Wide-Screen LCD Monitors

Dreamy-eyed, you tick off the advantages of a wide-screen LCD monitor: oft-used programs side by side, spreadsheets and blueprints fully visible, photos and art in exquisite detail, room for as many toolbars as you want--and don't forget how great DVDs would look. There's no need to deny your dreams: Smaller wide-screen LCDs are both practical and attainable. We tested various LCDs--three 17-inch monitors, five 23-inch displays, and one 24-inch unit--and their superb quality and surprisingly reasonable prices (as low as $664 for a 17-inch model and $1599 for a 23-incher) present a far-from-harsh reality.

The extended family of wide-screen LCD monitors includes odd-size screens, such as those measuring 20 or 20.1 inches. We chose to test 17, 23, and 24 inches because those categories have the best mix of affordable products for head-to-head comparison. The 24-inch display we tested has the same 1920 by 1200 native resolution as the 23-inch models, and most testers did not discern a difference in size when the units stood side by side. One vendor not represented here is Sony; the company's most recent model available during our test period was slated to be discontinued by the time you read this story.

(Read story "Wide Screens Open for Business.")