Dell ships UltraSharp 27-inch 5K monitor

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Dell is now shipping its previously announced $2,500 UltraSharp 27 Ultra HD 5K Monitor through its online store. The display sports the same 5120 X 2880-pixel Ultra HD resolution that we saw on Apple's recent Retina 5K iMac. However, Dell is pricing its monitor-only solution at the same price as Apple's all-in-one, which includes a full computer running OS X Yosemite.

The Dell UltraSharp 27 Ultra HD 5K requires two cables and two ports to connect, and even then it's still unclear whether or not a Mac could support it as a single, logical screen at 60 Hz. If not, low refresh and potential tearing down the middle would be deal-breakers for most.

The Dell display comes with Dell's PremierColor tech, which boasts 99 percent color accuracy with Adobe RGB and 100 percent accuracy with sRGB coverage. It also has two integrated speakers with Harman Kardon sound quality. It also features 1 Mini DisplayPort, 2 full-sized DisplayPorts, 5 USB 3.0 ports, 1 USB port, and an integrated card reader.

It's certainly not as elegant and inexpensive a solution as the Retina 5K iMac - read our review here at iMore — but for people who already have a Mac Pro and want 5K, here's hoping it's a workable one.

Chuong H Nguyen
Chuong H Nguyen
47 Comments
  • So you might as well get an iMac and basically get a free computer with that monitor than right? Why would they price it that high?
  • It's a wide gamut professional monitor the iMac isn't. For most people the iMac retina display would be better, wide gamut displays are a real pain, but if you need it then that is why it's there and expensive.
  • The price is high compared to the iMac, but for professionals who need this as a tool the iMac is far under powered to push this many pixels. Also, windows. Also, this is the first of its kind, the prices will come down.
  • So will iMac prices while the processor will become faster. Also macs can run windows. Sent from the iMore App
  • You can't run SLI'd Quadros in an iMac..... But I get your point. My point is the iMac's GPU is way under powered for that many pixels. Depends on what you need it for I suppose. But the 5K iMac can't even handle zooming in and out in iPhoto without choking.
  • That is an iPhoto bug. My retina MacBook Pro has the same problem. I have a quad core i7 chip. Sent from the iMore App
  • My 2010 Mac mini zooms in/out smoother at 2560x1440/60Hz. The 5K iMac takes 5-10 seconds after you take your finger off the trackpad to complete the zoom at about 1 frame per 1 or 2 seconds. Horrendous. It's a mobile GPU. Can your MBP run 7 gen-locked 1080p displays?
  • That GPU is fine to run that display. Basing the entire experience on how iPhoto (which is abandoned software at this point) is hardly a benchmark for the entire experience. You might need crazy hardware for windows, but not OS X. Sure, it will have problems with high end games, but the iMac is not a gaming machine.
  • Not even close.
    At first I thought Apple were extremely clever pricing the iMac, (still do).
    Now I see Dell are just as clever. You still can’t connect that iMac to your Mac Pro to run 5K can you? Or anything else for that matter.
  • Which version of DP is this? Their website doesn't specify. Rene always said that a single DP 1.2 couldn't push 5K at full color. He also said 1.3 will be able to, but that won't be out for more than a year (I think that's what Rene said). So what's the catch here? Is it only 30Hz? Not that I'm in the market for this, I just hate then things are "first" but use some half-breed solution to a technology before its time. I have a UHD TV with HDMI 2.0 which supports full color (on one input), but my $750 GPUS can't push UHD/60Hz at full color over HDMI 1.4 (must be set to reduced color to get 60Hz) - and from what I've seen, there are no consumer GPUs with HDMI 2.0. Not even the new NVIDIA 900s have HDMI 2.0 from what I could tell. And by the time there is a card, they'll probably change the standard so it won't work with my tv.
  • Correction # 2 - the NVIDIA GTX 980 does in fact have HDMI 2.0 it didn't show that on their site in the past.
  • It's using dual cables, so my guess is two DP 1.2.
  • Hi Rene,
    Will you guys @iMore purchase one in order to try to plug it in a Mac Pro or something ? It could be really interesting. Cheers, keep the good work!
  • Yeah, I saw that in the spec sheet immediately after I posted here.
  • Just found the catch - full native resolution at 60Hz requires 2 DP connections. Just like Rene predicted. I hope it doesn't tear, especially for $2500.
  • Dell is still around? Sent from the iMore App
  • Is that an attempt at humour, or are you just trolling? Either way, it makes no sense.
  • I thought Dell went bankrupt, awe good for them. Staying in the fight like they are. Only people who buy Dell/PC's are either poor or they are a business. A lot of businesses don't see the bigger picture and to invest for long term. I have the same MacBook Pro and runs awesome like the day I got with 4 years on it. Last time I had a Dell within 6 months that battery would die in 1 hour and after you updated ( which was never free) would make it so slow. Basically you should buy a new computer each year. No I'm not trolling or an apple fan boy I just know what works and what won't no matter how much they try. Sent from the iMore App
  • I'm not going to comment on Dell computers, but my understanding is that they are actually quite good at doing monitors. I bought one of their cheap 24" 16:10 IPS offerings for work and for the price I paid it's a steal. Makes the employer-supplied HP monitor sitting next to it look muddy, dull and grey.
    I also think Dell's photo oriented monitors are definitely worth giving an extra look.
  • Dell makes some decent laptops as well, but as with all things Windows you have to do a bit of looking in to what you buy. You can't just pick up any "Dell" and hope it runs as smoothly as their top of the line laptops. So that's something Apple has over the competition. Ease of use and access over customization and choice (that's my personal opinion, don't bother ripping me for it.) Posted from the amazing whatever device I can afford because I'm a broke college kid.
  • For the most part you are right. Apple does have ease of use over most windows based computers. The ability to buy something and just use it shouldn't be overlooked. However, Apple has traditionally been weak in the GPU department on their laptops. For many that won't matter, but for some it does. Also, by removing the 17" model, they have wounded the group of professionals that needed a portable solution with large screen. Sent from the iMore App
  • Google "Alienware" sometime.
  • I always thought Alienware was better before Dell bought them. And I still think they're too damn big to be used as laptops. Posted from the amazing whatever device I can afford because I'm a broke college kid.
  • Too big for your lap, but small enough to travel with if you really need that power.
  • Desktop replacements aren't my style. I use an MSI Stealth pro now. A little less powerful, but in a much more manageable package. (I have the newer version with the Nvidia 970M.) Posted from the amazing whatever device I can afford because I'm a broke college kid.
  • The MSI ghost is looking nice to me, I'm just wanting the 900 lineup of video cards and maybe upcoming power savings. Sent from the iMore App
  • Yeah, gaming laptops aren't really my thing either. Alpha looks promising.
  • I saw it, and was intrigued, it's portable like a console, but very much a decent PC. The base model wasn't that great though. Posted from the amazing whatever device I can afford because I'm a broke college kid.
  • Almost a complete pile of poop.
    Don’t particularly like Dell either biut your assertions about them being for business or poor peopla are so far off base it’s more ridiculous than, well…….
    I use a Dell for work if I’m honest. Been nothing but reliable.
  • I know, right? I thought they had gone bakrupt too, but then I remembered they recently bought WYSE, so it must have been a brain fart. Why they bought WYSE instead of a sweet operation like Beats is beyond me.
  • I'd definitely be interested in such a monitor for my Mac Pro to replace my dual UHD setup. But il have to wait for feedback from Mac Pro users.
    I really hope 5K with dual DP will work on the 2013 Mac Pro, even if it's not an apple monitor I don't really care. I'm just disappointed my Mac Pro with dual professional GPU can't run the same display an iMac with a single mobile GPU can... Sent from the iMore App
  • I'm just disappointed my Mac Pro with dual professional GPU can't run the same display an iMac with a single mobile GPU can...
    It's got nothing to do with the GPU. It's the bandwidth of Thunderbolt 2 that's the issue. Same reason the 5K iMac can't operate in display mode. Thunderbolt 2 is the bottleneck - it just doesn't have the bandwidth to push that many pixels.
  • I know, you're right Peter. My bad if you misunderstood what I was trying to say.
    My point is : I do own a Mac pro, with dual GPU, and due to something unrelated (bandwidth used by TB 2), I can't use a 5K display. This is the reality.
    BUT : I am disappointed, and part of my disappointment comes from the fact that another computer made by Apple is capable of using a 5K display (and has a mobile GPU, but again, not the reason, TB 2 is). I hope I made my point. In a nutshell, yes Peter you're absolutely right. But I'm still disappointed for not being able to run a 5K Display, while an iMac has one.
  • Why couldn't dual TB2 cables be an option? Sent from the iMore App
  • The spec sheet states that it requires 2xDP for 5K@60. I wonder how the Mac Pro would handle that. Or windows for that matter. Does each half show up as its own monitor, requiring a config like NVIDIA surround to blend it as one virtual screen? To my knowledge, you can't do that with Apple GPUs.
  • It's definitely overpriced.
  • meh. Nobody pays MSRP for Dell products. This monitor will be 30% off by xmas.
  • Apple will release a 5k monitor in 2015 for 1500.00
  • Cool. I'm pretty sure you have a good source to say that, am I wrong ? Sent from the iMore App
  • No he doesn't, but if he's right that's not horrible. It would need the new Thunderbolt ports or no one would want to use it. The using two cables "hack" isn't Apple's style. Posted from the amazing whatever device I can afford because I'm a broke college kid.
  • The absence of dual cable trick will let all Mac Pro owners without the ability of using a 5K display. I just don't buy it. I think apple did a trick a while ago with the the DVI dual for older computers. They could do that again. The real question here is : Is his Dell display compatible with any apple product at 5K@60Hz? Sent from the iMore App
  • Sure they could do the same trick again, but if it led to ugly timing issues and visible tearing (which, IIRC, actually happened with the 30" dual DVI Cinema Display), how many people would find that acceptable? Is that a compromise you'd be willing to accept from hardware that expensive? Today's transmission standards aren't in sync with display technology. Just "keep calm and wait for Skylake".
  • Well even if I wait for skylake and upgrade the CPU in my late 2013 Mac Pro, it won't turn my TB 2 into TB 3. So it's basically useless.
    If a dual display port works today with this DELL display, I can't imagine it won't work if apple makes its own solution. Sent from the iMore App
  • That is the one weakness of the new Mac Pro, not being able to do any real upgrades like ports. Oils be nice to be able to slap in a new card and get TB3. Sent from the iMore App
  • Dual link DVI requires a special $99 adapter that connects with mDP & USB. The Mac Pro has 6 TB connections. So I wouldn't put it past Apple to just go with the 2xDP display.
  • Dell? What a Joke! Sent from the iMore App
  • Why is dell a joke? I don't use their systems at home but work does. The models we use aren't top of the line but they have been reliable. We have systems ranging from 1 to 6 years old. Would I prefer we ran apple and macs? Sure. The problem is with price and software compatibility. Sent from the iMore App