19IN LCD 1280X1024 600:1VG910S Silver/black

Rating:
Summary: Great value for the money
Review: *NOTE: This review is from itreviews.co.uk*
When you first take this 19-inch LCD screen from Viewsonic out of the box, it's hard not to sit there and be impressed. Finished in a smart silver, it's an aesthetically strong piece of hardware which would take pride of place on many people's desks. Fortunately, dig a bit further and those initial impressions hold up, for this is a very smart screen.

First things first. We unpacked the screen and quickly adjusted our test PC to support the VG910S's native resolution of 1,280 by 1,024 pixels. We also connected it via the DVI port at the back (there's a VGA port too to support analogue signals), and were quickly impressed with the unit's performance.

Across a broad range of tasks, the screen was crisp and easy to work with and its sheer viewable size facilitates a generous working space. Furthermore, colour reproduction was excellent, an area where LCDs in the past have had some troubles. Another potential stumbling block was dead pixels, and our test unit for the duration of the review had none.

Before we head off into more praise, though, there are two areas that detract from the otherwise excellent quality of the VG910S. The first is the built-in speakers. While admittedly better than many such devices we've encountered, they really are no match for even a low cost set of external speakers, and shouldn't be treated otherwise.

Secondly, the screen has a 25ms response time. This is absolutely fine for the vast majority of uses to which you're likely to put the display, and it happily played back a few DVDs with no problems at all. Games were a slightly different matter, though. While not hugely noticeable, during a good session on Unreal Tournament 2004, there was evidence of ghosting, and perhaps hardened gamers would be advised to hunt down a unit with a tighter video response time.

Yet those are the only blots of note on an otherwise very attractive copybook. The whole unit simply drips with quality, from the ultra-thin design, the 170-degree viewing angle and the razor sharp image it presents, through to the silver finish (it's available in black, too), the user-friendly on-screen display and the helpful user guide. In short, it's an excellent screen for all but the hardened gamer.

Verdict: This is a strong offering from Viewsonic, and one that - despite its price tag - does deliver good value for money. Its response times may put off some dedicated gamers, but that aside, the VG910S comes highly recommended.