17" LCD Part II: The Heavyweights Enter The Ring

Conclusion

Out of the six monitors, only two disappointed us.

The Flatron 782LE darkens colors considerably, so it can only be recommended for use in an office context (word processing, spreadsheets, etc.). The other monitor in question, for completely different reasons, is the ViewSonic VX700. It claims record specifications, in particular a contrast ratio of 550:1, whereas in fact the manufacturer seemingly just decided to change the product's initial specs (400:1 for contrast) to make it look better than the competition. This act is by no means justified by the color rendering. Could MVA technology, which suffers a lot in comparison with the sometimes better TN + Film screens, have reached the end of the line?

Hercules, Iiyama, NEC and Samsung have all pulled it off. A special mention for the first two whose monitors we liked for their display quality, casing design and moderate prices. The NEC lags behind a bit owing to its ergonomic shortcomings. The Samsung SyncMaster 171MP is splendid, but the fact that it can take a video tuner for TV reception bumps up its price to about twice the average.

So if we rank the monitors we tested today plus the earlier ones, we get Solarism, Philips, Hercules and Iiyama, followed by NEC, Samsung and ViewSonic, with ADI and CTX bringing up the rear. The LG, Compaq and Neovo monitors seem better suited to an office and games context.