HP LP3065: A new contender for the 30" throne
by Jarred Walton on March 22, 2007 7:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Displays
Closing Thoughts
A large 30" LCD is definitely a luxury that only a few people are willing to afford, but if you have the money and other hardware necessary, using a computer takes on a whole new dimension with such a display. Games can feel even more immersive, but truthfully we find the extra screen size to be more useful outside of gaming situations. The ability to have numerous applications open without the need to overlap windows can increase productivity for example, and it's also possible to have two or three different versions of a document open at the same time for easy side-by-side comparisons.
All other things being equal - and in our testing we would have to say that the Dell 3007WFP and HP LP3065 are in a dead heat - price and features are going to usually be the determining factors on what LCD people want to buy. In the features department, we definitely give the edge to HP, but this will really only matter to people who plan on using more than one computer with the display. Otherwise, you could basically purchase either of these LCDs and be happy.
What about price? Looking online, current prices on the Dell 3007WFPHC and HP LP3065 are the same: $1699. HP currently offers a $40 mail-in rebate, and Dell has frequent sales that drop the price of their 30" LCDs by as much as several hundred dollars. If one of the displays is substantially cheaper, we would recommend saving money. Just keep in mind that a dual-link DVI KVM switch can cost several hundred dollars, so if that feature is something you would find useful we really can't see any reason to get any 30" LCD other than the HP LP3065.
We had a conversation recently about which company was better: HP or Dell? One person commented very simply: "Oh, HP is much better!" When we asked why, he gave the tongue-in-cheek response, "Because my wife works for HP." That's a pretty fair summary of the situation in our book. If you have any reasons or relations that make you prefer one company over the other, either 30" LCD will work very well. If you don't have any preference, we would purchase the HP simply because those extra DVI inputs could prove useful, if not immediately then at some point during the life of the display.
Is a 30" LCD the best display on the market? That really depends on what you plan on doing with your computer. If you like to run numerous applications at the same time, the added real estate can prove handy. Games and movies also look really nice on a large display, although as we mentioned on the Dell 3007WFP review HDCP support on dual-link DVI is currently not possible. Hopefully that never becomes an issue, and as long as Hollywood doesn't begin enabling the ICT (Image Constraint Token), it shouldn't be a problem. If you want to have a multipurpose display, however, we would seriously consider a 1080p LCD HDTV as an alternative. Some of those LCD TVs might not fit very well on a computer desk, but then some of them aren't much larger than the 30" LP3065.
It was interesting to hear from HP about the reasons current 30" LCDs don't have on-screen displays or support for non-dual-link inputs. While plenty of people will be happy with the displays as is, we are definitely interested in seeing next-generation 30" displays that have improved circuitry to allow for other resolutions and input options, along with an OSD. The small pixel size on the 2560x1600 panel seems to allow lower resolutions to run without feeling quite as blurry as they do on other LCDs. Perhaps that's simply because the scaling is being done on the GPU rather than on the display itself, but owners of the latest generation gaming consoles would probably like to be able to use one of these displays as well, especially in situations like college dorms where having multiple displays often isn't possible. However, until we see such 30" displays, we would rate the HP LP3065 as the best shipping 30" LCD, even if it's only by a small margin of victory.
A large 30" LCD is definitely a luxury that only a few people are willing to afford, but if you have the money and other hardware necessary, using a computer takes on a whole new dimension with such a display. Games can feel even more immersive, but truthfully we find the extra screen size to be more useful outside of gaming situations. The ability to have numerous applications open without the need to overlap windows can increase productivity for example, and it's also possible to have two or three different versions of a document open at the same time for easy side-by-side comparisons.
All other things being equal - and in our testing we would have to say that the Dell 3007WFP and HP LP3065 are in a dead heat - price and features are going to usually be the determining factors on what LCD people want to buy. In the features department, we definitely give the edge to HP, but this will really only matter to people who plan on using more than one computer with the display. Otherwise, you could basically purchase either of these LCDs and be happy.
What about price? Looking online, current prices on the Dell 3007WFPHC and HP LP3065 are the same: $1699. HP currently offers a $40 mail-in rebate, and Dell has frequent sales that drop the price of their 30" LCDs by as much as several hundred dollars. If one of the displays is substantially cheaper, we would recommend saving money. Just keep in mind that a dual-link DVI KVM switch can cost several hundred dollars, so if that feature is something you would find useful we really can't see any reason to get any 30" LCD other than the HP LP3065.
We had a conversation recently about which company was better: HP or Dell? One person commented very simply: "Oh, HP is much better!" When we asked why, he gave the tongue-in-cheek response, "Because my wife works for HP." That's a pretty fair summary of the situation in our book. If you have any reasons or relations that make you prefer one company over the other, either 30" LCD will work very well. If you don't have any preference, we would purchase the HP simply because those extra DVI inputs could prove useful, if not immediately then at some point during the life of the display.
Is a 30" LCD the best display on the market? That really depends on what you plan on doing with your computer. If you like to run numerous applications at the same time, the added real estate can prove handy. Games and movies also look really nice on a large display, although as we mentioned on the Dell 3007WFP review HDCP support on dual-link DVI is currently not possible. Hopefully that never becomes an issue, and as long as Hollywood doesn't begin enabling the ICT (Image Constraint Token), it shouldn't be a problem. If you want to have a multipurpose display, however, we would seriously consider a 1080p LCD HDTV as an alternative. Some of those LCD TVs might not fit very well on a computer desk, but then some of them aren't much larger than the 30" LP3065.
It was interesting to hear from HP about the reasons current 30" LCDs don't have on-screen displays or support for non-dual-link inputs. While plenty of people will be happy with the displays as is, we are definitely interested in seeing next-generation 30" displays that have improved circuitry to allow for other resolutions and input options, along with an OSD. The small pixel size on the 2560x1600 panel seems to allow lower resolutions to run without feeling quite as blurry as they do on other LCDs. Perhaps that's simply because the scaling is being done on the GPU rather than on the display itself, but owners of the latest generation gaming consoles would probably like to be able to use one of these displays as well, especially in situations like college dorms where having multiple displays often isn't possible. However, until we see such 30" displays, we would rate the HP LP3065 as the best shipping 30" LCD, even if it's only by a small margin of victory.
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JarredWalton - Thursday, March 22, 2007 - link
I tried to get one and Apple declined. I think Anand has their original version, but that has been outdated by newer releases. If Apple updates their 30" display again, I will see if they're interested in sending one for review.FXi - Thursday, March 22, 2007 - link
The brightness is too low. And the benefit (the wider gamut) is harder to gain the advantage of visually than losing the brightness. In fact it is likely the older 3007FP is a better screen in practical use than the 3007FPHC.I'm not talking TV levels here like 500-550 cd/m2, but rather that 400-450 wasn't bad, and as the backlights degrade slowly over time, effectively give a nice lifespan if you aren't using them in bright environments.
The cost of adding a few extra DVI-D inputs is so cheap it's a travesty they weren't included in every 30" model. PIP might be genuinely useful on a screen this size, so there's another area where the scaling and picture circuitry would be useful. In fact, skip the USB bus entirely and at least give me two, or three DVI-D ports instead.
Probably I missed how you approached it but I saw no direct mention of screen uniformity, which has been a bother in earlier 30" models.
I would add the Samsung 305T and XL30 (when it arrives) to show the full gamut of these size screens. A LOT of folks are commenting that the increased color gamut isn't all that noticeable or useful due partially to a lack of good standards on the pc side to utilize that gamut. 120hz is going to happen faster to smaller displays (sorry) because a DVI-D might have enough bandwidth to drive lower res at double the refresh. I'm not perfectly familiary with the overhead needs, but the bandwidth will be there first, not first in larger displays and moving down. This again points to the use of a 32" 1080P 120hz screen utilizing a card that had HDMI 1.3 output as your fastest way of getting to the 120hz goodness if that is what you seek. Otherwise you'll have to wait a few years.
Core things that need to happen to 30" in general:
400-450 brightness
OSD's
Scaling chips and alternate/multiple inputs
LED backlights (as practical - and not for the gamut increased but the better contrast ratio, screen uniformity and lifespan)
Faster and more consistent (better profiled acceleration) TrTf and GtG speeds
Color accuracy and grey accuracy put ahead of gamut changes. Meaning gamut is useful to a small degree, but the end user is going to appreciate careful color filters and lcd pixel (gray) accuracy more than just increased gamut.
Loved reading these article, because you don't just cover the 30's or the newest 2407 but also the older models, so people can see if the "switch up" is worth the $$.
Thanks!
AnnonymousCoward - Thursday, March 22, 2007 - link
Thanks so much for the review. But I gotta give criticism on the timing, since this is perhaps the best computer display ever, and you waited over 4 months after it came out to review it. Yet when it comes to video cards or CPUs, you review them immediately, sometimes before they're even released! A display is equally important to those components.JarredWalton - Thursday, March 22, 2007 - link
If you look at our display reviews, you'll notice that we only recently started doing these again. The first recent display review was in late February, and since then we've been trying to grow the display reviews section aggressively. Hopefully we will get future displays around launch time, now that we're recommitted to the section. Not surprisingly, HP wasn't really pushing to get us a 30" LCD for a launch-date review when we hadn't covered any LCDs recently. :)chakarov - Friday, March 23, 2007 - link
In your review you say that there isn't much difference between HP's LP3065 and old Dell 3007 WFP. While this would be very informative for some people a few weeks ago now this information is of no value any more because now Dell is selling only their new model 3007 WFP-HC which is comparative in price to LP3065.Now people should decide between support, design, one or three DVI connectors and price.
JarredWalton - Saturday, March 24, 2007 - link
I thought that was the point I made (second paragraph, page 2) - that the new 3007WFP-HC is basically the same panel as the HP model. It's also why I recommend the HP over the Dell, as the multiple inputs seems like a lot more value added than a flash reader, and the price is now the same. (If you can find the older 3007WFP for less money, that's definitely a good choice as well!)AnnonymousCoward - Saturday, March 24, 2007 - link
chakarov's point is that the late-ness of this review is especially critical because there's apparently not much difference between the LP3065 ($1700) and the original 3007WFP ($1274); but a week ago Dell stopped selling that and now only offers a $1700 30" model. It would have been nice to know there's hardly any difference between 11/1/06 and 3/20/07.But again, thanks for doing the review and it's great =)
Oh btw, the HC can be had for $1430+tax if you buy through Dell's small business outlet.
Sceptor - Thursday, March 22, 2007 - link
Buy this and use three 19" or 20" LCD's and get surround gaming and multi monitor support for almost the same price...now DVI.http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/gxm/products/th2...">Multi LCD Goodness!!
Just my 2 cents...
AnnonymousCoward - Thursday, March 22, 2007 - link
Here's 3 more reasons: watching movies, Photoshopping in full screen, and having 1600 vertical pixels to view webpages or write code with.JarredWalton - Thursday, March 22, 2007 - link
There are several reasons to get a single large LCD instead of multiple smaller LCDs. First, panel quality is going to be a factor, although you should be able to find very good quality 19" LCDs. Second, some people just hate having a black "gap" in their display area. Third, widescreen gaming has become more common, but there are still plenty of games that don't properly support widescreen resolutions. Consider DICE's Battlefield series -- all of them -- where they crop the resolution on widescreen outputs. If you were to run Battlefield 2 at 3840x1024 (assuming it would even work at all), you would probably end up with 3840x2880 and the game would crop the top and bottom 928 pixels!Matrox has a list of http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/gxm/products/th2...">supported games, and not surprisingly none of the Battlefield games show up. In fact, there are a whole lot of games that aren't listed. Personal preference obviously plays a part, but I would rather have one large LCD than three smaller LCDs. If you disagree and are interested in surround gaming, by all means consider the Matrox TripleHead2Go.