Product Reviews

The cost of 17in monitors seems to have fallen almost as dramatically as Intel's processor prices in the last few months. While prices may not have hit rock bottom just yet, those speculating on whether to invest in a 17in monitor could pick up a bargain this month in the shape of the ADI Microscan 5GT. With an RRP of £349, the 5GT offers great value for those wanting that extra desktop real estate.

From the front, the 5GT looks sparse, but has modern styling. The controls for the screen are accessed via a central control panel, which pops out with a small nudge. There are separate buttons for contrast, brightness and the degauss feature. A further five buttons double up to control the image's size, position and shape. Personally, I liked this control method, as it's much faster to use than a rotary wheel system or a three-button system. I also prefer the less cluttered look for the front of the monitor. However, some might find the doubling up of the control buttons frustrating - you have to push a lot of buttons to get the settings adjusted.

At the rear of the case are four BNC connectors and a 15-pin D-SUB connector. Considering the price point, this is very good value,

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as it offers you a lot more flexibility for connections. The D-SUB cable is also separate from the monitor unit, which is another plus point - captive cables are much more prevalent in this price range. This is useful if the cable is ever damaged, because you don't have to return the whole monitor to be repaired. Other than the power connector, the rear panel conspicuously lacks a USB port, although as USB still seems lost in no man's land this doesn't really detract from the package.

The tube has a 16in diagonal viewable image producing a well-focused image. Working flat out, the 5GT produces a 1,600 x 1,200 resolution image refreshing at 75Hz. However, at this resolution text was practically unreadable due to its diminutive size. Most people will probably settle for a resolution of 1,024 x 768, but if you're game the 5GT produces a very usable image at 1,280 x 1,024, with an excellent refresh rate of 85Hz. This is really the secret of the 5GT's success; at every resolution it can deliver not only great focus and colour, but also very stable images, refreshing higher than any VESA standards.

The only real drawback of the 5GT is its size. With a cabinet depth around four centimetres more than most 17in units, you'll need to clear quite a large amount of desk space for it. The weight is more average, at 20kg.

In addition, without the correct drivers installed, the 5GT suffered from some very obvious horizontal lines that covered the image. Installing the drivers as supplied by ADI fixed things pronto.

In fact, there's surprisingly little wrong with the 5GT. The image quality is top notch, the cabinet is well designed, if a little chunky, and the price is most certainly right. As a result, we have no hesitation in giving it our Recommended award.