WHAT'S HOT: An attractive price and sharp text are the BenQ FP751's best attributes. At $779, the unit is one of the lower-priced 17-inch flat panels we've seen. In our image quality tests, it displayed sharp text and icons on our sample word processing and spreadsheet screens. The FP751 offers some interesting adjustment options, including one more color temperature setting than most monitors we've seen: In addition to 9300 and 6500 degrees Kelvin, you can choose a cooler 5800K setting (9300K is the setting most commonly used in the Western world). You can also customize and save your own color settings. The IKey utility is a calibration screen designed for use with the auto-adjust button on the FP751's bezel (also labeled IKey).

WHAT'S NOT: The sound from the FP751's built-in speakers is a little muddy, although the volume is adequate. Adjusting the volume is more arduous than it should be, however: First you press the Exit button on the bezel, which is counterintuitive, then you roll the thumbwheel on the underside. The thumbwheel increases or decreases the degree of adjustment for all the on-screen controls, and it doesn't respond as quickly as we'd like--other monitors' buttons seem to work faster.

When we looked at the unit's image quality, black screens and dark backgrounds (on a Web page, for example) had a cloudy appearance, and our screen of gray scales showed a blue cast rather than true black. Our test screen of black-and-white bars displayed quite a bit of distortion and jumpiness. Highlights in photos looked overexposed and details were lost.

WHAT ELSE: The FP751 can pivot, but only if you purchase a different base, priced at $99, plus the pivot driver for another $20. All the other pivoting monitors in our March 2002 comparison included the software and an appropriate base in their initial purchase price. If you're looking for a dual-interface monitor, the FP751 isn't the right choice--it has only an analog video interface. BenQ measures the FP751's viewing angles as 120 degrees horizontally and 140 degrees vertically, and in our informal examination we noticed that its screen dimmed significantly before we moved very far to the side. We didn't observe any significant disadvantages to its vertical viewing angle.

UPSHOT: The FP751's price is right for users who work with text more often than they work with graphics.

SUMMARY

BenQ FP751 17-inch screen, 1280 by 1024 native resolution, 16.6 by 8.2 by 17.8 inches, 15 pounds, active-matrix TFT panel, analog input, TCO'99-compliant; IKey calibration utility. Three-year warranty (including backlight), 24-hour toll-free daily support. $779 888/452-2238 www.benq.com