I recently installed several new Dell computer workstations and they came with 15” flat panel monitors. The monitors were Dell 1505FP 15" LCD Monitor model monitors that are part of Dell’s UltraSharp family of monitors.

For those of you that aren’t familiar with Dell’s UltraSharp monitors they are the top of line Dell flat panel monitors. They combine a high contrast ratio and high brightest rating to achieve the super crispness of the display and almost no ghosting.

One thing I first noticed about the Dell 1505FP monitor came in a larger box than most of the 15” LCD flat panel monitors. This is because the monitor comes in two separate pieces and must be assembled. The unique design base which includes a adjustable post that allows the display to be raised and lowered according to the users preferences. The display will also pivot on the post to give a portrait type view.

The two parts of the monitor were individually wrapped and encased in Styrofoam to keep them protected in shipped and the display portion had a clear piece of mylar plastic covering the front of the display to keep it from getting scratched and ruined in shipping.

Once you get it all unpacked it is very easy to assemble. Dell included a big poster size assembly guide with the monitor. The base has the mounting bracket attached to it and you just put the display panel over the bracket and it locks in place.

A couple of things I really like about this monitor is that it includes both analog and DVI connections and it has a built in power supply so I just simply have to plug in the power cord that comes in the box and it is ready to go and I don’t need to have a separate power pack that other flat panel monitors come with. Dell included the DVI cable just in case your computer doesn’t have a standard DB15 SVGA connector.

The installation was a snap and it took a matter of minutes. I just simply connected the power plug to the back of the monitor and plugged the video cable that was already attached to the display panel in shipping to computer and it was ready to go. It performed an auto adjustment to the settings on our video card on the computer and it came up. Dell did include a driver CD, but I didn’t need it.

I really like the compact size of the Dell 1505FP monitors as compared to the old 17” CRT’s that many of our older computer workstations currently have. The base of this monitor is weighted to accommodate the top heaviness of this monitor. I also like the adjustable post that slides up and down depending on the user. It will lock in the lower position and there is button on the post that unlocks the post so it can be adjusted up.

Like all flat panel monitors the Dell 1505FP has a Onscreen Display to change the settings of the monitor. This means you can adjust the brightness and other display attributes by simply using the buttons on the lower right hand side of the monitor. Now another great feature of this monitor is that it automatically adjusts the monitor when you turn it on and sets it up to optimum settings according to your video card settings.

Technical Details

Height: 15.13"

Depth: 8.42"

Width: 14.8"

Weight: 13.48 lbs

Color: Midnight Blue

Preset resolutions: 720x400 pixels @ 70.1 Hz, 640x480 pixels @ 59.9 Hz, 640x480 pixels @ 75 Hz, 800x600 pixels @ 60.3 Hz, 800x600 pixels @ 75 Hz, 1024x768 pixels @ 60 Hz, 1024x768 pixels @ 75 Hz

Note: Optimum resolution setting 1024x768 pixels @ 75 Hz

Image Brightness: 250 nits

Image Contrast Ratio: 400:1

Port(s) Total ( Free ) / Connector Type: 15-pin D-subminiature (blue) / DVI-D (white) / 4 x USB 2.0

Response Time: 16 ms

Final Thoughts

We have been using these monitors for a couple of months now and I haven’t heard a single complaint from the people using them. They like the fact that there isn’t any glare with these new monitors unlike their old 17” CRT’s they used to have. They also haven’t experienced any ghosting at all, but of course these are in a business setting so I can’t speak about how they would work on a gaming PC. The users of our workstations only run business software and rarely do any graphic work. But with its 16ms response time I wouldn’t expect much ghosting.

I would definitely recommend this monitor to anyone looking to replace an old CRT monitor or when you purchase a new Dell computer.


Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 280.00
Operating System: Windows and Macintosh