Monitoring a Winner

	The ViewSonic VG2230wm

Like an excellent $9 Syrah, affordable flat-panel monitors are showing fine form for less-than-fine prices.

I have been testing one such affordable unit for the past month or so: a 22-inch liquid-crystal display from ViewSonic -- the VG2230wm ($389).

My verdict?

Don't let the low price fool you: ViewSonic is making an excellent monitor.

Yes, the picture is not on par with the best screens, but at way less than $500, the overall value is solid.

So solid, in fact, that if you're reading this story on a dirty old traditional cathode ray screen, it's time to make the trip to the Goodwill shop with the thing.

It's time for a monitor upgrade.

The World of Flat

Flat-panel displays have long been the gold standard for personal computing.

They took up less desk space, required less energy, and did not point a streaming beam of electrons at your brain as traditional cathode-ray monitors -- with their vacuum tubes and large magnets -- did.

But the original flat panels had drawbacks. Performance tended to be feeble. Panels were blurry, dim and had lower contrast. And they cost a bundle: $750 was a minimum.

Now all that is changing.

Today, decent liquid-crystal flat panels have excellent technical specs: Contrast ratios are on par with better TVs. Image blurriness has been cleaned up, as the time it takes for the screen to refresh itself has been reduced.

And panels now last -- lives for these sets run in the tens of thousands of hours.

Not only are flat panels good-looking and good to look at, they're downright cheap.

Decent 19-inch liquid-crystal displays from companies such as Dell (DELL Quote), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ Quote), Gateway (GTW Quote) and others can run less than $300. Some very good monitors, such as the 17-inch Dell UltraSharp 1707FP, are down near $200.

Take the ViewSonic I tested: The unit comes in a well designed, very well proportioned aspect ratio of 16 horizontal units by 9 vertical units, just like the screen you see at the movies.

The display is done in an average black-plastic case, but with a very nice silver border that runs around most of the set.

Better yet, the screen has a high-quality, low-reflectivity glass. I saw no harsh light flares on the screen from my less-than-perfectly lit office. There are very nice height controls and a sensible, if a bit clunky, base.