Hanns.G HW173AB

This is the cheapest TFT we've ever seen at PC Pro, offering 17in of desktop real estate for an amazing £77. It has a widescreen resolution of 1,440 x 900, which is unusual at this size, not to mention the fact that it ends up making the whole monitor look a little odd.

It isn't quite enough resolution to line up two documents side by side, which makes it more of a disadvantage than a highlight, particularly as a 17in panel isn't really large enough for movies, either, the only other major widescreen use. To add to the disappointment, the HW173AB is the only monitor in this group not to feature a DVI interface, and there are no integrated speakers or stand adjustments, either.

This could all be forgiven if the image quality was up to scratch, but this wasn't the case. We had to switch to the User colour profile and lower the green and blue levels to partially eliminate a murky tinge to the image. Plus, the 250cd/m2 maximum brightness leaves it looking a bit dim next to the dearer models; the backlighting was also patchy on our sample.

We saw no banding in our gradient tests, and the black level was reasonable enough. But photos and videos looked a little too dark even at maximum brightness, and we noticed some grain in dark areas, too. Ultimately, the HW173AB isn't the bargain it might seem. Even with the rock-bottom price it's poor value, largely because the significantly better 19in Mirai DML-519W100 costs only £17 more.

Author: David Bayon