It is amazing how fast things change in the world of PC components. Just 3 years ago I was quite happily running a 17inch screen with an Athlon XP 2600+, Geforce 5800 and 512mb (2x256mb) of memory and even using it as a review system here on DriverHeaven. Now this review system has a dual core CPU and 2Gb of ram, pretty much a standard configuration in the enthusiast community. It is fair to say that many users are still using a CRT with their system, so what exactly can a top of the range TFT bring to the table?

Founded in 1987 ViewSonic have been making high quality displays for quite some time now and today we are going to take a look at their top of the range LCD display, the VP2330wb.

The VP2330wb

ViewSonics VP2330wb is a 23” widescreen LCD display and is the largest they make at the time of writing.

The box arrived with us in a sad state of affairs however the heavy duty Polystyrene protection ensured nothing was damaged.

Inside the box along with the screen we find the bundled extras, these include a DVI cable, VGA cable, USB cable, power cable and driver/software CD.

ViewSonic have also taken the decision to remove the screens power supply and bundle a stand alone power source which connects to the back of the unit. Clearly there will be those who find an extra brick on their desk annoying however it really is a personal choice and the detached PSU can be placed under the desk, out of sight and results in a lighter display.

The image below shows the VP2330wb in all its glory. The product is by no means small however as it is a flat screen LCD you aren’t wasting desk space due to the small depth of the chassis.

A major aspect of making the unit seem so small is the thickness of the bezel round the screen. The edge measures at approx 0.85inch at its widest. The VP2330wb like many displays has a relatively plain design with very little to speak of in terms of logos, just the essential branding and model number. Along the base of the screen there are five, very discrete, function buttons. These control the onscreen configuration which is a very standard affair. The usual configuration options are available for brightness levels, it is however in this aspect of the product that we can find fault in ViewSonic's design. Considering the thought that has gone into the rest of the design the buttons seem a real afterthought, in our opinion buttons should be intuitive. Even without looking closely an end user should be able to know which button they are pressing, its why PC cases have reset buttons which feel different to the power button for example. In the case of the ViewSonic the buttons are all identical to the touch and in all honesty they feel rather cheap.

On the rear of the screen we find the connectivity. This comes in the form of 4 USB outs (USB 2.0), 1 USB in, D-sub, DVI-A/D and power. Other than offering a second DVI socket this really is all the connectivity we or anyone would require for using a PC. Unfortunately there are no inputs for other hardware such as S-video or composite in and even HDTV component inputs for connecting consoles and other devices. Personally it won’t be much of a hindrance for me, however as some other alternatives offer these it seems a little strange that Viewsonic would omit them.