At first sight, the Philips 230E1 looks as if it is a clone of the 230C1. Both these screens are 23 inch full HD with HDMI, DVI and VGA sockets. The main difference between the two models is panel responsiveness. Philips rates the 230E1 at 5 ms and the 230C1 at 2 ms. Both have the same 2 x 2 watt speakers. If you don’t like the sound, Philips also gives the option of plugging in some headphones or a speaker kit just above the built-in speakers.

As far as appearance goes it has the same black glossy bezel and chrome base. The speakers have been placed behind a grey band that runs under the bezel. As usual, Philips includes its 1 port USB hub. We would have liked to see a second but even this is useful for, say, connecting your USB key directly to the screen rather than having to reach behind your PC. All in all, it looks pretty good on your desk. Its main default remains its base. No pivot mode, nor vertical adjustment.

Responsiveness

The responsiveness of the panel is disappointing. This is the first time that a manufacturer has included the option of having overdrive on or off on a 5 ms panel. Unfortunately, as usual (this is a fault we’ve been pulling Philips up on regularly), Philips has handled this poorly. When activated, you get reverse ghosting. We advise you to disactivate it. You then have a very bad 5 ms. We’re not talking ghosting here but full images that are delayed. Any gamers should steer well clear.


Good default colours

Although this panel is not very responsive, colour quality is much better. It has a default deltaE of 1.8 which is really excellent. In contrast to the 2 ms model, contrast is not a problem. In fact it is rather good. Contrast ratio comes in at 1000 :1.