Customer Reviews

Ergotron LX Desk Mount Arm - mounting kit ( 45-179-195 )

5 star:		(97)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'm using this Ergotron LX Desk Mount Arm to hold up my Sony SDM-X82 18.1" LCD monitor. It works very well. I don't have any problems with it, but here are a few things to keep in mind:

- Make no assumptions about where you will mount this arm. For both this and my nearly identical notebook arm, I glanced at the desks where they'd be used, saw they had edges, and assumed all was well. Well, I was wrong. There were supporting panels below the desk that interfered with proper mounting. With some finagling, I managed to get both arms mounted. But, I highly recommend you crawl under your desk and make some measurements before buying this. If you intend to clamp it to an edge, it looks like you'll need (optimally) about 3-1/2" of lip (the desktop should be between 1/2" and 1-7/8" thick). If you intend to mount it through a hole on the desk, make sure you have access to the underside of the desk where that hole is (or will be -- I ended up drilling a 1/2" hole through my desktop for this option).

- You WILL have to adjust the various tensioning screws. If you don't, the thing will probably droop down to your desktop at the first opportunity.

- Before buying, go to Ergotron's site, look up the product, and then go to Support Center | Display Compatibility. There, you'll be able to see if the arm can support your monitor. Most LCDs less than 24" are probably good out of the box. But, bigger LCDs will probably require an additional 200x200 VESA mount (or maybe even a higher capacity arm).

I'm very happy with this arm. Outside of what I noted (and those are my problems and not problems with the product), it works well and looks good. I rate it a Very Good 4 stars out of 5.

I teach college courses, and I occasionally have students in my office and I want to show them something on the computer. I looked at a bunch of monitor arms that would let me swing my monitor around so that others could see it. This is the most sturdy, easy to use monitor arm I've seen. The monitor moves smoothly, and the range of movement is amazing. Just remember to tighten the adjustment screw to match the weight of your monitor--I forgot and initially thought my monitor was too heavy because it kept sinking. However, after I adjusted the screw, it was perfect.

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Update: I've had the monitor arm for about a year now and it has been well worth the investment. One thing to note: The capacity of the arm (20lbs) is the weight of the monitor without its built-in stand. I have a 24" monitor that is 21 lbs, but the stand itself weighed 6 lbs, leaving my monitor a lean 15 lbs that was well within the capacity of this arm.

I bought this to support a heavy 24" Acer monitor. I have clients that come to my office and I was thinking that it would be nice to easily rotate the screen so that they could also see it. Since then, though, I've found that the real benefit of the Ergotron LX is the ability to exactly position my screen where I can see it the best....about a foot above my desk and at the exact focal point of my reading glasses. No more leaning forward and end-of-day neck aches!

The quality of construction is excellent...this thing is almost completely metal. Although it's at the very edge of the specs, it has no problem supporting a 20lb monitor (and I suspect that the weight limit is more due to the strength of the internal springs than anything else). The arm shipped with two different mounting systems. One, a heavy duty desk-edge clamp, would probably have worked fine, but I opted to use the other one - a 5/16" bolt passing through a hole drilled in the desktop. Using the bolt allows the screen to be moved to any position without worrying about the clamp coming loose...there's a lot of rotational force exerted by a heavy monitor hanging out on a long arm.

Long and short of it...the Ergotron LX is terrific. I should have bought one years ago.

Update - November 2009 - I contacted Ergotron to purchase second arm. I wanted to upgrade to a dual-monitor setup, but unfortunately, the arms aren't available for separate purchase. I appear to be stuck (Not nice, guys!), but, if you think you'll need one in the future, you should look at the dual-arm versions today...

I'd give the arm itself a 5 star rating. Not disappointed in it at all.

I just want to warn people that if they have a large monitor that they may need an adapter plate (bracket) that is NOT included with the arm.

I have a Samsung SyncMaster 245bw that needs the wide bracket. The Ergotron company's suggested retail price is $50. Amazon charges $43 (if this is even the correct part) "Wall Mount Bracket Kit" found at the link "Other products by Ergotron"

...or if you have a few tools, you can do what I did and make your own out of a piece of scrap metal for $1.

This thing is STRONG. I was unable to find any confirmaton that it would hold up a 22" widescreen before I purchased it, but I dove in and got one. There is absoluutely no question about it working w/ a 22" monitor. The spring only had to be slightly adjusted from where it came set at. I would by surprised if it didn't support a 30" widescreen. I have the same complaints as most of the reviews I saw, the fact that it doesn't "lock" in a 0 and 90 deg position (not that tough to deal with) and the cable retainers are definitely not up to the quality of the rest of the piece (seems like an afterthought). With proper zip-tying, cables can be tucked in there w/o it popping out though. I have a vga, usb, audio and power cable all zip tied and it is still held in by the cable retainers.

Only con I could really find, in certain configurations, it can get bound up (I have it mounted close to the wall, and the arm can bang into the wall at times). At the moment, because of the way I have it set I can't push it up against the wall.

Other than that, I LOVE the neatness it provides, you get to use 100% of your desk top and you can sit in just about any manner and still move the monitor into a comfortable view. I like being able to tuck it up towards the top of my hutch when I'm not using my monitor.

The stand is very sturdy and comes with everything to mount a LCD flat panel monitor. The instructions were good and the stand is really solid. I used this stand to mount a Samsung 226BW and it looks great with the black adapter plate with all black screws and knobs to attach to the arm. There are two adjustments I had to make because of the weight of this monitor. Once I got it dialed in, it worked like a champ with the looks to boot. You will not be disappointed with this stand. It is rather pricey, but worth the money.

My monitor is quite a bit larger than the specs for this arm "officially" supports - I've got a 28" Viewsonic. However, the total weight of the monitor, once you remove the stand, is 18.8 pounds, which is within the arms rating for weight. Based on other reviews here that said to pay attention to the weight, not the size, I ordered the arm.

There was, I discovered when I tried to the attach the arm, one major "gotcha" here - larger montors, like mine, sometimes don't have a 75x75mm VESA connection or even a 100x100mm connection - mine has a 100x200mm connection - much more like an HDTV than most computer montors. However, all was not lost - 1 (and I really mean 1, as a goole search will show) manufacturer makes a 75x75mm to 100x200mm adapter plate! So I purchased the plate, made by Premier Mounts (alas, not available on Amazon, but at another reputable store). I attached that to the montor and then attached the arm to it and, after a few (ok, many) tensioning adjustments, the monitor holds in place, right at the level my bifocal clad eyes need.

So, if you're buying this for a big montor, keep the following in mind:

- It's the weight, not the size, over 20 pounds and it's not going to happen, but under and you're golden.

- When mounting a monitor at the edge of the weight rating, read the instructions on getting the tensioning right - it really will hold the weight, you just have to tighten it up.

- Check your mounting bracket holes - if they're square, you're good, but if not, if there are 6 mounting holes in a rectangle, you'll need an adapter (and keep in mind, the plate that I used weighs at least half a pound - is solid steel).

- When dealing with a big montor, assembling the arm becomes a 2 person job, so have someone standing by.

Overall, this is a quality piece of equipment - recommended.

I read the reviews here and was happy to see someone else using the Ergotron LX with the Samsung 245BW 24" monitor. I was a little hesitant to buy one but based on that review I took the plunge.

This thing works great. It goes together nice and easy. You can attach the arm to your monitor without trying to hold the monitor in the air like some other arms I have used. I laid my LCD face down on the desk, attached the arm and then lifted the whole thing and lowered it down onto the upright post.

Make sure you get the lift tension adjusted right. It's in the instructions but it's close to the end so you might not get that far. With it set correctly it's having no problems holding up my 24" monitor and it moves around nice and easy. I can even rotate 90 degrees for portrait mode.

Right now I have it clamped to the edge of the desk but I may switch that for the hole mount option. All the hardware is included for that.

My one complaint? The included 100x100mm plate wouldn't work for my monitor necessitating the purchase of the 100x200mm adapter. I knew this going in but the adapter is an extra $50. For some reason it's not black so it looks a little tacky. I should be able to fix that with some black spray paint.

Overall I am very pleased. The stand for the 245BW takes up a lot of space and the ability to move the monitor to where ever I want it is going to be great.

Definitely worth the money!

Ergotron LX Desk Mount Arm - mounting kit ( 45-179-195 )

I bought this for a Samsung 245t (fantastic 8-bit, 24"monitor), which is not only heavy, but is 3.8" in depth. the Erogotron site (and I called them) says 2" is recommended and they can't guarantee it will hold it w/o drooping. But it does with no problem. You just have to tighten the head joint (which they provide an allen wrench for) and it hangs wherever you want without budging, yet still moves around very easily. These things are rock solid metal with heavy duty spring joints. I bought two singles, rather than the double arm, to hold two samsung monitors.

Now, if you're using a monitor like the 245t (24"), it may have a 200mm plate on the back of it where it's original stand is attached. This LX arm comes with a 75mm AND a 100mm plate for attaching. DO NOT go to the Ergotron site and buy the $40 200mm adapter kit! I went to a site at [...], and bought a Skunkworks conversion adaptor (SKU #170EB-80, for $10 plus shipping. It's two simple metal bars that you screw onto your monitor after you take the original stand off. This gives you the holes you need, in the right place, to use the Ergotron supplied 100mm plate and you're good to go.

Other things to consider....is your cable (whether VGA or DVI) long enough to go from your computer, snake through the LX cable channel, and still allow enough slack for you to move and spin your monitor around freely? Mine were not, so I ordered two 10' (3 Meter) cables from a company called CableCity, here on Amazon, for around $10 each plus shipping.

Otherwise, I have one arm 'clamped' to my desk (for the 22" monitor), and the other is mounted 'through' the desk through a small hole I drilled. Both are very, very solid. I have no concerns about them moving or not holding.

Highly, highly recommend this product, and $114 with free shipping is a great price. They ship out of Nevada.

Great monitor arm. Quality workmanship, parts all there and clean, lots of ways to adjust my monitor. I do think it should be less expensive since I did buy a good PC off Craigslist for less than this monitor arm. But it is very functional. The other monitor arms did not look as good or looked cheap and the 22 inch Viewsonic LCD monitor I bought was $350 so I guess the arm is not all that expensive. Very easy to set up. The assembly diagram was not really clear but customer support answered my question and the CSR spoke English, so that was good. All in all it was a good buy. I would buy another just like it if I needed another one. And I would recommend this over all other products, some of which are half the price. You do get what you pay for and I have looked at these in person in stores.