Home > Consumer Reviews > HP 2159M 21.5-Inch HD LCD Monitor

I was torn between these and a much more expensive ($75 more) Samsung. I'm very glad I got two of these. Totally plug and play, though they come with older single-link dvi cables. I replaced the cables with dual-link DVI cables bought here on Amazon. Switched the monitors on and voila. Colors and depth are outstanding. Excellent clarity. My eyes don't tire at all, even after hours in front of them. The build quality is very good. Even the stand doesn't feel flimsy. The HDMI input is very handy. Wish more manufacturers made it standard. The small speakers aren't going to make home audio speaker manufacturers tremble in fear, but they're fine for videoconferencing and YouTube-grade stuff. Great feature set. Would buy them again.

I am using this HP 2159 M monitor for last 3 months without any problems, colors are fantastic, I use mostly to connect my mac, lenovo, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 to it. Both console run native-ly at 1920*1080 and colors are pretty awesome, I connect laptop using DVI to HDMI and DVI D port, without any problem. Monitor can be adjusted vertically and sideways, it has built in sound which is good enough for me, only complaint being there is no Audio out such as connecting headphones to monitor so have to rely on the inbuilt speakers.

I'm giving this monitor 4 stars ONLY because "I'm" not qualified to give it 5. I'm not very tech savvy, but I purchased this monitor to replace the HP vs17e that came with my desk top. I needed something wider to give me more working room in Adobe Lightroom 2...and boy does it help out! Colors are great, vivid blacks, fine type is clear, and easy to read. I did tweak the standard settings to get the contrast and brightness to please me.
I didn't even hook up the audio as I use a Logitech 5 speaker system.
I highly recommend it for the money!

Okay, to start off, I just have to say that this monitor was definitely worth what I paid, which was about $200. I bought this monitor to replace my old 15" CRT monitor that I had for many years. I just decided to upgrade since I had the spare cash and needed some more desktop space. This monitor is very crisp and clear. I am currently using it with the DVI connection with my fairly old Nvidia 8500 graphics card (I need to upgrade, I know). I have yet to view the monitor in HD quality since I don't own a HD enabled graphics card, even though the view in DVI seems to be just as good as HD 1080p, though I know there is likely to be a little bit of difference.

The screen brightness on this thing is amazing! I use it at 0% screen brightness because 100% is very, VERY bright. I also love that this monitor is energy star qualified, which means less power consumption when compared to other monitors of similar specs. One thing to note if you are switching from CRT to this monitor is that the colors are extremely vibrant, as I would expect LCD monitors to be. Though, this is not the case for some monitors of lower quality out there. I just recently upgraded my Windows Vista to Windows 7 and this monitor displays the new OS in all its shining glory.

When I unpacked this thing after I got it 5 days with the free shipping, I immediately noticed the size. I know there are bigger monitors out there but for me, this thing is huge. You could easily have two internet browsers open side-by-side with plenty of space (if you have the monitor on the highest resolution. Also, it should be noted that the monitor did not have any dead pixels upon arrival, meaning that this thing is well build and was well-packed (thanks Amazon).

This monitor also has all the ports that you need to hook your computer up to. The cables come with this monitor for VGA and DVI, but if you want to use the HDMI connection on the monitor, you will have to also purchase a HDMI cable as this doesn't come with one. I'd suggest getting a gold-plated one for the best connection. Also make sure your graphics card actually has an HDMI port on it before-hand.

My true only complaint is that I didn't wait until OLED monitors came out. But, that is a whole different category and shouldn't be considered right now...at least until OLED monitors become available for sale.

So let me try and sum this up with a Pro's and Con's list:

Pros

+ Large display at 21.5"
+ Very bright screen
+ Vibrant colors
+ Energy Star Qualified
+ More desktop space (if you're coming from a CRT monitor)
+ Built good and sturdy
+ Awesome for gaming, as well as internet browsing, etc.
+ Includes everything you need, minus the HDMI cable. (True plug and play)

Cons

- Doesn't come with HDMI cable (which is a minor gripe as they can be purchased at around $5-$10 here on Amazon)
- Low quality speakers (though everyone should come to expect monitors of this problem. I use external speakers).

So overall, I believe that this monitor will last me for quite a long time as Hewlett-Packard makes some pretty amazing and long-lasting products, especially monitors. I've had this monitor for about a month or so now and it still looks awesome. ^_^

I shall update this review as my time continues with this monitor.

monitor is bigger than i thought it would be. i like the big screen look but has more of a widescreen appeal. very bright and clear. takes up minimal space.