IBM 17IN/16V 1600X1200 24MM 75HZ TCO P77 STEALTH BLACK (IBM-6639U3N)

WHAT'S HOT: The P77, IBM's professional grade 17-inch CRT display, scored a double bull's-eye in our image quality tests, earning the highest scores we've recorded to date for both text and graphics. It displayed our test screen of fonts with razor-sharp clarity, and easily handled the difficult combination of 6-point white Arial text on a black screen. Colors on Web pages looked vivid, and skin tones in a photo of children displayed evenly, with realistic shading.

WHAT'S NOT: The $345 P77 is pricey compared to other 17-inch CRTs. However, the P77 uses a Sony FD Trinitron tube, which typically increases a monitor's cost.

WHAT ELSE: Despite its effect on price, the FD Trinitron tube does provide a big benefit: It gives the P77 a flat face, which reduces glare from ambient light. The P77's comprehensive controls include an adjustment to eliminate moiré, as well as a lock that allows you to save setting changes and prevent other users from altering them. Another nice touch: The on-screen controls don't time out as quickly as those on other monitors we've reviewed, allowing you to make changes at a fairly leisurely pace. That's fortunate, because the menus require some interpretation at first, as controls are labeled with icons rather than listed by name. The manual, while thorough, is only available on CD-ROM.