But here's the context that matters: this monitor costs less than a decent dinner for two in most cases. The 2,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio sounds impressive on a spec sheet, but the native contrast is 1000:1, which is standard for TN panels. The 250 nits brightness is workable indoors but underwhelming. If you're buying this for anything beyond basic productivity, you're going to feel the limitations quickly.

Stacked against something like the LG UltraGear 27GS75Q-B or the ASUS TUF Gaming VG27VQMY, the P1913 looks like it's from a different decade. Because it is. Those are 27-inch gaming monitors with high refresh rates and modern panels. The P1913 is a 19-inch office display from an era when DisplayPort was still a novelty. But comparing them directly misses the point. Nobody is cross-shopping a $45 refurbished office monitor with a $250 gaming display.

The more realistic comparison is against other used office monitors in the sub-$100 range. Against those, the P1913 holds up surprisingly well thanks to its stand. Most cheap monitors come with a fixed stand that only tilts. The P1913 gives you full height adjustment, swivel, pivot, and VESA mounting. That's rare at this price point. The trade-off is the TN panel, which has noticeably worse viewing angles than even budget IPS panels. If you're using this as a secondary display in portrait mode, the viewing angle issue becomes a real annoyance. Users in our database consistently mention this as the biggest drawback.

Here's where the P1913 gets interesting. Our database shows prices ranging from $45 to $189 in the US, which is a massive spread for what's essentially the same monitor in different conditions. At the low end, you're getting a fully adjustable stand and a usable 19-inch display for less than the cost of a video game. At the high end, you're overpaying for something that should cost half that. If you're shopping for one of these, the Newegg refurbished listings tend to be the sweet spot. Just don't pay more than $80 or so unless you're desperate for the specific stand features. For comparison, you can find used 24-inch 1080p IPS monitors in the same price range, and those will give you better image quality and more screen real estate. The P1913 only makes sense if you specifically want the small footprint, the 16:10 ratio, or the excellent ergonomics.

The Dell Professional P1913 is a 19-inch office monitor that's been floating around the refurbished market for years now. It runs a 1440 x 900 TN panel at 60Hz, which puts it firmly in the budget productivity category. We're talking about a display that originally shipped for office cubicles, not gaming setups or color-critical work. But here's the thing: people still buy these because they're cheap, they're built like little tanks, and the stand is genuinely better than what you get on most modern budget monitors.

Is the Dell P1913 good for office work? For basic spreadsheets, email, and document editing, sure. The 16:10 aspect ratio gives you a bit more vertical space than a typical 16:9 panel, which is nice when you're scrolling through long PDFs or working in portrait mode. The 250 nits brightness is fine for indoor office lighting, though it'll struggle near bright windows. And the 83% color gamut means colors look okay but not great. This is a workhorse, not a show pony.

At the prices we're seeing in our database, anywhere from $45 to $189 depending on condition and seller, this monitor makes the most sense as a second or third display. It's not going to impress anyone, but it doesn't need to. It just needs to show your Slack window or reference docs without falling over. And on that front, it delivers.

Skip the P1913 if you need a primary display for anything beyond basic office work. Photographers and designers should look elsewhere because the 83% color gamut and TN panel won't give you accurate colors. Gamers should skip it too, the 60Hz refresh rate and motion blur will drive you nuts. And if you're connecting a modern laptop with only HDMI or USB-C outputs, the lack of HDMI means you'll be juggling adapters. For the same money, a used 24-inch 1080p IPS monitor will serve most people better. The P1913 is for people who specifically want a small, adjustable secondary display and know exactly what they're getting into.

Should you buy the Dell Professional P1913? If you need a cheap, reliable secondary monitor for chat, email, or reference material, and you can find one for under $80, it's a solid pickup. The stand alone is worth the price of admission. The build quality is genuinely good, and these things tend to keep working for years. The 16:10 aspect ratio is a nice bonus for document work.

But if this is going to be your primary display, or if you care about image quality at all, look elsewhere. The low resolution, mediocre brightness, and TN viewing angles will frustrate you daily. A used 24-inch 1080p IPS monitor costs about the same and will look dramatically better. The P1913 is a specialist tool for a specific job: being a cheap, adjustable second screen that doesn't take up much desk space. In that role, it's hard to beat. In any other role, it's hard to recommend.