NEC MultiSync FE2111SB-BK review

In many ways, CRT monitors tend to be very similar, so the differences between them are brought to the forefront. Image quality is important, but so are details such as how smoothly the monitor swivels and how the front-panel buttons look. The 21-inch flat-screen NEC-Mitsubishi MultiSync FE2111SB offers good image quality at a moderate price, but the little details don't quite measure up to those on a monitor such as the IBM C220p.

Given that the MultiSync FE2111SB weighs a hefty 65 pounds, it's almost a wonder you can move it at all. Yet this hulking CRT tilts a few degrees up and down and swivels about 90 degrees to the left and right. This level of adjustability is standard in CRTs, but the FE2111SB is stiff, so you have to use both hands and a little elbow grease to tilt or swivel it. Those with less upper-body strength than Atlas may even have to stand up to adjust it. There's also no marker on the round pedestal to indicate which way is front, making it tricky to center the CRT and get equal swivel to both sides. For a jumbo CRT that's friendlier to the spindly limbed among us, try the IBM C220p. The FE2111SB has only one D-Sub input on the back panel; the C220p includes a DVI-A input.

We hate it when monitors have too few adjustment buttons (that is, fewer than four), because doubling up on functions means more navigating to access settings and exit the onscreen menu (OSM). NEC-Mitsubishi preempts such fumbling by packing seven little round buttons onto the FE2111SB's bottom bezel. This doesn't do much for the monitor aesthetically, but as the buttons include a dedicated exit key and separate keys for left and right arrow and plus and minus, it does make navigating the OSM very easy. The OSM offers a wealth of adjustment options as well, including regulars such as brightness, color temperature, and geometry and extras such as convergence, linearity, and GlobalSync, which cancels out interference from the earth's magnetic field. Also, a hot key for preset Super Bright modes adjusts brightness and contrast for viewing pictures and movies. Like the front-panel buttons, the OSM could stand a makeover. We appreciate the completely graphical interface (the included user guide translates the symbols into several languages), but compared to some of the slick-looking, multicolored OSMs we've seen lately, this OSM's boring black-and-white color scheme and crude graphics look like a throwback to the Atari days (and not in a hip, ironic way). Fortunately, NEC-Mitsubishi offers free, downloadable NaViSet software that lets you adjust and calibrate your display with a mouse and a keyboard via a much friendlier interface than the display's OSM.