I'll be first to admit that I wasn't prepared to be so impressed with the HP P720 CRT from Hewlett-Packard. After all, the monitor didn't exactly jump out at me with its standard beige case and not-so-outstanding 17-inch screen. However, once I fired it up, this monitor was ready to perform.

As is pretty much standard these days, the monitor's PnP technology had me up and running almost instantly. An easy-to-navigate OSD put all the necessary controls up front along the periphery of a one-button access square. Not that I spent much time here; very few changes were required to achieve an eye-pleasing display.