I recently purchased the GAOMON PD2200 drawing monitor from Amazon to create math tutorial videos (and for live tutoring). I have no artistic abilities, but my wife…who has an art degree…hopefully will push it a bit harder than me.
(Quick note: please read the update at the bottom of the post. The monitor is not red-ish like the image to the left and the video make it look.)
I am very impressed with the PD2200. Why?
Pros:
- It is huge. It is 21.5 inches (with a 1920×1080 resolution). This allows an uncoordinated person like me to have better results.
- It has an easy, stable, and flexible height adjustment method. (Please see the review video below.)
- Their customer service has been amazing. Dora has been a champ with pre-sale support, responding to questions, and taking suggestions. (I should note, I have not had to use their customer service because of an issue…the PD2200 has had none.)
- It has a 92% NTSC color gamut. I know that means something important. 🙂
- It comes with a passive (i.e. no battery required) pen with 8,192 pressure levels and an ability to work up to a plus or minus 60 degree angle.
- It has 8 shortcut keys.
- It comes with an anti-glare screen protector already attached. That’s right, you don’t have to attach it. 🙂 Also, it makes writing on it more paper-like.
- Driver installation was easy. (Don’t forget to install as an administrator.) Set up was as simple as installing the driver and then hooking up the USB, HDMI, and power cables. Okay, I did have to take it out of the box first. 🙂 (Speaking of that, nicely packed GAOMAN!)
- It’s one third the cost of the Wacom equivalent. Yes, you heard that right…it is three times cheaper than the Wacom equivalent. 🙂
- Most of all: it works perfectly.
Of course, since competing priorities mean compromises, it isn’t perfect…
Cons:
- It is huge. It’ll take up a lot of space on your desk and, unless you are a big guy like me, it’s probably not portable. Having said that, you can literally replace a monitor with it…and I’ll be bringing it places. (Update: GAOMON confirms it is VESA mountable.)
- It requires special drivers, so you may only be able to use it as an HDMI monitor with your work computer. (For example, I am in health care IT, and never would install unblessed drivers on my work laptop.)
- It does not have touchscreen support and will not be getting it. Since GAOMON doesn’t advertise it as having this feature, it’s less a con than a “boy I wish it had it so I could be like those cool swipe-your-computer-screen to save the world people in sci-fi movies about the future.” 🙂
I had a choice of getting this, a GoPro Max, or a DJI Mavic Mini drone…and I made the right choice. I am due to start tutoring for college next semester, and this will help me share my love of math with students…and, via YouTube, with the world! 🙂
And I’m not saying I’ll never get the Max or the drone. 🙂
Two videos: First, my review:
Second, the first mathematics tutorial I created using this tablet with OneNote as input to XSplit Broadcaster:
(The review video includes a snippet of the tutorial video.)
Punch line?
If you have reason to get a large writing monitor, grab this one. If you want something smaller, grab one of their other models.
Update: On YouTube a commenter asked about the colors on the PD2200, noting that in the video they looked red-ish. That is the GoPro HERO8 Black not properly capturing the screen’s color (which may be exacerbated by the angle and the purple in the title bar). Here are examples of the 3 monitors in the video looking at the same color grid. Please note: There didn’t seem to be a perfect white balance to take the image with my Samsung Galaxy Note10, and the LG one shows lines that are purely an interaction between its refresh and the camera (as does the PD2200). All the monitors look significantly better than their respective image implies. (Please click on an image for a larger version.)
Basically, I think they basically all have a good and equal color balance (with my preference being for the PD2200). My wife, looking straight on, thinks the PD2200 is a little pinkish. She may be right…hard to tell 100%.
Regardless, if you aren’t satisfied with how it comes from the factory, the PD2200 will allow you to adjust it:
Now, I have not idea what exactly those settings (other than saturation will do), so please be kind if I just showed my ignorance. 🙂
Thanks “toxicbrew” for watching the review and commenting!
Thank you so much for sharing using experience of GAOMON PD2200 Pen Display!
You are welcome. Great display!
Alan,
Thanks for your review of the PD2200. I’m a graphic designer, and I’m looking to upgrade my older tablet to one with a fully-laminated screen like this one. It’s relatively new, and it’s been hard for me to find reviews/comments about it. I’m shocked at the low cost, based on the specs.
Can you verify whether or not this tablet is VESA mount compatible? You wrote something that suggested it was not compatible. Most of these Chinese or off-brand tablets are VESA mountable once you unscrew the “built-in” stand. Any chance for some photos of the back of the tablet monitor? Thank you.
-Michael
Hi Michael,
Well, you’ll be able to judge far better than me whether the PD2200 is good…I am as far from an expert in the graphic arts as anyone. 🙂
GAOMON confirms it is VESA mountable:
My best,
Alan
Alan,
That would be a shame. The screw mounts holding the stand into the monitor look like they are both 75 and 100mm VESA compatible, but the fact that the wired connections go into that area seem to suggest they wanted the stand attached at all times. I suppose it’s still possible the stand could be removed, if it looks like it is a “plate,” or separate piece of plastic attached over the area where the wired connections are located.
I figured there had to be a catch for digital artists. This Gaomon features the higher report rate (266 RPS) like the newer Huion products, and the higher response time (14ms) of the newer XP-Pen products. So with a fully laminated screen, it was the best of both worlds — except for not being able to mount it on a monitor arm.
At any rate, I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to respond and attach a picture. Glad the tablet meets your needs. Thank you!
-Michael
Hi Michael,
I was wrong and am updating everywhere I said it…it is VESA mountable per GAOMON:
I have a second note out to them to check, but I think it would be just the adjustable portion you would remove, attaching the VESA mount to the part with the wires.
I believe it is returnable on Amazon, so if you confirm that, it’s probably worth trying.
My best,
Alan
Hi Michael,
GAOMON confirmed you can attach the VESA mount after removing the stand, hooking the VESA mount to the housing that the cable connect to.
My best,
Alan
Thanks for the review, sir
You mentioned that some of the smaller models even have touchscreen support, can you direct me to some of those?
Thank you
You know, I checked again with them and I must have misunderstood what the said before. They have no touchscreen models.
I’ve updated the review.
Also, just in case, I think my wife may have been right about a bit of a red-ish coloring, but I am still not fully convinced. I still love the monitor. (You can see a couple videos using it on Math.Promo.
Is 1920×1080 high enough resolution for drawing on such a large screen? One of the reason the premium Cintiqs are so expensive is because they allow higher resolutions.
I don’t use it for drawing, so I cannot confirm. However, it works well for the math sessions I lead.
I just received my tablet ,and because I’m stupid I thought it doesn’t need a extra device as a laptop/ computer. And so I wanted to ask if it works with laptops? And if yes what would be a stable laptop for me to use ( and a cheap one) ?
Hi Alice,
As long as the laptop has the hdmi and usb connectors, it works with a laptop (both Windows and Mac). As for a cheap one, personally I watch Woot (woot.com) until I see a deal I like. I am especially fond of Lenovo. I would check the Amazon listing for minimum specs for a computer, but I cannot imagine it is much. If anything, what will drive those specs will be the program(s) you want to use it with.
I can ask Gaomon questions too if needed (they are pretty responsive).
My best,
Alan
About the red-ish screen, I ask them in AliExpress if they can provide me the ICC Profile color to use for calibration. They answered that they can provide me the ICC Profile. Maybe you could ask them too.
The only reason that I am concerning is the screen resolution. Full HD on 22 inches at point-blank range for drawing or 3D modeling might not be enough.
Anyway, your review really helps me a lot. Thanks.
Thanks for the note QQ. I’ve never ordered from AliExpress. Have you had good luck with them?
And you clearly know more about resolution than I do. I appreciate the knowledge…
Great Review! Thank you .
nothing is as intuitive as drawing on to a screen with an expensive display tablet . I got my XP-PEN Artist 24 Pro drawing tablet with screen 24″ recently, and its working with Toon Boom Harmony really well. The XP-PEN Display works great, since the 2560 x 1440 QHD resolution is much hight and the big working area .
That looks like an awesome display: https://www.xp-pen.com/product/602.html
However, since it is more than twice the cost of my GAOMAN, unless I can get XP-PEN to lend me one to review, I probably won’t find out just how awesome it is. 🙂
Thanks for the comment!
Thanks for the honest review.
Got a Gaomon PD2200 and it’s been fantastic for me so far. Been using it for 6 days now and loved every second of it.
They seem to be very good quality, especially for the price when compared to Wacom.
Honestly, if someone don’t have problem with the hand eye coordination then I would suggest the Gaomon S620 non-screen tablet. More durable and cheaper.
https://pctechtest.com/best-gaomon-drawing-tablets
Thanks for reading and the comment!