Here's a monitor that would look at home on an executive desktop. Even the adjustment buttons are artfully hidden beneath the bottom edge of the display to avoid disturbing the stylish lines. Much of this is due to this 17 inch monitor's unusual stand - the panel resides on an arm which folds out from the back. This adds greatly to stability with the downside being that it has the largest footprint of the lot. We also liked how part of the back of the monitor comes away to reveal the power and cable inputs, allowing you to tuck them out of sight.

The Sony did an excellent job of handing our subtle colour tests with fades and transitions suffering very little banding. It didn't put much of a foot wrong anywhere else either. Response times were great there was little blur seen when object moved round the screen - though it still couldn't quite match the likes of BenQ, Samsung and ViewSonic. Viewing angles scored highly meaning more than one person can happily view the screen at once without compromising colours and picture quality. And brightness and contrast meant that details weren't lost in bright or dark areas. The high gloss 'XBRITE' will appeal to those watching DVDs as it helps enrich colours, but some hardcore gamers will prefer to look death in the face rather than their own dishevelled reflection.

Overall the Sony is a decent monitor but it's expensive in this company. If you've got a particular focus such as price, features or image quality you'll find a better monitor in the IBM or Viewsonic screens.