Widescreen LCDs have come of age lately, with the Philips 200W6 and Dell 2405FPW both on the A-List. Films and recorded TV look great, games are more immersive as the screen fills your peripheral vision, and running two applications side-by-side enables you to work quicker.

ViewSonic doesn’t break its own design mould with this screen, but the rear mounting of the speakers is new and gives the VX2025wm a cleaner fascia. However, the integrated speakers are tinny and suitable only for basic audio needs. ViewSonic persists with its odd OSD controls: the select button is labelled ‘2’, while the exit button is named ‘1’ – unnecessarily confusing. Over DVI, the OSD is limited to contrast, brightness and colour temperature, although we obtained a perfectly acceptable picture using only these controls.

Once set up, we ran DisplayMate to test the limits of the electronics driving the 1680 x 1050 panel. There was only one fault with the panel, but a significant one in that the RGB balance is incorrect, giving greys a noticeable green cast. Green tinting aside, contrast range is generous, with good distinction between dark blacks and light whites. The gamut and colour handling is good enough for an amateur photographer, with colour ramps starting bright and smoothly and evenly blending into some impressively dark but distinguishable shades.

ViewSonic uses a non-glossy diffusion filter to reduce glare and brightness, making the screen easy on the eye over extended periods of typing and web browsing. The downside to this is an odd speckling effect, which some people might find distracting.

A few months back, the ViewSonic’s flaws could have been forgiven in a 20.1in widescreen panel costing $610. However, the A-Listed Philips 200W6 has again dropped in price and, with none of the drawbacks of the VX2025wm, it remains our top choice for an inexpensive 20.1in screen.