TFT monitors

The Samsung SyncMaster 205BW is one of these rare cases of a very good quality TFT monitor at a low price for its class and 20' viewing space.

Samsung has demonstrated great ability in manufacturing low cost but high performance flat panel displays in a highly competitive market. The SyncMaster 226BW active TFT matrix rarely ships with dead pixels and the quality leaves a lot to be desired by other brands.

The only serious shortfall for any buyer would be the 2ms response time. Most new 22" monitors sport 4-5ms response time.

It's not often that you find a large viewing space for under £150. If you are thinking about upgrading for that extra viewing space you can't go wrong with the Acer AL2216W 22" wide TFT screen. Surely it is not one of the best in the market but it does the job well for the budget studio or home PC.

The colors are great and the viewing angle is fine for this category. The contrast ratio is good at 700:1 and the 5ms response rate gives a flick free and relaxing eye experience.

Iiyama is a well known UK brand specialising in LCD monitors. The ProLite E2200WS 22' widescreen LCD is a solid 22' monitor. The base is plastic but this is no cause for concern as the set-up is stable and the monitor can tilt backwards or forward for the best viewing experience.

There is a comprehensive list of controls that give you access to all the settings. You will not need to do much in terms of sizing as the screen is great at auto-detecting resolutions and adjusting accordingly.