Lenovo ThinkVision L2440p review: Lenovo ThinkVision L2440p

The Lenovo ThinkVision L2440p is a 24-inch LCD monitor that's functional, flexible, and fairly priced. It includes the "ergonomic trifecta" of screen pivoting, rotation, and height adjustment, as well as the "video connection trifecta" of VGA, DVI, and HDMI. It turned in excellent performance in games and movies, showing accurate color reproduction and deep blacks. At $550, it costs $200 less than the ThinkVision L2440x, which has an identical form factor but includes LED backlighting. The performance of the two displays is so close that it's almost as if you're getting the same display for less. There are cheaper LCDs, such as the $390 V7 D24w33, but its performance cannot compare with the L2440p's. The $620 Dell UltraSharp 2408WFP is still the best all-around performing 24-inch display, but it's also one of the most expensive. If you're looking for a well-priced 24-inch model for movies and games, we recommend the Samsung SyncMaster T240HD. For basic office work, the V7 will suffice, and the Dell UltraSharp 2408WFP is tempting, if you have the funds. In the middle sits the ThinkVision L2440p, a decently priced 24-inch display that does movies, games, and office productivity well while supplying a host of ergonomic features.

Design and features
The Lenovo ThinkVision L2440p is a practically designed and elegant-looking display with a smooth dark gray matte finish. Compared with the HP w2408h True Color Widescreen with its long 1.25-inch wide bezel, the Lenovo's smaller, 0.75-inch wide bezel takes up a little less room on your desktop, even though the screen sizes are the same. The panel depth continues this trend; it's only 1.25 inches thick, compared with the Dell UltraSharp 2408WFP's 1.8-inch thick panel and the Samsung SyncMaster T240HD, whose panel is 2.2 inches thick. The flat half-moon-shaped footstand is 12.25 inches wide and 8.25 inches deep. This is a wide footstand, but we found that when the screen is adjusted to its maximum 4.5 inches, the display wobbles quite a bit when knocked from the sides. However, when the panel is at its lowest height, there is minimal wobbling. The screen pivots 90 degrees vertically and rotates about 50 degrees to the left and right. It tilts back about 20 degrees.

On the back, the connection options--including DVI, VGA, and HDMI--have been placed off to the left side a couple inches away from the neck, making reaching them and connecting cables a simple and quick process. On the left side of the panel, hidden from direct frontal view, are three USB ports placed one on top of the other.

Next to the video connections is an additional USB downstream port and one USB upstream port. Under the neck of the stand, on the back panel, is a strap used to route the power and video cables to the center of the display. You can then use the included plastic covering, which attaches to the back of the stand, and will then funnel the cables in a neat and orderly fashion. There is a wide groove in the top back of the panel, which is used as a carrying handle for increased portability. The handle is comfortable and even my hands--which are fairly big--were able to fit in the groove easily.

The onscreen display array is located in the lower right-hand corner of the bezel and comprises four buttons. Brightness and contrast controls are included as are color options. You can change the color temperature based on the four presets that include Reddish, Bluish, Neutral, and SRGB. Conversely, the OSD allows you to access and change the values for red, blue, and green directly.

The features we really appreciate are the specific controls that let you customize the OSD directly. Being able to set the menu position and how long it stays onscreen before disappearing can be useful tools when calibrating. Each OSD button is thin, but wide enough so that if calibrating in a dark room you'll be able to run your fingers over them without easily overshooting the button you're looking for. You'll have to memorize the button placement though, since the only illumination you'd have in a dark room is the single green LED to the right of the power button.

Manufacturer's specifications:
Resolution: 1,920x1,200
Pixel-response rate: 5ms
Contrast ratio: 1,000:1
Brightness: 300cd/m²
Connectivity: HDMI, DVI, VGA
HDCP compliant? Yes
Included video cables? HDMI, DVI

Performance
The Lenovo ThinkVision L2440p posted a composite score of 87 on CNET Labs' DisplayMate-based performance tests. Although the display scored high in most of our color accuracy tests, the reigning 24-inch performance champ, the Dell UltraSharp 2408WFP with a score of 90, had more visibly accurate color during DisplayMate tests. The Lenovo ThinkVision L2440x, which shares the same design as the L2440p, but uses LED backlighting, scored an 88. The only differences we noticed were slightly less accurate colors and more backlight bleed through on dark screens on the L2440p. In normal room lighting while doing office work, it was hard to see a difference in quality.

The Lenovo ThinkVision L2440p scored a maximum brightness rating of 268cd/m², which trailed slightly behind the L2440x's brightness score of 286cd/m² and way behind the Dell, which scored 452cd/m² in maximum brightness. We noticed that when viewing the CCFL-based screen of the L2440p for more than a few seconds our eyes would feel strained, but when looking at the L2440x's screen, which is LED-based, we did not perceive of any strain. This occurred even when both monitors had their brightness set to zero. Your mileage may vary when it comes to eyestrain, but we thought it was worth mentioning.

World of Warcraft looked great on the L2440p with vivid and accurate colors that were not saturated and had no signs of streaking. The game looks less soft and the edges of the polygonal model are more prominent when compared with the L2440x, which had a soft focus look to it. The image on the L2440p was not jaggy, but didn't feel as soft as it did on the L2440x.

In CNET Labs monitor test room, our lab benches sit higher than a normal desk. Given this, the lower viewing angle of a monitor is immediately noticeable, especially when playing a game. While playing WoW, unless we were at the optimal level to the screen (one-quarter of the screen distance down), there would be visible shadows at the top of the screen that made details difficult to see. So if you're slouching while Web surfing or gaming, be prepared to have a difficult time seeing the detail. You could always just sit up straight, but in our opinion, you shouldn't have to.

As for movie playback, we watched a few choice scenes in Kill Bill Vol. 1. In this real world test, the L2440p had a good black level and while it was not as dark as the L2440x, it was on a par with the Dell 2408WFP and the Samsung SyncMaster T240HD. While the color of the Dell looked oversaturated at times and the Samsung looked slightly muted, on the L2440p's color looked more accurate, but not quite as good as the L2440x's. When we turned the brightness down to its lowest on all four monitors, the L2440x still had the deeper blacks. The L2440p produced accurate colors too, but thanks to its higher black level the colors weren't quite as precise as the L2440x.

Find out more about how we test LCD monitors.

Service and support
Lenovo supports the ThinkVision L2440p with a three-year warranty that covers the backlight. Lenovo offers 24-7 toll free phone support, but, unfortunately, it doesn't offer e-mail or chat support.