Skinny Show Flat-panel displays are finally growing up. Most monitor makers already offer standard 14- and 15-inch models, so now the real action is in bigger pictures. Look for a new crop of 18-inch displays, like the upcoming one from Compaq, to hit store shelves soon. The best news of all? More competition on the high end means lower prices all around.

Return on Investment A 19-inch monitor doesn't take up much more space than a 17-inch display--yet it gives you 25 percent more picture. That's money in the bank. A bigger screen means less toggling between apps and less scrolling, which makes you work faster. We saw the biggest performance increase when running spreadsheet apps on a monitor larger than 15 inches--13 percent faster for a 17-inch display and 27 percent faster for a 19-inch display. Both sizes pay for themselves within two months.

Editor's Picks

High-resolution 17/19-inch Monitor

Iiyama VisionMaster 450 Seeing is believing: This 19-inch monitor shows off supervibrant colors and great-looking photorealistic images. It has a tight .26-dot pitch and supports 1,600 by 1,200 resolution at a flicker-free 80Hz. It also comes with an enticing $659 price tag.

High-resolution 20/21-inch Monitor

Sony Multiscan GDM F-500 Computer Display with FD Trinitron Curves aren't always sexy--we prefer the flat-screen good looks of the Sony GDM F-500. It's a traditional CRT monitor, yet it boasts a tube that's as flat as any of today's popular LCD displays. And you'll love this 21-inch monitor's eye-popping images at up to 1,800 by 1,440 resolution.

Flat-panel Display

Silicon Graphics Digital Flat Panel Solution Pack It's big and it's digital. These two features alone make the Digital Flat Panel Solution Pack the best LCD monitor you can buy. The 1600SW, a 17.3-inch SuperWide format screen, lets you switch between open windows with ease, and the included Number Nine 32MB Revolution IV digital-output graphics card ensures a rock-steady image.

High-performance Graphics Accelerator

Matrox Graphics Millennium G200 The difference between an office workhorse and a graphics workstation is shrinking every day. With a versatile graphics accelerator like the Millennium G200 in your system you'll see what we mean. This 128-bit AGP card delivers no-compromise 2-D along with the 3-D speed you need for your favorite games.

3-D Games Accelerator

ATI Rage Fury The 3-D stakes have been upped another notch with ATI's new Rage Fury graphics accelerator. This AGP-based card comes loaded with 32MB of RAM and the best 3-D performance we've seen yet. You'll love the Rage Fury's photorealistic 32-bit color and all the card's extras, including hardware-DVD playback.

Presentation Displays/Projector

In Focus LP425 Throw this ultraportable projector over your shoulder, and you become a one-person mobile presentation team. At 6.8 pounds, the In Focus LP425 won't weigh you down. And its superbright SVGA image is sure to make a good impression on even the toughest audiences.

Digital Camcorder

Canon Optura Put away that clunky analog camcorder you've been lugging around since 1985. The Optura is a sleek digital model that's perfect for the new millennium. While you effortlessly cradle the device in one hand to chase the coolest footage, the camera's progressive scan CCD guarantees a quality picture.

Digital Video Capture

Matrox Graphics Marvel G200-TV Turn your PC into an audiovisual digital studio with the Marvel G200-TV. Plug your camcorder or VCR into the blue box, and grab full-motion video with ease. The included Avid Cinema software makes it a cinch to edit all this footage into great-looking movies.

How It Works Video Ram

The $150 you spent last year for a standard 4MB graphics card now buys a card with 16MB or 32MB of video memory. The benefit? A much better picture.

Resolution While a 4MB graphics card displays a maximum 3-D resolution of 800 by 600, a 16MB card displays 1,600 by 1,200 resolution.

Color Depth More memory gives you more colors in an image--16.7 million instead of 65,000.

Effects Today's games rely on graphics techniques like trilinear filtering to create a more realistic picture. Additional memory lets a card smooth edges, add shadows, and create fog.

— Alexei Oreskovic