Labs

Acer's AL1722r monitor disguises its budget price well with an attractive design and solid build quality. It can swivel to portrait mode and has one of the largest vertical travel ranges of the 17" screens here, although its joints are stiff and require you to hold the base as you position the panel to your liking.

It has a DVI input, but the image is just as sharp through the analogue connection after using the auto-adjust function. The AL1722r is a good choice for fast-paced games with its 8ms response time, but if your interests include digital photography or video work, you won't be impressed by the washed-out colours, milky blacks and lack of an sRGB colour mode. Its relatively tight viewing angles were also disappointing.