Proving that bigger is not always better.... (Samsung Syncmaster 171S)

Member Name: srtom

Product:	Samsung Syncmaster 171S
Date:	21/06/04 (574 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Clear screen, High Quality, Compact

Disadvantages: Fairly expensive

When purchasing a new monitor, ask yourself this question?...What does it really mean to me? Is it your window to the world, indispensable to your business or do you hardly use it? Whatever your poison, this monitor is great for all users as the flat panel screen displays whatever your heart desires at good quality. Samsung have a very good reputation in this industry and the Syncmaster does everything right to solidify this position. The 172 S's LCD screen is very clear and I have absolutely no complaints when using applications, playing games or watching films as it ticks all the boxes here. I haven?t tested this feature myself, but there?s also the possibility of having more than one monitor running at once if your graphics card supports it.


Specs
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Display Type: Flat panel display / TFT active matrix
Width 38.5 cm
Depth 21.6 cm
Height 39.6 cm
Weight 4.7 kg
Enclosure Colour Silver
Compatibility PC, Mac

Display
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Diagonal Size 17"
Viewable Size 17"
Dot Pitch / Pixel Pitch 0.26 mm
Max Resolution 1280 x 1024
Colour support 24-bit (16.7 million colours)
Max Sync Rate (V x H) 75 Hz x 81 kHz
Video Bandwidth 135 MHz
Response Time 25 ms

Miscellaneous
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Compliant Standards Plug and Play, DDC-2B, EPA Energy Star, NUTEK, TCO '99
Flat Panel Mount Interface 75 x 75 mm


I bought this monitor with my student loan to sit happily on my desk at uni as my old 17? one took up half of the room on the desk and I couldn?t keep anything else on it apart from
the keyboard. Those who can empathise with a lack of space will understand the feeling of heaven when removing something like that and adding in its place something much better, with the huge benefit of it also being extremely compact. I can now put the keyboard and mouse in front of it without having to sit awkwardly which is great. The old monitor was also a hassle transporting as whoever had to carry it for 10 minutes to the car would receive a hernia for their troubles.

Flat screen TFT monitors are excellent for clearing up space that can be put to better use and as a result is very handy for businesses and normal users alike, not just for the high quality of the screen. No longer are you sitting in offices with large, ugly, beige hulks, but instead sleek and streamlined monitors that look especially cool in black.


Installation
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This was very easy. Installed the driver software. Turned off the computer, plugged in the leads from the monitor into the DVI (digital) port and the other in the power socket and turn back on. If your video card doesn?t have a digital output then use the monitor's analog one and you will still get a good image quality using it this way.

It may be different on other operating systems, but using Windows XP it ran perfectly on this connection, straight out of the box. Plug and play peripherals are extremely handy when you?re in a rush and it is gradually making it easier for the general public to get more involved with computers, without the need for highly techie manuals or instructions. Something important to remember is make sure you install the driver software first before connecting the monitor to the PC as you might get a no signal message when you re-boot.



Using applications (Word for Windows etc)
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Words look very crisp and easy to read on the screen and perhaps this is psychological but my eyes don?t tire as much on a TFT flat screen monitor than the usual CRT ones. Using graphic packages such as Adobe Photoshop is a joy as the pictures look very sharp.


Playing games
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I have just played Unreal Tournament 2004 with a Geforce 4 graphics card and the monitor behaved perfectly with no slowdown or flickers during the game. I didn?t notice any ?ghosting? either; a complaint where the action slows down as the monitor doesn?t refresh quickly enough and produces ghost like effects particularly with detailed objects.


Watching films
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As with playing games, there are no problems with slowdown or stuttering and a perfect picture is maintained throughout. Even with sequences, such as the battle at Helm?s Deep; Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, the image was relayed with no problems all the way through.


Final Word
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This monitor would be a great addition to any household/business set-up, bringing a crisp, compact unit to the fore which I?ve had no problems with, or have any real complaints to tarnish Samsung?s well established name in this market.

One thing to remember is that the native resolution of the SyncMaster 172 S screen is 1280x1024. This means that using this calibration will provide the best experience for you. My Geforce 4 graphics card coped perfectly in every instance, but if performance is sluggish you should consider upgrading to get the most out of the monitor.

Admittedly the price of the Syncmaster is pretty high (around £320) but if you?re buying quality then you should expect to pay a bit more.

Summary: