HP 2511x 25-Inch LED Monitor - Black

• Full HD 1920 X 1080 resolution
• 3,000,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio
• LED backlighting
• Ultra-slim 25-Inch diagonal monitor
• 170/160 degree viewing angles

Bottom line, this monitor is as good as you're going to find, anywhere near its price point. At the current Amazon price, it's almost criminal that you can get so much value for the buck.

Right out of the box, the 2511x looked like a 4-star monitor. While large and impressive, the color saturation was excessive, and it didn't seem very bright. For a few minutes, I was a little bummed out. Then I started experimenting with the controls, and this piece of gear suddenly went deep into 5-star territory. Here's what I did:

turned down the red, from 256 to 210

turned down the green, from 256 to 196

turned down the blue, from 256 to 240.

That straightened out the color imbalance. Out of the box, the saturation is too high and it's way too red/green. Just turn them down to levels such as the above, to get to the "cooler" neutral or slightly blue-ish tint that is familiar to most computer users.

then I set sharpness on 5 (maximum) from 4, and

turned the brightness to max,

and set the contrast up from the default 77-ish % to 92 %

Once I did all that, which took about an hour of adjustments and experimentation, the display was just mind-blowing. I used an iMac for five years, which is a great machine with a great display, and this is better.

The 25" size is a lot different than the typical 21.5-23". It doesn't sound like a big difference,but it's huge. 25" is a much, MUCH better size. It's not too big, and certainly not too small. 25" may be the perfect size for single-monitor office-work duty.

The unit is light, thin, and easy to move around. The angle adjustment is adequate -you'll be able to adjust it to the right viewing angle, although it doesn't do extreme angles up or down.

One thing that external monitor newbies (such as I, a few hours ago) may need to know: If you're plugging in a laptop, you may need to go into control panel -> display -> change display settings -> display, and then tell it to use only the external monitor (monitor # 2). If your laptop has a max resolution of 1600x900, and you have it set (by default) to "display on both monitors", it'll only display on the HP at 1600x900, which won't look good. You need to get that resolution bumped up to 1920x1080, which won't be allowed until you set the display to Monitor 2 and thereby free it from the limitations of your laptop's display. Of course, if your laptop already displays 1920x1280, then you won't have this issue.

I saw a few comments about not being able to find the power button or other controls. I don't get that. It's a little button on the underside of the monitor, on the far right, just where my index finger expected to find it. The adjustment controls were also self-explanatory; I never opened the online manual. I hit the menu button and got right to it colors, contrast, etc. Piece of cake.

The 2511x is an incredible value for the money and would be a good value at twice the cost. I believe that this monitor will significantly increase my productivity and pay for itself many times over. Highly recommended. With the caveat that I'm using it with routine office software and writing-based tasks; whether its colors are "true" and the unit suitable for photographic and artistic usage is a whole different question which I know nothing about.

Buy HP 2511x 25-Inch LED Monitor - Black Now

This is my first try at LED display monitors. My 5 year old Samsung was getting a bit dim, so after reading a lot of reviews and looking at many monitors in stores, my first choice was the top rated Samsung BX2450. Unfortunately, there were too many problems with that monitor: The display was slightly tilted to one side on its stand, with the right edge about 1/4" lower than the left; no adjustable viewing angle; shaky stand; overly sensitive control buttons; and a very pronounced 'sweet spot' for viewing. So I sent it back. I read about the HP2511x on-line, and ordered it from Amazon to try out.

Mechanically, the HP is far superior to the Samsung easy assembly, secure fit of parts; optional wall mounting kit; clear instructions. The base is adjustable for tilt, but not for height. The control buttons are very functional and have a nice tactile feedback, unlike the Samsung. The four presets for movies, text, photos, and gaming are pretty useful. The menu system is intuitive, and it is easy to adjust the brightness down to 50 the screen was much too bright for my tastes when it was unpacked.

For black text on a white background, image quality is very good, especially when compared side-by-side with my old fluorescent tube backlit Samsung. Text is very clear and sharp, with no ghosting or color fringing on the edges. Even running the text at 150% magnification as default text size in IE7 it is superior to the old non-LED monitor. The black background screen on start up/boot is uniformly deep black, with only a slight amount of backlight bleed along the bottom edge. White background screens are bright and mostly pretty uniform. However, unlike the old non-LED Samsung, but like the LED Samsung BX2450, the HP has viewing angle issues, which are especially noticable on white background screens.

They are not as bad as the Samsung, and the sweet spot for viewing is more forgiving. But when the monitor is on the desk at the ergonomically recommended height relative to your eyes, the bottom of the screen has a blue cast, and the icons on IE7 task bar have brighter blues and washed out yellows, while the top of the screen has a much warmer look, especially with a white background. Standing at the desk while talking on the phone and reaching down to type something, the white background becomes agua, and the text is difficult to read.

Likewise, moving your head more than a couple inches sideways from the screen center will make the monitor appear warmer at the edge you are moving from, and cooler at the edge you are moving towards. Again, it is nowhere nearly as pronounced as the Samsung, but still noticeable. The only solution I have found is to elevate the monitor 2+ inches above the desk. This places the center of the screen at eye level, and improves the color and tint issues at the bottom of the screen. It is not ideal, but much improved for image quality. What this means long-term for my back and neck remains to be seen.

I have an ASUS laptop with LED that is even worse as far as this sweet spot effect, and have looked at a number of LED monitors in stores, and have concluded that this seems to be a characteristic of LED monitors better in some than others. It is interesting to note that at 3 different stores, the LED monitors were all at eye level or above, while the non-LED models were usually below eye level.

With movies or HDTV input from my tuner card the above issue is not noticeable, probably because I am not moving my head as much as when I am using text and looking at reference books, writing notes, or answering the phones. Movies/TV are very decent picture quality, with just a slight color saturation weakness compared to my Sony 42" TV. Photos are also sharp and clear, but it is somewhat easier to notice color shifts when moving your head around while using photoshop.

Games are very clear and bright, and usually so fast paced that the relatively small color shifting problem is not noticed. The relatively slow 5ms response has not been an issue so far on the games my son has tried on this machine to evaluate the monitor.

I should point out that my HP Quad core AMD computer is only a year old, and used an ASUS Nvidia GeForce 210 graphics card when I purchased the HP2511x. I have since upgraded to an ASUS NVidia ENGTS450 TOP Graphics card. This sped things up in some applications, and perhaps slightly improved graphics quality and color saturation in other programs, but without doing side-by-side comparisons, it is impossible to say; the difference is minor, if present.

I can use this monitor, and the improved text quality is appreciated over the non-LED monitors I used or saw in stores. However, the sweet spot issue, while better than most of the other LED monitors I viewed, was just annoying enough to drop a star off of my rating.

Read Best Reviews of HP 2511x 25-Inch LED Monitor - Black Here

If you are thinking about getting the 2509m make sure that you don't pay $300, because for $300 you can get the next generation monitor from HP.

I was about to buy the 2509m model from HP, which I really liked.

Just before the holidays I saw that HP released this new version of their 25" monitor and the specs looked good.

I ordered the 2511x from Amazon and ... it's a beauty !

The image is so crisp, and the colors are fantastic.

I was concerned about the brightness (specs rated it at 250 vs 300 of the previous model) but this monitor has plenty of brightness.

Highly recommended.

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I own a Apple 21.5 inch imac, My wife owns a 27 inch imac. I also got a HP elite six core monster hooked up to a HP 2509m which I like. I got this monitor because of my current monitor for my PC the HP 2509M and it's impressive display.

Now I know the HP 2511 isn't supposed to look as good as my wife's 27 inch imac,but it does.I called HP Tech support and they told me this panel is a S-PVA display. IPS is supposed to be better than S-PVA, but by looking at my wifes 27inch imac, which has a yellow hue to the screen, the HP 2511 looks better, the whites are whiter and the blacks are blacker. No black light bleed, no dead or stuck pixels. Even colors. This panel just plain looks better.

I have this side by side in dual mode with my imac 21.5 inch and use this as my main display and i could not be happier. I would give this monitor six stars if I could.

I've been on the hunt for a good reasonably-priced LED monitor for a while (I won't start on this...), something that I will find to my satisfaction in its features and picture quality. I think I've found it. I mainly came to the decision based off the rating ratios, and with the knowledge that even highly-rated items can sometimes lead to disappointment. This one seemed to have the highest proportion of 5-star ratings, and it did have much of the features I was looking for: LED, >23", GLOSSY, few complaints about color and viewing angle, and high customer satisfaction based on ratings. There are actually very few LED monitors out there that are glossy, and I'm so glad this one is a glossy screen. I'll let you know that on my initial purchase, I was sent a unit that was somewhat of a disappointment. The screen overall looked good, but for some reason, the contrast at the top appeared to be darker than the contrast on the lower half the screen. This is ASIDE from the usual TN monitor viewing angle issues that usually has to do with color. Interestingly, the contrast issue was such that the top did also produce a more pinkish tint. It was kind of annoying even sitting 5 feet away at eye-level. I queried several reviewers and looked through what customers have noted, and it didn't seem like anyone had this problem. Some also reported pretty even colors throughout when sitting in front. I gave it a shot and had it exchanged, without any clue if the next unit would have the same issue (e.g., was it just me who was picky?). Lo and behold, my 2nd unit looks more like the one people are giving 5 stars! The contrast top to bottom is MUCH more even, without that pink tint at the top, and the whites look VERY GOOD throughtout the screen, much improved form the last unit. (Currently? The white appears 95-98% even across the screen at 4 feet away or more, and one may detect an extremely subtle pinch of off-white/yellow if you sit closer or if you scrutinize the screen for 1 minute). Unfortunately, this means that not all units are made the same, but I'm glad I finally ended up with a unit consistent with reviews AND satisfies my expectations for a monitor in this price range. So here I go with an outline of my review:

PROS

Excellent screen size for daily student use. I can sit back much further with less strain on my eyes and posture while still getting great viewing range at eye-level. Given that the resolution is 1080p, 23" might be good for DPI, but 23" is slightly on the smaller range, and I wanted a larger screen size coming off of my 21" previously. 27" would have been a good size, but then DPI would have been less attractive. It's a delicate balance here, and 25" is JUST right, for me.

Excellent contrast and brightness. I use about 80% and 80%. For reported 250 cd/m2 on this screen, even 80/80 is brighter than my "300 cd/m2" of my Dell Studio XPS 16 screen (which inspired me to find LED monitors).

Very good viewing angles for its class. TFT-TN monitors will always suffer the same issues, but not all suffer the same extent. I've definitely seen many models/many different brands that have varying degrees of viewing angle satisfaction. Yes, if you lean off center side to side, the further end will start to have a light yellow tint. But let's say you are watching a film/video, and u stand maybe off to the side a bit--you can still see what is going on and you may not even notice much distortion in color/contrast unless you really stare at the screen with scrutiny as you come to the center. If it hasn't bothered me, I don't think it will bother most users who are buying monitors of this class. Believe me, I've seen pretty bad ones.

White is more white, black is more black. The "LED white" is one of the main reasons to upgrade from a regular LCD monitor. The white is very good especially when you are on center at least 4 feet away. The black is a pure, deep black and smooth and consistent throughout the screen. No backlight bleeding, by the way! Makes black-background webpages and movies very neat to look at.

Excellent color representation for its class. As you may know, TFT-TN monitors will still have the issue with viewing angles. On center, the left and right are pretty symmetrical and similar/same as the center. Top to bottom, with colors that are not back, you will notice a gradual gradation of color as you scan top-to-bottom, but that is typical, and the issue is actually less on this monitor than on many others I've seen. Only IPS monitors can resolve this, if you're really demanding that. I'm not really complaining. :)

Sharp and crisp. Text at 80% contrast and 80% brightness is excellent. That's all.

Easy-to-use buttons. The buttons are actually located on the underside of the screen with labels facing you. The functionality is pretty easy to figure out and not complicated. There's a function to turn off the Power light if you choose to, but I like to keep it on, as it has a nice neon-teal color to it. When activating the monitor from sleep, there is virtually no waiting time for things to show up except for monitor-based prompt menu that says which plug is detected (disappears in 2 seconds or so).

Stable base and support. Just in case people wanted to know. The monitor will only shake a little when you're touching the buttons or handling the monitor with your hands. Otherwise, it is very stable.

Glossy. I'm a fan of glossy screens. I won't go into a battle between matte vs. glossy, because both have its pros/cons. I favor glossy over matte because: 1) In any lit room or with windows or whatnot, all my matte screens I've used experience complete screen washout. You basically can't make out anything because the light reflecting off the surface is diffuse and goes across the entire surface. However, with glossy, I've never been bothered by reflections, and even in bright lighting situations, the most you get is a reflection of that source, but it is localized and does not wash out the whole screen. Plus, I probably just subconsciously adapt to it and maybe move my head over 1 inch or ignore the light completely. 2) Glossy in any lit room seems to provide better clarity and richness in color/contrast. (In complete darkness, matte vs. glossy appear pretty much the same.)

CONS

It's not IPS, but hey, it's got deep black that is consistent throughout. For $230 (when I bought it), this is one of the best in the TN class that I've seen, and met my expectations. The viewing angle descriptions I described above.

Does not rotate and does not have vertical adjustment. Minor complaint, but I have my monitor on a stand so I can keep it eye-level. It would have been nice to have such features though.

You may get lucky and get a good unit. But you may also get something slightly disappointing. If you suspect that there may be some flaw or fault to your unit, it's probably not you or your eyes--it's the monitor. Amazon helped me with the exchange process very easily, and now I am absolutely happy with my new unit. This is a quality control issue that likely applies to any product you choose, no matter how good they reportedly are. But if I were you, I -wouldbelieve the 5-star ratings, and you should get a unit that meets those standards.

This is very picky, and I'm sure most people won't notice, but if you are within the range of 1-5 feet from the monitor and you look away the monitor but keep it enough in your peripheral vision, you might see subtle indication of flickering off to your peripheral vision esp with white background and dark text/lines. Not a biggie, I think it's normal for LEDs to do that (although my Dell Studio XPS 16 WLED screen does not). Just to be clear, there is NO OBSERVABLE FLICKERING when viewing directly at this HP monitor.

I tried to include commentary about features or issues that I did not see any other viewer describe. For instance, few will talk about the vertical viewing angles at eye-level, which for me is a bigger issue than side-to-side viewing angles. I'll just you know that this is the best TFT-TN monitor I've been able to find so far that is glossy and LED. You can expect high-quality from this product, and I hope I've been able to help you in making a decision when searching for a monitor of this class to purchase. My rating is CONFIDENTLY 4.9/5 for a good unit, and I'm not counting off too much for viewing angles, as I'm not trying to compare to IPS class monitors. Anyway, enjoy!

FYI, at the time of writing this review:

5 stars: 63 (75%)

4 stars: 19 (23%) includes issues that even as someone as picky as I am can live with.

3 stars: 1

2 stars: 0

1 star: 1

5-stars + 4-star ratings = 98%

Pretty impressive.