Customer Reviews

HP Pavilion f2304 High-Definition 23" LCD Monitor

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

 

 

After my first 24-hours with the HP f2304, I'm a very happy camper. The picture is jaw-droppingly gorgeous and crisp (after you install the monitor drivers from the included CD), the sound from the speakers is excellent, and the size is just amazing. I took off one star for the only issue I had with the monitor...the swivel on my base is a little loose, so the monitor tends to tilt forward instead of holding in the position I place it in. It holds in place if I tilt it back, but once it gets to straight vertical it seems to just drop forward. The base is removable via four screws in the back and can be replaced with another base or a wall-mount bracket, so it doesn't really reflect the quality of the monitor itself at all. Five stars for the monitor, 1 star for the base. :)

I've had the f2304 for a little over 3 years now, and I find its quality still in step with even the latest Dell and Apple Cinema monitors.
At one point (about a year after I purchased it) I thought there might be a defect in that the monitor was emitting a humming noise. I contacted the HP support center and they overnighted a new one. I noticed the one they shipped had a loose swivel stand (which another amazon reviewer mentioned) and the screen was smudged in some places, so it was more than likely refurbished. By chance I figured out the humming noise was coming from the volume on my monitor being turned up to 100 (doh!), so I sent the refurbished unit back and kept my original, which does not suffer from the loose swivel problem.

The only complaint I can think of is that when the screen is completely black, there is a subtle glow that emanates behind it, so it never seems completely black. This is more noticeable when watching a movie, than say, when looking at the black Windows Vista taskbar.

Watching High-Definition movies on this monitor is stunning. The sound quality is very good and there are plenty of connections in the back to hook up extra components. Used as a computer monitor, it's nothing short of stellar.

If you can still find one of these, don't think twice, buy it.