Digital Trends

HP LP2465 July 26th, 2006 | by Ian Bell

We have always been impressed with HP’s LCD monitor lines, so we were excited to get our hands on the LP2465, a 24-inch business class monitor. At first glance, the styling is very similar to the L2335 23-inch monitor we reviewed a couple years ago, but there are several key differences. First of all, the LP2465 only comes with two DVI inputs ditching analog VGA altogether. The LP2465 is also missing the S-Video and Component Video inputs found on the L2335, including Picture-in-Picture. But that’s ok because this monitor is meant solely for the office environment, although there is sure to be those that yearn for a little more features.  

So what exactly does the LP2465 do? The LP2465 uses a Super PVA panel manufactured by Samsung this time around instead of LG.Philips. This new panel has a 6ms response rate which is great for a 24-inch monitor and is capable of a 1920x1200 resolution at 60Hz. The spec sheet says this monitor has a contrast ratio of up to 1000:1 which is very high, but keep in mind that this number is not as important as what you might think. We have seen some LCD monitors that looked bright with deep black levels despite having a lower rated contrast ratio; it all depends on the panel and LCD circuitry being used.  

The LP2465 comes with two DVI inputs and an integrated 4-port USB hub. If your PC is still using an older analog VGA video connection, then don’t worry because HP includes a DVI-to-VGA adapter which will work with your PC. In fact, HP includes every cable you need including multiple DVI cables and USB cables. The Gateway FPD2185 we reviewed in January didn’t even come with all of the necessary cables you need to get it up and running; instead you have to spend another $35 dollars for the cables. We are a little disappointed to see that HP left the integrated media card reader and S-Video features out. We were told that because this is a business-class monitor that media card readers pose a security risk so it does not make much sense. While that may be true, a USB connection on a monitor poses the same type of risk (think Thumb drives), and the LP2465 has those integrated into it; so it probably really comes down to trying to keeping manufacturing costs down. 

If you are looking for a monitor that doubles as a TV monitor, then the LP2465 is definitely not for you. Instead we would recommend the HP f2105 21-inch monitor which we reviewed last December. Otherwise, check out the Dell UltraSharp 240WFP 24-inch monitor which comes with Component and S-Video inputs, a 9-in-1 media card reader and HDCP support for high-definition playback – it can be found for about the same price as the LP2465 and is meant more for the home environment.

One of the coolest features on the LP2465 is their built-in cable management system. A soft piece of rubber trails the outline of the bezel on the backside of the monitor and down the stand. This cable management system allows you to hide the cables behind the rubber keeping it out of site both when using their stand or when the monitor is wall mounted; it’s an ingenious design.  There are also a number of small holes in an embedded track system on the back of the monitor including the top, sides and bottom. This track allows you to screw in accessories such as the HP speaker system, on all sides regardless of the screen orientation, and when being wall mounted.

Cable management and accessory track systems

Image Courtesy of HP