« Return to: Top 10 19-Inch Monitors
| Rank | 19-inch monitor | Street price (4/19/02) | Overall rating | Quality of text/graphics | Comments |
| 1 | Best Buy ViewSonic GS790 | $285 | 96 | Very good/ Very good | FEATURES:18-inch viewable area, .26mm1 shadow mask tube, up to 95-Hz refresh rate,2 up to 1600 by 1200 resolution at 70 Hz, three-year warranty, 24-hour daily toll-free support. SUMMARY: Vibrant and realistic colors make this model a good choice for graphics pros, and sharp text makes it well suited for word processing, too. Short case depth would suit cramped spaces. (  Sept 01) |
| 2 | Best Buy Optiquest Q95 | $215 | 94 | Very good/ Very good | FEATURES:18-inch viewable area, .27mm1 shadow mask tube, up to 80-Hz refresh rate,2 up to 1600 by 1200 resolution at 70 Hz, three-year warranty, 24-hour daily toll-free support. SUMMARY: The cheapest monitor on the chart, this is a fine choice for price-conscious buyers who don't need extras such as USB ports or built-in speakers. Text looked sharp and colors appeared bright. (  Sept 01) |
| 3 | Sony CPD-G420S | $430 | 91 | Very good/ Very good | FEATURES:17.9-inch viewable area, .24mm-.25mm1 FD Trinitron aperture grille tube,3 up to 85-Hz refresh rate,2 up to 1800 by 1400 resolution at 70 Hz, three-year warranty, 24-hour daily toll-free support. SUMMARY: Well suited for heavy word processing or professional graphics work, but other monitors on our chart cost much less and provide comparable image quality. ( Sept 01) |
| 4 | New CTX PR960FL | $349 | 91 | Very good/ Very good | FEATURES:18-inch viewable area, .24mm-.25mm1 FD Trinitron aperture grille tube,3 up to 102-Hz refresh rate,2 up to 1920 by 1440 resolution at 70 Hz, three-year warranty, 12-hour weekday toll-free support. SUMMARY: Offers crisp text and vibrant colors for a reasonable price. Complies with the widely used MPRII specification but (unlike other monitors here) not with the more stringent TCO standard. ( ) |
| 5 | Hewlett-Packard P920 | $415 | 91 | Very good/ Very good | FEATURES:17.9-inch viewable area, .24mm1 Diamondtron NF aperture grille tube, up to 99-Hz refresh rate,2 up to 1920 by 1440 resolution at 70 Hz, three-year warranty, 11-hour weekday toll-call support. SUMMARY: Delivers pleasing color and fine, clear text. Like the number four CTX PR960FL and the number eight NEC MultiSync FP955, this model supports a high maximum resolution. ( Sept 01) |
| 6 | New Compaq MV9500 | $399 | 90 | Very good/ Very good | FEATURES:18.1-inch viewable area, .26mm1 shadow mask tube, up to 85-Hz refresh rate,2 up to 1600 by 1200 resolution at 70 Hz, three-year warranty, 24-hour daily toll-free support. SUMMARY: Sharp text and pretty colors make this newcomer ideal for heavy text or graphics use. Comes with detachable external speakers. Sheds beige in favor of a black bezel with silver accents. ( ) |
| 7 | NEC MultiSync FE950+ | $349 | 90 | Very good/ Very good | FEATURES:17.9-inch viewable area, .25mm-.27mm1 Diamondtron NF aperture grille tube,3 up to 89-Hz refresh rate,2 up to 1600 by 1200 resolution at 70 Hz, three-year warranty, 24-hour daily toll-free support. SUMMARY: Provides above-average image quality for both text and graphics, but the seven-button control interface could confuse some users. ( May 02) |
| 8 | New NEC MultiSync FP955 | $419 | 90 | Very good/ Good | FEATURES:17.9-inch viewable area, .24mm1 Diamondtron NF aperture grille tube, up to 101-Hz refresh rate,2 up to 1920 by 1440 resolution at 70 Hz, three-year warranty, 24-hour daily toll-free support. SUMMARY: High-end display delivers stronger text than graphics. For $1019 you can purchase it with an optional hardware color-calibrator to tweak color accuracy. Five-port USB 1.1 hub comes standard. ( ) |
| 9 | IBM P97 | $499 | 89 | Very good/ Very good | FEATURES:18-inch viewable area, .24mm-.25mm1 FD Trinitron aperture grille tube,3 up to 85-Hz refresh rate,2 up to 1600 by 1200 resolution at 70 Hz, TCO'95 compliant, three-year warranty, 24-hour daily toll-free support. SUMMARY: Pricey display renders sharp lettering and delicately detailed photos--it's a solid choice for heavy text work or video editing. Black case is handsome. ( Feb 02) |
| 10 | Dell P992 | $429 | 89 | Very good/ Very good | FEATURES:17.9-inch viewable area, .24mm-.25mm1 FD Trinitron aperture grille tube,3 up to 90-Hz refresh rate,2 up to 1920 by 1440 resolution at 70 Hz, three-year warranty, 24-hour daily toll-free support. SUMMARY: Provides solid text and graphics, and has plenty of easy-to-use controls (including both vertical and horizontal moire controls) in the on-screen menu. ( May 02) |
How We Test: Twelve judges rate a monitor's text and graphics quality. We evaluate each unit on how well it displays screens of typical letters, spreadsheets, Web pages, and scanned photos. Overall rating is based on text and graphics quality (25 percent each), price (25 percent), features and ease of use (20 percent), and service and support (5 percent). The best possible overall rating is 100. Data based on tests designed and conducted by the PC World Test Center. All rights reserved. For more details, see "A Guide to PC World's Star Ratings". All monitors are TCO '99-compliant unless otherwise indicated.
1 Represents diagonal dot pitch for shadow mask and stripe or varying stripe pitch for aperture grille monitors.
2 Maximum refresh rate at 1280 by 1024 resolution (as tested on this size monitor).
3 Uses aperture grille in which parallel wires near the sides of the screen are strung farther apart than those at the middle.