has a very solid base
How is the base?
I love quality displays. I really do. While I don't get into the realm of the insanely expensive professional monitors, I really appreciate a good IPS/PLS monitor. And here's another one.Surprisingly, getting the monitor out of the box wasn't as easy as I'd have hoped. The stem of the monitor (the part that attaches to the stand) is sort of wedged (gently!) against a piece of foam, so it took a little bit of wiggling to get the screen out. If you have someone to help, this would go much more easily!Putting the monitor on the stand took just a few seconds. It hand-screws in, and has a very solid base. It's also an extremely ugly, huge base, and absolutely my one major gripe with the monitor.But let's focus on the good stuff first:For reference, this was tested on a 2011 MacBook Air via mini-Displayport to Displayport (2560x1440), and with a Google Chromecast via HDMI (1920x1080).1.) Pre-calibrated out of the box. Given that my screen came with a specific-to-this-serial-number piece of paper documenting the factory calibration, I was extremely impressed with the output.2.) The controls on the bottom right of the screen are touch sensitive. Normally I'm not a fan of such buttons, but these are without a doubt the most responsive touch-buttons I've used on a monitor. Really good stuff.3.) The screen isn't matte, and it isn't glossy. It's a really excellent combination of the two, cutting down on the glare of a glossy display, while maintaining those rich colors and good contrast.4.) Viewing angles, like many/most IPS panels, is truly excellent.5.) Able to rotate the screen 90 degrees, and it does line up perfectly straight when locked into that 90-degree position. Also, the height adjustment is superb, with plenty of height for me, and I'm 6'5".6.) No dead/stuck pixels on the monitor I received. Good!7.) No PWM-dimming flicker (if you're sensitive to this, you'll be glad to know!), and no buzzing or other untoward noises from the display at any brightness.8.) While certainly not specifically a gaming monitor, it definitely holds its own. My gaming monitor of choice is myEIZO Foris FS2333-BK 23-Inch Screen LCD Monitor, but if you want something bigger without the viewing-angle deficiencies of TN panels, this would not be a bad choice for the less hardcore PC gamers among you. I wouldn't recommend it for 1080p gaming since the scaling to 1440p can be quite ugly.9.) You can turn off the blue power LED when the monitor is in use, from the Settings menu. I really don't like unnecessary LEDs, so this is something I immediately looked for and was glad to find.And now, the cons:1.) The base of the stand is horrible. I'm not sure what Viewsonic were thinking, but surely somebody could have come up with something a little less of an eyesore. I'll be mounting the screen on a VESA mount (100x100), but still - ouch! So ugly, and it takes up a huge amount of room on the desk for no apparent reason.2.) The brightness is set far, far too high out of the box (maxed out). All this did was draw attention to a little light bleed on the left of my particular display, only view-able on a completely black image. After the brightness was turned down to a less eye-searing level, this was (mostly) gone.Overall, though, this is a top-notch monitor, and highly recommended.5 stars out of 5. 