Compaq MV520: Compact . . . No, but Affordable

Overview

The Compaq MV520 is the monitor that came with my computer that I bought from Circuit City. This 15 inch monitor has a respectable price for a respectable quality. Of course I hope you know that this is definitely not a top of the line monitor but rather one that will due for casual use. If you want a high definition monitor go with a flat screen monitor or a LCD one, preferably Philips Magnovox. That is my favorite electronic company and they have really dependable machines. The size, quality, and price are all factors you should consider when actually looking at buying a monitor.

Size

This Compaq MV520 is the 15 inch monitor of it series. When I say series, I mean that Compaq puts their monitors out in groups. In the MV series there is the MV400 (13 inch), MV520 (15 inch), MV540 (15 inch), MV500 (15 inch), MV730 (17 inch), MV740 (17 inch), MV720 (17 inch), MV700 (17 inch), MV920 (19 inch), MV940 (19 inch) and the MV900 (19 inch). The only difference between all of these monitors is the size and speakers. Each one of these monitors comes with some short of set of speakers but some are better then others. Generally the higher the model number, the better the speakers and the bigger the monitor, and also the price is tacked up. For example, the only difference between the MV520 and the MV540 is the speakers. The monitor has the exact same resolution, size and on-screen controls, but rather only has a different set of speakers.

Quality

This 15 inch monitor has the same resolution that any other MV series monitor has. The MV520 has a resolution of 1024 x 765 on maximum setting. This is perfect for someone who is using their computer for casual use like surfing the internet, writing documents, or just emailing friends. You won't notice any difference while doing any of those. The only time you might see a difference is when you are viewing graphics and you need that extra quality. In addition to graphics, viewing digital pictures will also be lower quality then it should be. So trust me unless your job is manufacturing high quality pictures or web design, this monitor is for you. It can withstand some wear and tear and is very affordable. I have had this monitor for 2 years so far and I haven't had any trouble with it yet. The quality has not deteriorated yet either.

Price

This monitor is one of the cheaper Compaq monitors you can find for new. Trust me though, this is the best monitor you can get for your money. I have owned plenty of monitors in my days and this is the best one by far. I have a Hewlett Packard monitor in addition to this one and you would not believe the problems I have with it. The one thing that ticks me off about it is that it refreshes with a jiggle so that the picture is never still. It strains my eyes beyond belief and I am thinking about trashing it.

So you can see compared to some Hewlett Packard monitors Compaq is much better, especially when you look at the dollar value. I do not remember exactly what I paid for this monitor but it wasn't around $300. It was more like the $250 range.

Things Included

The speakers included with the MV520 are the JBL Platinum Series Speakers. Of course again these speakers aren't top of the line but rather an average speaker. They don't not have a subwoofer or anything serious like that but can just play music. Also these speakers are able to fit into the slots on the side of the monitor. This is very helpful if you are limited for space.

In addition to the monitor and the speakers, the monitor comes with built in microphone. The Integrated Telex Microphone can record anything you play into it. The recording sound isn't good but if you need it to be good you should already have a better system. When you record a voice onto the computer you get a pretty good conversion but there is quite a bit of static.

Overall

As you can see from what I have said, this monitor is for the average user. It isn't for those who live at their computer for it can give quite a bit of eye strain. I have noticed that my eyes go blurry when I am not at my computer. This is not good because my vision has gone from 15/20 to 20/20. But I have to lose some vision somewhere.