According to ViewSonic, "the VA2626wm brings high-performance, widescreen displays to users […] who want a great desktop display". Going against the current trend for glossy bezels, this 26 inch has one in matt black plastic, with a grey band underneath (where you’ll find the OSD buttons) giving it a fairly sobre and go-with-anything look. With three video sockets (DVI, HDMI and VGA) and audio entry linked directly to a pair of 2 x 2.5 watt speakers, the VA2626wm seemed well-placed for a high ergonomics rating. Unfortunately, no movement of the base is possible, except for a slight angle adjustment. It’s a shame for a 26 inch not to do any better than your average 22 inch.



In the manufacturer’s notes on the screen the following claims can be found: 'it features EXTREME CLARITY, AMAZING COLOR'. Indeed, the monitor is extremely clear, perhaps too luminous. With a default of 330 cd/m² you can’t use it for more than an hour without feeling a great deal of visual fatigue. With all this light coming from the screen the colours may well be amazing but they are far from being completely faithful. With a dE of 5.4, you can’t really use it to touch up photos. If you reduce the luminosity to 50, the screen does stop its imitation of a light bulb and the colours are slightly better adjusted though still far from being perfect. If you’re really looking for colour fidelity, you’ll have to search out the calibration profile, available here.
Depending on what you want the monitor for, the response time may well be problematic. If you’re an FPS-type game addict, you’d be better off going for another screen, otherwise you’ll be fine.



Although response time does have some incidence on films, here there are other factors to take into account. A high contrast ratio and the presence or otherwise of an image correction chip are far more important. For the VA2626wm, both are absent. The image is therefore quite noisy and the blacks are washed out – not the best viewing conditions for films.