Viewsonic VP2330WB

Viewsonic’s VP2330wb enters the fray at a slight disadvantage, sporting a screen that’s a full inch smaller than the others here, though it has the same 1920x1200 native resolution. It also has the slight disadvantage of using a hefty power brick for juice— rather than the easy-to-route-and-accommodate power cords that the other LCDs tested use.

And while we appreciate the four built-in USB ports, we wish they weren’t all located behind the screen—it’s nice to have a couple on the side for convenience.

In our tests, we observed some bright splotches on a dark screen due to an uneven backlight—this was the screen’s biggest failing. The VP2330 proved capable at grayscale reproduction, though like Dell’s entry, it displayed subtle color-tracking errors, which were visible at 65 steps and beyond; and it showed signs of kinks and ripples in grayscales of 256 steps.

These issues didn’t seem to negatively impact the VP2330’s ability to handle high-res digital images, games, or the dark ambiance of Batman Begins. In such applications, we’d even say the VP2330 performed on par with Dell’s panel.

Still, we’re wary of synching issues we observed on the two VP2330s we have in our Lab. While the monitors primarily had problems synching with a BFG GeForce 7950 GX2 videocard after a warm boot, or restart, we had a similar single occurrence with an EVGA 7950 GX2, as well as with an ATI X1900 GTO card, in different PC environments. A cold boot fixes the problem, but we don’t expect these types of problems, particularly when we’re paying top dollar for a monitor.

Month Reviewed: September 2006

+ CHARM: Performs well with a variety of applications.

- HARM: Synching problems with certain videocards; pricey.

VERDICT: 7

URL: www.viewsonic.com