One Of My Best Buys (HP Pavilion F1703)

Member Name: NMJP

Product:	HP Pavilion F1703
Date:	06/07/04 (1747 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Clarity, Size

Disadvantages: Brightness need Adjusting

Ok so it took me about 2 years of deliberation to take the plunge and replace my ageing
17" CRT monitor (the one I bought with my first ever proper PC after an Amstrad PC1640
- remember those?).

My 17" monitor was still going strong although 'strong' was what you had to be to move the
thing. I had also become rather frustrated by the fact that a good proportion of my usable
desk space had been unavailable for so long and since I was about to start studying an
MBA I thought desk space would need to be optimised.

How Much Did It Cost Me?
==================

I bought my f1703 from John Lewis for about £350 (a bit more than I had planned to pay
but nevertheless affordable). I bought it about 6 months ago (December 2003) so prices
may have changed a bit since then.

What Did It Come With?
==================

Amazingly the screen came with a pair of fairly stylish PC speakers (powered by a plugin
power supply) which I was unaware of and doubtful of the quality I could expect from
something bundled with the screen. I'll come back to the speakers later - for now I'll just
say I wasn't disappointed.

The screen came with its own adjutsable stand, cables, a user manual (as you would
expect) and a CD containing driver software. (Oh and a pair of speakers - did I mention
those?)

Setup - Do I Need A Masters Science Degree to Get It Working?
=========================================

No.

The screen came with its own adjutsable stand and was easy to set up - only 2 cables
required - 1 for the video signal and one connected to a plugin power supply. Easy!

The software installed with no problems (on my Windows 98 machine) and has not needed
re-installing at any time.

The Stand
=======

The adjustable stand is fantastic - it moves effortlessly - with tilt and height adjustment all r>in one simple hinged mechanism. The base of the stand doesn't take too much room either
which leaves my desk space for important things like a cup of coffee, a text book or my
laptop computer.

Operation
=======

The screen has worked perfectly from day one. Setup was easy, the inbuilt on-screen
menu is simple to use and the only other control is the power button (which has a nice blue
LED back light).

I have played with the on-screen menu to try and optimise the setup - I found that on the
default setting the screen was just a bit too bright and I had to adjust the brightness and
contrast to get it just right. No problem though because the menu is so easy to use.

I have found that the higest resolution is clearest but I think that will depend on the
capabilities of your graphics card and the screen resolution you feel most comfortable
working with.

What About Those PC Speakers You Mentioned?
==============================

Well - they are tiny in comparison with my previous speakers but sound a whole lot better.
I have turned the volume right up and they don't seem to mind one bit. Clear, crisp sound
and not bad to look at either - a real bonus!

Overall What Do You Think?
==================

Brilliant - glad I decided to get rid of the CRT and what a bonus getting those speakers. Go
buy one!