TFT Monitors

You spend more time interacting with your monitor than any other part of your PC, so here's our shortlist of the best (and worst) 17in widescreen monitors money can buy.

NEC MultiSync 20WGX2

Manufacturer:	Price:
NEC	£370 inc VAT
Reviewer:	Review Date:
Stuart Andrews	Dec 2006

Quality	42/50	84%
Features	21/25	84%
Value	17/25	68%

Overall

80%

Verdict: The finest image quality of any TFT on test

Like the MultiSync 70GX2, the 20WGX2 is part of a family squarely aimed at gamers, and the resemblance is obvious in the rounded silver frame, gloss screen coating and joystick-powered controls. However, the widescreen monitor isn't just the bigger sibling - it's stronger too.

Of course, no monitor is perfect. We're still not sure about the joystick controls, which make a meal of navigating the menus and establishing settings, and, while the 20WGX2 offers an Advanced DV Mode on top of its smaller brother's DV Modes, we'd recommend using it with care; it sometimes gives you a brighter, picture, but at other times, it overeggs the pudding with strident colours and a blinding glare. In fact, the 20WGX2 occasionally makes you wonder if a monitor can be too bright. The 470cd/m2 luminance rating and 700:1 contrast ratio - which can be overdriven to a staggering 1600:1 - sound great on paper, but they don't suit every app.

Throttle them back, however, and the results are quite astonishing. The 20WGX2 delivers incredible clarity, and triumphed in the white level saturation tests, delivering the best performance of any of the monitors. Admittedly, matters weren't as good at the other end of the spectrum; that glossy screen can dish out some wonderfully inky blacks, but it struggles to convey the intermediate tones of grey. The only other issue was a little banding in the greyscale and colour ramp tests.

Still, we had no complaints when it came to real-world use, because the 20WGX2 is a stunner. From general desktop use through to photo reproduction, DVD playback and games, the 20WGX2 took on all challengers and sent them packing. HD movie playback was superb, rendering the ancient battles in '300' in tones that were almost too visceral. If you're a gamer for whom money is no object then this is the display for you. Prey's organic and metallic textures have never seemed so brilliantly reflective, while Need for Speed: Most Wanted is a feast of strong colours and dazzling highlights.

Bearing in mind the phrase 'money is no object', the 20WGX2 richly deserves an Approved award, but it's just too expensive to win this Labs test.

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