Shuttle has made a name for themselves with stylish and innovative barebones PCs, and now comes along this excellent addition to any XPC you own. Scratch that - this TFT would look good with any PC you own.
Shuttle's first TFT offering has been a long time coming, and has undergone a few revisions since I first saw it previewed at Computex earlier this year to make sure the underlying specs were improved.
The XP17 FPD is one the best looking TFT monitors we have ever reviewed - it's light, extremely stylish and offers the features that you want from a 17-inch monitor. First up, it has a 16ms response rate, which means you can safely play DVDs and games on it without having to worry about ghosting image lag. Its native resolution is 1280 x 1024, and it features a brightness of 260cd/m2 and high contrast ratio of 450:1. The images are crystal clear and very bright.
Under DisplayMate testing the XP17 FPD performed admirably, with only the slightest hint of colour misregistration marring an otherwise excellent performance. The XP17 features both RGB and DVI inputs.
While the specs and performance are high for a TFT, the real standout is the XP17's design. This is by far the best looking TFT I've tested, with a tubular frame running around the screen to form both the stand and a carry handle. It's an elegant looking design, but it also keeps the monitor rigid and sturdy, which is handy since Shuttle also sells a carry bag for the XP17 for those who like their LAN parties. Another highlight of the XP17 is the toughened, tempered glass covering for the TFT panel with an anti-glare coating. Not only does this protect the screen but it makes DVD or video watching a pleasure.
There are no speakers built into the display, which is good as monitor speakers are never usually something to write home about. This keeps the monitor's bezel reasonably small but uniform around the screen, and the OSD controls are located on the bottom edge that keeps them out of the way.
The only drawback to this excellent TFT is the pricing - $999 is a lot to pay for a TFT even if it has tempered glass covering, DVI input and high brightness and contrast.