Lenovo ThinkVision L220x LCD Review

by Kevin O'Brien

Notebooks have always had a place in business settings, but having a relatively small and dim screen makes them a pain to use in bright offices. This is where your external monitor comes in to save the day, with a brighter screen and usually a higher resolution. One such monitor is the Lenovo ThinkVision WUXGA L220x, offering a massive amount of screen real estate with a bright and accurate LCD panel.

The Lenovo ThinkVision L220x has the following specifications:

• 22.0-inch (559.0 mm) viewable image size
• Native resolution: 1920 x 1200
• Brightness: 325cd/m2
• CRT Size in Inches: 22.0
• Contrast Ratio: 1200:1
• Response time (grey to grey): 6 ms
• Viewing angle (typical) Horizontal: +/- 89 degrees, Vertical: +/- 89 degrees
• High definition 1080p video content (Full HDD) support
• Wide viewing angles enlarge user's workspace for comfortable viewing
• Supports High Definition Content Protection (HDCP)
• 92% color gamut
• Compliance with ENERGY STAR 4.0 requirements
• Four USB ports
• Dual input allows attachment to two systems simultaneously
• Internal power with 90 watts power consumption
• Actual Power: 80w at brightness peak, 43w at low
• Meets 100 mm VESA standard for mounting
• Detachable base for wall or arm mounting (other mounts sold separately)
• Available in business black
• Kensington Lock slot for security
• MSRP: $499
• 3-Year Warranty

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Build and Design

The design of the L220x monitor is very basic, and almost blends into the background when you are using it on your desk. The screen bezel is a dark grey plastic, that doesn't catch your eye when viewing the screen like a glossy or bright color might. The interface buttons are located bottom right-hand corner of the display, and blend in quite well with the rest of the display. In a way you could say it looks like a bland ThinkPad design, but who really buys a screen for what the outside looks like anyways?

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Build quality is pretty impressive, although the screen is a bit on the chunky side from the rear. This display has more depth than your average display, or at least looks like it because the casing has no curved panels or anything to make it visually appealing, it's all business with this LCD.

Mounting Options

This display offers a wide range of mounting configurations, with one being the included desk stand, and the countless others through the VESA 100mm standardized attachment point.

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The included desk stand matches the basic design of the display panel, and offers a decent amount of adjustment to position it to your liking. See below for the full range of movement offered by the included stand:

• Tilt 0 degrees forward to 30 degrees backward
• Swivel +/- 45 degrees
• Height adjustment 4.33"

The mounting option I chose for this display was my ErgoTron mount from a prior review, which could elevate this monster up off my desk so it wouldn't take up such a big footprint.

Image quality

With image quality being one (if not the only) reason why people buy a certain LCD, you will be happy to know that this monitor excels in almost all areas. Colors are bright and vibrant, with full individual color adjustment to tweak the picture if required. Out of the box images were weighted slightly green, but a minor adjustment of the color profile fixed it.

Black levels were very even, with almost no bleed or hot spots on all black screens. Viewing angles were almost unbelievable with little to no color inversion or distortion at all extreme angles.

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Images could be viewed at steep enough angles that the screen bezel would block the image before anything would change with the color. This type of range I have not seen on anything but my IPS FlexView screen found on my ThinkPad in the past.

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Power Consumption and Heat

The power draw with this 22" Lenovo LCD is three times greater than my older Dell 17" screen, but still less than a 100w light bulb. Average consumption was 70w, and this was at 75% brightness. Most of the power is consumed by the lamps, which have a range of 43w to 80w depending on screen brightness. This could also be felt in heat belching out of the top vents that registers close to 130F from my IR temp gun.

Conclusion

The Lenovo ThinkVision WUXGA L220x display offers an amazing resolution not seen with any other monitors of this size, as well as great image quality that you would expect from a high-end display. For business users who might find their laptop pulling double duty in the office or on the road, this display would be a great addition to their desk.

Pros

• Excellent image quality
• No screen defects out of the box
• Higher resolution than other 22" displays

Cons

• Basic design might not blend in with trendy notebooks
• Heat output is a bit high