IBM E74 $299 (800) 426-3333 (914) 756-1900 http://www.ibm.com

If you are looking for a superior monitor for your home or office, look no further than the IBM E74 17-inch monitor. This monitor offers good details and color registration and an antireflective screen surface. You'll also find the monitor renders sharp colors and text for an affordable $299.

The pearl white E74 features a 15.9-inch viewable image area and supports a maximum resolution of 1,024 x 768 at an 85 hertz (Hz) refresh rate. The refresh rate is the number of times in one second that the computer screen image is renewed. There are four buttons on the front of the monitor to manipulate and navigate the on-screen display (OSD) and adjust images. One button activates the OSD; another closes it and saves any changes. The two left and right arrow buttons let you navigate the OSD menu. The controls are simple to use and allow you to alter the Brightness, Contrast, Width, Height, Horizontal and Vertical Position, Degauss, and Color. There is also a Reset option that lets you revert to the original factory settings.

We tested the monitor on an IBM 450 megahertz (MHz) Pentium II system with 128 megabytes (MB) of random-access memory (RAM) with a GeForce 256 Annihilator Pro 3-D 32MB video card, running Windows 98. The system recognized the Plug-and-Play monitor upon Startup and loaded the necessary drivers immediately.

We evaluated the E74 at its maximum 1,024 x 768 resolution, and it produced sharp images and text and good color registration. Color intensities were a bit dim, but overall the images were impressive. In our benchmark tests, the monitor delivered bright, detailed images when we viewed a handful of Adobe Photoshop graphics. We were also pleased with the distinct variations between black and shades of gray, and there was no evidence of flicker or moiré in any of the tests. IBM's E74 is an excellent monitor and the competitive price is hard to ignore.

by Buffy Cranford-Petelle

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