· Good CAD/CAM or Graphic Artist level Color Representation
· Flattest Screen in Group

· Aperature grille tube-type not as clear in text display
· Cost is $200 higher than most 19" monitors

Sony is known mainly for two things in the monitor market to those in the industry: Flat Screens and High Prices.

Both perceptions once again live up to reality with Sony's 19" GDM-400PS monitor as it had the flattest screen in the group, and had the highest price tag.

Sony uses a Trinitron tube for their monitors (no it ain't the same ones that are in their Trinitron TVs) which allows a virtually flat surface display area. The flatness is deceiving with the GDM-400, it actually looks like the screen is inverted rather than bulging outward as we're all used to. Rest assured though, this is just an optical illusion, and the screen really is flat like a board.

This presents certain advantages for graphic artists and CAD/CAM users, as the flat screen offers a true representation of the image that's being rendered or drawn. There's no bulge or radius deformation in the image, just as there's none of a blank piece of paper on a desk.

Another advantage for using the Trinitron/Aperature Grille tube is in color depth and saturation. Aperature grille monitors tend to display colors more vividly and with a truer reality match than their shadow mask cousins, providing a good foundation for artists and the like

The negatives associated with an aperature grille tube are large however, and are the reason why the technology is chosen by just a few monitor vendors other than Sony. Text is usually less sharp, and somewhat fuzzy, and this was the case on the GDM-400 versus the other monitors in this roundup. At the standard 1280 x 1024 resolution that most 19" monitors will be set to by their users for Win95/98, the GDM-400 had text that was less clear than any other monitor tested.

Don't get us wrong, the text wasn't horrible, it was still quite readable and acceptable for normal usage. It's just that the other monitors utilize tubes that use a shadow mask type display, and good text is a natural strong point for those tubes. Compared to the crisp text of the shadow-mask using units, the Sony came up short. Add in a price that's $200 more expensive than our winner in this roundup, and you can see the reason for the Sony's last place finish.

It's a good monitor for gaming purposes, but you can get similar quality for a lot lees moola.