CTX P922E

A 19in TFT monitor without the usual enormous price tag.

With the cost of TFT screens plummeting, you might wonder why anyone would want to pay more than £200 for one.

Well, as we all know, size matters. The CTX P922E has a very generous 19in screen size and, while a year ago you'd have been laughed at for suggesting that a monitor of this size could cost anything less than a grand, this clocks in at just £599.

That's still a lot of money, but the P922E compensates in terms of quality, with a smooth, even image that looks crisp, bright and colourful.

Better still, it's a fraction of the size of a 19in CRT monitor. The P922E also looks the business, with a slender silver frame and black backing.

Due to its size, the stand needs to be relatively sturdy and therefore has a larger footprint than we've come to expect for a TFT.

Although it is possible to tilt the screen, the panel does not rotate. Neither are there any provisions for adjusting the screen's height.

Given that the vertical measurement of the screen is almost 12in, it's unlikely that anyone would ever miss either of these features.

The screen's fixed resolution is 1280 x 1024 pixels, rather than 1600 x 1280. However, most home users will feel more comfortable with this lower resolution and only graphic artists or hardcore gamers will find it a letdown.

Both DVI and VGA inputs are available, as are easily accessible on-screen controls and audio from either a reasonable pair of built-in speakers or a headphone socket.

A surprise addition is a built-in USB hub. While this isn't earth-shattering news, it just so happens that the four extra ports that the CTX monitor provides are USB 2-compatible.

So if you plug it into one of your PC's USB 2 ports, you get four more on the monitor. It supports conventional USB as well.

DETAILS
Price: £599
Contact: CTX 01923 810800
www.ctxeurope.com