If you keep up with the LCD monitor market, you're bound to have noticed a sharp drop in prices in the past six months. There are several reasons for it. The first is the plethora of 17 inch LCD monitors on the market. More than 40 brands are engaged in a ferocious price war whose result is to make monitors you could only dream of six months ago suddenly affordable. The second is an overproduction of LCD/TFT panels in Asia. We're a long way from the situation of just one year ago, when you had all you could do to find a Q17 in stock in a store. All the manufacturers now want a piece of the LCD pie, and construction of fabrication units in Asia is booming. Unfortunately, the market can't absorb such a quantity of panels and prices are dropping - or rather are returning to normal after a euphoric early part of the year.

The 1720B is a good example of this trend. In March it cost over $550, and today it sells for less than $340 - an excellent price. We chose it for our test to see if its performance remains on par with the rest of the pack.

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