Digital Home Thoughts: Tom's Hardware Tackles Wide Format LCD Monitors

"Movie-format monitors are all the rage, while LCDs with diagonal measurements of 20" have become the de facto standard in retail channels. However, LCDs with diagonal measurements of 19", 21" and 23" at least deserve a second look. "" Wide-format 23" LCDs with resolutions of 1920x1200, for example, have traditionally been geared for professional applications. But while 23" LCDs with an acceptable level of defects are still an expensive proposition, their pricing is improving. Some 23" LCDs, for example, can be had for around $1000."



This massive 21-page review covers five different monitors, from manufacturers such as Sony, Asus, HP, and others. The review is very technical, so if you want to know the gory details, this is a great read. As usual though, some aspects are highly subjective: the review thinks the Asus is a fantastic-looking monitor, yet when I looked at the image of it the first thing I thought was "Wow, that's a huge and ugly bezel!". I'm feeling the itch to jump to twin widescreen monitors sometime this year, but I'm waiting for an alluring price. I seem to only look at Dell monitors lately because they're such great value for the dollar - what other widescreen monitors should I be considering? I'm looking for something in the 19" to 24" range.