IBM P260

21" Monitors Reviewed

P260
IBM
Star rating: 5 stars out of 5

The IBM P260 monitor catches the eye immediately with its sleek, stealth black (or pearl white), compact design and crisp, bright display. The P260 measures 19.6" wide, 19.9" tall, and only 20" deep. The viewing area is 19.8". This monitor supports resolutions of up to 1920X1440 at 75Hz and has a crisp 0.24 dot pitch. At 70.6lb, the P260 is not the lightest monitor we tested in this roundup. A standard D-sub connector is pro-vided, as is a digital DVI connector, both mounted vertically so you can position the monitor close to a wall.

Like many high-quality displays, the IBM P260 monitor is based on a CRT that uses FD Trinitron technology. As is typical with aperture-grille tubes, the shadow of two thin damper wires crosses the display horizontally. Some people find this characteristic annoying, but it has never been a problem for me in practical use. The P260's screen is remarkably flat and has excellent no-glare coatings.

The IBM P260 monitor sports a relatively small array of controls below the front bezel of the display. Here you'll find a reset button, an autosizing and centering button, an input switch (it supports two video import channels), two brightness buttons (up and down), a menu button, two contrast buttons (left and right), and a power switch and indicator. These most-used controls operate in conjunction with a very crisp and well-designed on-screen menu.

The P260 monitor turned in excellent scores on the CADALYST test suite. Both brightness and contrast are excellent, producing a very crisp image. Likewise, the P260 earned excellent scores on our tests for geometry and focus. Colors were crisp and clean, with a slight tendency toward blue. Reds tended slightly toward the orange, but not objectionably so. Altogether, the P260 is an excellent monitor, especially at the price of $1,059. Highly Recommended.— R.L.