Samsung PX2370 23-Inch Widescreen LCD Monitor with LED Backlight

Okay, I admit it, I'm cheap. I didn't want to spend $300.00 on a monitor this size when I could get another brand with similar specs for almost half the price. But this monitor made me a believer. This monitor is so far about the others in it's class that I feel compelled to write a review. :)

My current monitor broke, so I bought one of these locally (Samsung PX230) just to play with while I ordered a few competitors so I could take them all for a test drive. Although I liked the look of this monitor, I had no intention of keeping it. Well, think again. The other monitors arrived. All LED, all with similar specs, all major trusted name brands. I tried them all for several days each. After trying them all in my home, I decided this one is worth the extra price. In fact, it is well worth it.

There are several things that make this monitor stand out from the crowd, but to me the most important of all is how easy it is on my eyes. I am very sensitive to refresh rate and flicker and such, and I often get headaches and eye strain from being on the computer. That's tough, because I'm on it all day long, 7 days a week. My job is online plus I'm also an avid gamer and I do a lot of photo and video editing. Refresh rate (not response time) was one of the key specs I was looking for because my eyes normally hurt like heck if the refresh rate isn't at least 85. And yes, this is true on LCD's, too, not just the old CRT technology. Anyway, this monitor only lists a 60 hz refresh rate, which I have always found to be too low. That's why I thought it would not work for me. Well, surprise, surprise, it actually was easier on my eyes than the others I tested that had higher refresh rates. I don't know what they did in this technology, but this monitor is by far the best for reducing eye strain that I have ever found. I can stare at it all day without any headaches or eye strain or burning, and for me that says a lot!

Another thing I love about it is that it has 4 separate brightness/contrast modes that are designed specifically for PC, Internet and entertainment applications, and you can switch back and forth between them with the touch of a button. This is fantastic for going back and forth between staring at an excel spreadsheet to photo editing to gaming or watching a movie. Seriously, with the touch of a button you can switch to optimum settings for each new task. This may sound a bit nutty, since you've probably never done this in the past, but trust me, once you've experienced having these options, you'll never go back. I used to hate having to work all day on excel spreadsheets and such. All those close-set black lines on a white background were murder on my eyes after a few hours. But with the correct mode engaged and a little tweaking (which stays adjusted to your liking) looking at a spreadsheet is as restful as looking out the window. Then, when I'm ready to switch to a game or movie, I just toggle the button to the appropriate setting and all the perfect colors and contrast jump out at me again. It's just fabulous! With every other monitor I've had to choose a happy medium with my display settings, which always meant compromise, but with these separate modes, I can easily toggle back and forth so each task is done under the ideal viewing settings. It really does make a difference!

The adjustment buttons are in the back, which seems weird at first, but as soon as you realize which button is under which finger, it's easy and intuitive. You basically just hold your hand in a natural position on the side of the monitor, and wiggle each finger (individually) to work the buttons. The trick is to memorize which control is under which finger, then it's easy.

I also really like the "MagicLux" feature that senses the ambient light and adjusts the monitor accordingly. I have tried this monitor in different locations and lighting conditions and the automatic adjustment really works!

I chose the LED technology because they are easier on the eyes (a top priority), but all the monitors I tested along with this one were LED, too, and some of them seemed the same as LCD to me. With the LED Viewsonic, for example, I really couldn't tell the difference between LED and LCD. With this monitor, however, the LED backlighting along with their other display technology really does deliver a very natural looking light. I live in the woods in a remote area and I'm outdoors a lot, so I know what natural light is supposed to look like. This monitor delivers the most natural looking and comfortable light of any I've tested. It truly is restful on the eyes. :)

If LED technology is important to you for more earth-friendly reasons, like low energy use, low EMF's, and lack of toxic metals like Mercury and lead, you will also be happy to learn that in addition to these things, this particular monitor is also one of the few on the market that is made without paint VOC's. A boon for the planet as well as for those who may be chemically sensitive.

I would highly highly recommend this monitor to anyone, even if it costs a bit more. It is absolutely worth it. And this is coming from a cheapskate. :)

Samsung S23A350H 23-Inch Class LED Monitor

I brought mine's at the local Costco. The price was right and so was the size. The monitor is light enough that anyone over the age of 15 and under 90 can carry it with considerable ease. It come with instructions, CD disk and all that but unless you are a computer guru, setting it up and hooking it to your computer is all you have to do.

The hooked up was very easy, just matter of connecting the cables. A ten year old buried in his PSP can do it with ease. There is an input for HDMI so if your computer can handled, you use your monitor in HD mode. I had this monitor for a month and half now and there has been no trouble or problem with this monitor. Pixels are fine, no dead lines, no power problems, this monitor appears to be well made and flawless in its performance. Your photos looked great, movies looked great and it give a very excellent color performance all in all. Refresh rate of 2ms isn't the fastest but its faster than many.

But why it didn't get a five star is because for two following reasons:
1) The monitor on the stand cannot be adjust. I was fine with it but there are taller or shorter people then me.
2) I thought that the screen was overly too bright and adjusting the brightness compromise other qualities of the monitor so I adjusted just enough that it wasn't too bright but it could use bit more adjustment to turn it down. I can live with this but it is a minor annoyance.

So in the nutshell, this is a fine monitor that should served you well for a pretty long time. I am not exactly fond of the current trend of having all the computer monitors in a "wide-screen" mode, I kind of prefer the regular 4:3 size monitor in a 23 inch size. But it appears that no one is making such monitors..wide-screen or nothing.

Pros:
+ Has both VGA and HDMI
+ VGA actually looks really good on this monitor
+ Available through Costco (i.e. cheaper plus has Costco Warranty)
+ No dead pixels
+ Fast 2ms refresh rate (not fastest, but faster than many others)

Cons:
- No Vesa mount as far as I can tell
- No automatic brightness sensor control
- Changing display settings for different modes is not a simple one button push
- Not adjustable
- No speakers

Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with the monitor. I'm not overly wow'd by the monitor; someone else with more experience with monitors will have to chime in on how this monitor compares to others. I did research other, what appeared to be better, monitors from Asus and ViewSonic in terms of specs and features, however, the price, convenience and warranty of Costco ultimately made me decide to go with the Samsung here.

FYI, the Samsung S23A550H is the next model up and has an Eco Light Sensor which automatically changes the brightness based on the light in the room. It's a little bit more pricy, but may be worth it just for that feature.

Samsung B2330H 23-Inch Widescreen LCD Monitor

I had a Samsung 204B LCD for many years and I was happy with it. Recently it started taking about 10 minutes to warm up before I could see any image on the screen so I decided it was time to move on. I did a lot of research, then went in a competitor's store and almost changed my mind. I wanted the B2330H but the LG monitors looked better in the store. Ultimately the 23LG LED looked like it had its own color problems and the 23LG LCD with glossy screen looked the best, but I couldn't bring myself to buy a glossy unit. Ultimately I wanted all the functionality of this Samsung monitor, including vesa mount so I purchased it at a brick and mortar store.

When I brought it home, I was really concerned about dead/stuck pixels but there were none to be had. Some reviewers have said the Samsung monitors don't display text all that well and I found that to be the case if I wasn't using the native resolution of 1920 x 1080. One of my computers couldn't output to that and thus the text was a little fuzzy. My other two computers (using a KVM switch) could output to that resolution and the text looked great. I also hooked up my Mac Book Pro to it, and text looked good there too. Ultimately, the problem I had was with the color shifting. I noticed a faint pinkish hue on the right of the monitor which I just couldn't ignore.

I'm going to return the unit and instead go with a new Dell U2311H. TN panels, like the one I'm reviewing, tend to have color shifting problems from what I've read so the U2311H with its IPS panel might be better for uniform color distribution. If you don't care about the subtle color shift, this is a good panel. I didn't want to get another one to see if the one I had was defective because I just don't want to spend anymore time on a TN panel. I work in 3D programs and do graphic design (print and web) so space to work in AND color accuracy are important to me.