February 11th, 2008Review of Asus MW221u LCD panel
 
Wide screen monitors once the choice of fan and power users, have fall in prices quickly, and are now finding favor with customers. Looking to gain a foothold in this fast increasing market, Asus has free the MW221u with a response time lower than the rivalry and at gamers and professionals. How does this panel stack up to the competition?
Features
The MW221u is one of the most sturdily build monitors we have come crossways in the 22-inch range. The MW221u comes with a very solid metal base, a shiny piano-black bezel on the external edge of the monitor and a thick plastic frame which runs approximately the edges of the LCD panel. Asus seems to have paid particular concentration to this frame, as it come into view to have been build out of a more sturdy plastic that is normally used for frames. The bottom edge of the monitor which houses the OSD buttons is with this in a thin metal frame adding to the air of solidness this monitor seems to have. Just under this metal frame, lies the speaker grill which is hidden away. We appreciate this touch, as other manufacturers frequently stick the speaker grill on the front side of the monitor and more often than not this spoils the whole arrangement of the monitor. Overall the monitor with its polished bezel, toughened plastic and hidden speaker question projects an image of a tough dependable product.
Design
The OSD controls of the MW221u are as maddening as the controls of the PW201. While the PW201 had an electronic touch-panel, the MW221u has a standard pair of touch keys, which at times were unresponsive to even the hardest of jabs and when they did register frequently caused menu lag. Considering the premium and care Asus more often than not places on its products, it is beyond understanding why they insist on provide their monitors with these “headache causing” controls. The back of the monitor has the D-SUB and DVI-D ports present along with the audio-in port for the multimedia speakers of the monitor.
The base of the MW221u as we have mentioned before is made out of a thick metal cast, which while adding needless weight to the monitor also restrict a users chance of moving it around too much. In a similar vein, the MW221u also lacks height adjustability a must in any monitor today. When you combine these two points together, you get a major negative strike against this check as getting that perfect presentation angle and stature is just a total pain in the neck.
Performance
The MW221u is a 22-inch TN LCD panel with a native resolution of 1680×1050 and has a contrast ratio of 700:1. While these specifications are common and very typical of 22-inch monitors, what sets the MW221u apart is its response time of 2ms. For difficult the performance of the MW221u, we used a mixture of synthetic benchmark tools such as Everest and Display-Mate, FPS games like F.E.A.R and Prey, MMORPG games like WoW and by watching HD movies to arrive at a consistent presentation result. For our first series of tests we ran graphically intensive games such as WoW, F.E.A.R and unconsciousness. There was no shock here. The monitor’s 2ms reply time made any form of ghosting that might have happen in other monitors a near unfeasibility. To stress the monitor further, we used a variety of WMV HD clips and 2 movies that have powerful action sequences (Gladiator/X-Men2). Here also the monitor held its own estimably with no video lag and liquid playback.
For our second series of tests we decided to check out this monitors sharpness, colour output and contrast ratio using the rather comprehensive tools that Everest and Display-Mate offer. The results we got from these tests were rather surprising. As compared to the sterling standards set by previous Asus monitors, the MW221u had standard results across the spectrum. Colour output though being vibrant tends to be over-emphasized in certain games leading to a cartoony like display. The black-levels which are normally an Asus panel’s strength were very average and for some HD content were below the philosophy that even a standard 19-inch panel would offer. The only place that the monitor did not suffer in was the contrast ratio because well as sharpness, which were as good as one would expect. However keeping in intelligence all the factors, it is unsatisfactory that a monitor that offers a 2 ms response time would be handicapped by these issues.
The MW221u priced at Rs. 28,000 is an average performer. While it offers a fantastic response time, its lack of height and base adjustment and less than satisfactory performance does nothing to promote it as a serious contender. If you are in the market for a 22-inch LCD panel, we suggest you look at competitors like Dell, View sonic and Benq each of who have equally good player and cost as much as Rs. 10,000 less.
