MultiSync LCD 2090Uxi

While it’s true that a 30-inch monitor is better for your eyesight, it may not be optimal for your other needs – or your pocket, for that matter. Hence the glut of well-specified 20-inch monitors hitting the shelves right now, such as NEC’s MultiSync LCD 2090UXi.

A good monitor keeps response times as low as possible, and here the 2090UXi rates an impressive enough 8ms. Compare this to NEC’s 21-inch model and you begin to see why bigger isn’t necessarily better. Not only is its response time drastically slower, it also lacks the manoeuvrability of the trimmer model.

And here size is key, as the 2090UXi can flip from landscape to portrait with a quick twist, or a brief fiddle with your OS. It might seem gimmicky, but a portrait page is suddenly much easier to negotiate in Photoshop.

The usual ports are present and all auto-configurable. D-sub, DVI-D, DVI-I are standard, and video bandwidth of 25-78.8MHz is reasonable enough. The 1,600x1,200 resolution is good, and although the brightness levels initially seem dull, once calibrated it gains some sharpness. Calibration, though, is a sticking point. Not only are the 2090UXi’s mounted controls insufferable to use, but the contrast stability is far too sensitive and almost impossible to balance manually.

To say we expect better colour reproduction is unfair, as it’s not a pro-end monitor, but with the 20-inch market ever expanding, this is certainly an oversight in the creative stakes.