This was an extremely difficult category to judge, with pricing, components and performance playing a heavier part in the judging process because of the general disparity between models submitted.

Prices range from $1,500 to $5,600, screen sizes from 18 to 21-inches, and even
the displays’ intended markets were just as divided.

In a hard fought contest, we chose to recommend the Philips 180P2G because it represented good value with good performance, and although it’s not for everyone we feel it has a solid niche. It certainly couldn’t match the EIZO FlexiScan L985EX’ performance (no monitor came close), nor was it as cheap as the BenQ FP882, but it was quite capable displaying the test colour patterns, was good when we trialled movies and gaming on it (if a little sluggish at times), and was solid in the rest of the tests.

This TFT was able to clearly display fine details and text, which would be perfect for the designer or graphic artist. The 180P2G also features a rotatable screen so you can work in portrait or landscape modes – and this seals the deal.

It comes with D-Sub and DVI inputs, plus it also has multimedia speakers built into the base for a bit of leisure fun. The stand is quite sturdy on this model, and overall it was a top rater, so we can highly recommend this monitor.