BenQ G2222HDL 21.5-inch Widescreen LED Back-Light Monitor (Full-HD, DVI-D, Glossy Black, 5ms, Vista Premium)

Bought this off Amazon after doing my research, arrived after only 2 days on Super Saver delivery. Everything was good then I noticed one small dead pixel in the bottom right quarter of the screen. Once I'd seen it couldn't take my eyes off it. Knowing that Monitor manufacturers often won't replace screens for just one pixel, I thought I may have to accept it. But, I emailed Amazon and asked their policy. Next day I had an email saying a replacement screen had been sent - first class. Sure enough it arrived the next day, and it's fine and I'm highly delighted with it. Amazon even provide a link for free return carriage to be arranged.

The monitor is exceptionally bright and clear, and I am quite surprised that the quality is as high as it is, given the low price.

I'm using this as a second monitor with a 2010 MacBook Pro. As others have written, you need to buy a DVI cable (for example: Belkin F2E4141b10-DD - DVI Flat Panel Replacement Cable) separately, which is why it only gets 4 stars. It comes with a VGA cable, which is too low-resolution for my needs, but may be OK for others. If you have a recent Mac Laptop, you'll need an adapter, e.g. Apple Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter cable by Neet® - ( for Unibody MacBook - Pro - Air etc. )). Be advised that the DVI plug on the back of this monitor is DVI-D (dual link), so check this against your own computer/laptop output plug. (if you don't know the difference between DVI plugs, google 'DVI' and the wikipedia page will give you examples of the different types.) VGA is VGA, so if you are only going to use this input, you'll be covered by what's in the box. The power lead to the monitor is pretty standard length -- no problems there.

I am taking advantage of the VESA mounting capabilities of this monitor, and have attached it to a standard VESA mount Cantilever LCD Monitor TV Arm Bracket Wall Mount with Swivel and Tilt (also bought on Amazon). If anyone else is considering using the VESA mount, be prepared to fight a bit with the stand when you are removing it -- BenQ has made this a little more difficult than it needs to be, but I can't dock them a star for this one-time frustration. Be prepared though, removing the stand is not as easy as it should be (the screws are easy enough to get to, but it took a lot of fidgeting to get the stand to separate from the monitor, due to the design of the area where they connect; I'm pretty savvy with taking apart computers, and I found myself cursing at how long it took me to do this... by comparison, my old dell monitor came off its stand in under a minute. This one probably took me about 10 minutes. Could have been bad luck or my idiocy, but I think its down to design).

The monitor gets use for document, film and photo editing when I'm working at my desk, but it also gets called on for watching DVDs at night, from the bed. I do not have a TV, so anyone with a large screen might not find it sufficient, but for my needs -- work and video watching -- its fantastic; the only drawback of watching films on it from bed is that you have to get up to turn it off (I do this to save electricity -- if you don't mind it being 'on' all night, you could just leave it on -- there is a green LED that stays on, even when it is asleep). Compared with my other monitor (24" Dell, TFT), the LED back-lighting of this model makes a real difference in clarity, colour saturation and, of course, brightness. (I do not have the monitors side by side, so I cannot make a direct comparison). I have not recalibrated the monitor at all, as the factor settings suit my needs. I have been using this monitor daily for over a month.

There are no speakers in this monitor, which suits my needs. I wouldn't want cheap speakers in any case and use the speakers built into my laptop for casual video watching. The lack of speakers is one reason this monitor is so cheap. It also has the benefit of making it exceptionally light and keeps cable clutter behind the monitor to a minimum.

I did a lot of research and do not make purchases lightly. I also compared different vendors, and Amazon offered the best price when I made my purchase (due to their free shipping). Even given that I had to buy the DVI cable to use this monitor, due to the VESA mount, LED backlghting, size, resolution, widescreen and overall cost, it was absolutely the best choice for my purposes.

So, I was looking for a cheap-ish screen to use as my main screen in my room. Both for my computer and my Playstation 3.

And it is awesome, let me say why:
I love the aspect ratio, I come from a 16:10 screen and 16:9 became my instant favorite
It is HDCP compatible, so a £[] DVI-HDMI cable from amazon makes playing with my playstation 3 just the best
LED backlight, it consumes a lot less than my previous screen. which was smaller at 20"
the presets are actually nice, I usually set it to eco while browsing the web because the LED is probably too bright to use with most websites with white backgrounds

it comes with a VGA cable, but I advise you to get a DVI cable or a DVI-HDMI. digital is great, you get no distortion at all