Dell UltraSharp 2405FPW

CNET editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 4.0 stars Excellent
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 8.0 (4.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Kristina Blachere
• Edited by:
  Lara Luepke
• Reviewed on: 06/17/2005

We've seen a few jumbo LCDs lately, including the Sony PremierPro SDM-P234 and the Apple Cinema HD display, that offer excellent image quality and stunning design in addition to a vast viewing area. Unfortunately, neither of the aforementioned displays provides much in the way of features or adjustability, and both cost a pretty penny. Enter the Dell UltraSharp 2405FPW. This gigantic 24-inch LCD offers comparable image quality to that of the 23-inchers from Sony and Apple, but with many more features, including top-notch image quality, multiple video inputs, a bank of flash-card slots, several USB ports, and a full range of adjustability options. And priced at $1,199, it costs hundreds less than the competition.

The UltraSharp 2405FPW's design is pure Dell, which is to say sturdy, circumspect, and unimpeachably up-to-date. In this case, it works well because the display's casing and stand seem to melt into the background, leaving the 24-inch-diagonal screen to carry the show. The dark-gray plastic bezel is a narrow 0.75-inch wide on all sides, and the six small, round buttons embedded in the bottom-right corner are unobtrusive enough for us to tolerate their being visible at all. The buttons power up the display, switch between inputs, launch the picture-in-picture window and menu, and navigate through the onscreen menu (OSM). Tiny numbers (one through five) in a row next to the buttons light up to help you navigate the settings.

Along the back panel are easily accessible DVI, VGA, composite, component, and S-Video inputs, along with a 12V audio jack to which you can connect optional 14-watt Dell Sound Bar speakers that clip to the bottom bezel of the display. You'll also find an upstream USB port and two downstream USB ports for connecting peripherals. Hidden on the left edge of the bezel is an array of card slots for all of the popular flash-card formats, as well as two more downstream USB ports. To use the card slots, you must connect the upstream USB port to your PC (a USB cable is included). Once you do, Windows will recognize the slots as drives in My Computer, and you can view their contents or save data to them.

An LCD this big and heavy (22.1 pounds), with such a multitude of connectivity options, needs two things: a cable-management system and a sturdy neck and base. The Dell UltraSharp 2405FPW has both. Cable containment is achieved with a rubber half-tube attached to the back of the neck. The tube is split down the middle so that you can cram cords into it to keep them out of sight. The UltraSharp 2405FPW's solid neck telescopes smoothly from a low of 3.5 inches to a high of 7.75 inches above the desktop. The heavy half-circular plastic base doesn't wobble when you tilt the panel, swivel it from left to right, or pivot it between Portrait and Landscape mode. You'll need two hands to perform these adjustments, but only because the monitor is so big. All movements are extremely smooth to execute, and if you choose to attach the display to a VESA wall mount, the panel pops off at the press of a button.

The Dell UltraSharp 2405FPW's OSM is easy to navigate, with all submenus arranged in a column. In addition to the usual adjustments for color temperature, brightness, and OSM position, there is a zoom function that lets you zero in on details in an image. The image looked quite blurry when we tried this, but it might come in handy if you're a movie extra trying to find yourself in crowd scenes. We were also impressed by the picture-in-picture (PIP) menu of the OSM. Not only can you choose from three sizes for the PIP window, you can also adjust the brightness, the contrast, and the hue. The display does picture-by-picture, which lays two equal-size screens side by side.

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Reviews from around the WebPowered by alaTest

• alaTest.com

  Editors' rating: 89

  Summary: alaTest has collected and analyzed 456 reviews of Dell UltraSharp 2005FPW / 2405FPW from international magazines and websites. Experts rate this product 81/100 and users 87/100. Comparing these reviews to 94020 other Monitors reviews gives this product an overall alaScore™ 89/100 = Very Good.

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• pcworld.com

  Editors' rating: 81

  Summary: Overall, moving images looked best when played at small size in a picture-in-picture window. Despite this 24-inch wide-screen monitor appeal when used for office tasks, it won't replace a TV for full-screen DVD viewing

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• epinions.com

  Editors' rating: 100

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• thetechlounge.com

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• macworld.com

  Editors' rating: 80

  Summary: Dell's wide-screen, 24-inch display features the same 1,920-by-1,200 resolution as Apple's 23-inch model, but gives the pixels a little extra breathing room by adding a diagonal inch of screen space. Dell's display also includes quite a few more ...

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• personal computer world

  Editors' rating: 60

  Summary: The only monitor here with pivot capability, and a compact no-fuss design that takes up minimal desk space

  Read full review