If you conduct group presentations, design large and complex CAD drawings, run desktop publishing applications, or edit color graphics, consider a 21-inch monitor. At 800- by 600-pixel resolution, your presentation will be clear even from the back of a hotel conference room. Many of the products also feature BNC video connectors, allowing you to chain several of these monitors together. The large scale of these displays benefits CAD work by showing details that might require zooming or panning with smaller monitors. Desktop publishers can display a two-page spread. And if your work involves color-image manipulation, the color balance controls and high resolution of these monitors make the meticulous nature of this work easier
.
But 21-inch monitors weigh upwards of 70 pounds and dominate any desk surface. They cost big bucks as well: The average suggested retail price of the nine products we tested was more than $2700. These devices are also power-hungry. We measured average power consumption at 115 W; by contrast, 15-inch monitors averaged 81 W (power management was offered on only five of the nine we tested: the IBM 21P, Idek VisionMaster MF-8521, Nanao F760iW, NEC 6FGp, and Nissei Sangyo Super Scan Elite 21).
What do you get in return? A screen area of approximately 185 square inches and high resolution. Six of the nine large monitors we tested support 1600 by 1200 pixels, and the other three support 1280 by 1024 pixels. In addition, all the products come with sophisticated controls, such as pincushion control. All except the Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 21 FS offer some on-screen color control (see "Color-Matching Monitors," at right).
Nevertheless, these large monitors are probably not suitable for most PC and
Mac users. Besides the expense, a 21-inch display is just too big for most activities. Although 1600- by 1200-pixel resolution displays quite a bit of real estate, you'll need to sit close to the screen to discern individual characters.
Still, when these products were considered for the right applications, we found few faults. As a class, the 21-inch monitors had higher average scores for all the criteria than the 15- and 17-inch products. The NEC 6FGp had the highest quality scores of all 70 products reviewed.
To be sure, some of the sharpness tests lend themselves to larger monitors, as the larger object size on a 21-inch monitor makes it easier to discern test patterns. Yet the NEC 6FGp also had the highest scores when compared only to other 21-inch products. The 6FGp comes with a dual-headed video cable for either Macs or DOS/ Windows PCs. If you have a Mac, you attach the 15-pin D-sub connector end of the cable to your computer and the other end to a 15-pin mini-D-sub connector at the rear
of the monitor. You reverse the cable to connect to a standard VGA PC. NEC also provides RGB gain controls that let the user change the content of the image by increasing or decreasing the amount of red, blue, or green in the image. With a suggested retail price of $2535, the 6FGp even falls below the average price ($2736) in this category.
At $2695, the Nissei Sangyo Super Scan Elite 21 fell near the middle in price for monitors in this size group. Nissei Sangyo is a marketing arm of Hitachi of Japan. We also received a 21-inch monitor from Hitachi of America, but the products do not resemble each other; the Nissei Sangyo display scored significantly higher in our quality scoring and cost about $300 less than the Hitachi display. The two monitors compete against each other in the American market.
Interestingly, the ViewSonic 21 tied with the NEC 6FGp for the best score in the image-quality tests. But the ViewSonic displayed considerable misconvergence in that series of tests, and this lowered
its otherwise-excellent sharpness test scores. In addition to the standard controls for image size, position, and pincushion adjustment, the ViewSonic 21 offers two other useful adjustments: white balance and moirŽ reduction. We liked the ViewSonic's drop-down control tray because the control buttons are easy to see and identify.
The Idek VisionMaster MF-8521 has a unique power conservation feature, a sensor that registers your presence when you sit in front of the monitor. If the sensor registers nothing for an hour, the monitor automatically shuts down into a suspended power state, where it draws merely 6 W.
The price leader is the IBM 21P, which lists for $2249. The 21P features VESA-compliant power management systems, and it exhibited the lowest power consumption of all the large monitors. However, this product also suffers worse-than-average misconvergence, which brought down its overall quality score.
Also in this group was the Sony GDM-2038, which the company classifies as a 20-in
ch display. Its maximum viewing dimensions, however, are only about 2 cm smaller than most 21-inch products. The Sony falls in the middle of the pack in quality and overall scores.
Want the best of the biggest?
BEST OVERALL
NEC 6FGp
A competitive $2535 price and the highest quality score of any monitor we tested combine to make this 21-inch monitor the winner in this category. With color adjustment, a dual-headed cable for Macs and PCs, and virtual resolution software for Macs with built-in video, this monitor is a solution for almost any application under any operating system.
PRICE OVERALL QUALITY EASE OF
SCORE INDEX* USE
BEST NEC 6FGp $2535 8.80 9.64 *****
RUNNER-UP Nissei Sangyo Super
Scan Elite 21 $2695 8.69 9.26 ****
RUNNER-UP Nanao F760iW $2999 8.61 8
.73 *****
RUNNER-UP IBM 21P $2245 8.35 8.54 *****
RUNNER-UP Hitachi Accuvue PS-21AM $2995 8.19 8.71 ****
DOT/ MAX.
POWER- GRILL HORIZONTAL
DRAW PITCH RESOLUTION MAC
INDEX* (MM) (PIXELS) SUPPORT?
BEST NEC 6FGp 18.65 0.28 1280 Yes
RUNNER-UP Nissei Sangyo Super
Scan Elite 21 9.47 0.28 1600
RUNNER-UP Nanao F760iW 9.09 0.31 1280 Yes
RUNNER-UP IBM 21P 10.00 0.31 1600 Yes
RUNNER-UP Hitachi Accuvue PS-21AM 9.68 0.28 1600 Yes
* Higher numbers are better; 10.0 = best score.
KEY
Ease of Use:
Poor **
Fair ***
Good ****
Excellent *****
For unsur
passed picture quality...
HIGH QUALITY
NEC 6FGp
Here again, the 6FGp shines. Rated best on the image-quality screen tests, this monitor showed practically no geometric distortion. We would like to see less glare from the polished glass surface. In the dark, however, this monitor showed great contrast and virtually no misconvergence.
PRICE OVERALL QUALITY EASE OF
SCORE INDEX* USE
BEST NEC 6FGp $2535 8.80 9.64 *****
RUNNER-UP Nissei Sangyo Super
Scan Elite 21 $2695 8.69 9.26 ****
RUNNER-UP ViewSonic 21 $2399 8.12 8.82 ****
RUNNER-UP Idek VisionMaster MF-8521 $2895 8.15 8.79 ****
RUNNER-UP Sony GDM-2038 $2859 8.13 8.75 *****
DOT/ MAX.
POWER- GRILL HORIZONTAL
DRAW PITCH RESOLUTION MAC
INDEX* (MM) (PIXELS) SUPPORT?
BEST NEC 6FGp 8.65 0.28 1280 Yes
RUNNER-UP Nissei Sangyo Super
Scan Elite 21 9.47 0.28 1600
RUNNER-UP ViewSonic 21 9.00 0.25 1600 Yes
RUNNER-UP Idek VisionMaster MF-8521 8.04 0.28 1600 Yes
RUNNER-UP Sony GDM-2038 8.65 0.30 1600 Yes
* Higher numbers are better; 10.0 = best score.
KEY
Ease of Use:
Poor **
Fair ***
Good ****
Excellent *****
Need a large screen at the right price?
LOW COST
IBM 21P
The IBM 21P provides above-average overall performance and carries the lowest price of any of the large-display monitors we evaluated. This monitor received the lowest image-quality scor
e in the 21-inch class; however, its quality is far from poor. Without a standard of comparison, it is doubtful that you could find fault with the 21P's quality. All the 21-inch products display images clearly and sharply.
PRICE OVERALL QUALITY EASE OF
SCORE INDEX* USE
BEST IBM 21P $2245 8.35 8.54 *****
RUNNER-UP NEC 6FGp $2535 8.80 9.64 *****
RUNNER-UP ViewSonic 21 $2399 8.12 8.82 ****
RUNNER-UP Nissei Sangyo Super
Scan Elite 21 $2695 8.69 9.26 ****
RUNNER-UP Nanao F760iW $2999 8.61 8.73 *****
DOT/ MAX.
POWER- GRILL HORIZONTAL
DRAW PITCH RESOLUTION M
AC
INDEX* (MM) (PIXELS) SUPPORT?
BEST IBM 21P 10.00 0.31 1600 Yes
RUNNER-UP NEC 6FGp 8.65 0.28 1280 Yes
RUNNER-UP ViewSonic 21 9.00 0.25 1600 Yes
RUNNER-UP Nissei Sangyo Super
Scan Elite 21 9.47 0.28 1600
RUNNER-UP Nanao F760iW 9.09 0.31 1280 Yes
* Higher numbers are better; 10.0 = best score.
KEY
Ease of Use:
Poor **
Fair ***
Good ****
Excellent *****
The Best Monitors For Complex Graphics & Presentations
