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Contributed by Ronald
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Jan 14, 2006 at 12:00 AM |
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Samsung has been known in making LCD monitors that are fully functional
and provide the latest technology while making them very affordable.
Over the past few years, we have seen a variety of Samsung monitors
with the usual use of silver and black designs. Also to mention is the
faster response times which are being put in monitors these days as
well as better contrast ratios and overall brightness.
Today, I will be reviewing the Samsung 970p LCD Monitor. This monitor
deviates slightly from the usual Samsung design by capturing the
'simple, yet elegant' approach. This will be understood further in the
review. With this in mind, Samsung still manages to pack in the rest
of the features such as a 6ms response time ideally making it an
excellent choice for gaming as well as the razor sharp 1:1000 contrast
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The words 'simple, yet elegant' can easily describe the product when looking at the monitor. The majority of the monitor has a white and silver design capturing some of the essence of the Mac design. The base, the stand, and the monitor all are neatly attached. The stand uses a single hinge which allows the monitor to easily move up and down, and left and right.
The front of the monitor has a silver bezel around the LCD screen. The hinge may look a bit thin, but it is more than sturdy enough to hold up the LCD screen. Moving the LCD screen with the base stationary is fairly fluid in movement making it easy for adjustment relative to where the person is sitting when using the monitor. In fact, I find that this Samsung monitor has a little more freedom when adjusting the angle and position of the LCD screen compared with other Samsung models.
Typically, Samsung places the ports directly at the back of the LCD screen or integrated at the base. Instead, there is a wire extruding from the base of the monitor to a small box. The box contains a DVI port and a connector which is where the power supply will connect to. This approach makes it easier to plug in your power supply cable and monitor cable, rather than having to look for it at the back of the monitor. Keep in mind that this monitor only has a DVI port and no VGA port. Unfortunately, there are no other ports such as Video In.
If you are familiar with Samsung's products, you may be wondering where all the buttons are on the monitor. Typically, Samsung places all their buttons right underneath the screen. Instead, there is only one button on this monitor which is the power button. If you wish to change settings such as the contrast or brightness, you will need to rely on Samsung's MagicTune program.
There are positives and negatives to this approach. By allowing the user to make the settings via the provided MagicTune software, it creates a somewhat simpler design for the monitor, but the software can allow for much better fine-tuning. This would only be important for those who are willing to sacrifice for design and style. On the other hand, you will be unable to make quick adjustments if you are in full screen and are playing a game, which can be crucial for some gamers. I would have preferred if Samsung kept the hard buttons right under the LCD screen.
Included with the monitor is a power supply which is reasonably sized.
Even though I mentioned that the monitor only has a DVI connector, two cables have been provided. One is a DVI to DVI cable; The other is a DVI to VGA cable. This means that you will be able to use this monitor if you have a video card or motherboard with just a VGA connector.
Specifications
Here are the specifications as listed from Samsung's website:
-Viewable image size: 19 inches
-Brightness (typical): 250cd/m2
-Contrast ratio: 1000:1
-Viewing angle: 178/178 degrees
-Max native resolution: 1280 x 1024
-Interface: Analog/Digital
-Response Time: 6ms (gray-to-gray)
Testing/Results
Based on the specifications, this monitor seems to be well rounded in most categories, but not the absolute best. With a 6ms gray-to-gray response time, this monitor will work well for gaming. I personally really didn't find any difference between a monitor such as this and an 8ms response time on a Samsung monitor. The difference is probably to the point where it is speculative. Nevertheless, most gamers will not have a hard time adjusting to the monitor.
With the response times getting lower and lower on LCD monitors, they become more and more attractive for gamers. With that in mind though, the max native resolution of 1280 x 1024 will satisfy the majority of gamers' needs, but may fall short of expectations for hardcore gamers with elite systems that demand a resolution of 1600 x 1200.
This monitor worked equally well in watching movies. With a 178 degree viewing angle, there's not reason not to try watching a movie with several friends on this monitor. The brightness of the monitor will keep darker scenes in movies very visible, however, I did notice the brightness falls slightly short of a previously reviewed monitor such as the Samsung 915n with a brightness of 300cd/m2.
The MagicTune software allows you easily calibrate the monitor by giving you a series of simple tests so that things such as color and contrast are adjusted correctly and accurately.
Conclusion
It's hard not to like the Samsung 970P. It provides all around performance that will please users whether you are looking for a monitor for office use, gaming, or for home use. The unique, simple design of the monitor may also be attractive to Mac users as well who are already used to the sleek design of Apple products. Having used LCD monitors for quite a while now, I have gotten used to being able to change settings such as contrast and brightness from the monitor itself. This monitor does not have those buttons; it can only be controlled with software. I found that there was a little more freedom in being able to move the screen around. As expected from Samsung, I did not find anything wrong with the screen itself and worked flawlessly.
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Last Updated ( Jan 09, 2007 at 05:47 PM )
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