Samsung SyncMaster 923NW

...my first "wide-screen" monitor, a Samsung SyncMaster 205BW. "Not bad!", I thought - and I made a mental note to see what I could do about replacing the 10-year old power-hungry Compaq 15" telly-style V50 monitor on the kids' PC at home.

So here I am, 2 years later, with the opportunity to review the 205BW's more modern stablemate, the SyncMaster 923NW.

'''Size:''' LCD Panel, 19 inch(48 cm); Display ...
...0.2835mm (H) x 0.2835 mm (V)

The SM923NW is a 19" flat screen model, my office SM205BW is a 20" model - so the 923NW looks a little smaller, but compared to the old goldfish-bowl Compaq V50, it looke quite petite, svelte almost!

'''Signal Cable''' 15pin - to - 15pin D-sub cable, Detachable

That means it's a standard 15-pin VGA cable - no fancy HDMI or high-end 24-pin graphics interface. Just fine, ... more

Once upon a long while ago, when money was not so hard to find, I had the pleasure of experiencing my first "wide-screen" monitor, a Samsung SyncMaster 205BW. "Not bad!", I thought - and I made a mental note to see what I could do about replacing the 10-year old power-hungry Compaq 15" telly-style V50 monitor on the kids' PC at home.

So here I am, 2 years later, with the opportunity to review the 205BW's more modern stablemate, the SyncMaster 923NW.

Size: LCD Panel, 19 inch(48 cm); Display area 408.24 mm (H) x 255.15 mm (V); Pixel Pitch 0.2835mm (H) x 0.2835 mm (V)

The SM923NW is a 19" flat screen model, my office SM205BW is a 20" model - so the 923NW looks a little smaller, but compared to the old goldfish-bowl Compaq V50, it looke quite petite, svelte almost!

Signal Cable 15pin - to - 15pin D-sub cable, Detachable

That means it's a standard 15-pin VGA cable - no fancy HDMI or high-end 24-pin graphics interface. Just fine, that's what's on the Compaq too. And "detachable", meaning there's no tail hanging out of the 923W, the cable disconnects from both the PC-end and the monitor-end cleanly.

Power Supply AC 100 - 240 V~ (+/- 10 %), 50/60 Hz ± 3 Hz

Actually, this is quite good - most cheaper flat-panel LCD monitors have an external power supply - one more thing for kiddies to trip, walk, or set the chair leg over... the 923NW has an internal power supply, so the power lead goes from the wall straight into a connector on the back of the monitor. Great!

Display Color 16.7M
Resolution Optimum resolution 1440 x 900@60Hz, Maximum resolution 1440 x 900@75Hz
Maximum Pixel Clock 137MHz

What? All I need to know is: Can they still see their cBBC website and play Bejewelled on it?

Dimensions (WxHxD)/ (Without Stand) 439 x 289 x 65.5 mm(Without Stand)
Dimensions (WxHxD)/ Weight (With Stand) 439 x 360.2 x 199.9 mm (With Stand)/ 3.7 kg

The stand is fairly simple - a round foot that sits on the desk, it's got a bit of vertical adjustment and some tilt, but that's it - so if you fancy working with the screen in portrait (tall and narrow) as opposed to the standard landscape (low and wide) mode, well this one isn't swivelable like that. Monitor and stand together come in at about 3.7kg in weight, so not a particularly heavy beast, either.

Green Features The monitor has a fairly comprehensive on-screen control panel, with a setting that allows it to switch itself off after a number of minutes or at a set time. This drops the 36W power consumption down to 1W, which should make a slightly smaller dent on the electricity bill than the old V50 at 115W!

The screen is really clear and sharp, with an auto-adjust feature to set up the display to see it at its best. Support from Samsung's website is pretty good, with links to any fancy drivers that might be needed for you to fully leverage its features within your Windows XP or Vista environment. "MagicBright 3 (tm)" is touted as a plus - the colours are nice and sharp, so I can't fault it there.

If such things ring your bell, here are the Viewing Characteristics: - Contrast Ratio 1,000:1 ; Horizontal Viewing Angle 170 degrees; Brightness 300 cd/m2; Vertical Viewing Angle 160 degrees; Aspect Ratio 16:10; Response Time 5 ms. Means very little to me...!

The box contains a quick setup card, a CD with drivers on it, a warranty card, a power and a video cable, and it comes supplied with a basic stand - you can switch this for a different type or a wall-mount if you want, but the footprint of this as shipped is much less than the V50 it replaces.

At under £100, (actually as low as £75 on some websites!) it's really not a bad bargain, for a basic PC setup. If you have the latest and greatest video system in your PC, well, perhaps a few more pounds will get you a model with more connectors on the back - but for me, this will do. The saving in power means it'll have paid for itself in about 2 years, and at least one of those is covered in the standard manufacturer's warranty.

(c) pgn0 on ciao.co.uk 01-Feb-2009, with apologies to Neil Diamond for the review title! (Revised 14-Feb-2009) 

...less