HotHardware Holiday Gift Guide 2009
You Saw Santa Kissing Who? Monitors
The most awesome PC in the universe is nothing without a monitor, so we've rounded up some of our favorites from 2009 from least expensive to most. Good luck out there, and remember, pixels are important!
Mimo 710-S - $130
Not everyone needs a whole new monitor, but just about everyone could benefit from a secondary display--particularly one that's USB powered. The Mimo 710-S is a 7" secondary panel that weighs under 1 pound and can slide down for easy portability. The panel packs an 800x480 resolution and comes with drivers for Windows XP, Vista and Vista 64-bit, though Mac OS X users can download their drivers from Mimo's website.
Samsung P2070 - $195
This 20" LCD monitor is the perfect size for the dorm room or bedroom, boasting a 1600x900 resolution, DVI input and Samsung's heralded sleek styling. This one falls into the company's Touch of Color line, and the Energy Star rating ensures that it sips as little energy as possible.
Dell ST2310 - $298
This 23" LCD monitor is sleek, sexy and large. There's 23 inches of 1080p panel to gaze at, and the HDMI, DVI and VGA inputs ensure that every component you've got in the house is taken care of. The super slim bezel and audio in/out ports keep it looking good, while the reasonable price keeps it within the mid-range price budget (for LCDs, anyway).
NEC MultiSync EA231WMi - $378
NEC is known for producing monitors that can reproduce colors well, and this one is no exception to that rule. Boasting an IPS panel and a one-touch ECO mode to save energy, this is also NEC's first ever monitor to be equipped with a DisplayPort. There's also a 3-step ambient light sensor for automatic brightness adjustment, VGA/DVI ports, a 4-port USB 2.0 hub, built-in carry handle and a pair of speakers as well.
Dell UltraSharp 3008WFP 30" Widescreen - $1,699
Dell’s large, 30-inch UltraSharp 3008WFP widescreen LCD offers a native resolution of 2,560 x 1,600. And to help you enjoy all of the fine details, TrueColor Technology produces 117% of the NTSC color gamut for superb color reproduction. The UltraSharp 3008WFP has a fast 8 ms response time and 3,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. You’ll get a nice variety of connection options with this monitor, including VGA, DVI-D with HDCP, HDMI, S-Video, Component, Composite, and DisplayPort. The UltraSharp monitor family is designed to give you a comfortable viewing experience by allowing you to adjust the height, tilt the panel forward and backward, and swivel it left-to-right. Additionally, the UltraSharp 3008WFP supports a wide viewing angle of 178-degrees.
JVC LT-42WX70 - $1550
Since when is a 42" display a monitor? Since JVC produced the LT-42WX70, that's when. This spacious HD LCD is actually designed for remarkably accurate color reproduction, enabling DSLR users to see exactly what their shots will look like on a massive panel. It has a coverage rate of 96 percent for Adobe RGB, 52 on-screen image-quality adjustment properties and a 1080p resolution. Talk about the ultimate gaming monitor.
