Samsung SyncMaster 172 N - Flat panel display - TFT - 17" - 1280 x 1024 - 270 cd/m2 - 450:1 - 25 ms - 0.26 mm - VGA - black

Customer Reviews:

High quality monitor! [Posted on 2004-11-28]
Wow. I just bought a new eMachine computer and decided to treat myself to a new monitor as well. Several LCD and CRT monitors were on display, and the Samsung jumped out from the rest. The resolution was amazing, and the brightness was outstanding (more on this later.) A rebate was available as well, so that sealed the deal.
After taking this home and setting it up...a plug and play situation that didn't require the install CD or reading the manual...I discovered how bright this screen is. On 1-100 scale, I have the brightness turned down to 35, and it still outshines the CRT on my old computer.
Drawbacks: the stand has limited adjustability...the monitor can only tilt, not raise or lower in height. You WILL need to read the instructions to insure the monitor stand is stable and assembled correctly. Also, the black trim and black monitor buttons mean you can't read them. Again, a small point.
Recommendation: if you can handle the purchase price, this is one outstanding monitor.

Finally! [Posted on 2004-11-29]
After battling with a CRT for years, I am thrilled to finally have an LCD monitor.

Installing the monitor was very easy. The monitor auto-adjustments make the images fit perfectly onto the screen, and the picture is great under default settings. Both clarity and brightness are remarkably better than the CRT I owned previously. I've also carefully scanned the monitor for dead pixels (apparently this is a common problem with LCDs), but mine appears to be quite flawless.

Although other reviewers have complained about the fact that it only rotates vertically, but I can't really understand why that's a problem. Typical use of a monitor does not require frequent adjustments, and the monitor is light enough that twisting the entire thing from side to side is quite easy.

I also like the buttons that several other reviewers complained about. I think that they enhance the sleek design of the monitor, and I don't think that they're hard to read/see when there is adequate lighting.

I cannot really reply to the complaints about customer service, since everything with the monitor has gone so smoothly.

First LCD [Posted on 2005-02-03]
I shopped around and almost went with another, a small 14' model, I'm glad I didn't. I only have previous CRTs to compare this with, but from this newbie, I can tell you the picture is outstanding. I do school/work things, some development I highly recommend. Cnet gives it a good review also.

Nice construction poor color reproduction [Posted on 2005-02-08]
The monitor is ultra bright - thats good.
The monitor I received had odd color reproduction.
Photos of grass were WAY too green. Blue jeans were TOO BRIGHT blue - no matter how much I fiddled with it I could not get accurate color reproduction.

If you want very BRIGHT color - this is the monitor for you.

My prior LCD monitor was a viewsonic which had excellent color reproduction... but needed repair 3 times!

I am returning this monitor and will try a Dell and NEC to see of they are any better.

The search goes on.

You need to do some seting up [Posted on 2005-03-03]
All you folks need to take a step back.. I am using 1024/768 @ 72hz and have run at 60/70/72/75 without any problems...and no changes
Best to set you Display Adapter at Optimal.. but you can force just about any of the listed ones...

First you need the latest drivers from the Samsung web-site..
Then you need to install both utilites on the installation CD...
One helps you set-up and center the display, the other sets up the automatic refresh and color correction...
The supplied sofware will also automaticaly re-set the display and refresh rate for games and anything else...
One is "Magic Color" there are fast-color, refresh and centering corrections available with one button, automatically with a customizabele setting on one...

Lastly, if you are running XP, go to the Windows site and download a Power Tool..."Clear Type Tuning"...it REALLY helps with ANY LCD...(and some CRT's too)

All the problems I see listed are when using the Native Windows drivers...

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