The Asus PM17TU is an economical 17" LCD monitor
designed for gamers. Its prime attribute is a fast screen which
boasts a ghost-busting 3ms G-to-G pixel response time. The
panel is very bright, which works well in game situations to
bring colourful screens to life, yet it maintains a good
contrast with the darker areas. Like many LCD
displays designed with gaming in mind, the PM17TU has a glossy finish that makes colours seem a little more
colourful. In the office environment where windows or other sources of light are
often in the background, the glossy screen can be distracting however
By far the most assuring guarantee a new comer to
LCD displays can make is that the screen won't contain any broken pixels. To
that effect the 17" Asus PM17TU is covered by a 'Zero bright
dot' guarantee; if any pixels stop functioning the monitor can be
returned for a new display within one year of purchase. Asus'
Splendid video intelligence technology adds a an extra touch of customization,
with five different viewing scenarios for video, gaming, or photo viewing, etc.
On the technical front the ASUS PM17TU display maintains
a 4:3 aspect ratio with a native resolution of 1280x1024 pixels, supported by
digital DVI and Analog VGA inputs. Embedded stereo speakers at the front of the
panel output 2.5W of sound, adequate for general computer sounds but
wholly unsatisfactory as a replacement for good computer speakers. The 17" LCD screen features a brightness rating of 500 cd/m2, a contrast
ratio of 600:1 and the aforementioned 3ms G-to-G pixel refresh time. Pixel pitch is a good
0.264mm, but viewing angles are disappointingly shallow - just 140° horizontal / 130°
vertical - most office LCD displays have 170°/170° viewing angles.
As LCD displays go, the Asus PM17TU is equipped suitably
for students or game environments. In the course of our tests PCSTATS came to
find the screen's shallow viewing angles too restrictive in the office
environment, the controls poorly implemented, and
the reflective screen coating not well suited to a lights-on environment. However, if you spend
a good chunk of time in a darkened room fighting beasties and ghouls head
on to save the planet, the 17" Asus PM17TU and its 3ms pixel
time should be well suited to your needs, and budget.
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Asus PM17TU 17" LCD Display |
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SPECIFICATIONS:
Screen
size: 17"
Brightness: 500
cd/m2
Contrast Ratio:
600:1
Viewing Angle:
140°/130°
Interface: DVI-I,
Analog
Resolution:
1280x1024
Pixel Pitch:
0.264mm
Response Time: 3ms
(G-to-G)
Power Draw:
48W
Dimensions: 39x41.6x18cm
VESA Mount:
75x75mm |
MEDIA
SPECS:
Aspect Ratio:
4:3
HDCP: No
Video
Inputs:
None
Audio:
Yes
Speakers: Stereo, 2.5W
USB2.0 Ports: None
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Includes:
User guide, DVI and Analog video cable, audio
cable, AC power cable.
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The 17" Asus
PM17TU draws 48W under power, and in standby mode just 2W. A power brick isn't used with
this LCD monitor, instead the power cord connects directly to the rear of
the screen. There isn't a hard power switch, so phantom power draw will
always be present.
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There are six control buttons on the side of the
Asus PM17TU display. The
power button is located center, just below the screen and glows blue/orange depending on the
status of the screen. |
Costing about $250 CDN ($250 USD / £125 GBP), the Asus
PM17TU ships with a heft metal stand that allows the panel to tilt back
25° and forward about 5°. The PM17TU is light enough to twist on the
desktop easily, but there are no mechanisms built in for vertical height adjustment. The bottom portion of the stand
can be removed without tools, and the panel mounted to a standard 75x75mm VESA mounting
point if desired.
The Asus PM17TU display is not HDCP compliant, and nor does it feature a USB hub. Speakers output 2.5W of stereo sound from below the screen, provided the user connects an audio cable from the PM17TU
to the computer.
Other than that, the Asus PM17TU is a glossy black screen of
reasonably good aesthetics.
The all-black casing has a glossy
coating on the front, while the rear left a natural unreflective matt texture. The
front bezel around the 17" screen is 25mm wide, and just below the
center of the screen is the power button and status light.
The light glows bright blue when the screen is on, and can be a little
distracting because of its conspicuous position. A six-button user control panel is located
along the right hand edge of the Asus PM17TU. It's not immediately obvious anything
is there because the keys and labels for the buttons are all black,
and nearly impossible to read even in a well lit room.
While this is not visually distracting, it makes the control
panel difficult to use. A standard collection of user adjustable options is accessible through the On Screen Display
control panel the menu key brings up, and the control panel has direct access
to brightness / contrast and volume controls as you might anticipate.
Asus' PM17TU monitor is Microsoft
Vista / XP compatible, comes with all the necessary cables needed and a
rather slim multi-language manual. Okay, now that we've gone over the basics,
let's get a closer look at this 17" LCD monitor...
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