Reviewed by Barry Little - July 17, 2007

Manufacturer: Ergotron, Inc.

Model: 33-310-060

Price: $36.99 at Amazon.com

So you’ve just brought a brand new LCD display, and love everything about it—except the stand, which isn’t adjustable. Maybe the stand on the display you already own feels like it’s going to snap in half or come apart every time you adjust it. Why continue to put up with a sore neck, shoulders, eye-strain, and the risk of turning your display into an expensive paperweight, after falling off that stack of books—or from a cheap, poorly-designed stand that’s been adjusted one time too many—when there’s the Ergotron Neo-Flex LCD Stand?

With all the emphasis on wringing as much graphical and multi-core processing horsepower out of PCs as humanly possible, there’s one important piece of hardware staring you in the face every time you sit in front of your PC, that’s overlooked. If you guessed the display, then you got half the equation right. While everything from picture quality and size to warranty and price are at the top of most people’s list when shopping for a new LCD display, it’s the other half of the equation—the ergonomics or comfort in using the display—that’s often (and easily) overlooked. The part of the display responsible for its ergonomics, is the stand that it sits on.

The stands that come with most LCD displays do more than a sufficient job in allowing the range of adjustment necessary for the best and most comfortable viewing experience. However, all LCD displays are not created equal. Quality and/or flexibility are usually the first casualties when a company is trying to save a buck or two on their products, particularly the lower-tier ones. Some LCD displays have stands that permit only basic tilting and swiveling, but no height adjustment. Some stands are poorly or cheaply constructed, making whatever range of adjustment they provide anywhere from a nuisance to practically life-threatening for the display itself (a problem not limited to entry-level, budget models).

Either way, the result is the same. Frustrated users adopt “work-arounds” to compensate for the display’s lack of adjustability—like sitting the display on top of something that can’t properly support it, which is potentially dangerous to the display, themselves or someone else in the household (small children). Or those who would rather put up with the discomfort of an improperly adjusted display because it requires a Sumo Wrestler to adjust the stand. And those who would rather avoid the aggravation of sending the display back for repair/replacement for the umpteenth time, courtesy of a stand so flimsy, it couldn’t support a cup of coffee.

Fortunately, the folks at Ergotron, Inc. have spent a quarter of a century dedicating themselves to providing world-class ergonomic solutions for businesses and consumers. Although Ergotron may not be a household name to everyone, chances are that the stand on the LCD display that came with your Dell or Gateway PC with its stylish looks, rugged construction and smooth-as-silk operation, is an Ergotron stand.

About Ergotron, Inc.

Ergotron, Inc. is a Minnesota-based corporation founded in 1982 by Harry C. Sweere. The name Ergotron is derived from the words Ergonomics and Electronics. As the name suggests, Ergotron’s mission is to improve the human interface with computers, monitors, TVs, large displays—any video display. Innovative, high quality products offered at an exceptional value are the hallmark of Ergotron.

Ergotron’s portfolio of digital display mounting solutions includes wall and desk mount arms, desk stands, mobile carts, floor stands, pivots and vertical lifts. With the introduction of patented CF lift-and-pivot motion technology, Ergotron’s products require less user effort to achieve more motion. Each Ergotron product is designed to enhance the viewing experience, reduce stress and improve productivity in today’s computing and entertainment environments.

Headquartered in the United States, Ergotron has a division and four subsidiaries in Europe, and is represented in 67 countries worldwide.

Packaging

There are two SKU numbers for the Ergotron Neo-Flex LCD Stand. The retail version is Model #33-311-60, while the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) version is Model #33-310-060. The Neo-Flex stand in this review, as you can tell from the photos of the plain, brown cardboard box with only the product/barcode label, is the OEM version.

The quality of the box and materials, and the manner in which everything was packed, is above-average. Opening the box, we find the Neo-Flex is well-protected with heavy cardboard inserts. All the individual components are sealed in plastic bags. Ergotron includes the Neo-Flex stand and base, and the assembly hardware. There are three sets of Assembly Instructions included, each in a different language—including English—for Ergotron’s European and Asian markets. The instructions take the “picture-worth-a-thousand-words” approach in assembling the stand with plenty of clear, good-sized black and white illustrations.

The Neo-Flex LCD Stand

Made of dark gray high impact plastic with the Ergotron logo silk-screened on the back, the Neo-Flex Stand is nearly 16” (397mm) high. Unlike other accessory display stands available to consumers, the Neo-Flex is the only one that uses an adjustable weight mechanism to raise and lower the display panel, rather than the usual telescopic arrangement that raises and lowers the stand itself. Providing superior reliability and near-effortless operation, the adjustable weight stands of Ergotron’s patented Constant Force (CF)™ technology, were previously available only to OEMs. The Neo-Flex’s spring-hinged steel mounting bracket allows the display panel to be raised and lowered approximately 5.2” (130mm); tilted back 25°, forward 5° and rotated 90° from landscape to portrait mode.

The ring-shaped silver base is 8.6” (216mm) in diameter, contrasts nicely with the dark grey stand, and has the Neo-Flex logo silk-screened on the front. Pick it up, and the first thing you notice is its weight—heavier than the base assemblies on some displays. Although the metal bracket for mounting the stand at the rear of the base is partially responsible for its above-average heft, turn it over and you’ll see that the stand bracket extends to the base’s core to strengthen it and help distribute the weight of the installed display panel. It also serves as a mounting point for a ring-shaped sleeve mechanism that allows you to swivel the Neo-Flex LCD Stand and your display 270° to the left or right as if it were gliding on air. But don’t worry. A set of anti-skid pads are not only mounted on the rotation ring, but under the mounting bracket for the stand, to insure that your display will stay put on your desk while you adjust it.

When assembled, the Neo-Flex can support LCD weights from 6 to 16 pounds (2.7 – 7.2kg). The maximum recommended screen size for the Neo-Flex is less than 23” (58 cm). Attempting to install a larger screen, or one whose depth exceeds 2” (5 cm), could diminish the weight capacity of the stand.

Assembly and Use

Although installing the Neo-Flex LCD Stand is simple and straightforward, it never hurts to review the included instructions first and have them close by for reference. The one manual you will need is the one that came with your LCD display. It will have information on a set of holes you need to have on back of the display panel, and information on how to remove the factory-installed stand.

The holes are for an optional bracket that can be used to mount your display panel to a wall. If your display follows the usual array of confusing-sounding industry standards (VESA^® FDMI MIS-D, 100/75, C), it will have either 100 x 100mm or 75 x 75mm mounting holes. You’ll need a Phillips head screwdriver to install the Neo-Flex LCD Stand. Depending on your display, you may also need additional tools to remove your old stand.

Find yourself a clean, well-lit area where you can work (a kitchen table will do). You’ll need something to place underneath your display to prevent scratching the front bezel and screen, like a towel. I used the bag that the display used in this review came in, which is made out of a narrow layer of foam and plastic. Remove the factory stand and tuck it away for somewhere for safekeeping, so you can re-install it if you sell your display in the future. A word of caution: anyone who wants to buy your display and sees the Neo-Flex LCD Stand installed on it, probably won’t want it with the old one...

First, drop the stand down on top of the base and use the two M5 x 12mm screws (you can’t miss them, because they’re the only two silver screws in the kit) to secure it. Next, line up the holes of the Neo-Flex’s mounting bracket with the holes on the back of your display panel. The stand comes with three different sets of screws to attach it to your display; the ones you use depend on which type of wall-mount bracket holes are on the back of the panel. As illustrated in the Neo-Flex instructions, you can use either the four M4 x 10mm screws or thumbscrews to attach the Neo-Flex to a panel with the 100 x 100mm holes.

If your panel has 75 x 75mm holes you can use the four M4 x 10mm screws—but not the thumbscrews—to attach the Neo-Flex. If the 75 x 75mm holes are sunk into the back of the panel, you’ll need to use that funky-looking black plastic X-bracket and the four M4 x 25mm screws. Tighten the screws in a criss-cross pattern until they’re secure. Don’t over-tighten them, or you could crack the plastic area around the panel’s screw holes. Connect your power and video cables, and snake them through the slot at the bottom of the base, hook them up, and enjoy the new adjustability of your Ergotron Neo-Flex LCD Stand.

You should be able to adjust your panel up and down without stiffness, binding, or the panel sliding back to the top position. If the panel doesn’t stay in place or feels too stiff when you adjust its height, then disconnect the display and sit it face down (don’t forget to put something under it to protect it). Take a Phillips-head screw driver, and put it through the hole under the rear of the base. Turn the screw clockwise to increase the stand’s tension mechanism until the display can move up and down smoothly while staying where you leave it. Turn the screw counterclockwise to relax the tension until you can move the panel up and down more freely without it being overly stiff.

To switch your display from portrait to landscape mode, raise the panel to the top position. Tilt the bottom of the panel towards you, then turn the panel clockwise until the panel stops at the vertical/portrait position (don’t try to force the panel further than it will go, or you’ll damage it). Tilt the bottom of the panel—which is now the left hand side—back into place. If your display didn’t come with its own software to automatically change the orientation of your screen from landscape to portrait and back—as it most likely won’t if it had a non-adjustable stand—you can use the Catalyst Control Center if you have an AMD/ATI video card, or the NVIDIA ForceWare Control Panel to assign hotkeys to switch the on-screen view from landscape to portrait. There are a number of free utilities like iRotate 1.2, that you can also use. The Ergotron Neo-Flex LCD Stand is easy to keep clean with a damp cloth. If you have to lift and move the display, always lift it by the base and center of the stand—never by the display panel itself.