Verdict: Businesslike and boring

In most respects, the P972L looks identical to the smaller F773. However, there are some major differences, starting with the screen itself, which is a matt black panel instead of the F773's glossy 'Neon-Life' model. Instead, the P972L's big concept is '3E Concern' or ergonomics, energy savings and ecological awareness. All very worthy, but it's also a clear sign that this TFT is aimed at the corporate market rather than the PC enthusiast.

On the plus side, the ergonomic focus makes this an easy display to adapt to your requirements, with a massive 120mm of height adjustment that will suit both dwarves and giants, and plenty of tilt to match. On the downside, corporate, budget-friendly cost-cutting is evidenced by the lack of a DVI input. At least the auto-setup sequence quickly and accurately sets up the image, with two automated screens for the monitor to lock onto for timing, phase and colour adjustments. Otherwise, the OSD menu offers a wide range of standard adjustments, plus a variety of colour modes, including an ultra-customisable 'motion picture' option that lets you fiddle with things such as skin tone and black level. If savings had to be made, it would have been better to get rid of the integrated speakers, which make a hideous tinny racket. To add insult to injury, there's no headphone socket either.

In our tests, the lack of Neon-Life Technology wasn't a total loss; the 256-level grey and colour intensity ramp tests actually show less evidence of banding than on the F773, there's no reflection from the screen and colour reproduction is arguably more natural. However, the P972L fudges its low-saturation tones, failing to distinguish between dark greys and deep blacks at one end of the spectrum, and light greys and whites at the other. In Doom 3, this made it hard to see anything in the game's gloomy corridors, and while enabling 'motion picture' mode and raising the black level helps, it does so at the expense of overall contrast. In 'Bad Boys 2', meanwhile, the screen struggled to hold definition, losing focus in the chaos of the gunfights.

In short, the P972L is one monitor that's best left in the office.

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