Features and Design

As of the date of this review, Dell supplies around 60% of all displays used in corporate America. The low cost but high quality of the early Dell display line, coupled with low bundle prices, gave the PC maker a foothold into the market they now lead. The most significant break into the consumer desktop market occurred with the 2001FP 20.1-in. display, which was given high marks by nearly every site that reviewed it. The quick response time, brightness, and low cost made the 2001FP the darling of the gaming community, and a great option for graphic designers looking for a break from the high prices of Apple monitors. Since then, aggressive pricing and high quality panels have taken Dell to the top of the market.

The 2405FPW marks Dell’s entry into the 24-in. LCD category. The significance of this display is beyond simply expanding the product line. The only other 21-in.+ options on the market by a large manufacturer, as of this writing, are Apple and HP. Apple offers both 23-in. and 30-in. displays, whose sleek, brushed aluminum finish inspires techno-lust in all who see them. For a while, these two displays stood alone. HP’s L2335 uses the same LCD display panel as the 23-inch Apple Cinema Display, developed by Lg- Philips and won our Editor’s Choice Award last year. If you wanted a 23-in. display, you had only two options, and the price premium could be rationalized by taking into account the fancy finish or exclusivity of being the first on the block with one of these impressive displays. The Dell 2405FPW offers an extra inch, better all-around specs, and a significantly lower price (especially when bundled with a system), compared to the Apple and HP equivalent. To anyone on a budget, the decision is a no-brainer.

Out of the box, you get the LCD panel, desktop stand, DVI cable, VGA cable, USB cable, and driver CD. The stand is of the standard Dell variety, used for years. It allows for tilting up and down and side-to-side, in addition to raising and lowering the neck of the mount. The connection point in the back of the panel is a standard VESA mount (and a $30 option for Apple displays). The stand will consume 8x12-in. of desk space, with an empty space large enough for a PDA or MP3 player docking station. The back of the stand’s neck has a rubberized clasp for cable management. We’ve seen some better cable schemes, specifically by Samsung, but the Dell option gets the job done.

The panel itself has a nice thin bezel around the 24-in. diagonal, 16:10 aspect ratio screen. All controls are located in the bottom right corner, along with an LED backlit number that indicates the selected input. The controls include Input Selection, PIP mode, Menu, and Plus and Minus. PIP has two modes:  Boxed and Side-By-Side. The position and size of the PIP box can be adjusted, and the two inputs can be swapped or placed side-by-side, essentially turning the 2405 into a cheap dual monitor setup (although we’d never recommend it for that use). Integrated features include a four-port USB 2.0 hub, with two ports mounted along the left side, and two in the back next to the input ports. The side-mounted ports are intended for use with USB flash drives and other devices where quick connection/disconnection would be convenient. Above the side USB ports is a built-in 9-in-1 flash media reader, for quick access to nearly all types of memory cards used in digital cameras.

If you have a video device, the 2405 has an input for it. The native resolution of 1920x1200 can be driven through the DVI, VGA, component, S-video, or composite inputs. With the recent introduction of a 30-in. display, it should be noted that most video cards will be able to drive the 2405 at maximum resolution. The resolution of the 30-in. displays requires so much bandwidth that a dual-link DVI capable card must be used to drive it. This is not the case, thankfully, with the 2405FPW. Essentially any graphics card purchased in the last two years should drive the 2405, with the exception of many laptop chips. We had no problem driving the 2405 with our Radeon 9800XT.

Dell gives you a three year warranty with this monitor which is industry standard. It's worth pointing out that Gateway only has a one year warranty on most of their monitors and you have to pay them extra for a longer warranty.

Image Courtesy of Dell