Excellent Monitor, buy why a fixed base?

Author's Rating:

Pros: Simple to use, easy setup, great color and response.

Cons: Non-adjustable base, high cost.

The Bottom Line: 
First rate monitor with poorly designed base. Overall, I love it --

Author's Review
Both I and my boyfriend are computer programmers by trade, so computers are a big part of my life. I spend a lot of time in front of my computer monitor – both at home and at work. I’ve used a number of ViewSonic monitors over the years, I’ve always been satisfied with their products. However, I’m genuinely impressed by the VX922 and its little sister, the 17” VX715. I have one of each in my home.

About a year and a half ago, my boyfriend and I decided to replace our chunky older monitors with flat screen monitors in order to free up some space on the desks. The older monitors were still working well enough, but moving them to clean, and just seeing the big things there day after day was getting old. We decided to go with a ViewSonic VX715 and see how it went. We were so happy with its performance, that shortly thereafter; we replaced the other “fat” monitor with the larger, costlier 19” VX922 without hesitation.

Appearance

The VX922 is a beautiful monitor that has an expensive look and feel. It has a slim profile and simple lines that don’t distract. Because it is slimmer than a CRX monitor, it is easier to position comfortably for the user, and it fit into locations a CRX couldn’t be used. I find it particularly nice to be able to move the monitor toward the back of my desk, which is against a wall. With the thin VX922, it is possible to position the monitor just about 6 inches from the wall – and thus almost 2 feet from my eyes. With the old CRX monitors, the thickness of the monitor makes this sort of positioning impossible – which is a real drawback for me.

The large screen takes up most of the monitors face, and the bezel is slim and simple. The bezel is a flat black that doesn’t get smudges easily and doesn’t generate distracting reflections. The fixed plastic base is made of the same plastic. The image position and power controls are located at the base of the monitor face, on a separated silver panel. The buttons are reasonably innocuous, and have a nice feel.

Functionality

This monitor has never failed me. The images are clear and crisp, and the colors are vivid. My boyfriend uses it for a good bit of gaming, and the monitor always seems able to keep up. Unfortunately, the monitor stand lacks any height adjustment. Although you can tilt the screen forward and back, the lack of height adjustment is a real drawback that seems out of place in a monitor at this price point. However, with this exception, the monitor is a high quality unit that both feels and looks as expensive as it actually is.

Ease Of Use

I have replaced my computer twice since purchasing this monitor, and have hooked it up to other computers at least 3 or 4 times. It’s always provided a great picture without any setup or special drivers, and has been entirely “plug and play”. I do tend to have the latest operating systems on my computers, so it is possible that users with older operating systems would need to perform more setup to get a great picture. I have never made use of the included driver disk, and therefore cannot comment on it.

The buttons on the fact of the monitor allow adjustments to be made easily and without hassle. The interface provided is sufficiently similar to every other monitor I’ve ever owned that I have never needed to reference a manual to figure out how to perform.

Overall, I’m very happy with this monitor. While I remain perplexed by the lack of adjustability in the stand, I would not hesitate to purchase another VX922, and would not hesitate to purchase another ViewSonic.