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17” LCD Monitors: Acer AL1714 

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PCQ Bureau
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+Price, lightweight 



- Contrast ratio, digital input, turn-on time

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Price: Rs 14,999
Warranty: 3 years
Vendor: Acer India, 



Bangalore. Tel: 25219520.


E-mail: rajesh_aiyar@acer. co.in

Average features, but decent performance and a great price make this monitor the winner in this category. At around 15K, it was the second cheapest monitor of the lot, after the

Zebronics, and its price matches with three of the monitors in the 15” category. Its OSD

controls are pretty easy to use. Plus it is the lightest monitor we received in this category. It's pretty

barebones in terms of features. The rated vertical viewing angle is lowest of the lot at 120 degrees while the horizontal viewing

angle is average. 

There's no digital input or built-in speakers. The power consumption is a little high and it has a separate power adapter. On the negative side, we found that the response time is high and the contrast ratio is low. On the performance gauge, it scored highest in all the color and gray scale tests. The turn on time was much higher and it didn't fare well in pixel tracking and timing lock test. So if you're looking for a no-frills, cheap option for your desktop, then this is a good choice. RQS# E80 or SMS 130680 to 9811800601

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NEC MultiSync LCD 1770NXM 

+ USB 2.0 ports, Mac compatible 



- Heavy, high power consumption 

Price: Rs 23,850
Warranty: 1 year
Vendor: Shiba Comp, Delhi. Tel: 26413437.



E-mail: shiba@del2.vsnl.


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If you are looking for the most feature- rich monitor, then this is the right choice. Design and looks wise also, it can turn out to be a crowd puller. Some unique features of this monitor include a detachable sound bar, five USB 2.0 ports (one upstream and four downstream) and an adjustable height stand, which lifts it up by 472 mm. Tilting the monitor is also very smooth and doesn't require too much pressure. Plus it's Mac compatible. The scrollable OSD control takes time to get used to. It was the heaviest of the lot and power consumption was on higher side at 55W. The monitor comes with NaViSet software to adjust its OSD controls.

Apart from the normal controls options, it also has more than 20 test patterns for testing the display. The monitor performed well in most of the tests except for black level adjustment and 256 intensity level ramp. It only took around 2 seconds to power up, which is the lowest and the best. Overall, if you are looking for a great looking, feature-rich monitor, you won't mind spending the extra amount on this one. RQS# E81 or SMS 130681 to 9811800601

Samsung SyncMaster 710N 

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+Mac compatible, color management software 



- Speaker, digital input 

Price: Rs 25,000 
Warranty: 3 years
Vendor: Samsung India Electronics, Delhi. 



Tel: 51511234. E-mail: sunil.m@samsung.com

An overall combination of performance, features and price make this monitor highly recommended. This monitor comes with Magic tune and Natural Color management software. Magic tune lets you control the OSD while Natural Color adjusts the color mix for better image printout for different environment conditions. Both soft -ware were impressive and useful. Magic tune also allows you to save settings for up to five users. It was the only monitor with a transparency control option for the

OSD. 

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Plus it had Text, Internet, Entertain and Custom modes. The only place where it lacked in features from NEC 1770NXM was a USB hub and speakers. This monitor is Mac compatible and has separate panel for sharpness. The only thing we found amiss in this was digital input. It had the highest contrast level and lowestpower consumption of the lot. The monitor comes second in overall performance and was a few points behind in color scales and screen uniformity tests. The turn-on time was average. RQS# E82 or SMS 130682 to 9811800601

ZEBRONICS 729A 

+Price, lightweight 



- Display quality

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Price: Rs 13,700 
Warranty: 1 year
Vendor: Top Notch Infotronix. Tel: 26616202. 



E-mail: zebronics@zebronics. com

If cost is your prime criterion, then this is the right choice in the lot, being

the cheapest. In fact some 15” monitors cost more than this. However, don't expect great performance and features at this cost. 

During our testing we even noticed a few dead pixels on its screen. This was the only monitor in which the vertical visibility was not as good as others. On the performance front, it stood the last. The only tests it did well in were the turn-on time, and color and gray scale tests. Though it performed well in video image test, it was the last in black level adjustment test and noise was noticeable in two color levels. On the other hand, the monitor has the highest brightness level and also lightest of all. It has most of the OSD controls and easy to use. 

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The OSD has three predefined modes-economy, text and picture. You can even use it through 'turbo' key on the monitor. We did notice differences in these modes. The rated horizontal and vertical viewing angles were average while the tilt angle was good at 114 degrees. Its response time is 16 ms which is higher among others and it comes with an external power supply. RQS# E83 or SMS 130683 to 9811800601

BenQ FP737s 

+ Lightweight, built-in power adapter, good contrast ratio 



- Low brightness level and high response time

Price: Rs 24,990
Warranty: 3 years
Vendor: BenQ India, Mumbai. Tel: 25705230.



E-mail: NemishParekh@BenQ. com

It's an overall average monitor in performance, price, and features. It did very well in the black level adjustment test and reasonably well in color and gray scale test. It was behind most of the monitors in video bandwidth and transient response tests. It had a tilt angle of 115 degree, which is good, but its brightness level is slightly lower than the others at 260 cadilla, though the contrast ratio is decent at 500 cadilla. Its rated response time is also on the higher side at 16 milliseconds. 



There's no Digital connector. However, the power adapter is built into the monitor, which is good. This BenQ monitor also has an 'iKey' button that adjusts the horizontal and vertical positions to the screen geometry. 

Unlike other monitors, this one lets you adjust the degree of sharpness up to six levels, which is good. 

Compared to others on the performance front, this monitor took close to 5 seconds to power up, while others took around 2 to 3 seconds. Power consumption of this BenQ monitor is fine at 45W. RQS# E84 or SMS 130684 to 9811800601

BenQ FP785 

+ Pivot software, good quality speakers and contrast ratio 



- Expensive, OSD control not very user friendly 

Price: Rs 34,990 
Warranty: 3 years
Vendor: BenQ India, Mumbai. Tel: 25705230.



E-mail: NemishParekh@BenQ. com

This monitor gave the best performance results thereby, scoring the highest on that front. However, this was the costliest monitor in this 17” category. Other than tests for color scale and intensity levels, it was ahead in most of the tests. The monitor has some pretty good features. Amongst the lot, its built-in speakers gave amongst the best audio output, and it has both analog and digital connectors. It had the highest contrast level of 600, but lowest brightness level at 250 cadilla. Its rated response time was, however, the highest of the lot at 25 ms. 

Compared to others, this monitor was the only one to support for portrait viewing, and it even came with an anti-static cloth for cleaning the display. The OSD control isn't as easy to use as some of the others. The circular shape makes it cumbersome to use and the labeling is also not too clear. Plus the oval bezel occupies lot of desktop space and connecting the cables is also a little inconvenient. Overall if you need the best performance, and are willing to pay for it, then it's a good buy. RQS# E85 or SMS 130685 to 9811800601

BenQ FP783 

+ Good response time and tilt angle, Three-port USB 2.0 



- Hub Highest power consumption

Price: Rs 29,990
Warranty: 3 years
Vendor: BenQ India, Mumbai. Tel: 25705230.



E-mail: NemishParekh


@BenQ.com

This was the second costliest monitor of the lot, but gives decent features and performance. Response time is decent at 12 ms, though its power consumption is the highest of the lot at 60 W. 

The brightness and contrast level are average, but it has external power connectivity. Worth mentioning is the built-in USB hub with three ports for connecting devices like webcams, keyboards, digital camera, etc. 

Its tilt angle is also pretty decent at 120 degrees, though one has to apply a lot of pressure to tilt it. The monitor's stand takes a little extra space and its OSD controls are on the right side making it a bit tricky to use. 

This one also has a digital input like most monitors, and even has a DC input jack for powering optional external 

speakers. On the performance front, it did not perform well in black level adjustment and pixel tracking, and lock timing tests. It performed well in all the tests for color and gray scale test. RQS# E86 or SMS 130686 to 9811800601

BenQ FP71E 

+ Good response time 



- Lowest tilt angle, viewing angle

Price: Rs 26,990
Warranty: 3 years
Vendor: BenQ India, Mumbai. Tel: 25705230.



E-mail: NemishParekh@BenQ. com

Compared to others monitors, the BenQ FP71E monitor comes at the second position on the features front. 

It has a digital input and good response time of 12 ms. 

We were impressed by the audio quality of the built-in speakers. It had the lowest tilt angle of the whole lot at 108 degrees and similar to its cousin FP783, its OSD controls are not very comfortable to use. Plus to tilt the monitor, you need to exert more pressure as compared to others. 

You can switch between four modes, standard, movie1, movie2 and photo through 'mode key'. 

The standard mode is suitable for normal applications, movie1 and movie2 for viewing videos (movie1 and movie2 enhance the color and contrast levels) and photo for still images. Unlike others, this monitor has an earphone jack and a key for adjusting brightness and contrast. 

On the performance front, this BenQ monitor did well in color and gray scale tests but remained little behind in display test, which checks for the black level adjustment, pixel tracking and timing lock etc. RQS# E87 or SMS 130687 to 9811800601

NEC MultiSync LCD 1770NX 

+ Tilt angle, turn-on time 



- Weight

Price: Rs 23,000
Warranty: 1 year
Vendor: Shiba Comp, Delhi. Tel: 26413437.



E-mail: shiba@del2.vsnl


.net.in

There is not much difference in the features, performance and price compared to its cousin in the category. It lacks sound bar, adjustable height stand and USB ports. You do get Naviset software. Though it has digital input connection but it doesn't provide cable for it. The monitor has key to shift between analog and digital mode. It is the second heaviest but has the highest tilt angle. Power consumption is low compared to most of the monitors. An OSD lock prevents unwanted changes in the display settings and option for power off after a time period. When OSD is locked, only brightness and contrast level is adjustable through the key on the monitor. 

Though it had second lowest turn-on time, it was behind in the black level adjustment and pixel tracking and timing lock display test. It did score in transient 



response test unlike others in the category. Interestingly, the price difference between this and the 1770NXM model is less than a thousand rupees. RQS# E88 or SMS 130688 to 9811800601

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