The SE2725HM is named as our best overall pick for a straightforward reason: it does the fundamentals of a general office monitor well and does not try to be anything more, at a price that reflects that restraint.
Quick verdict: Buy this if you want a reliable, well-specified FHD monitor for general office work and do not need more than one HDMI connection. Look elsewhere if you need DisplayPort, USB-C, or built-in speakers — this monitor has none of them.
A note on how this review was built: we have not tested this monitor hands-on. Every specification below is verified directly against Dell’s own official product documentation. We will update this page once a unit has been through our process. See our Methodology.
Key specifications
| Screen size | 27 inches |
|---|---|
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 (FHD) |
| Panel type | IPS |
| Refresh rate | 100Hz |
| Contrast ratio | 1000:1 |
| Colour gamut | 72% NTSC |
| Viewing angles | 178° / 178° |
| Ports | 1x HDMI (HDCP 1.4), 1x VGA |
| Adjustability | Tilt only |
| VESA mount | Yes, 100x100mm |
Build quality
A compact frame with a built-in power supply, so there is no external power brick to route around your desk — a small but genuine tidiness advantage over monitors that need one. The stand offers tilt adjustment only, and Dell’s own specification confirms no height, swivel or pivot movement is available on this base model. Physical footprint is modest at 24.5 inches wide and just over 2 inches deep at the panel itself, which suits a shallow desk without needing to check clearance carefully.
Display quality
The IPS panel delivers Dell’s stated 178° viewing angles in both directions, meaning colour and brightness stay consistent even well off-centre — a genuine IPS advantage over the VA panels found in some competing budget monitors. Contrast sits at a standard 1000:1, and colour gamut is rated at 72% NTSC, both unremarkable figures for this category and price, consistent with a monitor built for text and document clarity rather than colour-critical work. Text clarity at 1080p on a 27-inch panel is adequate for general office use, though readers doing dense, detail-heavy work may notice the resolution more than they would on a smaller screen — see our monitor guide for the size-to-resolution relationship in more detail.
Connectivity
A naming clarification worth stating before anything else: Dell also sells a similarly named Dell Pro 27 Monitor, model E2725HM, which does include both HDMI and DisplayPort at 100Hz. It is a different product from the SE2725HM reviewed here, despite the near-identical model code, and has meaningfully different connectivity. Confirm the exact model code before buying if DisplayPort matters to you.
The SE2725HM itself provides exactly one HDMI port (HDCP 1.4, supporting up to FHD at 100Hz) and one VGA connector — nothing else. There is no DisplayPort, no USB-C, no USB hub of any kind, and Dell’s own specification confirms no audio line-out either. Cable management is limited to a basic routing slot on the stand rather than a fully enclosed channel.
The practical limitation: with only one video input, this monitor cannot run a KVM-style switch between two computers, and a modern USB-C laptop will need an HDMI adapter to connect at all — an extra cost and an extra point of failure that a monitor with native USB-C would avoid. This is the clearest trade-off of the SE2725HM’s price, not a minor footnote.
Ergonomics
Tilt-only, with no height, swivel or pivot adjustment — a genuine limitation if the fixed height does not match your eye level. It is VESA compatible at the standard 100x100mm pattern, so a separate monitor arm resolves this cleanly if needed, at additional cost. See our monitor guide for how to judge correct monitor height regardless of which stand you end up using.
Eye comfort
Dell markets this monitor’s ComfortView Plus feature as reducing “harmful blue light exposure.” We want to be direct about the evidence here: a Cochrane systematic review and multiple independent studies have found no meaningful reduction in eye strain from blue-light-filtering technology, and there is no established evidence that typical screen blue light exposure causes lasting harm. What ComfortView Plus does technically do is reduce blue light output while using panel-level hardware adjustment rather than a software colour shift, which means it does not wash the whole image yellow the way basic “night mode” software often does — a genuine, if narrower, technical advantage over cruder alternatives.
The monitor also carries TÜV Rheinland 3-star certification, a genuine third-party standard, though it reflects the same category of flicker and blue-light measurement rather than a broader eye-strain guarantee. For factors with stronger evidence behind them — brightness matching, glare reduction, the 20-20-20 rule — see our monitor guide.
Everyday productivity
For email, documents, spreadsheets, video calls and general browsing, this monitor covers the fundamentals well — the 100Hz refresh rate makes scrolling through long documents and web pages noticeably smoother than a standard 60Hz panel, which is the one genuinely useful office-relevant benefit of the higher refresh rate, distinct from any gaming use case this monitor is not built for.
Colour performance
72% NTSC colour gamut and standard 1000:1 contrast are unremarkable figures, and this is not a monitor to buy for colour-sensitive work. Who it suits: general office use where colour accuracy is not a professional requirement. Who should choose another monitor: designers, photographers and video editors, for whom the Dell UltraSharp U3225QE is the more appropriate pick in this same lineup.
Strengths
- Genuine IPS panel with wide 178° viewing angles, not a cost-cut alternative panel type.
- 100Hz refresh rate delivers a real, noticeable smoothness improvement for scrolling and reading.
- Compact footprint and built-in power supply keep the desk tidy.
- ComfortView Plus’s hardware-level blue-light reduction avoids the yellow colour shift of software night-mode alternatives.
Weaknesses
- Exactly one HDMI port and one VGA connector — no DisplayPort, no USB-C, no USB hub at all.
- Tilt-only stand, with no height, swivel or pivot adjustment.
- No audio output, confirmed directly in Dell’s own specification.
- Standard 1000:1 contrast and 72% NTSC colour gamut — unremarkable figures, fine for office work but not for anything colour-sensitive.
- We cannot yet confirm any of this hands-on — every specification here is drawn from Dell’s own documentation.
Alternatives
The Dell UltraSharp U3225QE is worth the significant price step up specifically if you need DisplayPort or USB-C connectivity, colour-critical accuracy, or a full docking hub — none of which the SE2725HM offers at any price. The Samsung Smart Monitor M7 is worth considering instead if you want a monitor that doubles as a smart TV, a genuinely different use case this monitor does not attempt to serve. Both are covered in detail in our buying guide.
Value for money
At roughly £150–200, this delivers a genuine IPS panel and a real 100Hz refresh rate — both meaningful upgrades over a typical budget 60Hz TN or VA monitor at a similar price. The value proposition depends entirely on whether the single-HDMI connectivity is enough for your setup; if it is, this is a well-specified monitor for the money.
Prices shown are UK retail at the time of writing and change frequently. Always confirm the current price with the retailer before buying.
Who should buy it
Anyone who wants a reliable, well-specified FHD monitor for general office work, connects via a single HDMI source, and does not need height adjustment, DisplayPort, USB-C, or built-in audio.
Who should avoid it
Anyone who needs to connect via DisplayPort or USB-C, wants height or swivel adjustment without buying a separate arm, needs built-in speakers, or does colour-sensitive work.
Frequently asked questions
Does the SE2725HM have DisplayPort or USB-C?
No — it has exactly one HDMI port and one VGA connector, confirmed directly in Dell’s specification. A similarly named Dell Pro E2725HM does include DisplayPort; do not confuse the two model codes.
Does ComfortView Plus actually reduce eye strain?
The evidence for blue-light filtering reducing eye strain is weak — a Cochrane review found no meaningful benefit. What it does do is reduce blue light output without the yellow tint of software-based night modes, which is a real but narrower technical feature than the marketing implies.
Can I add a monitor arm for height adjustment?
Yes — it supports the standard 100x100mm VESA mount, so a separate arm resolves the tilt-only limitation at additional cost.
Final verdict
A genuinely solid general-purpose monitor, not a perfect one. The IPS panel and 100Hz refresh rate are real strengths for the price, but the single-HDMI, no-USB connectivity is a hard limit worth checking against your actual setup before buying — not a footnote to skim past.
See our best monitors for home office guide for how this compares against the other four picks, our home office monitor guide for the principles behind this review, or our home office setup guide for the broader decision this fits into.
Last reviewed: 24 July 2026. Next review due: October 2026.