“The HP LP3065 is a solid performer in every category, and is sure to please even the most critical user.”
- Vibrant
- rich colors and deep blacks; sharp text reproduction; fast reponse rate; USB Hub
- Video processing handled by video card; lacks a media card reader
Summary
Aimed squarely at the working professional, the 30-inch HP LP3065 monitor provides fast response times, a high 2560 x 1600 resolution and deep, rich colors. Gamers will be drawn to the LP3065 solely for the reason that there is only a handful 30-inch monitors on the market with a response rate this good (6ms) with colors this rich. Multimedia enthusiasts that plan on using their PC as a home theater display will be pleasantly surprised to find that the LP3065 offers not one, or two, but three HDCP-compatible DVI inputs, meaning you can use this monitor with your system’s Blu-ray or HD DVD drive (with the proper videocard). But before you plunk down $1,500 USD for this bad boy, read our review to make sure it’s right for you.
Features and Design
As you can expect from a monitor designed for creative types and for use with important applications, the LP3065 has some impressive stats. For starters, it features a maximum resolution of 2560 x 1600, 92% color gamut, 1000:1 contrast ratio, 6ms response rate, and up to 300 nits of brightness — impressive for a 30-inch display. It is not without its caveats, however. Because the LP3065 lacks a video processor, you will not be able adjust the color and more advanced settings of this monitor using the menu system; only the brightness controls are available. This means you better have a decent videocard (and we will assume you do if you purchased this monitor), since the only way to manually adjust this display is through your system’s videocard’s software settings. (In case you were wondering, the LP3065 uses an LG.Philips panel — one of our favorites.)
The LP3065 comes with a built-in, four-port USB hub (missing on some of HP’s previous models) and three dual-link, HDCP-capable DVI inputs. We were surprised to see that the DVI inputs support HDCP copyright protection, especially on a monitor branded towards commercial use, but we are glad that it’s there. HP boasts a 178-degree horizontal and vertical viewing angle and 45-degree swivel angle coupled with a -5 to +30 degree tilt angle. This beast is even height adjustable, with five inches of playing room should you desire to adjust it.
While the bezel, base, and overall design of the LP3065 lack the same aesthetic appeal as HP’s new W2007 consumer-focused monitor, we think it’s more stylish than most commercial monitors out there. The popular Dell UltraSharp 3007WFP 30-inch monitor is more stylish and does feature an integrated 9-in-1 media card slot, but it also has a slower response rate at 12ms (compared to 6ms in the LP3065).
HP backs the LP3065 with an impressive three-year parts, labor, and on-site warranty, which includes 24-hour, toll-free tech support and comes with all of the cables you need to get the system up and running, a quick setup guide, and drivers.
Image Courtesy of HP
Setup and Use
Before you decide to purchase this monitor, understand that you will need a videocard that features dual-link DVI output if you want to take advantage of the 2560 x 1600 resolution. The GeForce 8500 and 8600 cards from Nvidia support both dual-link DVI outputs with HDCP compatibility. What this means is that you will be connecting both of the DVI outputs from your videocard into the DVI inputs on the LP3065 monitor. Once we plugged in the LP3065, we were ready to get started.
We used the HP LP3065 with our Dell XPS 710 desktop sporting an Nvidia GeForce 7900 GS videocard. We noticed that occasionally upon boot-up, when the system is posting, the font and text get very blurry, to the point where you think the monitor is not connected to the system correctly. But once the Windows Login prompt shows up, everything is back to normal. Text and icons proved to be easy on the eyes, and very sharp-looking. Brightness levels are good for a 30-inch monitor, although not as good as HP’s own 24-inch LP2465 monitor.
In our game tests with World of Warcraft and F.E.A.R., the LP3065 put out some gorgeous colors that proved to be accurate and rich. Keep in mind that you will not likely be playing most games at this resolution, and even the most powerful graphics cards on the market will have trouble outputting consistently fast frame rates — at least for now.
Images used in Photoshop CS were true to form with accurate color reproduction. When compared side-by-side with the HP L2045w, we found the colors to be a tad washed out. Even after changing the color profiles in Photoshop, we were not able to get the two monitors to duplicate each others colors to 100% accuracy using our test images; but they came pretty close. We noticed only minimal light bleeding on the right side of the monitor. Chances are that you may experience this sort of bleeding in different areas of the same model; and this is common in most monitors. Our review unit also came with zero dead pixels.
Although we did not have a Blu-ray or HD DVD drive to test with the LP3065, there are some things you need to be aware of. While the LP3065 does support HDCP over dual-link, we have been told that Nvidia’s graphics cards do not. And since we did not have an HD drive to test this with, we will have to update the article later once we can. In any event, this seems to be an issue with the videocard and not this monitor. (If you have some information regarding this issue, please post in our forums so others can hear about your experience.) We just used the DVD drive that came with our Dell test system and Cyberlink’s PowerDVD Ultra software for our movie testing. Colors again looked very rich, and black levels were acceptable. A lot of what you will see with the LP3065 will differ from our review, though, because color levels, etc. really depend on your videocard and system setup.
Image Courtesy of HP
Conclusion
The HP LP3065 is a solid performer in every category, and is sure to please even the most critical user. Gamers will find the LP3065 to be up to par with their gaming needs, while those looking for a good monitor for video or graphic design will be pleased with the accurate color reproduction the LP3065 puts out. Always keep in mind that the LP3065 does not have its own video processor, so you will be relying heavily on your videocard for tweaking the picture to your liking.
In regards to price, you can find the Dell Ultra Sharp 3007WFP 30-inch monitor for about $300 USD less than the LP3065. While the Dell does include an integrated media card reader, the response rate is slower, and in our opinion, the colors reproduced are not as good as the LP3065’s. The Samsung SyncMaster 305 T also boasts a 6ms response rate, 1000:1 contrast ratio, and similar specs to the HP LP3065, but we have not had a chance to review it yet, so we cannot recommend it one way or another at this point either (although it is a couple hundred dollars less). In any case, you should be very pleased with the LP3065.
Pros:
• Vibrant, rich colors and deep blacks
• Sharp text reproduction
• Fast response rate
• Includes DVI cables
• USB hub
Cons:
• Slightly more expensive compared to other 30-inch monitors on the market
• Video processing is handled by the videocard
• Lacks a media card reader
