HP LP3065 30-inch Flat Panel Monitor

No one watches or plays test patterns for hours on end, so we had to move on to some real-world, multimedia performance testing. We downloaded a few 1080p Windows Media clips from Microsoft's WMV HD Content Showcase site. Scaled to full screen, these clips really showcase the hardware that is processing and displaying the output. Additionally, we played some games and performed some everyday tasks on the LP3065 to gain a complete picture of this monster's potential.

HP LP3065: Subjective Tests DVD Playback, Gaming and General Use

HD Video Playback:

Since this is a review, we have to settle with showing you a couple pictures and describing how good the HD WMV clips looked on the monitor, but you should realize that this combination isn't really adequate. All of the 720p and 1080p clips looked great on the LP3065, but you can't really appreciate that statement unless you see them in person. Take our word for it, though; this monitor could easily function as a high-quality HD panel if you have an HD TV tuner in your PC.

Producing a great image isn't enough with a monitor if you want to watch movies, though. You also need fast pixel response time to prevent ghosting and other undesirable effects. The LP3065's pixel response time proved to be more than adequate. We didn't spot any ghosting problems while watching a handful of clips several times. Even the clips with frantic action in them looked great.

Gaming Tests:

Gaming on such a big LCD is an experience that is hard to convey without using too much hyperbole, but suffice it to say gaming at 2560x1600 is truly incredible. With the highest of high-end cards, like the MSI GeForce 8800 GTX, you can even crank up the anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering in many games. This is "gaming bliss" defined.

Even games that don't offer a resolution of 2560x1600 still look great on this monitor. While playing Quake 4, the guns almost seem life-sized. In some fast-paced Quake 4 and F.E.A.R. action, we didn't notice any ghosting and were quite impressed by the contrast and vivid color of the LP3065.

General Usage:

Big screens aren't only useful for watching movies and playing games, of course. They are also great for helping you get a lot of work done at least little more quickly. When we first set up the LP3065, we couldn't resist our urge to start opening random applications to see how diminutive they would look on the massive panel. In the picture above, you can see that we have 8 applications/windows open, including Solitaire, 3D Pinball, Windows Media Player, Windows Explorer, 3DMark06, the NVIDIA display panel, the HP LP3065 software and documentation applet, and Opera. We kept them all at the size they opened up at, and we were left with an even better idea of just how much screen real estate this bad boy offers. It's time to convince your boss that you could become a spreadsheet king with an LP3065 on your desk! Seriously though, all this extra desktop real estate is what can help people become more productive and efficient in their daily work.

All the screen real estate in the world doesn't matter, though, if the picture isn't very clear and crisp. During our daily use, the LP3065 continued to impress us. Text was crisp and easy to read, whether it was in productivity applications, like Microsoft Word, or in our web browsers. The color representation and contrast proved to be excellent throughout our testing period.