WHAT'S HOT: At $390, this flat-panel monitor's price is very competitive. The unit comes with Samsung's standard complement of image controls, including fine and coarse adjustments. Optional bases from Samsung let you add USB 1.1 ports or a multimedia base with speakers and a microphone jack. Documentation is generally easy to understand, though the manual is deceptively thick--it covers two models and only thirty pages are in English.

WHAT'S NOT: This older, entry-level model has been surpassed in image quality by newer monitors. When we retested it for the June 2002 print issue, its performance was around the middle of the pack for graphics, and toward the bottom for text. Judges saw below-average quality on an Excel test screen in particular. These retesting results can be attributed partly to a different PC World test suite, but also to tougher competition.

Our test model's base did not have speaker jacks, microphone jacks, or adjustable height. Reaching the power and signal connectors is a little awkward because the connectors thread through the base and attach vertically to the monitor. The screen doesn't tilt up enough for easy access, but this design does keep the cables hidden out of view.

WHAT ELSE: You can choose how long you want the on-screen controls to remain visible after you make adjustments; you can also lock in your image settings so that they can't be accidentally changed. A button on the bezel lets you auto-adjust the monitor with one touch. It has three preset color temperature modes that are confusingly labeled 1, 2, and 3 rather than with the more-familiar, actual color temperatures as on most monitors.

To keep this model on your desk, a Kensington lock slot is built into the back of the case. In our informal assessment of the viewable angle, we observed that the panel had a rather limited vertical angle of view, but a quite usable horizontal angle of view. We played a DVD movie and saw no motion artifacts; the movie's colors and detail looked attractive.

UPSHOT: This monitor is priced within reach of even budget LCD buyers, so it's a natural for home offices and dorm rooms.

SUMMARY

Samsung SyncMaster 570vTFT 15-inch screen, 1024 by 768 native resolution, 15.2 by 6.6 by 14.4 inches, 12.6 pounds, active matrix TFT panel, analog inputs. Three-year warranty (including backlight); 24-hour daily toll-free tech support. $390 800/726-7864 www.samsungusa.com/monitor