Verdict: Great performance, but just look at the price!

Usually, when a product name includes a word like Brilliance, we cruelly turn it back on them. Fortunately for Philips, the word seems to be appropriate in this instance. Dictionary definitions talk of splendour, magnificence and great brightness, all of which fit the 200WP7ES to a tee. The image isn't as bright or clear as that of the NEC 20WGX2, but it's in the same ballpark, and the non-gloss screen means that it's less reflective too.

The 200WP7ES is perhaps a little dull, but it's hardly offensive, and you can adjust its height and angle. The buttons aren't artfully concealed either, but personally, we'd rather see what we're pressing than have to reach around the bezel and guess. It all suits the no-nonsense attitude of this screen; no fussy image modes or cleverly named technologies - just a monitor that delivers superb performance every time.

First off, the 200WP7ES has a phenomenal grasp of dark tones, finding dark greys where other displays fail to spot them. It's just as good with lighter tones too, revealing near-white tints that would usually remain unseen. The 200WP7ES scored higher than any other screen in our technical tests, and was equally impressive in real-world use. It couldn't beat the NEC for clarity in our photo tests, but it delivered more natural, well-balanced colours, and we loved the fine image quality and smear-free showing of 'Harry Potter'. The NEC won out in our HD tests; '300' wasn't nearly as terrifying on the 200WP7ES, but the 'Amazing Caves' footage showed oodles of detail and vibrant colour. And while we missed the NEC's high-impact performance in Prey, it scored well in terms of shadow detail. Need for Speed: Most Wanted left little to choose between the two.

The 200WP7ES would have had a shot at an award but, as the monitor wasn't on sale at the time of writing, the only price we have to go on is an estimate of £439. As this would make it the most expensive monitor on test, both the Belinea and NEC offer better value. If that price shrinks, however, we may change our opinion.

• 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

• OCZ Core Series 30GB - Hard disks / storage
• Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB - Hard disks / storage
• Asus EAH4870 TOP - Graphics cards
• Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro - Sound cards
• Multiwinia - Games
• Zotac GeForce GTX 260² - Graphics cards
• Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2 - Graphics cards