13. Dell UltraSharp 2208WFP 22" Widescreen Flat Panel LCD Monitor

By Ed Tittel and Toby Digby

Does a dad or grad you know need some more real estate for viewing things on-screen? Perhaps they simply want to trade up from an older CRT or a smaller LCD monitor. Either way, the affordable and eminently viewable Dell UltraSharp 2208WFP widescreen LCD is bound to fit that bill. At around $330, you can provide a 1680 x 1050 resolution monitor, with enough screen real estate to house a veritable (or is that virtual?) mansion and a few extra outbuildings besides.

With ample resolution, 5 ms response time and a 1000:1 contrast ratio; the Dell 2208WFP makes a great addition to any desktop.

Available in either black (2208WFP) or silver (SP2208WFP), this bright, clear LCD monitor is a winner for all kinds of uses, including normal office work, watching TV, videos, or DVDs, light-duty gaming, and so forth. It’s too bad it can’t handle high-definition content at native 1920x1080 (though it works with players that can downscale video), because that would make it just about perfect. But for most run-of-the-mill PC users, including your favorite grads and dads, this monitor makes a pretty good choice.

The 2208WFP includes analog VGA and digital DVI-D video connectors with High-Bandwidth Digital Copy Protection (HDCP) on the digital side to support playback for protected high-definition content (though not at 1080 resolution, alas). It also offers a built-in USB 2.0 hub (a USB cable is included) with four USB ports on the screen’s left edge. The TFT active matrix display features a 22" diagonal, 0.282 mm pixel pitch, and supports 24-bit color (16.7 million colors). Its dimensions are 14.2" x 20.1" x 5.5" / 361mm x 511mm x 140mm, and the unit weighs 15 lbs / 6.82 kg. You can swivel the monitor for landscape or portrait views. Better still, it complies with EPA Energy Star 4.0, and consumes 75 W when operational, but only 2 W in standby or sleep mode.

Though you can go bigger with LCD monitors nowadays, this 22" model offers a great compromise between size and price. We can’t think of a single dad or grad on our list who wouldn’t be happy to make room for this puppy on his or her desktop, and we bet you can’t, either. If you want more info on the 2208WFP, please visit Dell’s product page.