CTX S966G review

Having a speedy processor, oodles of memory and hard disk space, and a top-quality graphics card isn't everything.

If your PC's monitor isn't up to scratch, you'll find text difficult to read, while games and films will be transformed into a blurry, poorly coloured mess.

Well CTX has a brand new TFT monitor to tempt you away from your hard-earned cash. The S966G is a 19-inch model that runs at a native resolution of 1,280x1,024. It has a pair of speakers built into its bottom corners, but these - like most speakers built into TFT monitors - are best saved for absolute emergencies. Music sounded pretty horrid when played through them.

Our only other complaint was that although the CTX is capable of connecting to graphics cards using both analogue D-Sub connections and the superior digital DVI connection, the DVI cable is permanently attached to the monitor, so it can't be replaced should it get damaged.

That's the end of the bad news, though. The CTX performed very well in our image tests. A handy auto-colour and auto-tune feature made setting it a cinch, but only functioned when the display was connected via the analogue D-Sub cable. This wasn't a problem, though: when connected via the DVI found only slight tweaking of brightness and contrastwas required.

Backlighting was slightly uneven along the lower left of the screen, but this was barely noticeable in general use. Greyscales were reproduced with no hint of banding, and colours were bright and wonderfully vivid.

Careering through the dark, dank corridors of Doom 3 showed that the CTX had a few problems resolving the difference between black and really dark grey, but this was only a mild complaint. There was no sign of blurring or ghosting to be seen.

The S966G offers decent value for money. Image quality is generally very good and its response time is quick enough to cope with action-packed movies and games. Were it not for the awful speakers and the strange decision to permanently attach the DVI cable, the CTX might have earned itself a Best Buy award.