Dell P2213: What Real Users Say About Daily Use

Name: Dell P2213
Brand: Dell

Mar 2026

Last Analyzed

6/10

Overall Rating

Positive Reviews

Negative Reviews

Summary

The Dell P2213 is a budget-friendly 1680×1050 monitor from 2013 that Reddit users frequently pick up second-hand for home office or multi-monitor setups at very low cost. Overall sentiment is pragmatically positive — users appreciate its build quality and value for the price, but the conversation is dominated by connectivity headaches, especially with modern AMD GPUs over DisplayPort. It's viewed as a reliable workaround monitor when you need extra screen real estate without spending much, but it requires patience to set up correctly with newer hardware. The audience is budget-conscious users, office workers, and people building secondary monitor setups on the cheap.

Pros

Extremely cheap to find second-hand — users report picking up units for as little as €30-35 each, making it one of the most affordable ways to add a monitor to any setup
Solid build quality for its age — multiple users still running them daily years after purchase with no hardware failures reported
Multiple input options (VGA, DVI, DisplayPort) give flexibility for connecting to older and newer systems alike
Works reliably over DVI and VGA with virtually any hardware, making it a no-fuss fallback for setups that don't need DisplayPort
Built-in USB hub is functional once properly connected via USB-B upstream cable, useful for powering peripherals
Good fit for portrait-mode secondary monitor use cases — lightweight and easy to rotate on compatible stands

Cons

DisplayPort connectivity is a recurring nightmare with modern AMD GPUs (RX 6600, RX 6650 XT, RX 6800 XT) — monitor frequently enters power save mode and refuses to output signal without elaborate workarounds
Decade-old drivers create real compatibility friction; Dell's official drivers are outdated and sometimes the monitor is only detected as a generic Plug and Play device
Native resolution of 1680×1050 is a non-standard aspect ratio that some users find limiting — not 1080p and not widescreen, meaning it doesn't fit neatly into modern multi-monitor workflows
Maximum 60Hz refresh rate makes it unsuitable for gaming or any use case where smooth motion matters
USB ports on the monitor require the upstream USB-B cable to be connected to the host PC — easy to overlook and causes confusion
DisplayPort-to-DisplayPort connections often fail entirely on modern GPUs; most workarounds involve DVI-to-HDMI adapters, which adds cable clutter and cost

DisplayPort and Modern AMD GPUs: A Known Headache

Across multiple threads, users with RX 6600, RX 6650 XT, and RX 6800 XT cards report the same issue: the P2213 goes into power save mode immediately after Windows loads when connected via DisplayPort. Workarounds exist — forcing 70Hz in AMD Adrenalin, using a second monitor during initial setup, or switching to DVI-to-HDMI — but none are plug-and-play.

Is a €30 Monitor Worth the Setup Pain?

Reddit's verdict on value is split by use case. Users who only need DVI or VGA connections call it an effortless bargain. Users who need DisplayPort for a modern GPU build describe a frustrating hours-long troubleshooting process just to get a signal. The monitor is genuinely cheap, but the hidden cost is time.

Still Running in Offices a Decade Later

Several users report inheriting P2213 units from workplace desk swaps or buying them in bulk for home office use. The consensus is that the hardware itself holds up — no dead pixels, no backlight failures mentioned. It's the software and connectivity layer, not the panel, that causes grief.

User Reviews (20 of 73 analyzed)

distroxr/r/ffxiv13d agonegative

The issue unlikely has anything to do with the monitor at all. It entering power saving mode just means it lost the signal, and because the monitor is on but not connected to anything, it goes to power saving mode.