Gateway HD2201 review

This trend carried over into World of Warcraft. Colors on the Gateway were deeper and fuller than the NEC, whose colors were too light. Where grass was a deep green on the Gateway, it had a slight yellowish tint to it on the NEC.

The Gateway H2201 includes a feature called Ultra Contrast that will purportedly give the monitor a 2,000:1 contrast ratio. When we used it in games and movies, we saw only that the screen got lighter and the colors became drabber as the black level rose.

We found that the best settings for viewing games and movies on the display were the Warm color temperature, Ultra contrast: off, Contrast: 45, and Brightness: 32 (more or less brightness depending on how much your eyes can take).

Gateway's official maximum brightness for the HD2201 is 300cd/m2. In our own tests, we got close with a reading of 292cd/m2. The NEC was almost as bright with 281cd/m2, while the Samsung could only muster 265cd/m2. Gateway claims a viewing angle of 160 degrees; however we noticed that the screen begins to lose color detail about 2 feet to the left or right side. At a lower viewing angle, it's more immediately noticeable. Just a couple of inches from the optimal angle (1/4 of the screen distance down), and the top of the screen gets dark and unwatchable.

The included speaker bar provides crisp sound that isn't distorted or tinny when playing music or watching movies. The maximum volume is high, but not to the point that things get distorted. It's about the maximum level you'd want unless you're trying to annoy someone in the same room.

Juice box

Gateway HD2201	Average watts per hour
On (Default Luminance)	36.36
On (Max Luminance)	40.53
On (Min Luminance)	23.32
Sleep	0.61
Calibrated (200 cd/m2)	34.1
Score	Fair
Annual energy cost (@$0.1135/kWh)	$11.86

Service and support
The monitor includes a one-year limited warranty that covers parts and labor. Gateway backs this up with 24-7 toll-free phone technical support as well as technical support via e-mail.

Find out more about how we test LCD monitors.