If you need to increase your viewing real estate to see more spreadsheet cells, show an entire CAD drawing, or display multiple windows, consider a 17-inch monitor. We tested 31 products in this size category, as well as two 16-inch products from Mitsubishi and SuperMac.
Like the 15-inch monitors, all the 17-inch monitors support at least 1024- by 768-pixel resolution at 70 Hz. Only the Sony CPD-1730 and the Arche 217AX do not support 1280 by 1024 pixels. However, the newer Sony GDM-17SE1 provides resolution modes of up to 1600 by 1200 pixels, as do products from IBM, Sampo, ViewSonic, and Philips. The 16-inch SuperMac E-Machines T16II supports a maximum of 1152 pixels horizontally.
Do you need the extra resolution? Remember that as
the resolution increases, text and objects such as icons get smaller. We believe that a 17-inch monitor provides excellent viewing at 1024 by 768 pixels, but you need to be sharp-eyed to enjoy working at 1280- by 1024-pixel resolution on a screen area roughly 30 percent larger than a 15-inch monitor's.
We conducted our quality tests at 1024- by 768-pixel resolution. Our sharpness tests indicate that at the same resolutions, 17-inch monitors look sharper than 15-inch displays. We found this to be especially true in our Word for Windows legibility test, where the average score was 10 percent to 20 percent higher for the 17-inch products.
One drawback of a larger viewing area is a larger price: The average in this class was $1200, nearly twice that of the 15-inch monitors, although the lowest price for a 17-inch monitor ($799 for the Fora Addonics C172A/LR) is actually a few dollars below the highest 15-inch monitor cost.
Nanao reigned in our rankings for Best Overall, with three products i
n our top seven picks. We also rated monitors from Sigma, IBM, and NEC highly for Best Overall.
Sophisticated user interfaces also distinguish these products: Virtually all use digital controls to manage image size, shape, and color.
Acer America goes even further with its AcerView 76i by providing an on-screen display. This is an advantage over many monitors with small and hard-to-read icons that we found difficult to identify, especially in the dark.
Other items common in 17-inch displays but not on the smaller monitors are BNC video connectors (for RGB and sync inputs) and dual connectors or cables supporting both Macintosh and PC video.
Our choice for Best Overall winner is the Nanao F560iW. Although it shares virtually identical overall scores with the Nanao T560i, the F560iW had a higher quality rating than its more costly sibling. The third Nanao product, the F550iW, costs less than the other two and had similar quality scores. It uses a 0.28-mm dot-pitch mask, while the F56
0iW makes use of a 0.26-mm shadow mask and the T560i uses a Trinitron 0.25-mm aperture-grill mask.
Looking only at image quality, however, three products rated higher than the Nanaos. The IBM 17P uses a Sony 0.26-mm-pitch Trinitron tube, which garnered the highest rating in the image component of our quality tests. The Trinitron picture tubes tend to produce strong, vibrant colors. When evaluating Trinitron-equipped products, remember that you are supposed to see two thin lines running through light-colored screens. These are tiny wires inside the tube that support the aperture grill. The IBM monitors that we evaluated are available from IBM's new PC Company as peripherals separate from system bundles.
SuperMac's E-Machines TP16II, a 16-inch monitor, also uses a Trinitron picture tube and is principally sold in the Macintosh market. Its high quality may warrant some consideration from DOS/Windows users as well.
Our Low Cost winners were tougher to judge, since there is a real disparity be
tween low cost and high quality. For example, the winning Fora Addonics C172A/LR had the lowest price of the monitors ranked for low cost, but its quality score ranked third. Two products that retail for around the $1200 average cost and have excellent overall scores are the IBM 17P and the NEC 5FGe. The 5FGe rated high in quality and ease of use, but it received only moderate marks for features and power consumption. One aspect that all our evaluators noted was the high amount of glare on the polished screen surface of the 5FGe. NEC sells a screen that substantially reduces the glare, but it also decreases image brightness. Perhaps as compensation, the 5FGe had the highest contrast ratio among 17-inch monitors.
Two other monitors, the ADI Micro Scan AP and the KFC CA1718, merit consideration for low cost because of their above-average overall performance. The Acer AcerView 76i also made a respectable showing. All three sell for under $1000 and feature power management and MPR II compliance.
We
measured the average power consumption of 17-inch monitors at 96 W when running a full-screen Windows image. Compare that to 81 W for 15-inch monitors and 115 W for 21-inch products.
Need the best in performance and ease of use?
BEST OVERALL
Nanao F560iW
Our scoring places two 17-inch Nanao products, the F560iW and the T560i, almost dead even. Although both offer excellent image quality (the T560i uses a Trinitron picture tube from Sony, while the F560iW uses a Toshiba tube), we gave the F560iW the edge for displaying slightly better images at a price that's $500 lower than the T560i's. Each offers support for Macintosh users.
PRICE OVERALL QUALITY EASE OF
SCORE INDEX* USE
BEST Nanao F560iW $1699 8.24 8.95 *****
RUNNER-UP Nanao T560i $2199 8.23 8.45 *****
RUNNER-UP Sigma ErgoView 17 $1349 8.12 9.08 **
**
RUNNER-UP IBM 17P $1199 8.09 9.18 ****
RUNNER-UP NEC 5FGe $1155 8.08 8.56 *****
DOT/ MAX.
POWER- GRILL HORIZONTAL
DRAW PITCH RESOLUTION MAC
INDEX* (MM) (PIXELS) SUPPORT?
BEST Nanao F560iW 5.14 0.26 1280 Yes
RUNNER-UP Nanao T560i 7.71 0.25 1280 Yes
RUNNER-UP Sigma ErgoView 17 6.21 0.25 1280 Yes
RUNNER-UP IBM 17P 6.51 0.26 1600 Yes
RUNNER-UP NEC 5FGe 7.71 0.28 1280 Yes
* Higher numbers are better; 10.0 = best score.
KEY
Ease of Use:
Poor **
Fair ***
Good ****
Excellent *****
Want the clear winner for quality?
HIGH QUALITY
IBM 17P
A new produc
t from IBM's new PC Company, the 17P was the clear winner for image quality in this class. We rated it best among 17-inch monitors on the image-quality screen tests, and it proved best at the legibility and sharpness tests. Based on a Sony Trinitron tube, the 17P offers VESA-compliant power management, MPR II compliance, and a complete set of controls for adjusting the screen and color reproduction.
PRICE OVERALL QUALITY EASE OF
SCORE INDEX* USE
BEST IBM 17P $1199 8.09 9.18 ****
RUNNER-UP Sigma ErgoView 17 $1349 8.12 9.08 ****
RUNNER-UP SuperMac E-Machines T16II $1399 7.81 8.97 ****
RUNNER-UP Nanao F560iW $1699 8.24 8.95 *****
RUNNER-UP Chenbro DaVinci EZ550 $1000 7.51 8.79 **
DOT/ MAX.
POWER- GRILL HORIZONTAL
DRAW PITCH RESOLUTION MAC
INDEX* (MM) (PIXELS) SUPPORT?
BEST IBM 17P 6.51 0.26 1600 Yes
RUNNER-UP Sigma ErgoView 17 6.21 0.25 1280 Yes
RUNNER-UP SuperMac E-Machines T16II 6.84 0.26 1152 Yes
RUNNER-UP Nanao F560iW 5.14 0.26 1280 Yes
RUNNER-UP Chenbro DaVinci EZ550 7.11 0.26 1280 Yes
* Higher numbers are better; 10.0 = best score.
KEY
Ease of Use:
Poor **
Fair ***
Good ****
Excellent *****
When price matters most...
LOW COST
Fora Addonics C172A/LR
This $799 monitor can display resolutions of up to 1280 by 1024 pixels. When operating at 1024 by 768 pixels, this 17-inch monitor can run at an eyestrain-avoiding vertical refresh rate of 76 Hz. The C172A/LR is easy to us
e, with 16 preset and 15 selectable mode settings. Front-panel controls let you quickly adjust picture size and position, as well as reduce display distortions such as side and barrel pincushion effects. However, the trade-off for the monitor's low price is performance that's only adequate. Its overall score falls below the median for this group, and it received the lowest usability score of the monitors ranked here.
PRICE OVERALL QUALITY EASE OF
SCORE INDEX* USE
BEST Fora Addonics C172A/LR $799 7.16 8.42 **
RUNNER-UP KFC CA1718 $895 7.85 8.27 ****
RUNNER-UP Acer AcerView 76i $899 7.54 8.45 ***
RUNNER-UP ADI Micro Scan 5A $949 7.85 8.72 ****
RUNNER-UP ADI Micro Scan AP $949 7.76 8.06 ****
DOT/ MAX.
POWER- GRILL HORIZONTAL
DRAW PITCH RESOLUTION MAC
INDEX* (MM) (PIXELS) SUPPORT?
BEST Fora Addonics C172A/LR 6.35 0.28 1280 Yes
RUNNER-UP KFC CA1718 7.94 0.26 1280
RUNNER-UP Acer AcerView 76i 5.51 0.27 1280
RUNNER-UP ADI Micro Scan 5A 7.71 0.26 1280
RUNNER-UP ADI Micro Scan AP 7.30 0.26 1280
* Higher numbers are better; 10.0 = best score.
KEY
Ease of Use:
Poor **
Fair ***
Good ****
Excellent *****
The Best Monitors For Spreadsheets And Graphics
