Ergotron LX Dual Arm Desk Mount Review

[dietcokefiend]

Bump to get answers...c'mon Kevin!

Oh, and my girlfriend said she'd rather see me not buy this...she'd rather I buy a Wii !

I will try tomorrow to see what the limits of the arms are. 20lb monitor... probably works, 20lb notebook... hope you had damage insurance.

Some 15" notebooks are pushing it for the holding platform. While the main suspension arm has a tension adjustment, the pivot section does not. This makes a laptop angle forward enough where its like the notebook is going to flip off the stand. The way the platform is designed I really dont see it holding notebook+docking station. Would be way too unstable.

I really think its best use is holding LCD's. I will try and get a shot of it in action on my desk tomorrow.

[Greg]

The notebook isn't 20lbs...sheesh!

I'd wager it is close to 9lbs with the dock though.

[Greg]

Bumpity Kevin? Got any info for me?

[dietcokefiend]

Bumpity Kevin? Got any info for me?

Some partial info, so bored today that I forgot about the other stuff

Here is a shot showing how big the platform is. On top is a 15.4" Tecra A9. Anything heavier by about a LB would make the tilting platform completely flop down. The height adjusting arm would stay in the right spot, but the spring tensioned tray would not.

[dietcokefiend]

Well today I did the unheard of, and opened the manual. Turns out there is an adjustment for that one pivot part! Cranked all the way it can hold up a closed 15" notebook (before it would flop unless the screen was open). Next will be trying to see if it can hold a open 17" notebook when we get one in.

[Greg]

Well today I did the unheard of, and opened the manual. Turns out there is an adjustment for that one pivot part! Cranked all the way it can hold up a closed 15" notebook (before it would flop unless the screen was open). Next will be trying to see if it can hold a open 17" notebook when we get one in.

Excellent! And I was starting to give up hope...!!!

Let me know when a 17" comes your way, as I'm CERTAINLY interested in how it fares. If possible, assume a dock stretches out 3" or so from the butt of the notebook. What'da'ya'think?

Weight-wise, I think I'd be okay as I have a relatively light 17" machine anyway. It's the dimensions of the dock that scare me right now...

[ittius]

Hey

Nice review

i'm looking at getting somthing that i can also fo typing is there any way of making it not so springy????

or do u have any other sugestions

thx in advance

[Greg]

Kevin?

Sorry to bump this, but I was wondering if any 17" notebooks had graced your desk recently?

[dietcokefiend]

Not yet, but will let you know if one finally comes my way.

[rmcardle]

My name is Riley McArdle and I work for Ergotron.

First off, I'd like to thank you for your review. I just wanted to respond to some of your concerns and some of the comments and questions from others.

Kevin:

I agree with you about the flimsiness of the plastic that covers the mechanics of the arm. I have brought this problem up to our Engineers but I'm not sure if it will be changed. Like you said, its really only something you notice while you are installing the arm and doesn't affect the function as the metal parts beneath the plastic are more than strong enough to hold things up.

The notebook arm isn't really designed to be used for typing on the notebook. The intention has always been that the user would use an external keyboard with the notebook while it is on the notebook arm. It would be not be ergonomic for the user to type on the notebook up so high from the desk and it would also limit the ability of the arm to be easily adjusted if it had to be stiff enough to type on.

The tilting joint you mentioned does have an adjustment. There is a large Phillips screw on the underside that you can turn to adjust the tension of the tilt. This should help hold heavier notebooks.

There are some channels on the underside of the arm for cable routing. Unless you have a lot of cables that need to run to your notebook, they should be big enough.

elfroggo:

We do have a black version of this product. Here's a link to the page on our website:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/26eqyd

Teraforce:

The pictures with the Dell Latitude and HP Compaq Evo notebooks were taken here at Ergotron.

Greg:

Some 24" monitors may work, it mainly depends on the weight and center of gravity. The notebook arm probably could not hold a 17" notebook and dock but again it depends on the weight and center of gravity. If you have the brand and model of the monitor and notebook you want to use, I could try and find out if they would work.

I think I understand what you are saying about collapsing things. You can adjust the arms so that the monitor overlaps the monitor of the notebook if you wanted to.

The notebook can be tilted down past straight up and down (e.g. the keyboard of the notebook would be perpendicular to the table). You wouldn't want to do that though because the notebook would fall forward, but it is possible.

elfroggo, Teraforce, a75user:

Our products may be a tad on the expensive side but I think if you try them out, you will see that you really do get what you pay for. "Feel the difference" was our tag line for a while and it really is true. Once you feel the smoothness and ease of adjusting your monitor or notebook, you will know how different our product is and that it is worth the price. The quality and functionality are not matched by anything else out there.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to PM here or E-Mail me at rmcardle@ergotron.com. I'll also be watching this thread for replies.