MaximumPC 2006 04

(Dariusz) #1

 MA XIMUMPC APRIL 2006


reviews TESTED. REVIEWED. VERDICTIZED


T


he year is still young, and we’re already
up to our eyeballs in new LCD desktop
monitors. And true to form, the technol-
ogy driving the bumper crop is more refined,
at prices that were unimaginable a couple
of years ago. Back in 2004, Dell’s 20-inch
2001FP seemed like a jaw-dropping bargain
at $900, today you can’t find a comparable
LCD for that much. As you’ll see here, 20-plus
inches of LCD flat-panel finery are well within
the average power-user’s budget; but prices
still vary, so lets see how cost corresponds
with quality.
—KATHERINE STEVENSON

SAMSUNG 214T
Samsung’s 214T lords over the others here
with a screen that measures 21.3-inches on
the diagonal. It boasts a 1600x1200 native
resolution, and is encased in a thin-bezeled
silver or black cabinet, with an ergonomic
stand that offers a telescoping neck, along
with swivel, pivot, and tilt functions. Samsung
also throws in a host of trademarked technolo-
gies—some built-in and some in the form of
bundled software—that are intended to meet
the demands of various types of content and
user preferences. MagicTune , for example, is a
software supplement to the onscreen display

controls, for additional image
tweaking. MagicRotation —
another bundled app—will
automatically rotate your
picture when you rotate the
screen. And Natural Color pro-
vides printer calibration screens and custom-
profile creation. The 214T also offers video and
S-video inputs and a picture-in-picture mode
for viewing content from multiple sources. All
this, of course, comes at a premium.
The price tag seems warranted when
you view digital images and DVDs on the
214T’s screen. With its true, deep black and
stark, luminescent white, it’s no wonder the
screen’s contrast is outstanding. Colors
themselves are eye-popping and subtle
detail appears distinct even in dark, shad-
owed areas. Indeed, we were convinced
of the 214T’s abilities even before it aced
DisplayMate’s ( http://www.displaymate.com ) battery
of evaluation scripts.
We were, in fact, smitten with the big
beaut, until it came to gaming, where signs
of ghosting in three different titles left us
cold. While the environments themselves
looked stunning, movement—particularly
in areas of high contrast—revealed a lag in
screen-redraw times. For some folks, this
is not an issue, and they’ll happily reap the
benefits of the 214T’s gorgeous screen in all
its other uses. For us, however, it’s enough
to make us pass.

HP LP2065
At 20.1 inches diagonal, the LP2065’s screen
is slightly smaller than the 214T, but it boasts
a similarly slim bezel and the same wide
range of ergonomic adjustment options. It too
comes with a software utility that provides
a more user-friendly alternative to the OSD
image-adjustment options, as well as PivotPro
for easy picture rotation. The LP2065 sports
only two DVI video inputs, but throws in four
powered USB ports—two on the underneath
and two along the left side of the cabinet.
In our various tests, the LP2065 performed
respectably, but alongside the 214T it pales.
Literally, in fact, when it comes to the former’s
black level, which just isn’t as deep as the
214T’s, particularly off-axis. Nor is its white
as vibrant. In grayscale reproduction, the
LP2065 is adept up to 128 steps, where slight
kinks and ripples disrupt a smooth gradation
of shades. These are minor flaws, however,
and the screen looks quite nice displaying
real-world content. Plus, it held its own in our
various gaming tests, revealing no signs of
smearing or ghosting, making it an all-around
good performer for the price.
It’s worth noting that the LP2065 was the
only monitor we tested that suffered from
“image persistence.” This is a condition similar
to, but less serious than, the “burn-in” that
plagues CRTs. This display will show the ghost
of an image on the screen long after the image
has been changed. In LCDs the condition is
temporary—it can usually be fixed by turning
off the monitor for a period of time—and can
be prevented altogether by running a dynamic
or solid-white screen saver, but it’s an annoy-
ance you don’t get with other screens.

LCD See


With the bar set at 20-inches, five fresh flat-panels strut their stuff


HP’s LP2065 doesn’t garner oohs and aahs, but it’s a
solid performer.

We were writing sonnets about
Samsung’s 214T, until we used it
for gaming.

$650, http://www.hp.com

HP LP2065

SEE AND BE SEEN
Nice picture; ergo stand;
and powered USB ports.

SEE AND BE SNUBBED 
Slight grayscale issues and
image persistence

$860, http://www.samsung.com

SAMSUNG 214T

IN FOCUS
Mammoth screen, beautiful
picture, and lots of extras.

OUT-FOXED^8
Most expensive monitor tested;
flawed game performance.

SPECS


SAMSUNG HP ENVISION BENQ GATEWAY
SCREEN SIZE 21.3 inches 20.1 inches 20 inches 20 inches 21 inches
NATIVE^ 1600x1200 1600x1200 1600x1200 1680x1050 1680x1050
RESOLUTION
INPUTS VGA, DVI, video, 2 DVI, 4 USB VGA, DVI VGA, DVI VGA, DVI,
S-video composite,
component,
S-video,
2 USB
Free download pdf