First Impression
The 20WMGX2 (which I’ll refer to from now on as the 20W) is a 20 inch wide-screen HD monitor that is built with the gamers and media aficionados in mind. The moment the monitor is turned on, it just blows the mind, especially if you’ve never used an HD monitor. I remember the first time I switched from a CRT to an LCD screen, and was blown away with the increase in picture quality. I had the exact same reaction when I first turned on this monitor.

Just looking at some of the extremities of the monitor at first was a little overwhelming, but in a good sense. In addition to the standard plugs and ports that we all love, what really separates the 20W from other LCD monitors is the onslaught of input plugs for audio and visual devices. There’s a set of A/V inputs for something like a DVD player or PlayStation 2. There’s also a four port USB hub here, which is another crucial add-on for any computer geek out there.

Functionality Aplenty
Truth be told, you could probably get your money’s worth out of this monitor even if you never used it for computing of any sort. With its built-in TV tuner, audio/video inputs, and other functions, it is a superior device just for home entertainment purposes. With its wide-screen format, it is just awesome to watch movies or play video games on it, even non-PC games.

Of course, it’s only 20 inches, so it’s probably not going to dwarf your TV in terms of size, but it is nice to have for those times you need to multitask, for example when you need to type up your doctoral thesis and watch the American Idol finals at the same time. That’s where my personal favorite feature of the monitor comes in – picture-in-picture. This feature is what turns the monitor from a power-packed gadget to a meticulously created marvel. So, if you want to play Xenosaga on your PlayStation 2 while keeping up to date on your MySpace page, you can do it all on one screen.