Lamptron HM101 review - Introduction

Lamptron HM101 review
A screen for real-time monitoring (and more)

Lamptron is trying to find its new niche. They’re a company known mainly for their fan controllers –  something that’s seldom used anymore, because most motherboards have fan headers now, and there are hardly any cases with 5.25”drive bays. This time, we’re checking out their LCD screen for monitoring PC h/w data, the HM101. It’s this manufacturer’s subsequent attempt at market innovation, following in the footsteps of the Lamptron SM436 PCI Fan and LED controller.

The HM101 is a bigger variant of the Lamptron HM070, which has already been available on the market for a while. It’s an interesting option for quicker PC monitoring. This time it’s not 7”, but a 10.1” IPS panel with Full HD resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels), so you shouldn’t worry about image quality (the PPI is 218, so relatively high). There’s also the bigger and more expensive HM173 model if you need it. The display works with Aida64’s real-time monitoring of crucial system parameters (they’re an official partner). AIDA64 has a page that lists supported external displays, ranging from LCDs to VFDs and even OLEDs. Some pre-made templates are available for the monitoring view, but you can customize them to your needs as well. I highly recommend going about it this way, rather than starting from scratch.

You can mount the HM101 on your desktop, but it’s also possible (at least theoretically) to put it inside your PC chassis – most modern designs have tempered glass panels allowing you to see what’s inside. Of course, you might argue that there are some custom solutions, e.g. based on Raspberry Pi, which can offer similar features for a lower price. Yes, you’re right, but in most cases installing these things is not as straightforward as it is with this line of Lamptron products (I mean the HM series). Let’s take a look at the marketing info now, shall we?