Dell UltraSharp 2007FP review: Dell UltraSharp 2007FP

Dell gets just about everything right with the UltraSharp 2007FP. The $539 price is competitive, and the combination of ergonomic design, chic good looks, and practical extras is sure to please home and business users alike. Many more-expensive 20-inch LCDs, such as the Samsung SyncMaster 204T and the HP LP2065 offer similar adjustability and performance, but both monitors lack the variety of inputs and the low cost of the Dell UltraSharp 2007FP. For identical features in a wide-screen format, check out our review of the Dell UltraSharp 2007WFP.

The 20.1-inch Dell 2007FP features the same two-tone color scheme and attractive, versatile design as other members of the UltraSharp family. A thin, black bezel frames the screen, and a slim neck extends from a Y-shape base. This design offers exceptional flexibility, with 45 degrees of swivel to the right and left and five inches of height adjustment. The panel also pivots from landscape to portrait mode and tilts 5 degrees forward and 20 degrees back. The pivoting action is a bit stiff, and the short back leg of the base makes the 2007FP a tad unsteady, but the overall merits of the design far outweigh these minor shortcomings.

Lined up on the 2007FP's back panel are connection ports for DVD-D, VGA, composite video, and S-Video, as well as one upstream and two downstream USB 2.0 ports and a 12-volt audio jack for connecting the optional $29 Dell Sound Bar. Two more downstream USB 2.0 ports are tucked behind the monitor's left bezel. Dell includes analog and digital cords as well as a USB cord.

Five control panel buttons are clearly labeled with white-on-black icons for switching input signal and navigating the onscreen menu (OSM). Dell takes an interesting approach to its OSM layout; instead of a box in the middle of the screen, the OSM is a line of squares along the monitor's bottom edge labeled Exit, Brightness & Contrast (contrast is VGA-only), Auto Adjust (VGA-only), Input Source, Color Settings, Image Modes, Display Settings, Menu Settings, and PIP Settings. When you select a square, it brightens a little and its tiny icon changes color, but even with these cues, it's difficult to tell which option you're selecting. To complicate matters, each adjustment option has its own menu and submenu of adjustment choices to scroll through. This allows for a plethora of adjustment options, but the menus are difficult to navigate; we wish there were dedicated shortcut buttons for the most-common image adjustments, such as brightness and contrast.

The Dell 2007FP performed extremely well on CNET Labs' DisplayMate-based performance tests. At its native 1,600x1,200 resolution, the 2007FP's text was black, sharp, and entirely legible. Grayscales progressed smoothly from deep black to bright white, with only very minor pink and green tints. The 2007FP's colors were bold and accurate, though in our color tests, red took on an orange cast and light blue appeared slightly violet, and adjusting the screen's settings didn't eliminate these errors.

DVD playback on the Dell 2007FP was only average, which is not surprising, considering the 2007FP's middling 16-millisecond pixel-response rate. We noticed average amounts of digital noise and ghosting, though errors weren't excessive. Games, however, looked sharp with lots of detail in both bright and dark areas and vivid colors throughout.

The Dell 2007FP comes with an industry-standard three-year warranty and 24/7 toll-free tech support. You can buy one additional year of coverage for $29 or two years for $49. User guides, product support, troubleshooting tips, and a Dell-hosted customer information-sharing forum are all available on Dell's Web site.