How to proceed regarding calibration

Some people say that you benefit from downloading a calibrated profile for your monitor while others say you won't benefit at all.

I recently purchased a Lenovo L220X and I was wondering what is the best way to go about calibrating it (professional tools are not an option).

From what I've read there's some software that can be downloaded, or purchased that can help in calibration (of course, not to the extent professional tools would). Should I download a profile for my monitor and than use this software (could you recommend any?), or skip the profile?

There are some tools that let you calibrate by eye, even some web pages, check google for several options But the real answer is that calibration without a professional tool is not calibration, it's still going to be subjective and based on the type of ambient light, your biases, etc.

You won't benefit from someone else's profile because calibration is a fluid thing. Many pro's calibrate monthly or more. It's specific to that particular monitor, not all of a brand.

Thanks!

What tools or web pages do you think are the best for it?

I have an LG L246WP. What I did was first chose sRGB in the monitor itself, then turned down the brightness. You could try some of these tools, which are free:

First off, you can check out how things look at this site: http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/

This is another good site with lots of info: http://normankoren.com/makingfineprints1A.html

Then there's these freebie programs: http://quickgamma.de/indexen.html
and
http://www.hex2bit.com/products/product_mcw.asp

http://epaperpress.com/monitorcal/ did me a little good back before I had calibration hardware, and also you may check out Nokia Monitor Tools. More of a functionality test than calibration, but you will notice if something is very wrong. If you're serious about calibration, the Spyder2 starts at something like $69 and does a very nice job giving you accurate and consistent color.

Thanks, fellows!