Verdict: A strong all-rounder at an even stronger price point

In the world of the Asus PM17TE, everything is splendid. First, you get a monitor featuring Splendid Video Intelligence Technology, basically a raft of performance features comprising an anti-reflective gloss panel, a 500cd/m2 luminance level and, apparently, the guarantee of zero bright dots within a year. Then, while you're using your monitor, you can enjoy the use of the Splendid Hot Key. I'm not quite sure what's so delightful about a button that switches between standard, cinema, scenery, game and night-time views, but one thing's certain: while it's easy to laugh at the efforts of Asus's marketing department, there's nothing funny about the final product.

For one thing, the PM17TE looks far better than any budget monitor has a right to look. Gloss screens always make a big first impression, and this one is no exception, particularly when encased in a stylish piano-black-finished frame and held up by a sweeping moulded stand. The only features clearly visible on the bezel are the speaker grilles, a silver power button and the glowing blue power LED. It's the sort of statement you want to have on your desk.

We won't claim that everything about the Asus is perfect. The controls are tucked away behind the bezel on the right-hand side, and adjusting the volume, contrast and brightness settings, or navigating the fairly complex OSD menu system isn't the easiest of experiences. However, you have to admire the available adjustments. The PM17TE doesn't just let you choose between the usual colour presets and your own custom RGB settings - in a bid to appeal to the one-handed browser, it also lets you choose your preferred skin tone.

And while speakers now seem to be practically de rigeur in this sector of the market, we have to question the wisdom of this when, as is the case here, their output is so frequently underwhelming. Admittedly, there's more body and stereo separation from the Asus' speakers than there is from the majority of speakers in this category, but the overall sound lacks warmth, and turns brittle when you push the volume above halfway.

The performance of the PM17TE in the technical tests was solid rather than exceptional. The black level tests shows that it has no problems distinguishing darker tones from deep blacks, but the monitor fares less well at the lighter end of the spectrum. Despite the high brightness level, it struggles to resolve the lightest tints. In addition, both the colour and greyscale ramp tests showed clear evidence of banding.

However, that's the bad news out the way; when it came to real-world usage, the PM17TE surprised us with consistently strong results. Perhaps the Acer delivered more natural colours as Harry Potter faced the dragon, but the PM17TE hit us with a high-impact picture, and coped well with the rapid movement of Harry and the overgrown, fire-breathing reptile as they swooped around the Hogwarts rooftops. The PM17TE also made sense of the events in the underwater trial. And when it came to HD footage, the Acer was the PM17TE's match, picking out even more detail and producing a livelier picture, albeit at the expense of subtlety of tone. The same applied to the photo tests; the Acer may be a better monitor for editing your images, but it's hard to beat the PM17TE when it comes to presenting them.

Above all, this is a gamer's display. Maybe the blacks aren't as dark as they are on the Acer or NEC displays, but the saturated colours look fantastic, and the PM17TE does a better job of picking out the detail in the shadows. The shiny metallic surfaces and slimy organic textures in Prey are almost tangible, and when battle commences, the energy beams and explosions hit with a face-spalling impact. Need for Speed: Most Wanted looked equally great. On some displays, the stylised colours can look soft and washed out, but the PM17TE delivers the right feel of urban grime and autumn sunshine, and, while the Acer reveals more detail in the blown-out, sun-drenched highlights, the PM17TE delivers a blinding glare that will have you reaching for your Oakleys before the lap is through.

The PM17TE might not offer the best image quality - the Acer has it licked for colour performance, and the NEC for crystal clarity - but it's the best all-rounder and will grace your desk with its good looks. It's also more attractively priced. Combine these arguments, and it's easy to see why we've selected it as the winner of our 17in Labs test.

• Cases - 21st November 2008
• Motherboards - 24th October 2008
• Gaming Headsets - 26th September 2008
• Dream PCs - 24th September 2008
• Headphones - 12th September 2008
• Media PC components - 22nd August 2008
• PSUs - 14th July 2008

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