Here's Your Monitor, Folks

I originally set out, a few days ago, to replace a year-old Hitachi 19" monitor that had developed a nasty black patch in the middle of the screen. Consistent with my usual lack of good luck, the first two monitors I chose (a Samsung 955DF, $349.00, and as its replacement an NEC MultiSync 95, $299.00) were defective. There was a lot I liked about the NEC M95 I was returning (you can read my review of it here on Epinions.com), so I was leaning towards staying with NEC - and when the young salesman pointed out a flat screen NEC that was not in their normal monitor display area, I gave it a quick once-over to check its specs, liked what I saw, and settled on taking it - even though it was $100.00 over my budget.

Setup of the MultiSync FE950 (this is actually a FE950+, but I have been unable to find any difference at all between these two on NEC's website, and many vendor's sites treat the two as interchangeable) was a snap: plug it in, attach the cable to the back of the computer, power up, and you're done. Windows XP installed it completely in the background, without needing even to let me know it had found new hardware. The Welcome screen came up, then the desktop loaded...and that's when I said WOW! No major blotchiness. No distortion to speak of, and what there was I easily corrected. Crisp text all the way up to 1280x1024 at 85Hz. Vibrant colors. No defects, no flaws, none of that "Oh well, I guess I'll have to live with it" feeling I so often get after a new purchase.

The MultiSync FE950+ has an aperture mask grille, which means two things: on the up side, a normally superior picture, and on the down side, two very fine horizontal lines running across the screen at about the 1/4 and 3/4 marks. I never thought I'd buy a monitor with an aperture grille, because I find those lines distracting - but I'm finding that I don't even notice them until I look for them, and the quality of the rest of the display is more than enough compensation. So if this particular characteristic is something that has held you back up to now, I'd reconsider and give an aperture grille monitor a chance. A lot of people will not buy anything else, and I'm beginning to see why.

The picture is superb from corner to corner, with very little geometric distortion and no fuzzy areas. (I'm amazed at how good text can look at 1280x1024 and 85Hz, the monitor's default configuration.) Display seems nice and bright, with good contrast. Colors are true, with good pure whites and intense blues and reds. There is an area that appears to be a little darker than the rest, but I am a horribly perfectionistic person and if it doesn't bother me, it's sure not going to bother you.

The controls are easy to access and use, and quite straightforward. User settings are automatically stored. Footprint is well within what you would expect for a 19" monitor; it's a tad heavy, though, at 50.7 pounds. The warranty is a generous 3 years - and having just had a monitor go out on me after only one year, for me this is definitely no minor selling point.

I really can't find too many faults with this monitor, but then that is what you have a right to expect when you spend $400.00, don't you think? I wish I had been able to find the quality of monitor that I was looking for for only $300.00, but it didn't look like it was going to happen. If you demand a superb quality display because you are in front of the monitor all day (like me), and can justify spending the extra money, you will not be disappointed at all in the NEC MultiSync FE 950.