Product DescriptionThis Acer 17" flat panel offers color and contrast to dazzle the eye.
LCD Monitor (Rating: 5 out of 5) The monitor was a great fit to my computer system. The shipping was phenomenal, it arrived a week before I even expected it. Great visual too!
It's okay, no problems for our purpose. (Rating: 3 out of 5) We bought this because we needed to put 2 monitors on one desk due to lack of room, so it was the perfect choice not only because of cost but for the room we needed. My husband and I need 2 computers to play online games together so it's perfect for what we need but the clarity is not perfect. The "maps" from our games are crisp and clean on my monitor but blurry on his. Like I said we only use it for games but I couldn't use it for Photoshop or anything I need clarity to perform fine details. You can read emails and type, stuff like that, with no problems but with side by side comparison with my monitor, it's just not as crisp as it should be...but again, perfect for what we need it for.
Good Resolution, Easy Installation. May have Problem (Rating: 3 out of 5) I bought because my laptop screen was cracked. monitor comes with intallation disc but also self installs after plugged into output screen jack. however this was done in safety mode and then rebooting. if your system has password it must be removed prior to installation. my dvd r/w drive stopped working after using this monitor although i am not sure if monitor software is the problem. resolution is excellent. acer tech support is easy to reach and helpful. they were unable to fix dvd problem. the software allows the user to set color and other parameters.
Very Satisfied, some suggestions (Rating: 5 out of 5) I have had this monitor for about a month and I am very happy with my purchase. I am running Windows XP on a six year old Gateway computer. I received the monitor in just two days. I would recommend this monitor for anyone who wants an LCD for an analog connection.
The following is for those individuals who find the size of text too small at a high resolution. At first, I tried different resolutions to make the text bigger via Display Properties (right click the desktop, choose properties, Settings tab). I didn't take long to realize this monitor should only run at 1280 x 1024 resolution for the best image quality. In order to compensate for my 48 year old eyes (going to need bifocals soon), I changed the DPI Setting (Display Properties, Settings tab, Advanced button). I recommend starting with Large size (120 DPI) and using that for awhile before making any more changes. If you find that to be too big as I did, choose Custom setting and reduce by about 5 percent to "119% normal size (114 dpi)". I found this Custom setting comfortable. If you still find it to be too big, reduce by another 5 percent and repeat until you find what's best for you. There will always be some web sites where the text is defined as very small and very difficult to read. In these rare instances, I copy the text and paste into Microsoft Word and change the font size.
Another change I made was to run the monitor at the highest screen refresh rate that's appropriate for this monitor. I've always found the higher the refresh rate, the better the image on the screen. However, keep in mind the monitor must work harder in order to do this. The manufacturer had the default settings for the highest resolution and the slowest refresh rate. If you change the refresh rate, check to see if the manufacturer's software changes it back to the default the next time you start up your computer. If so, you can uninstall the manufacturer's software to prevent this from reoccurring. To change the refresh rate: Display Properties, Advanced button, Monitor tab, put a check in the box "Hide modes that this monitor cannot display", after checking the box - my highest Screen refresh rate was 75 Hertz.
Acer V173 (Rating: 3 out of 5) The display itself works great. Two things to watch out for: 1) tilt is limited and may not get you the angle you need; 2) cable connections on the back are fully exposed, a factor if you care about aesthetics as when the monitor won't face a wall. Other than that, it looks like a great display.