HP w2408 Vivid Colour Monitor

Let me begin by explaining, that having a 24 inch (61cm) LCD monitor on my desk is an experience in itself. Everything, including my 15” MacBook Pro, looks tiny in compression. To give you an idea what size ratio I’m talking about, have a look at the following image:

The HP w2408 is a beautiful, well designed monitor. The large 24” screen provides a massive 1920×1200 image resolution. The 1000:1 contrast ratio allows the HP w2408 to boast bright vibrant colours, precise image sharpness, and a solid range of shadows and highlights. The monitors’ response time is 5ms – this indicates how quickly the screen can refresh a video image – and with a variety of competitors sitting at 8ms, 10ms, and 14ms, this is a very impressive rate.

The w2408 also provides 4 USB ports allowing easy connections for a keyboard, mouse, and flash drives, especially if the monitor is connected to a tower situated under a workstation.

The monitors stand is another impressive feature. It is so well designed that one needs to apply not more than some finger pressure to move the screen up or down.

There are four types of people that I would recommend this monitor to:

1. The gamer

I played Rugby08 and loved every second being on the field. During intense gaming the refresh rate was unnoticeable and the screen brightness and sharpness was perfect. Playing on such a large screen just adds to the overall gaming experience.

The menu on the screen allows you to adjust the monitor to a specific mode of use – in this case gaming – adjusting colours and contrast ratios.

2. The photographer

Photographs get a whole new meaning when viewed on such a large size monitor. The viewing itself is an absolute fantastic experience, but what is even more incredible is digital photo editing. Using Photoshop or any other digital photo editing software is a dream. I have been digitally editing images for many years now, but never with such ease, little strain on the eyes, and appreciation of the details I could now find. Once again, a simple switch to the photo mode in the menu automatically calibrated the monitor for most suitable output quality. Changing to this mode was vital as I tried working on photo’s whilst on the text mode and witnessed a very grainy resolution.

3. The movie watcher

The image quality from a DVD is outstanding. The screen might look a little dark if not tilted properly, and this needs to be done quite accurately to enjoy the best image quality. The built-in speakers however are nothing to be desired - they are extremely weak, lack in volume and bass, and are not really usable – but a 5.1 surround sound speaker system would appropriately add to the viewing experience for gaming and for movies.

4. The office worker

The w2408 is the perfect office worker companion. The screen is large enough to allow 2 spreadsheets/text documents to be opened simultaneously. I found having a browser and a text document open at the same time very useful – for example whilst doing research online and writing this review.

This screen is perfect for someone who works in front of a computer all day long, no matter if doing research, working on spreadsheets, editing video or photographs, or watching DVD’s (hopefully not at work).

If you consider yourself being one of the above, then this monitor will fulfil your every needs.

This monitor would be a potential purchase for me personally, so I compared it to what I thought was the actual ultimate in LCD displays – the Apple 23” Cinema Display.

Here is the surprising compression study:

The HP is the definite winner of the day!

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(2 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

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Filed Under Computing, Displays, Featured Reviews, Hewlett Packard