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| Cornerstone p1500 |
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Hardware Reviews June 2001 • Vol.4 Issue 6 |
Cornerstone p1500 | ||
 The p1500 from Cornerstone Peripherals is a fantastic 21-inch CRT (cathode-ray tube) monitor, with great overall graphics capabilities. Image clarity and color vibrancy like this are why CRT monitors will endure despite the increasing popularity of LCDs (liquid-crystal displays). The Plug-and-Play setup was easy using the included 15-pin D-sub connector. One notable feature of the p1500 is you can hook it up to two computers simultaneously. A toggle on the OSD (on-screen display) lets you select INPUT1 or INPUT2 for easy switching between PCs. We evaluated the p1500 on a VIA Pentium III 450MHz system running Windows Me and using a GeForce2 GTS 32MB video card with Detonator 3 drives. We tested the system using two resolutions, first at 1,024 x 768 and then at 1,600 x 1,200 (the maximum resolution) with an 85Hz refresh rate for both, and we experienced consistently good results. We tested both resolutions at a 32-bit color depth. The p1500, which uses a Hitachi-made CRT, responded beautifully to almost every one of our diagnostic tests. Most notably, the extreme grayscale, color scales, and 256 intensity level ramp tests revealed a great deal of integrity in the p1500's ability to display all shades and colors across the spectrum while maintaining good vibrancy. Also, the p1500 responded to our test for video bandwidth and modulation as good or better than any CRT monitor we've seen. There was barely a downside to our p1500 testing, but we should mention we noticed some minor blooming and halo effects during our test for defocusing, and our scaled fonts test revealed text that was a little fuzzy at less than 10 pixels in size, as well as white text on a black background that was fuzzy at less than 11 pixels. And while the color combinations were quite good, lighter colors of text on lighter colored backgrounds were a little difficult to read. Next, we looked at colorful, detailed images using Adobe Photoshop. Again, the p1500 handled colors and details very well, which we expected because of the monitor's exceptional 0.22mm dot pitch. All colors were vibrant, and the images appeared with their original realism intact. The details remained clear even in the darkest shadows. The brightest hues, on the other hand, tended to be a tad washed out, but this is only worth mentioning because the monitor leaves nothing else to criticize. At press time, Cornerstone had adjusted the manufacturer's suggested retail price for the p1500 down to $725, which is a really good price for a monitor of this caliber. If you're looking to go large, we recommend going out of your way to consider the 21-inch p1500. by Cal Clinchard
$725 Cornerstone Peripherals (800) 562-2552 (510) 580-8900 http://www.monitorsdirect.com
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