Samsung SyncMaster 2232bw review

£219
Price when reviewed

The 2232bw is no stranger to PC Pro’s awards, having sat proudly on the A List for several months now, and it performed as well as you might expect in its first full Labs workout.

Samsung SyncMaster 2232bw review

The familiar TV-style Pebble design remains eye-catching, and more than a few visitors to the Labs grew wide-eyed as they passed it. You’re limited to DVI or VGA inputs, and there are no speakers integrated, but elsewhere it’s luxury all the way, with touch-sensitive control buttons, and a menu system that’s as well-designed as it is easy to use.

Not that it needed much adjusting out of the box: the stunning backlight was crisp and even, and colours were neutral too. It even has some preset colour modes worth looking at, not the usual once-tried-forever-forgotten settings we see on most monitors.

Our technical tests backed up this impression of quality. The black level test showed minor bleeding at the foot of the screen, but this was tempered by the blinding white level. The 3,000:1 dynamic contrast produced excellent gradient ramps, and made for fantastic videos and games – our clip of Cars was by far the most vibrant of the group, and photos showed strong detail, even in shadowy areas.

The desktop is bright and clear, and avoids the ludicrously oversaturated look of other TFTs. The 1,680 x 1,050 resolution is plenty for two documents side by side. It’s also a great showcase for how good Crysis can look, provided you have a graphics card to match.

So why did it miss out on the Labs Winner award this month? Two reasons: first, the odd stand-insertion design makes adjusting it a bit wobbly, and there’s no scope to alter the height; second, the lack of USB ports and other touches stands out, making it less of an all-rounder than some. But, at just £190 for such a high quality panel, the Samsung SyncMaster 2232bw remains a great choice, and is the best 22in model this month.

Details

Image quality 6

Main specifications

Screen size 22.0in
Aspect ratio 16:10
Resolution 1680 x 1050
Screen brightness 300cd/m2
Pixel response time 2ms
Contrast ratio 1,000:1
Dynamic contrast ratio 3,000:1
Pixel pitch 0.282mm
Horizontal viewing angle 170 degrees
Vertical viewing angle 170 degrees
Speaker type N/A
Speaker power ouput N/A
TV tuner no
TV tuner type N/A

Connections

DVI inputs 1
VGA inputs 1
HDMI inputs 0
DisplayPort inputs 0
Scart inputs 0
HDCP support yes
Upstream USB ports 0
USB ports (downstream) 0
3.5mm audio input jacks 0
Headphone output no
Other audio connectors none

Accessories supplied

Other cables supplied VGA
Internal power supply yes

Power consumption

Peak power consumption 50W
Idle power consumption 1W

Image adjustments

Brightness control? yes
Contrast control? yes
Colour temperature settings Cool, normal, warm, custom, MagiColor
Extra adjustments Gamma, coarse, fine, sharpness, OSD language, position, transparency, timeout, source, reset, info, LED brightness

Ergonomics

Forward tilt angle 0 degrees
Backward tilt angle 20 degrees
Swivel angle N/A
Height adjustment N/A
Pivot (portrait) mode? no
Bezel width 20mm

Dimensions

Dimensions 517 x 419 x 210mm (WDH)
Weight 5.000kg

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