Samsung LCD's

[CamH]

Okay, I'm looking into getting two Samsung 172T's. (http://www.samsung.com/Products/Monitor/LCDMonitor/Monitor_LCDMonitor_172T_sp.htm)

They will be used in a dual monitor setup, right next to eachother.

How are these screens? They will be used for gaming and movies, and other normal computing tasks. I know the response time isn't the fastest, but I game a lot on an LCD with a 40ms response time and it doesn't bother me a bit.

Is there anything else you would recommend? I want LCD's with thin bezels. I do not want anything with speakers attached.

Edit: The Samsung 173S (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=24-001-142&depa=1) looks a bit better, I think. Higher contrast ratio. I also like the 171N because of its extremely thin bezel. (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=24-001-029&depa=1)! Ah, decisions, decisions.

[jimstandard]

man i wish i had that kind of dough

[CamH]

Originally posted by jimstandard
man i wish i had that kind of dough

Haha! A bit of work can go a long way in your wallet. ;)

[ajrettke]

I'd go for the 173S, and here's why.
It's the same price (relatively), better contrast ratio, and it has DVI. Now i'll go out on a limb and assume your video card will only have 1 DVI and 1 VGA, but you can setup your primary monitor on the DVI, so when you game it will look even more brilliant.

And boy am I jealous of ya, I have dual CRT shortbacks on a huge desk (3' x about 7'...maybe longer)...and I still have to throw my keyboard someplace to study!
Also check into the Hitachi CML174's....I got one for my parents for christmas for 400 shipped from newegg, but I think they went up a bit. If I had the choice in terms of eprformance I'd take the hitachi, however, if you didn't notice a performance drop from a 40ms LCD, the astetics of a good looking LCD are way more improtant for ya. So if you like the samsung look, definetly go with it!

[CamH]

Just what I was looking for! Thank you. I did a bit of research on the Hitachi you mentioned. I found this: http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=1785
It seems that while the specs are better, the monitor itself is not quite as good. Strange.

Well, it looks like I'll be ordering the 173S's unless anyone has any problems with that. :)

[beatnic]

don't take the 173S, it doesn't have DVI, only analog (D-Sub)
only models end with 'T' have digital inputs. eg 172T
the 172T is the best choice out of the three you listed

[CamH]

How much does the DVI help over D Sub?

[CamH]

There's also the 173T, which is better than the 172T, I think. Plus, it has the really thin bezels that I like. http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?DEPA=1&sumit=Go&description=173t&searchdepa=1 What do you think?

[Aktunka]

Well I don't know if you are dead set on those particular monitors or not, but if not, right in the same ballpark pricewise are the NEC 1760's. Excellent monitors Here is a link. Not sure if the bezel is good enough for your tastes or not, but I can tell you that they are beautiful on screen and the 16ms response time is just gravy for gaming.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=24-002-078&catalog=20&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=1

[CamH]

That is a very nice monitor, thanks. But, like the 173S I was looking at, it has no DVI. So I guess I need to figure out how much DVI helps before I make a purchase.

[beatnic]

display will improve when using dvi. you will notice the difference.. what's a tft without a dvi? :D

[CamH]

Beatnic, do you know of any articles that compare the two?

[beatnic]

hi,
look here (http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=1785) got 172T inside
it's not really an article about analog and digital comparison, but it shows the diff between analog/digital (in numbers though)..

[CamH]

Hey, thanks, beatnic. That's just what I needed. I think I'll be going after those 173T's..