Initial Thoughts

I bought this monitor from Best Buy when they were offering a rebate; final cost of $100. When I first purchased this monitor I was a bit skeptical because the price was so low. In the store, the images seemed crisp on the display model and it had a very easy to navigate On Screen Display (OSD). I decided that $100, after rebates, was not going to break the bank, so I purchased it.

Setup

This part is really a no brainer. It comes with a 15-pin VGA cable and power cable. My version of Windows 2000 did not have the INF file for this monitor so I went to the MAG website and downloaded drivers for it. The monitor did come with a driver disk, but the manufacturer's website usually has more up-to-date drivers.

Adjustments

The OSD is accessible via the single wheel/button setup. You press the wheel-button once and the OSD is displayed. You then rotate the wheel to select the item you want to adjust and press the wheel-button to select the item. I like to run at a high resolution (1280x1024) and it did take awhile to get the settings and aspect correct. The OSD has all of the expected options. Besides the options on the ODS there is another button which has some built-in adjustments that can be accessed. These include Zoom Picture, Vivid Picture, Warm Picture, and Normal Picture. I have mine set on Normal Picture and have never really used any of the other settings.

Refresh Rates & Resolutions

As said above, I like to run my monitor at a high resolution so I can have a large desktop space. The monitor handles higher resolution respectfully, but the 986FS has some pitfalls at these higher resolutions. For one, it's not as crisp as some of the higher end monitors. Also, it is slightly more grainy and has some slight blurring effects mostly around the edges. Lower resolutions showed none of these effects. The refresh rates are acceptable, I can run 75Hz @ 1280x1024, which is not the best in the world, but does not cause me any eye-strain.

Recommended:
Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 100
Operating System: Windows