AGM CW-19

One of the cheapest widescreen TFTs around

The CW-19 is the first monitor to appear under the recently-formed AGM brand - new arm of A G Neovo, dedicated to producing high-quality monitors on a budget.

Despite being a wide format 19in panel, it takes up remarkably little desk space. At roughly the width of a keyboard, it looks classy without dominating the desk.

Using a rather ubiquitous but smart black casing with a very thin bezel, the CW-19 has an elegantly understated appearance with none of the cheap tackiness found on some competing products.

The five control buttons are of the membrane type and easy to operate. There’s a separate auto-setup button as well as direct access to brightness and contrast adjustments, while the menu itself is basic, but easy to navigate.

Being a budget monitor, the CW-19 understandably offers a modest set of features. It sits rather low on the desk and, as is usually the case with low-cost monitors, the stand offers only a tilt adjustment.

It only tilts back by up to 5°, which isn’t enough for comfortable viewing from low down. This problem is compounded by the restrictive 130° vertical viewing angle of its TN panel.

Once properly adjusted, the CW-19’s display is clear and sharp. Although the brightness fell short of the advertised 300cd/m2, it’s perfectly bright enough for desktop and gaming use - the 8ms response time makes it particularly suited to the latter.

The most remarkable feature of the AGM CW-19 is the price. It’s certainly not a luxury item and it won’t meet the exacting performance standards of professional graphic artists, nor does it offer the ergonomic flexibility required for prolonged office use.

However, with an RRP of just £199.74, it’s one of the cheapest 19in widescreen models currently available. For those after a monitor for home use, it’s an excellent buy.