Why You Can Trust CNET Lenovo L2060 Wide review: Lenovo L2060 Wide
Lenovo L2060 Wide
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The 20-inch Lenovo L2060 Wide is available for as low as $135 and includes acceptable overall performance. Unfortunately, its relatively low brightness hampers movie playback by constraining the colors and not allowing them to pop. Thanks to their higher brightness, both the 20-inch HP 2009m and Flatron W2053TQ are better overall performers and can be found for about the same price.
Lenovo L2060 Wide
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
Design and features
The 20-inch Lenovo L2060 Wide looks like a slightly smaller version of the L215P we reviewed previously. The L2060 Wide has a glossy black chassis that contrasts nicely with its light gray neck, making it stand out visually from most monitors. The glossy black bezel measures a short 0.6 inch on the left and right sides and 0.8 inch on the top and bottom. The middle of the top bezel has a raised silver Lenovo logo on it.
The panel is nearly 1 inch deep; however, the back of the display, which houses the connection options and ventilation system, extends another .9 inch, bringing the full monitor depth to about 1.9 inches. The panel width measures 18.7 inches long, which is average for a monitor of this screen size. The bottom of the bezel sits about 2.8 inches from the desktop, but unfortunately, this screen height is neither adjustable nor is there a swivel or pivot option, which is useful if you prefer portrait mode. The capability to tilt the screen back 20 degrees is the only included ergonomic feature.
The oval-shaped footstand measures nearly 8.7 inches in width, with a depth of 6.8 inches. When knocked from the sides, the display wobbles and slides considerably, but not to the point where we feel it's in danger of toppling. It weighs 8.92 pounds and its weight is distributed so it's mostly over the footstand. As for connection options, Lenovo includes DVI and VGA connection options on the L2060 Wide.
The bottom right-hand corner of the bezel includes the OSD array consisting of a Menu button (which doubles as the Enter button), Right and Left directional buttons, a Back button, and a Video Source button. The right button also doubles as a preset shortcut. Picture options consist of brightness and contrast and there are three presets, including Text, Internet, and Video. Each preset changes the color temperature and/or brightness of the display to be appropriate to the task at hand.
There are also four color temperature presets as well as the capability to change the red, green, and blue directly. The color presets include Neutral, Reddish, Bluish, and SRGB. We found Neutral was the best all-around color preset. The usability of the OSD doesn't stack up to those used in Dell's recent offerings, but the learning curve is relatively short and each button is responsive and tactile.
The Lenovo L2060's 16:9 aspect ratio supports a "Full HD" 1,600x900-pixel native resolution. This continues the trend of more and more monitor vendors moving toward 16:9 from 16:10 because high-definition content--in particular, 1080p movies--can fit onto a 1,920x1,080-pixel screen without distorting the image.
Manufacturer's specs:
Resolution: 1,600x900
Pixel-response rate: 5ms
Contrast ratio: 1,000:1
Connectivity: DVI-D, VGA
HDCP compliant? Yes
Included video cables? DVI, VGA
Brightness: 250 cd/m2
Backlight: CCFL
Panel Type: TN
Performance
We tested the Lenovo L2060 Wide with its DVI connection. The display posted a composite score of 91 on CNET Labs' DisplayMate-based performance tests, coming in a few points higher than the other 20-inchers we've reviewed: the LG Flatron W2053TQ's and HP 2009m's 87. In our Dark Screen test, clouding, or backlight bleedthrough, was quite prevalent on the top and especially the bottom-middle edge of the screen. Also, we noticed a slight greenish tint in our Color Tracking test, suggesting that colors may not be as accurate as we'd like. The L2060 Wide achieved a brightness score of 206 candelas per square meter (cd/M2).
We used the L2060's Video preset to check out "Kill Bill: Vol. 1" on DVD and a number of 1080p movie files from Microsoft's WMV HD Showcase. We ran the L2060 Wide next to the Samsung SyncMaster XL2370 and the brightness difference was easily noticeable. Movie images looked sharp, but the colors weren't able to really pop thanks to the L2060's relatively dim screen.
We looked at World of Warcraft (WoW) and Unreal Tournament 3 and noticed no signs of input lag or any streaking or ghosting during fast movement. At such a relatively low resolution of 1,600x900 pixels, we did notice that some text in WoW isn't as sharp as we're accustomed to.
The optimal viewing angle for a monitor is usually directly in front, about a quarter of the screen's distance down from the top. At this angle, you're viewing the colors and gamma correction as they were intended. Most monitors are not made to be viewed at any other angle. Depending on its panel type, picture quality at non-optimal angles varies. Most monitors use TN panels, which get overly bright or overly dark in parts of the screen when viewed from nonoptimal angles. The Lenovo L2060 Wide uses a TN panel, and when viewed from the side or bottom, we perceived the screen to darken about 6 inches off from center. Of course, when viewed from the optimal angle, we had no problems.
In our power consumption tests, the Lenovo L2060 Wide had a fairly low On/Default power draw of 21.5 watts, compared with the HP 2009m's 93.72 watts and the LG Flatron W2053TQ's 37.21 watts. Based on our formula, the L2060 Wide would cost a low $6.69 per year to run, compared with the 2009m's $9.47 per year and the W2053TQ's $13.57.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
 Juice box | |
| Lenovo L2060 Wide | Average watts per hour |
| On (default luminance) | 21.5 |
| On (max luminance) | 23.8 |
| On (min luminance) | 14.5 |
| Sleep | 0.4 |
| Calibrated (200 cd/m2) | 22.6 |
| Annual power consumption cost | $6.69 |
| Score | Good |
Find out more about how we test LCD monitors
Service and support
Lenovo supports the L2060 Wide with a great three-year warranty that covers the backlight. This is identical to the warranties that Dell provides for its monitors. Lenovo offers 24-7 toll-free phone support, but, unfortunately, unlike Dell, Lenovo doesn't include e-mail or chat support. We weren't able to find drivers and the manual for the L2060 Wide on Lenovo's Web site at the time this review was written.