HP w2007 20.1-Inch Wide-Screen LCD Monitor

HP's well put-together w2007 ($260 as of December 10, 2007) 20.1-inch wide-screen LCD ended up in a virtual dead heat with the Samsung 205BW. Its razor-sharp text in office documents and lusciously deep colors gained it a Very Good score overall. Its biggest weakness is in producing discernible dark shades of color or text against a dark background. But in general, it's a praiseworthy monitor.

The monitor's integrated speakers, located in the back panel, were too feeble for movie audio or any type of multivolume music. Though they handled swelling soundtracks well, whispered dialogue became too easy to miss. Classical music was also passably audible when all instruments were playing loudly, but not when the music played softly.

The monitor easily produced rich, beautiful colors in my viewing of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. However, I found the glossy screen a little distracting, particularly in dark scenes where the room's reflections were at their worst. Yellows, coppers, and oranges in an autumn scene were a delight to view.

A swiveling mechanism hides under the silver-and-black cantilevered stand, allowing the monitor to swing fluidly to the left and right. It also offers a tilt adjustment. Two nubs on either side of the hinge that allow the tilt also provide a rudimentary type of cable management. Though sufficient at keeping the few cables that you'll ever use with this monitor out of the way, it's not as sophisticated as I've seen on some monitors, such as the Dell 2007WFP or even HP's 22-inch display, the w2207.

The on-screen display (OSD) provides common settings controls, such as brightness, contrast, and color, but it doesn't have presets. The downloadable My Display replaces the OSD via an easy-to-read interface, and also provides brightness and color presets such as Text, Movie, Photo, Gaming, and Custom (user defined). My Display also includes color calibration and speaker controls.

First tested for our February 2008 feature "The Wide World of Monitors," HP's stylish w2007 monitor climbed to the top of PC World's performance charts, and it should find a place on top of your desk, as well.