We made the decision to test this model as the representative of the leading monitor vendor by volume shipped, having already had the monitor available in the Labs from the Peripherals Plus Athlon in our 600MHz PC Labs (see page 54).The monitor itself is a fairly nondescript piece of equipment. The tube is quite long making it awkward to fit in confined spaces. Apart from the power switch there are only four buttons adorning the front panel to represent the OSD. The first button on the left is the exit key which backs the user out of whatever OSD task they are performing.

The next two keys have dual functions. Pressed straight from the panel, they represent access to brightness and contrast functions. When pressed within the OSD they represent the forward and backward functions or increment/decrement values. The last key is the Menu key to gain access to the OSD.

Manoeuvring within the OSD is very simple. The usual positioning and geometry controls are present. Advanced users have access to horizontal and vertical moire adjustment, a halftone setting which allows the OSD display to be represented as a translucent image onscreen, and video signal level. There is also a colour temperature bias control but this function does not give as great a choice as most of the others in this lineup, having only two options for 9,300 degrees Kelvin or 6,500 degrees.

In general use the SyncMaster 750s was competent without any highlights. The screen display was bright enough and exhibited good contrast. However definition was down on what we have come to expect , there was significant glare and reflection, and red colour purity was also disappointing with large blotches of variable intensity.

Screen regulation also suffered. There was a noticeable bow in the border in the screen regulation tests which was particularly pronounced in white, yellow and magenta. The wobbly effect was even greater in local and asymmetric regulation. It was not an outright fault as seen in the Mag CM17J but was seen as a good indication of where the SyncMaster 750s stood in terms of quality.

The SyncMaster 750s is not SamsungEs top 17in offering and should be taken in that context. Ultimately you get what you pay for and at $530 that seems to be the case - a competetent 17in monitor without any frills.