I purchased this because I needed an affordable monitor for work. I was comparing it to some of the cheapest Acer/Asus monitors. Obviously I ended up going with this one, and I'm really glad I did. I'd consider myself really selective when it comes to display quality... I do photo/video editing as a hobby at home, and I know the difference between a good and a bad display. Because it was for work though, I just wanted something cheap that would get the job done - wasn't super concerned with picture quality or design. Based on the reviews I read for this guy, I figured it would at least be a step up from the mediocre monitors a lot of my coworkers use, and that turned out to be true (and I spent about the same amount!) First off, this is a really good looking monitor design wise. I would call it minimalistic, which I like. Would fit right in next to a MacBook Pro. The lack of protruding bezel, along with the silver accents, makes this guy stand out - looks much more expensive than it is. It's crazy thin but still seems pretty sturdy. Have gotten a few compliments from coworkers already (how often do you hear someone complimenting someone else's monitor? not common in my office...) When it comes to picture quality, like I was saying, I wasn't expecting this to compete with higher end displays by any means, but it still beat my expectations. The colors and crispness might not be sufficient for someone trying to do serious photo/video work, but it still makes everything look pretty darn good. 1080p videos look great, text is readable, and the settings are very customizable. I honestly could see myself being pretty satisfied using it for entertainment or creative work at home, so I'm almost bummed that it has to live in my office. Bottom line - this thing is what it is (a cheap monitor made to get the job done), but it outperforms its price and looks as good as more expensive models.