There's been a lot of talk about LCD response times over the past few years. Faster response times are better, at least in theory, as they should avoid the apparent problem with motion lag that's kept dedicated gamers and movie buffs clinging on to CRTs. ViewSonic's VX924 panel has one of the lowest quoted response time yet, at 4ms.

There are two issues with these figures, though. First, it takes longer for a black pixel to switch to a 'middle' state (such as a shade of grey) than it does to white, because the crystals move more slowly without maximum voltage applied. ViewSonic's solution to this is its ClearMotiv system, which initially applies a high voltage to kick-start the transition, reducing it as the crystals move, to even out response times across the spectrum.

The second issue is that even a 16ms response time can theoretically cope with 62.5 individual frames per second - well over that needed to produce full-motion video or decent gameplay, so it's clear that the quoted figure alone doesn't tell the full story.

In our midnight response time shootout (see how we test, p^^^) it was slightly outgunned by Samsung's SyncMaster 930BF and equalled by the BenQ's FP71V+, but when we added points from the other technical quality tests the VX924 was easily the pick of the bunch. The ViewSonic aced most of our DisplayMate benchmarks, pipping the sturdy 8ms IBM panel, to take the honour of best quality display.

There were a few small blemishes - a slight lack of vibrancy and a minor loss of red saturation - but everything else is superb. In our contrast tests, the detail offered at the dark end of the scale near black was matched at the white end, and we could distinguish blocks just two steps (out of 256) away from pure black and white without much trouble. This brings out detail in shadows or flared highlights on still images, and clarifies shadows in movies. Contrast is well maintained with changes in viewing angles too.

There's also attention to detail elsewhere, with an attractive (if chunky) 26mm bezel, and a stand with a clever system for taming messy cables. The OSD is clear and easy to use, offering contrast and brightness control even with the DVI-D digital input, while colour temperature options include sRGB. The only things you have to forego are swivel and height adjustment, with the stand allowing tilt only.

Our only real grievance came from the pixel fault tolerance. People could still stray towards the Samsung for its zero dead pixel policy. It's better than ViewSonic's modest promise of replacement only if there are more than two bright or four dark pixels during the first three years, though you pay a $100 premium for this.

But in spite of these compromises, this panel impresses all-round. The exceptional range, decent motion handling and excellent viewing angles mean the VX924 is a great choice for all but colour-critical purposes, and it's available at a reasonable price too. Although it looks expensive, it's competitive with many decent 17in displays and is well worth paying the extra for.