17" LCD Part IV: Six Panels With 16 And 20 ms

Iiyama AS4314UTG

We voted for the AS4314UTG when it was released. It was the first monitor to drop below 25 ms. Six months later, it is singing its swansong. Apparently Iiyama is not including it in its September range. The new ones will be 23 ms. So, while it's still around, let's see how this monitor we fell for in late 2002 compares to its younger rivals.

If design is what you want, the AS4314UTG will probably disappoint. This is where it has become noticeably dated. It is white, fairly bulky, with a thick housing and a non-adjustable screen. So it's not the looks or the ergonomics you'll fall for. What's more, the first tests showed a blue dominance, though this can be dealt with via calibration.

The settings we used are as follows: brightness at 50, contrast at 50 and a color temperature (via the OSD) of 6500 K.

The profiles can be downloaded below. Install them in C:\WINDOWS\system32\spool\drivers\color. Then you activate the one you want by going to Advanced Display Properties, then Color Management. Add the profile and select it as default.

5000K analog profile

6500 K analog profile

6500 K

Results are as good as those from Hyundai. Apart from the 4% of darkest hues (DeltaE > 3), color fidelity is well nigh perfect.

5000K

At 5000 K, calibration gave outstanding results, the best of the lot except for the LaCie CRT.

Splendid colors and lack of afterglow in both games and video make this a screen we can recommend to any gamer or amateur graphics artist. Its qualities enable us to turn a blind eye to its outdated looks and ergonomics. Furthermore, like their other monitors, Iiyama guarantees it for less than three dead pixels. Not yet zero tolerance, but not bad.

That said, the AS4314UTG has fewer advantages than the Hyundai Q17. The warranty is not so good; it is less handsome; it only has one interface; no hub... Worse still, it's getting hard to find.