Review: Top 17-inch monitors

From...

by PC World staff

(IDG) -- Three newcomers grace the chart this month, with the number four Hansol 710D climbing highest. The 710D's sharp text makes it a good choice for word processing and spreadsheet use. Similarly, Sony's HMD-A200/L, at number nine, offers crisp lettering and fine detail. The relatively inexpensive, tenth-place Hitachi CM615U displays text well, but its graphics quality is merely adequate. Next month we tackle 19-inch displays.

Rank	17-inch monitor	Month tested	Street price (1/18/01)	Overall rating	Quality of text/graphics
1	Best Buy ViewSonic EF70 800/888-8583 www.viewsonic.com	Sept 00	$255	86	Very good/ Excellent
	FEATURES: 16.1-inch viewable area, .25mm stripe-pitch Diamondtron NF tube,1 up to 87-Hz refresh rate,2 Plug and Play ready, three-year warranty, 24-hour daily toll-free support. SUMMARY: Deep, saturated color in graphics keeps this model at the top. Sophisticated on-screen control menu is easy to navigate with standard buttons on the front bezel.
2	Best Buy Samsung SyncMaster 700NF 800/726-7864 www.samsungmonitor.com	July 00	$284	85	Very good/ Very good
	FEATURES: 16-inch viewable area, .25mm stripe-pitch Diamondtron NF tube,1 up to 85-Hz refresh rate,2 Plug and Play ready, TCO'99 compliant, three-year warranty, 24-hour daily toll-free support. SUMMARY: Radiant colors and fine detail make this monitor a good choice for graphics work. Easy-to-use on-screen controls are set on a retracting panel.
3	CTX International PR705F 800/266-1491 www.ctxintl.com	Jan 01	$259	85	Very good/ Excellent
	FEATURES: 15.8-inch viewable area, .24mm stripe-pitch FD Trinitron tube,1 up to 105-Hz refresh rate,2 Plug and Play ready, TCO'99 compliant, three-year warranty, 12-hour weekday toll-free support. SUMMARY: Produces smooth text and graphics; a $10 price drop makes the PR705F an even better bargain. On-screen menus are especially easy to use, with well-labeled icons.
4	New Hansol 710D 888/426-7651 www.hansol.com	New	$250	85	Excellent/ Good
	FEATURES: 16.1-inch viewable area, .25mm dot-pitch tube, up to 85-Hz refresh rate,2 Plug and Play ready, TCO'99 compliant, three-year warranty, 8-hour weekday toll-free support. SUMMARY: Razor-sharp text makes this model a good choice for word-processing tasks. Colors could be brighter; limited support hours compared to others.
5	DecaView GF385 888/707-6688 www.decaview.com	Feb 01	$259	84	Very good/ Very good
	FEATURES: 16-inch viewable area, .24mm stripe-pitch FD Trinitron tube,1 up to 100-Hz refresh rate,2 Plug and Play ready, TCO'99 compliant, three-year warranty, 10-hour daily toll-free support. SUMMARY: DecaView's chart maker displays clean text and graphics for a reasonable price. The control panel is easy to use, with well-marked word descriptions and pictures on menu options.
6	LG Flatron 795FT-Plus 800/243-0000 www.lgeus.com	Sept 00	$310	83	Very good/ Very good
	FEATURES: 15.9-inch viewable area, .24mm stripe-pitch LG Flatron tube,1 up to 120-Hz refresh rate,2 Plug and Play ready, TCO'99 compliant, three-year warranty, 12-hour daily toll-free support. SUMMARY: Bright, saturated color makes this model a good choice for graphics work. The small, sophisticated on-screen controls on the front bezel are simple to use and navigate.
7	Iiyama i70A 800/394-4335 www.iiyamadirect.com	Jan 01	$295	82	Very good/ Excellent
	FEATURES: 16.1-inch viewable area, .25mm stripe-pitch Diamondtron NF tube,1 up to 85-Hz refresh rate,2 Plug and Play ready, three-year warranty, 12-hour weekday toll-free support. SUMMARY: Moves up three spots on the chart, despite a $26 price increase. Displays rich graphics and fine text. Easy-to-use controls include a zoom feature and well-marked menus.
8	Eizo Nanao FlexScan T561 800/800-5202 www.eizo.com	Nov 00	$489	82	Excellent/ Excellent
	FEATURES: 15.9-inch viewable area, .25mm stripe-pitch Diamondtron NF tube,1 up to 118-Hz refresh rate,2 Plug and Play ready, TCO'99 compliant, three-year warranty, 8-hour weekday toll-free support. SUMMARY: Superb image quality sets this model apart from the others--but for a pretty penny. Meager support hours; confusing on-screen controls make using the manual essential.
9	Sony HMD-A200/L 800/352-7669 www.sony.com	New	$349	82	Excellent/ Very good
	FEATURES: 16.1-inch viewable area, .24mm stripe-pitch FD Trinitron tube,1 up to 85-Hz refresh rate,2 Plug and Play ready, three-year warranty, 24-hour daily toll-free support. SUMMARY: The second-priciest display on the chart renders crisp, dark text on word-processing documents and spreadsheets, especially with smaller fonts. Colors look rich.
10	Hitachi CM615U 800/441-4832 www.hitachi.com	New	$209	81	Very good/ Satisfactory
	FEATURES: 15.9-inch viewable area, .25mm dot-pitch tube, up to 85-Hz refresh rate,2 Plug and Play ready, TCO'99 compliant, five-year warranty, 11.5-hour weekday toll-free support. SUMMARY: Displays solid text for at a rock-bottom price, though colors are not as lively as on other models in our chart. The generous warranty offsets somewhat stingy support hours.

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NEC MultiSync FE700+

WHAT'S HOT: At $279, the FE700+ costs $27 less than the average 17-inch monitor. It also comes with 24-hour daily technical support, so small-office/home-office users who might need assistance on weekends aren't left out in the cold.

WHAT'S NOT: When rendering graphics, the FE700+ stumbled behind its competitors--colors on Web pages looked washed out, and they lacked the richness evident on other models. ViewSonic's EF70, the number one monitor on our chart, offers better image quality for $24 less.

WHAT ELSE: Text on the FE700+ looked adequately sharp on both word-processing documents and spreadsheets. Its best performance was at smaller font sizes, as its text was easier to read than text on some competing models.

BEST USE: The FE700+ will suit those who do heavy word processing, but you can do better.

Buying Information:

NEC MultiSync FE700+

$279

16.1-inch viewable area, .25mm stripe pitch Diamondtron NF tube, up to 87-Hz refresh rate at 1024-by-768 resolution, Plug and Play ready, three-year warranty, 24-hour daily toll-free support. 888/632-6487

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