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Dell U4323QE 43″ 4K Monitor – Productivity King

REVIEW OVERVIEW

Price / Value
80 %
Sound Quality
85 %
Picture Quality
85 %
Build Quality
90 %
Productivity
95 %

Don’t like reading? Check out my video review on YouTube instead.

Dell U4323QE 43″ 4K Monitor

I purchased the Dell U4323QE 43″ 4K monitor to upgrade my Dell S3221QS 32″ 4K monitor. The added screen real estate improved my workflow and made photo and video editing more pleasurable, but I returned the Dell U4323QE after about two weeks. Should that stop you from buying this monitor? Nope! But let’s understand why I returned it and why you may not care about my reasons.

Some Technical Specs

✅ Panel Type: Active matrix – IPS
✅ Resolution: 4K – 3840 x 2160 at 60 Hz w/ 16:9 Aspect Ratio
✅ PPI: 103.6
✅ Contrast Ratio: 1000:1
✅ Brightness: 350 cd/m²
✅ Color Gamut: 95% sRGB
✅ Diagonal Size: 42.51″
✅ HDMI: 2 x DP 1.4 | 2 x HDMI 2.1 | 1 x USB-C Display
✅ Ports: 1X USB-C ( DP.14) | 3X USB-C (USB 3.2 G2) | 3X Super Speed USB-A (USB 3.2 G2)
1X Super Speed USB A (USB3.2 G2) | 1X USB C (USB3.2 G2 w/ 15W charging) 1X 3.5mm jack | 1 x RJ45 Port
✅ Native Refresh Rate: 60Hz
✅ Response Time: 5 ms (gray-to-gray fast) & 8 ms (gray-to-gray normal)
✅ HDR: Not Supported
✅ Sound: 2 x 8W Speakers
✅ KVM & Auto KVM Support
✅ 90 Watt USB Power Delivery
✅ Horizontal & Vertical Viewing Angle: 178
✅ Weight: 40.9 lbs (with Included Stand)
✅ Dimensions: 38.1 in x 10.1 in x 23.4 in (Lowest Stand Position)
✅ VESA: 100 x 100 mm, 200 x 200 mm

Full specs on Dell’s website here.

Please be advised that the link above is a referral link, which means that I earn a small commission for each qualifying sale. There is no additional cost to you.

What’s In The Box?

The Dell U4323QE comes in a pretty large box, so ensure you have two people to help with moving it around and the setup. You can get away with doing it yourself, but best to have help when it’s so large.

Dell U4323QE Box
Dell U4323QE Box

In the box, you’ll get the monitor and display stand in two pieces, optional VESA mounting screws, 1 HDMI cable, 1 Display Port cable, 1 USB C to USB C cable, 1 USB C to USB A cable, power cord and manuals.

Dell U4323QE Display Stand
Dell U4323QE Package Contents
Dell U4323QE Package Contents

Installation

While installation is pretty straightforward, getting everything out of the box is a bit cumbersome. Once the plastic fasteners are removed from the box and the outer box lid lifted, you’ll find a lot of protective packaging to keep the monitor damage-free.

Dell U4323QE Packaging
Dell U4323QE Packaging

Once the top protective packaging is removed, it takes a bit of effort to pull the monitor out of the bottom packaging due to friction between the packaging and the screen cover. But once you get it out of the box, lay the monitor flat on a table while leaving the protective screen cover on.

Dell U4323QE Display Stand Port
Dell U4323QE Display Stand Port

Then, simply line up the stem portion of the stand into the slits shown above and press down on the stem until you hear a satisfying click, letting you know that the stem is locked in and can only be removed by pressing the lock button and lifting it back out.

Dell U4323QE Display Stem
Dell U4323QE Display Stem

Next, line up the heavy stand plate with the end of the display stem and use the turn screw by hand to tighten everything and complete the installation process.

Dell U4323QE Display Stand Plate
Dell U4323QE Display Stand Plate

Btw, don’t forget to use the cutout in the stand stem to manage your cables.

Dell U4323QE Cable Management
Dell U4323QE Cable Management

Build Quality & Design

Considering the behemoth size of this monitor, the build quality is pretty good. Mine arrived without any damage, thanks to the packaging and the overall build quality. I didn’t notice any gaps or significant creaking with the monitor. However, if the monitor is bumped or hit, it does have a decent amount of wobble, even though it is attached to a pretty heavy metal stand coming in at around 11 lbs. This was more prominent when I had the monitor sit on a cheap wooden desk. Once moved to a wooden desk, I didn’t notice any wobble when I was typing fast on my desk.

Dell U4323QE Build Quality Logo
Dell U4323QE Build Quality & Logo
Dell U4323QE Heat Vents
Dell U4323QE Heat Vents

The bezel size is about what you’d expect for a monitor geared toward productivity and business use. They are not very slim, but not overly thick either.

Dell U4323QE Bezel Size
Dell U4323QE Bezel Size

The bottom plate of the stand extends out by around 9.75″ deep in total, so be sure to have a desk that is deep enough to accommodate this monitor. If not, you’ll find yourself twisting your head right and left to see the entire screen.

Dell U4323QE Stand Depth
Dell U4323QE Stand Depth
Dell U4323QE Rear Design
Dell U4323QE Rear Design

The rear of the monitor has a pretty seamless look with the Dell logo at the top middle, above the display stand mount.

Dell U4323QE Rear Control Buttons
Dell U4323QE Rear Control Buttons

There is a power button and a multi-function menu button to access and adjust monitor settings. I wish there were four separate buttons for each input source rather than having to fiddle with a multi-function button.

Btw, here is a size comparison between the 43″ flat monitor screen against my Dell 32″ curved 4K monitor (S3221QS).

Dell U4323QE Size Comparison
Dell U4323QE Size Comparison vs. 32″ Curved Monitor

Dell U4323QE Ports & Inputs

The back of the monitor houses most of the ports, and port icons near each port identify them.

Dell U4323QE Port Panel
Dell U4323QE Rear Port Panel

The front of the monitor has two hidden quick-access ports, which include a USB-C Data port and a USB A 3.2 Gen 2 port. To access them, you have to push up on the panel to retract it and stow it back.

Dell U4323QE Front Port Panel
Dell U4323QE Front Port Panel

Monitor Adjustability

The monitor can be adjusted in the following ways:

  • 5 degrees forward tilt
  • 10 degrees backward tilt
  • 20 degree swivel right or left
  • no rotation is supported
Dell U4323QE Adjustability
Dell U4323QE Adjustability

If you plan on using a sound bar instead of the included 8W monitor speakers, you’ll have around 3.5″ of clearance to place a sound bar under the monitor. Maybe say 3.25″ to accommodate the base plate height.

Dell U4323QE Sound Bar
Dell U4323QE Sound Bar
Dell U4323QE Maximum Height
Dell U4323QE Maximum Height

At this size and pixel density, this monitor is not winning any awards for image quality and clarity. However, if you’re going to use it for productivity, coding, PDFs, data management, etc., it will work perfectly fine with or without ClearType turned on. The text is rendered clearly enough that I didn’t notice any issues with it.

The recommended display scale is 300%, but I found that far too large, and I ended up settling at a 150% scale.

Dell U4323QE Display Scale
Dell U4323QE Display Scale
Dell U4323QE Image Quality
Dell U4323QE Image Quality

If I had never used OLED before, with its incredibly perfect blacks and contrast, I would probably be happy with the Dell U4323QE. However, after using OLED panels and displays which support HDR, I found myself having a hard time with the image quality when watching videos on YouTube or streaming sites.

Dell U4323QE Image Quality Animation
Dell U4323QE Image Quality Animation

Of course, this monitor is not geared toward media consumption. It’s mostly meant for productivity and workflow efficiency, so you may not care about contrast levels and perfect blacks. In that case, it’s fine for productivity as primary use, with the occasional mixed use for media and maybe some light gaming.

Dell U4323QE White Screen
Dell U4323QE White Screen

With an all-white background, there is a minor vignette effect on the right and left sides of the screen, running vertically, but not too bad at all. There was no noticeable light bleed with an all-black screen, and although it couldn’t achieve perfect blacks, it was better than I expected.

Dell U4323QE Image Quality Black Screen
Dell U4323QE Image Quality Black Screen

The monitor has an anti-glare coating that does its job pretty well when light is shone on a dark or bright screen.

Dell U4323QE Screen Reflection Black Screen
Dell U4323QE Screen Reflection Black Screen
Dell U4323QE Screen Reflection Black Screen
Dell U4323QE Screen Reflection Black Screen

The 178 degree horizontal and vertical viewing angle works well too.

Dell U4323QE Viewing Angle
Dell U4323QE Viewing Angle
Dell U4323QE Black Levels
Dell U4323QE Black Levels
Dell U4323QE Image Quality Example
Dell U4323QE Image Quality Example

Am I being a hit harsh with the image quality? Most likely, because I have been spoiled after experiencing OLED panels with HDR support. With realistic expectations in mind, this monitor will deliver adequate image quality. Still, if you own any other display with HDR support, better contrast and brightness levels, you’ll probably want to use those for media consumption for long-term viewing sessions.

The monitor’s max brightness of 350 nits is also mediocre and best suited for office environments or rooms where light is well controlled.

If you’re buying this monitor with an emphasis on screen real estate for productivity, then it won’t disappoint.

Thinking of Gaming?

Dell U4323QE Gaming
Dell U4323QE Gaming

While it’s doable, and having a 43″ screen helps you to see things easily, it won’t be an amazing experience. The response time is slow for gaming, and so is the 60 Hz refresh rate. The lack of HDR also takes away from the gaming experience. Still, you can game casually if you’re not too picky and don’t play super competitive games.

Productivity & Workflow Efficiency

Dell U4323QE 4 Input Sources
Dell U4323QE 4 Input Sources

Here’s where the Dell U4323QE not only delivers but shines. The ability to have up to 4 separate sources displayed in full HD at 21″ diagonal is pretty handy to have.

In the above image, I have two laptops, one desktop and a PS5 connected to the U4323QE with the screen split into four partitions, each 21″ diagonal in FHD. Just amazing!

You also have the ability to use PIP and PBP. PIP allows extra customizability because you can change the size and position of the PIP screen.

Dell U4323QE PIP Small
Dell U4323QE PIP Small – 2 Sources
Dell U4323QE PIP Large
Dell U4323QE PIP Large – 2 Sources
Dell U4323QE PBP
Dell U4323QE PBP – 2 Sources

If you don’t plan on connecting lots of devices to the monitor and you just want a large screen for one device, there’s also tons of customization available. In Windows 11, you can natively split screens into preset window zones, as shown below, without any special software required.

While it would have been great to have physical buttons dedicated to switching between inputs, the next best thing we can do is to use Dell’s Display Manager software to create keyboard shortcuts to switch inputs, modify the PIP or PBP options, create custom window zone presets, and more.

Dell Display Manager Input Sources Screen
Dell Display Manager Input Sources Screen
Dell U4323QE Native Window Zones in Windows 11
Dell U4323QE Native Window Zones in Windows 11

If you want more exotic window zones outside of what Windows 11 offers natively, you can use Dell’s Display Manager software to choose from tons of window zones (only one option screen is shown below). You can also create custom zones in the software. Keep in mind that Dell’s Display Manager is only compatible with Windows 10 and Windows 11. You can learn more about it from Dell.

Dell U4323QE - Dell Display Manager Preset Zone
Dell U4323QE – Dell Display Manager Preset Zone
Dell U4323QE Dell Display Manager Window Zones
Dell U4323QE Dell Display Manager Window Zones

I spend a lot of time in Photoshop and Davinci Resolve. Here is what the workspace looks like on a 43″ monitor. Everything is quite spacious, especially in Photoshop, because I like using the flick pan option. In Resolve, the video playback window is so large that it makes checking focus easy. It’s also great to have the ability to see so many video tracks and media assets all at once without scrolling.

Davinci Resolve on the Dell U4323QE
Davinci Resolve on the Dell U4323QE
Adobe Photoshop on the Dell U4323QE
Adobe Photoshop on the Dell U4323QE

Speaker Quality

The speakers get quite loud and are good to have if you want a minimal setup, but I recommend getting a sound bar for better audio quality. Here is an example of what it sounds like: https://youtu.be/jJf8pJWPwSc?t=720

KVM & Auto KVM

I didn’t purchase this monitor to use with multiple devices as my primary use. I just wanted more screen real estate. However, I was able to set up KVM functionality through the Dell Display Manager software between the three devices I had connected, and it worked perfectly. I did not test the auto KVM feature, though.

Dell U4323QE with Desktop
Dell U4323QE with Desktop

Do I Recommend The Dell U4323QE?

I mentioned at the start of the review that I ended up returning this monitor due to the lack of HDR and being spoiled by OLED panels. However, I do find myself missing this behemoth of a monitor when editing video and photos on my smaller 32″ curved 4K monitor. The ability to see so much on the screen at once or to split screen such a large screen to work had really sped up my workflow and quality of life. I look forward to the next generation of Dell’s 43″ monitor in hopes that they improve the image quality for people who want mixed-use out of their monitor, especially for the price it costs.

For most people who aren’t spoiled like me and value productivity and workflow efficiency foremost, this is really a wonderful option. You’ll be able to see as much as you like in any software you use and have the ability to customize window zones in any configuration through Dell’s Display Manager to suit what you need the monitor to do.

The quick access front panel ports are a neat touch, too, if you constantly need to plug in a storage device. You can also power most laptops with 90W power delivery. It really offers a ton of functionality as the main selling point, so you’ll likely know what this will do for your workflow if you find your current display limiting how much you can do.

The Dell U4323QE retails for around $1300 USD, but has gone on sale for as low as $1000 USD within a few days of release, so I’d advise against paying full price for it if you can wait.

If there is anything that I missed in the review, or if you have any questions that I did not cover, please leave a comment below.

Please be advised that the link above is a referral link, which means that I earn a small commission for each qualifying sale. There is no additional cost to you.

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Adrian
Adrianhttps://demcrumbliesreviews.com
Adrian is a tech lover that enjoys helping people make the most of their tech in a simplified way.

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The Dell U4323QE 43" 4K monitor focuses on productivity, multi device connectivity, KVM, but offers average image quality and no HDR support.Dell U4323QE 43" 4K Monitor - Productivity King