Quality acer screen (Acer AL1714)

Member Name: PLIPPLOP1

Product:	Acer AL1714
Date:	03/02/06 (412 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great picture, value for money, takes up little space

Disadvantages: Speakers aren't loud enough

When I bought this screen around 6 months ago I had never heard of acer. It seems as if they are everywhere now and they are apparently in the top 5 branded branded pc vendors so they must have had a meteoric rise.

I'll have to say that this is the only acer product that I own but can see why they have grown so quickly. This monitor has a great picture and was very reasonably priced.


****So, who are Acer?****

Acer sell Desktop PC's, Notebooks, Tablet PC's, Servers, Handhelds, Projectors, Digital Cameras, LCD TV's & Monitors.

They employ 5,600 staff and have revenues exceeding $7 billion. They are also the biggest seller of notebooks in the European Union with an 18% share of the market.



****The acer AL1714****


The acer AL 1714 is a 17 inch LCD monitor with the following spec:


Pixel Pitch 0.264mm
Maximum Resolution 1280 x 1024
Brightness 370 cd/m2
Contrast Ratio 350:1
Viewing Angle 160 degrees (H)
120 degrees (V)
Response Time 8ms/6 ms
Input Signal VGA (Analogue)
Speaker 2.5W x 2 Optional
Power Consumption 51W
Dimensions 384 (W) x 391 (H) x 204 (D) mm
Weight 3.5
Kensington Lock Supported
VESA Wall Mounting 75x75mm


The Screen also has the following features


Anti-Reflective coating
Kensington Lock Slot
TCO'99 certified
PC & Mac compatitble
Wall mountable
Fully automatic auto tune feature
Friendly OSD user interface


****What you get in the box!!****


Monitor
Stand
VGA cable
User Guide


****Setting it up****


Simple! Just construct the stand which is a matter of clickling the screen into the base. You then plug the VGA into the back of your mac or the PC box, connect the power and your ready to go. As soon as i switched the monitor and my mac on it was all done, nothing else to do!


****Size matters!!!****

I previosuly owned an Imac G3 before buying this monitor and the difference is huge in every way.

The screen size is superb for anything you can use from applications, the internet & gaming. The monitor is also quite thin so it really takes up little space. I bought a mac mini before purchasing this screen so compared to the space an Imac takes up compared to this combination is incredible, my desk seems so less cluttered now

The monitor is also quite thin as well which also gives a lot more space. It is also very light so is easy to move around when it needs to be.


****Picture Quality****

This has a great quality picture with no flickers. It also has integrated prevention against eye-strain or headaches. You can use this all day long without feeling the affect of it.

The picture seems to be perefct quality no matter what conditions. It's never too bright or too dull and with the sun beaming on it (doesn't happen that often!!) you still have a perfect picture.

As mentioned before this monior is great for all types of use such as using applications, internet and gaming. I really believe that this screen comes into it's own in gaming. It keeps up with the action and provides really great clarity. I have used monitors that are hugely more expensive than this and this monitor outperforms them al.


****Sound Quality****

The major let down for this monitor is the sound quality. The speakers are not up to scartch at all. The output is very low, I would suggest that external speakers should be used otherwise listening to music or playing games wouldn't be worthwhile.


****Design/Function****

I actually quite like the look of this monitor, it's quite unobtrusive and none threatening unlike the old CRT monitors, it's not quite Apple design but then again it's not quite Apple prices either.
As mentioned before due to the small amount of space it takes up it leaves you with a lot of room.

You can swivel the monior up and down so you can adjust it exactly the way you want to see it which obviously makes it more comfortable to use.

Quite a good design feature on this monitor is that it is VESA wall mountable. You don't actually get the mount with the product but can buy online for around £30.

Obviously with this monitor there is also a bog standard menu system to adjust brightness, contrast, focus, position & screen save.



****Pros****

Size, picture quality & value for money.



****Cons****

Sound quality



****Summary****

About a month after I bought this screen I was offered a £1,000 screen from my friends company that was closing down for £90. I bought one off him for my brother and tested it out. This screen had only been used on a couple of occasions but still didn't match the picture quality of this screen which only cost me £120. I'm actually very impressed with acer after buying this product, just goes to show that manufacturers that aren't so well known can also produce quality products. Highly recommended!!

Bought from Dixons for £120 (special offer)
RRP around £170

Summary: Very impressive screen for a great price

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