EIZO Nanao Color Edge CG18

What's Not: Professional displays are rarely cheap, and the CG18 is no exception, with a price of $1640 at the time of our review. Truly this is a display for use where color accuracy is all-important.

What Else: If graphic design isn't your livelihood, you can find some nearly comparable 19-inch displays for a good deal less, such as the Sharp T19D1 and the NEC MultiSync LCD1960NX. (Eizo also sells the 21-inch ColorEdge CG21 for $2500.) Text looked quite nice on the CG18, earning a word score of Very Good against competitors in our monitor review for the December issue. The slim-bezeled monitor offers full adjustment options, as well, though we found up-and-down movement rather stiff. It also comes with a four-port hub supporting the USB 1.1 standard.

The adjustment buttons on the bottom of the bezel are intuitively labeled, but they provide access to rather tiny on-screen menus. The ColorEdge comes with Eizo's ColorNavigator software, which supports third-party color calibration hardware. Eizo recommends GretagMacbeth's optical sensors, such as the $240 Eye-One Display.

The bundled CD caries a serviceable HTML-based manual to supplement the very brief paper setup instructions. Brief also describes Eizo's telephone tech support, which is available for 8 hours on weekdays. (Most vendors provide longer support hours.)