HP 2311xi IPS Monitor
by Chris Heinonen on August 13, 2012 12:15 AM ESTHP 2311xi - Brightness and Contrast Ratios
HP rates the 2311xi for 250 nits maximum brightness and that’s exactly what I found it produced. If I turned the brightness all the way down it then put out only 41 nits, which gives you a lot of flexibility around adjusting the backlight level. 250 nits should be enough light output for most people, but if you have direct sunlight on your display for most of the day you might need something even more powerful to avoid it looking washed out.
For measuring the black levels, I made sure to leave the Dynamic Control off for the LEDs. With that enabled, it could potentially turn off the backlight completely, which would result in a black level of 0.000, but one that has no practical implications aside from a totally black screen. By leaving that disabled, we get a real-world measure of the black level. At maximum brightness, our black level is right around 0.4 nits, which is a little higher than other displays we have measured with similar peak white levels. The minimum level was 0.066, which correlates well with the white level change. Black levels are typically a little worse with IPS than with VA panels, which is the trade off for getting the other advantages an IPS display offers for color and viewing angles.
Looking at the contrast ratio, we are almost exact the same at minimum and maximum backlight, right around 620. I went ahead and measured this at 0-100% in increments of 10, and every measurement was between 620 and 625, so it’s a very consistent contrast ratio all across the range. It’s a perfectly normal and average contrast ratio, about what I’d expect from a budget IPS display.
Looking at the Brightness and Contrast numbers, the HP 2311xi is a decent but not exceptional performer. Nothing stands out, but everything about the performance so far is perfectly acceptable with the price involved.
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kyuu - Monday, August 13, 2012 - link
What? External power bricks are quite common. You can make the monitor significantly thinner, and you don't have to worry about the additional heat generated by the power brick. Honestly, this is a weird complaint anyway.cheinonen - Monday, August 13, 2012 - link
I completely agree with disliking the external power brick. I understand it makes it thinner, and easier to design, and possibly easier to ship around the world as you just replace the brick by region, but it makes wiring my desktop more of a pain. The trade-off in thinness isn't worth it to me, but I know some people don't mind, but some do.Impulses - Monday, August 13, 2012 - link
It's definitely not for me... Poor stand w/no VESA mounting, 1080p res, and no DP are just too many compromises... But having decent IPS displays like this one available at $200 is great for the consumer in general, two years ago you were looking at $300+ for a display like this, three or four years ago it would've been $400+. Low cost IPS displays are finally in the same pricing realm of rock bottom TN displays, and that's not bad at all.Olaf van der Spek - Monday, August 13, 2012 - link
Isn't the U2412M more like a $300 monitor? Even the U2312HM is $260 on NewEgg.No DP & no VESA sucks. :(
cheinonen - Monday, August 13, 2012 - link
I mention that the U2412M is more expensive and that the U2312HM might be a better comparison, but as I haven't reviewed the 2312 but have reviewed the 2412 it was the best comparison I could make.mikato - Thursday, August 16, 2012 - link
You can buy the U2412M for $270 right now from Dell with free shipping -http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/78498/dell-small-b...
mikato - Thursday, August 16, 2012 - link
U2312HM is $210 at Dell Small Business right nowhttp://slickdeals.net/permadeal/78498/dell-small-b...
ananduser - Monday, August 13, 2012 - link
Chris, when are you guys gonna review some 120Hz monitors ?StickerLover - Monday, August 13, 2012 - link
...needs more stickers !Oh, and more glossy plastic !
DanNeely - Monday, August 13, 2012 - link
Would it be difficult to reorder the labels for the curves so that the upper left label was in the top left position, the lower right was in the lower right position, etc?