After struggling with a giant monstrosity of a monitor for the past 10 years I decided to treat myself to some much needed desk space by investing in some of those new fancy-pants LCD monitors.
Unfortunately, fancy pants LCD monitors are not the cheapest indulgence in the world. I decided to console myself with the cheaper treat of French fancies. This was obviously a short term solution.
As my waist line expanded and my desk further littered with empty cake boxes, I took a deep breath and faced the reality.
When I purchased my trusty old style monitor way back in the 90’s all the monitors were boxy and fat, but there was a nice range of high resolution models available in many different screen sizes.
Lovely Google helped me find some retailers offering potential slimline monitors. I was hoping for a 19”-20” widescreen with a 1920 X 1200 resolution. I also demanded extreme prettiness.
Unfortunately times had changed. Manufacturers had decided that high resolution was only really required in larger screen sizes. My quest for a 19” super duper monitor was quashed.
These demands were too much for the manufacturers of flash screens. I found monitors that were too big, that were too small, that had scummy resolution and most shockingly of all I found monitors I couldn’t bear to look at, such was their ugliness.
Then I found the Samsung SyncMaster 2433.
It was a whopping 24” but had that all important 1920 X 1200 resolution. Plus, it passed the pretty test. Black glossy and curvaceous, the Samsung ticked a lot of boxes. I was sold. So sold in fact, that I ordered 2. Oh yes.
When they arrived they needed a minor amount of self assembly. This might seem odd, but the base of the stand is quite wide, presumably in order to support the precious screen. Once built it is all perfectly in proportion, but if it was ready made the box would have had to be much bigger, more trees would have been slaughtered and the planet would have cried a few more tears. We don’t want that.
Assembling the monitor was, although not difficult, a little unnerving. Clicking the screen into the stand was tricky, as you don’t want to push too hard and break your new toy, but equally you don’t want to be too gentle and risk the whole thing plummeting to the ground. The trick is not to panic.
Installing the monitors was the standard excitement of plugging in any old monitor to a PC. If you can’t do that, I feel sorry for you, but luckily Samsung has a kinder heart and provides beautiful illustrations to guide you through this and the rest of the set-up process. So kindly are they, in fact, that they even show you how to disassemble your new toy.
Once the new beasts were fired up, they didn’t disappoint. The resolution was impressive, offering clear and vivid pictures, and passing my DVD test. The black frame and widescreen capability was reminiscent of the cinema experience, allowing me to pretend that my study was in fact, the real world.