You've heard our mantra: don't skimp on your monitor. You can often get away with a budget chassis or PSU. But choose the wrong panel, and you'll regret it for time out of mind.

Normally, the words 'budget' and 'panel' paint an ugly picture, but here, Gateway has managed to pull out a corker, and while there are a couple of 24-inchers for this price, few manage this visual quality.

Out of the box it needs a little tuning, but this is made easy by the bundled software app. The software also enables automatic desktop rotation if you choose to twist the screen 90 inches.

The results are impressive, with speeds that offer a pleasing experience in both digital movies and games, outclassing the likes of the Dell 2405.

And speaking of the former, there's a comprehensive array of input terminals on its rump, including VGA, DVI, a pair of component video inputs, S-Video and composite jacks, plus a pair of USB ports so you can use it as a hub.

The only thing that's missing is HDMI, but with so few graphics cards actually carrying the connection, it's hardly a problem. With such great results at a competitive price, it's nearly impossible to find significant fault with this Gateway offering.