Iiyama ProLite B2712HDS review

The 24in monitor is no longer considered large enough it seems, and manufacturers are falling over themselves to churn out even larger sizes. Until now, they've stuck with the traditional 1,920 x 1,200 resolution, but Iiyama's ProLite B2712HDS is the first 27in TFT to arrive with a 1080p panel.

The core specifications are promising, with a 400cd/m2 maximum brightness and a response time of 2ms, while the range of inputs - HDMI, DVI and D-SUB - should satisfy those with both PCs and entertainment devices.

Out of the box that backlight is set too high for comfort, but we fired up the on-screen menu - which is one of the largest and most usable we've seen - and a little tweaking had it right in no time. The black level was deeper than most, albeit with a bluish beam of light along the bottom edge, and the standard contrast produced good detail in both light and dark areas of images. A slight issue was a pink hue that cropped up in some greys, but it wasn't noticeable during videos.

We tried out the Iiyama's dynamic contrast setting but, as with most, it wildly distracts with its fluctuating backlight, so we disabled it again.

We didn't need it, though, as the B2712HDS looked good in our gaming tests. We had no issues with blurring in fast-moving scenes, and colours were vibrant and accurate for a TN panel. Our DisplayMate tests backed that up, with good performance in its colour-on-colour screens.

We also like the sturdy stand, which lifts through 85mm and swivels widely, while the integrated 1.5W speakers are good enough for everyday desktop audio, if not much more than that. The 16:9 1080p panel just about makes sense at this size, but we still think a good 16:10 screen offers a more natural working area.

A bigger question is whether a 27in TFT with no more pixels than most 24in and 22in models is worth more than £250 exc VAT. It's true that many 27in rivals cost much more, so you could consider the Iiyama a bargain in that sense, and if you want those three extra inches it isn't a bad mainstream choice. But we'd still lean towards spending £50 less on a top-quality 24in TFT.

Author: David Bayon