BenQ FP93G review

As if to demonstrate just how affordable 19in TFTs have now become, this BenQ model actually costs less than our superb A-Listed 17in TFT, the ViewSonic VP730. Certain aspects of the FP93G betray its low cost, but it actually holds its own better than expected against dearer opposition like the LG L1970H.

Entering Windows for the first time, everything looked bright and clear, but next to the LG the Desktop appeared a little off-colour, with a slight warm hue that made the grey frames of windows appear grainy. A few tweaks, most notably raising the brightness and changing from the Normal colour tone to the User custom settings, reduced the effect significantly, but didn't completely fix the problem. You have to consider the fact that the LG costs around £50 more, so some compromise is inevitable and, viewed in isolation, we had no complaints in general office use.

We were a little disappointed with the output when it came to DVDs and games, though. While undeniably warm, the image exhibits too much grain and fine details are often lost in darker areas. The problem lies with lacklustre contrast, leaving the lowest levels of black largely indistinguishable from each other: even dark greys and browns appear black. Adjusting the contrast and colour settings brought more colour into the image, but also re-introduced the yellow tone, and it wasn't possible to totally eliminate both problems.

It's a shame, as the BenQ's motion handling is excellent: the 6ms response time means no visible ghosting, and even in our bouncing-box smearing test we saw little to complain about. In our exhaustive series of technical tests, the FP93G gave a reasonable performance. Absolute black levels are certainly dark, and even a pure white screen demonstrates the flawless uniformity of the backlight.

With 19in prices falling this low, it's inevitable that they'll continue to catch up with 17in TFTs in popularity, and for everyday work the FP93G poses no problems - the weaknesses only really appear in images and video clips. It also boasts a very thin bezel - just 13mm - so makes a viable candidate for a dual-TFT setup. It isn't particularly stylish and the stand is only tilt-adjustable, but it has DVI and D-SUB connectors, plus an auto-adjust button for calibrating the screen with the latter.

But it can't compete with our current 19in favourite, the ViewSonic VX924, or even with the LG L1970H, although both are significantly dearer. If you're looking for a solid office model on a tight budget, the BenQ FP93G will do a perfectly good job. If you don't intend to use it for entertainment, the BenQ FP93G offers good value at £155.

Author: David Bayon