19-inchers drop under €100, 22-inch screens under €150
Taking a stroll down the virtual isles of European e-tailers, we browsed through some LCD prices and found several noteworthy deals.
Starting at the cheap side of things, you can get a 19-inch screen for under €100. The Belinea 1925 S1W and ViewSonic's Optiquest Q191wb sell for a measly €99. Far from being top notch screens, these 1440×900 units should be enough for undemanding users on a tight budget and office workers in companies run by embarrassingly cheap blokes. Benq's recently announced 1386×768 G900HDA sells for €106 and offers superior contrast, brightness and viewing angle compared to the previously mentioned models.
For a €20 premium you get an extra inch and 1680×1050 screen res. Again, Belinea has the cheapest 20-inch screen, the Belinea 2025 S1W, priced at €118. Most vendors flog their 20-inch models at €130+.
Considering you can get a Hyundai 22-inch screen for just €129 these days, it's probably best to forget about the 20-inch models altogether. At just over €150 you can get dozens of fairly good mid-range 22-inch screens and these babies should be enough for most users.
If you're bent on HD and have enough graphics muscle to run current games in 1900×1200, you'll have to cough up at least €235 for Hyundai's cheapest 24-inch unit. Although this seems a bit steep compared to 22-inch screens, it's still very cheap considering the screen acreage and high resolution.
Of course, we're talking about the cheapest models. You can forget about DVI on the cheap 19- and 20-inch models, and climbing up the ladder you'll probably want HDMI on your 22-inch and 24-inch screens. These features will cost you extra, but still won't drive the price through the roof; and investing in an HDMI model is worth the extra expense for a multitude of reasons.
