MaximumPC 2005 05

Reviews

 MA XIMUMPC MAY 2005

Portable LCD Lowdown

Taking your monitor with you has never been easier

In transit, the

BenQ FP785

is carried

upside down,

with the base

folded in on

itself to create

handles.

W

ith so much of modern life

spent on the go, it makes

sense for our gear to be por-

table. Clearly the concept has taken

root in desktop PCs, as there’s no

shortage of compact, behandled rigs

available to today’s mobile masses.

Now, said movers and shakers have a

couple of options when it comes to por-

table desktop monitors.

This month we test two LCD flat

panels made expressly for transport

by Shuttle and Ben Q, respectively.

Their specs are identical, but their

personalities are not.

—KATHERINE STEVENSON

Shuttle XP17 Lite

Shuttle is a pioneer of small form-

factor boxes and the brand remains

a favorite of LAN party enthusiasts,

so the XP17 Lite is an obvious com-

panion piece to the wee gaming PCs.

Like those machines, the XP17 Lite

LCD sports a sleek, stylish, high-

tech aesthetic. The 17-inch screen

is encased in a glassy,

acrylic pane, so the

unit’s face is totally

slick and seamless. But

there’s a downside to

all the gloss. The shiny

exterior is distractingly

reflective.

This was immediately

apparent when we fired

up DisplayMate’s ( http://www.

displaymate.com ) Dark

Screen, which is meant to

evaluate an LCD’s black

levels. Far from black, the

screen held mirror images of

our lovely mugs and our Lab sur-

roundings. And in DM’s gray-scale

screens, we had trouble discerning the

dark grays from true black unless we

viewed the screen off axis. (After

receiving our review unit, Shuttle

released Temp AG

and Temp AR ver-

sions of the mon-

itor, which fea-

ture tempered

anti-glare and

anti-reflective

screens, respec-

tively, and might be better options).

Serif fonts appear crisp and

clearly legible at 9-point and up,

and the XP17’s performance in

Need for Speed: Underground —our

fast-motion game test—was per-

fectly acceptable, even with the

resolution interpolated to 800x600.

As for transportability, the XP17’s

handle is sturdy and comfortable

enough, and it’s light by even

LCD standards, but sorely lacking

is any kind of protective carrying

case. Shuttle offers one as an after-

market accessory, but we think

it should come bundled with any

monitor meant for travel.

BenQ FP785

Maybe it’s the rounded edges and the

burgundy trim, or the fact that the

FP785 debuted at Milan’s fashion week,

but we have a hunch LAN partiers

aren’t the FP785’s target audience.

Indeed, the unit is designed to look

like a handbag when carried. Elegantly,

the handles also serve as the monitor’s

base. The screen can be tilted slightly

forward or back on its stand.

In DisplayMate tests, the FP785

initially came across as a champ.

In the first several screens, we were

loathe to detect flaws, and next to

the Shuttle XP17, the FP785’s superb

visibility was a testament to the

wonders of anti-glare and -reflective

coating. But problems arose when

the FP785 was tasked with repro-

ducing gray scales consisting of more

than 65 steps of gradation. In the

various 128- to 256-step scales, stria-

tions peppered what should have

been a smooth transition of shades

from black to white. This indicates a

limited number of intensity levels at

the extreme ends of the scale, some-

thing that might result in artifacting

when displaying content with a lot

of very dark or light elements.

Serif-font legibility was good, but

not great, for 9-point and larger text.

There was faint evidence of red,

green, and blue in the edges of some

of the characters, probably due to

slight variations in the black levels of

the primary color channels.

Need for Speed: Underground ran

without any glaring visual arti-

facts—in native and nonnative reso-

lutions—but fast-motion sequences

were slightly more blurry than on

Shuttle’s monitor.

The FP785’s tote-ability was on

par with Shuttle’s XP17, although

it’s more than a pound heavier.

Both models are comparatively slim

and lightweight, but the load is

not totally insignificant, especially

when you factor in these monitors’

external power bricks. Like the XP17

Lite, BenQ’s portable is sold sans

carrying case.

Easy to transport; decent performance.

TRAVELING LIGHT

MISSING YOUR FLIGHT

Limited gray-scale range; no protective cover; pricey.

$600, http://www.benq.com

MA XIMUMPCVERDICT 8

BenQ FP785

A stand pulls out from the back of the

Shuttle XP17 Lite and holds

the monitor upright—like a

kickstand.

Slick aesthetic, super bright screen, and made

to travel.

PERSONALIZED LUGGAGE

PERSONAL BAGGAGE

Reflection issues, no protective cover.

$390, http://www.shuttle.com

MA XIMUMPCVERDICT 9

Shuttle XP17 Lite

Specs Shuttle XP17 BenQ FP785

Viewable screen 17 inches 17 inches

Native resolution 1280x1024 1280x1024

Pixel pitch 0.264mm 0.264mm

Interface DVI, VGA DVI, VGA

Carry weight 12.10 lbs 13.80 lbs