Bright... Too Bright?
Pros:
Good response time, low price, small desk area.
Cons:
No DVI, no speakers
The Bottom Line:
If you aren't into high end video and want a good reliable display, it's a good buy.
|
|
Overall Rating:
|
 |
|
Author's Review
I use this monitor for about 8 hours a day, and have been using this for the last month or so.
After the client refreshed my old buzzing CRT into this compact LCD, I must say it was so bright on the first few days, my co workers said the glow was reflecting onto my face. hah. So eventually I decided to fiddle with the controls. But we'll get to that later.
So.. In the box:
A bunch of useless packaging, manual, AC adaptor, VGA adaptor, installation CD (you need this), and stand bracket.
The installation took about 5 minutes, in fact the hardest part was getting the cable through the back of my desk.
As for the stats of the monitor:
17 inch
4:3 aspect
1280x1024 resolution
8ms response time
160x160 viewing angle
600:1 contrast ratio and 300cd/2 brightness
NO dvi or component video output :(
Now what the heck does all that mean?
I guess I'll have to sum it up in the performance. I use this monitor for primarily business purposes (Excel, Web, Outlook, A lot of Text (SQL). After the first installation the fonts looked all screwed up, I installed the included magictune software, re-booted and it automatically fixed the font problem. I then pushed the "AUTO" button and the monitor calibrated itself which was a great feature. But the screen was still too bright - there is a Magicbright button which has the following settings: Custom, Text, Internet, Game, Sport & Movie. The text setting really does make the text easier to read against most white windowed applications. The power button is a little blue thing in the bottom right hand corner; illuminated.
Keep in mind since this monitor is in a business environment it stays on pretty much 24/7, I have yet to see any burn in or flicker, any sign of wear, after a month of nonstop usage.
One of the great features of this monitor is that the edges are about 1.5cm wide - which is quite small. It gives it a really nice aesthetic look, and less room for annoying sticky notes.
The monitor is simple, inexpensive, and thus far quite reliable. I say reliable since the IT department of this particular company is refreshing a big chunk of the firm with this model.
As for any negatives, I can't really say much - the response time is very good for the price. No DVI or speakers though.
