The prices are coming down which means LCD monitors are fast becoming standard on the desktop. And business-grade 19-inch monitors are holding their own when it comes to the desktop market.
For this review, we will look at sub-AU$1000 19-inch models. What these monitors lack in depth they make up for in width and height. And such a large screen means you can push these models far away and still be able to see. We had 11 vendors submit monitors for this review, and as mentioned they are all sub-AU$1000, some well under this price.
What to look for
- Quality of image. Look for sharpness of text, refresh rate, and contrast ratio. In particular, look at tearing: the effect noticed when there are fast moving graphics or video images displayed on the screen. This is mostly a large jagged line across the screen which flashes up for a millisecond -- it is fairly hard to percieve and occurs mostly during high-contrast changes, ie black background with fast white flashes across it. Also look at bleeding: when colours tend to run into each other, primarily around their edges. This occours mostly with colours such as yellow and light pinks.
- Policy. Scrutinise the vendor's dead/bright pixel policy (zero-pixel means not one faulty pixel) to ensure that if the worst case happens you will have manufacturer support.
- Features. Look for USB hubs, and inbuilt speakers, which may be a benefit if those clunky separate speakers are taking up real estate on the desk.
- Style. Aesthetics in the office are becoming an important fact of life, especially in professional environments.
All the monitors submitted for this review were spot-on 19 inches in viewable size, and all had both digital (DVI) and analogue (D-Sub) video inputs. Some had USB ports, some had speakers, others had landscape/portrait display swivels and some had really great adjustment options.
Both the AG Neovo and the New Q feature a glass pane. Glass does protect the LCD screen itself, however, displays which have glass can be too reflective, picking up light which affects the display. It can go either way -- good protection for the panel but poor visibility due to the reflections. It is a personal or purchasing choice that will need to be evaluated at the time of procurement and it should consider the environment that displays will be used in.
Great monitor, clear graphics display.
Im running 2 computers in my room one running DVI and the other D-SUB, and i love the feature to be able to switch between the 2 displays!