Do you see what I see?

I decided to write a review or two about monitors because if you're reading this, you have one but all monitors are NOT the same! I'd like to first give you a little information about the monitor and then some words of advice if you have an older monitor; the MV500 which is also by Compaq.

First off, I'm not going to say that this monitor is the best that you can get but the picture is clear and it does a nice job! For those of you that are brand new to the the computer scene, this monitor is a 15" but the viewable screen size is only 13.8" and the resolution is 1024 X 768. The dot pitch is 0.28 which is not the best out on the market but it gets the job done! With on screen display buttons on the front of your unit and a built-in microphone, it does make it a nice monitor but the biggest thing I like is the speakers! Now I don't know a lot about speakers but I do know these put out some great sound and they're free standing (which I like). The volume controls are on one of the speakers but can also be adjusted on your keyboard; if your keyboard is set up that way!

Now, when Compaq changed over from the MV500 to the MV520, I was very pleased as a computer user because the speakers were NOT attached to the monitor like the old version; which allowed me a little more space on my desktop! The one thing that I didn't like was the fact that people were buying a new CPU to go with their old monitor and finding out when they got home that the sound didn't work! We were never informed of this where I work and it caught us by surprise leaving us wondering why Compaq did this. My customers were left with one of two choices:1)buy one of the newer monitors or 2)buy a new set of speakers; both of which I didn't feel was right!

I do realize that the changes that they made to their monitors were, in my opinion, for the better but it caught a lot of people by surprise! This review is not only meant to give you a little background information about the MV520 but also is a warning to those people that may be thinking about buying a new CPU to go with their old monitor!

Overall, this is a good monitor for the money and, in my opinion, will give you want you need for decent clarity and the speakers are a BIG improvement over the old ones so I would highly recommend it! Compaq also has monitors in bigger sizes as well such as 17" (15.9" viewable) and 19" (18.0" viewable) depending on your preference. It should also be noted that they've released the MV540, MV740, and the MV940 that just became available where I work and the speakers can either be mounted on the monitor or left free standing! The price of the newest ones in our store are as follows: 15"-$299.99, 17"-$399.99 and 19"-$499.99 but the prices may vary depending on where you shop!