Samsung 2220WM-HAS

High-resolution widescreen monitors are very hot right now. As with most computer trends, one will see a new technology start off expensive before growing into a less expensive and more mature product. LCDs have come a long way themselves; transitioning from an early-adopter, niche market due to poor viewing angles and high product costs into the de facto standard monitor for all new computer systems. Like any piece of hardware, many users aren't content with a single standard size and usually want something bigger, better, larger and more life-like or some such. Hence, large LCD monitors are becoming the new toys that many computer enthusiasts are picking up. As early as 3 years ago, a 20-22" monitor was going for $500 or more. During the interim, prices dropped dramatically. The price of a 22" widescreen monitor is on par with the price of a 17" LCD 3-4 years ago.

Much like the current generation of HDTVs coming out, widescreen is the new black. Any manufacturer worth its salt is shrugging off the standard 4:3 and 5:4 aspect ratios that had been in use since sound was introduced to film. However, most widescreen computer monitor LCD panels aren't maintaining 16:9 aspect ratios like their wide screen HDTV brethren. HDTVs typically utilize either 1366x768 or 1920x1080 resolutions which are either at or near 16:9 whereas LCD computer monitors are utilizing 16:10 aspect ratios with resolutions of 1280x800, 1440x900, 1680x1050 and 1920x1200.

The Samsung SyncMaster 2220WM-HAS is a product of everything mentioned above. Its 22" widescreen would have been very expensive only a few years ago, but now rests at around $300, making it a very affordable and mid-range monitor. Its wide screen has a resolution of 1680x1050. Though this is not capable of "full HD" and cannot be used to watch 1080p video at full resolution, it's still large enough to watch 720p video and shouldn't disappoint any but the most videophilic users. Despite being a TN (Twisted Nematic) screen, its viewing angle of 160 degrees maintains a bright and clear image at all but the most unwatchable angles.

The monitor features a bright screen, a 5ms response time, a reported 1000:1 contrast ratio, RGB/VGA and DVI connectors, speakers and a base with adjustable height and tilt. These specs should work for businesses, gamers, movie watchers and most users alike. Here at Benchmark Reviews, we'll provide the low down on how this monitor stacks up.

2220WM-HAS SyncMaster Contents

The computer is packaged in a large cardboard box with graphics printed on the sides and a plastic handle attached to the top for easy transportation. Inside, the monitor is packed in Styrofoam and wrapped in a plastic sheet. The package contains everything that is needed to get the monitor up and running immediately: The monitor itself, RGB/VGA D-Sub 15 cable, DVI-I cable, 1/8" miniplug stereo audio cable, instruction manuals, CD containing drivers and user guides and even a microfiber cloth. The monitor comes with the base attached, but it can be detached. The base uses a standard VESA bolt pattern for easy mounting with wall mounts.

Samsung SyncMaster Features

The monitor is advertised as having MagicSpeed response time and MagicBright 2 systems. The MagicSpeed system doesn't appear to be well defined on the brochure or the website. It's not even mentioned in the instruction manual and even more oddly, Magic Speed is another Samsung system used in optical drives to choose different read speeds. It appears to be a means for Samsung to draw attention to the monitor's response time (5 ms). MagicBright 2 is a series of presets for brightness, contrast and color.

The connections into the monitor are located on the back, underneath the bottom ledge. The power cable plugs into the left side and the VGA and DVI cables plugs into the right side. The audio cable plugs into the center of the monitor using a standard 1/8" stereo miniplug jack.

2220WM-HAS Specifications

22-Inch SyncMaster Closer Look

The monitor's frame is a glossy black finish all the way around with the various logos emblazoned on the bottom center and top left hand corner. The glossy plastic looks very pretty when properly cleaned, but leaving smudges and smears is very easy. The monitor certainly goes for a minimalist style that so many computer components are trying to emulate and use. The monitor succeeds in not using too many bevels or points, but fails to distinguish itself among the throng of LCD monitors on the market. Regardless, it looks nice and a radical design could look like an eyesore too easily.

The monitor uses a pair of rails that slide up and down on a track inside the base. This track uses friction to hold the panel in place so that you can adjust the height of the screen.

The back of the base includes a ring made of semi-flexible plastic. This ring is used for cable management and easily allows cables to be fit through.

The buttons are located in the center and surrounded on both sides by the 2 watt speakers.

The monitor feels unwieldy when carrying, but is surprisingly light. The rail system that connects the monitor to the base feels somewhat flimsy, but the base and panel both have a solid and sturdy feel to them.

2220WM-HAS On Screen Display

The monitor's on screen display is simple enough to use and contains typical LCD panel settings like brightness, contrast, h-position, etc. The OSD is easy to navigate through, but the volume and MagicBright menus are a bit clunkier to use. The volume is accessed by pressing the volume button while the OSD is not on screen. The volume button is the same as the up button which is why the OSD mustn't be on the screen while accessing. The MagicBright presets are accessed by pressing the MagicBright button, which is the same as the down button. From this menu, one can cycle through the various presets and adjust them into a custom profile. There are presets for all sorts of uses, such as movie watching and text viewing, among others.

2220WM-HAS Testing & Results

Testing Methodology

To test the monitor, I ran a few games at full resolution, played a few wide screen movies full screen and cycled through images. I tested the monitor's color by cycling through full screen images of various colors. These tests were not meant to be particularly scientific or objective. Rather, their purpose was to make a judgment based on normal use and normal situations.

Test System

• Processor: Intel E8400 @ 3Ghz with Stock Cooling
• Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L, BIOS F8f
• Video Card: EVGA GeForce 9600GT
• Memory: 4GB, 2x 2GB OCZ "SLI Ready" DDR2-800
• OS Disk Drive: 320 GB Maxtor 7200RPM, SATA
• Data Drive 1: 500 GB WD Caviar 7200RPM, SATA
• Data Drive 2: 500 GB Seagate 7200.11, SATA
• Optical Drive: Samsung (TSST) SH-S203B, SATA
• Power Supply: Corsair VX550W
• OS: Windows XP Professional SP3

Results

The monitor's performance met and exceeded the expectations I had. The previous monitor I was using was a 17" Dell LCD from 2005 with a resolution of 1280x1024. The new monitor had both an increase in physical and virtual real estate. Where my previous monitor was approximately 15" wide and 17" tall, the new monitor absolutely dwarfs the previous. The most noticeable difference I saw was how bright the Samsung monitor is.

Though, no piece of hardware is perfect. This monitor did have a few problems. The first problem I encountered was the monitor's inability to display some smaller resolutions. While the post and boot screens of Windows XP were displayed just fine (which run at between 640x400 and 640x480) a boot time defragmentation program just showed up as junk through a DVI cable while running at 720x400 @ 70hz. The second problem I encountered was that the rails and tracks in the base for height adjustment weren't as tight as they could have been. This allowed one side to droop slightly. Finally, the stereo speakers were very lackluster. If a user had no speakers, these speakers would work in a pinch, but considering I had a decent pair of computer speakers with a subwoofer, I felt it was necessary to just unplug them. Even worse is that there's no mute switch to turn the audio off, but leave the monitor on, so the user is forced to use the OSD to turn the audio volume all the way down if they ever need to turn the speakers off. The positive side of running audio through the speakers is that there is a headphone jack on the left side of the monitor allowing the user to easily access an audio jack for headphone use.

With the negatives out of the way, I'd like to say that I have no regrets with this monitor. The monitor is very bright and is capable of very vibrant color. This brightness helps in very bright environments, such as offices, where darker colors would be more difficult to see.

When testing the colors on the monitor, I saw little variation of color unless I was facing the monitor at an extreme angle which would typically be unusable in the first place. The color test also showed no dead or malfunctioning pixels.

Portal and Team Fortress 2 were tested at the full resolution of 1680x1050. The 5ms response time negated ghosting showing a consistently crisp and clear image. At the highest brightness level, artifacts and blocking were readily apparent in movies. Though, the artifacts on the video had little to do with the monitor itself and more to do with the image compression of the movies in question. An adjustment of the picture through the MagicBright presets decreased the brightness and made the compression a lot less noticeable. If one were so inclined, they could adjust the monitor's brightness, contrast and color levels manually through a calibration tool, like those included on THX discs. This sort of calibration is normal for LCD TVs for movie viewing. Such calibration is necessary to reduce contrast and brightness to a level that shows blacks in the movies as totally black and the proper levels of contrast between grays so that artifacts and compression aren't glaringly obvious.

SyncMaster Final Thoughts

Given the recent mainstream shift towards widescreen monitors, it's no wonder they're coming out of the woodwork. And like anything that becomes popular, low-cost competition will surely come in to fill whatever pricing gaps exist. The computer world is full of products being offered as bigger, better, faster, thinner, etc and as such, it's no wonder that ever larger LCD monitors are being offered at lower prices all the time. The Samsung 2220WM-HAS represents a mid-range offering in the 22" widescreen LCD market. At a retail price of between $280-$290 ($280 at Newegg as of publication) it's almost evenly between the $220 floor and $350 ceiling of most 22" LCD monitors, but at that price, it also represents the lower end of Samsung's 22" LCD monitors, which range in price from $270 to $340.

Even with the few shortcomings of this monitor, it's very solid. I must emphasize the increase in real estate from the previous 17" LCD that I owned that gave me a lot more room to work with for any task, especially when writing and sourcing information from another document or web page. Granted, typical 20" and 21" monitors maintain the same resolution of 1680x1050, the 22" monitor gives a larger image and helps against straining one's eyes or squinting at smaller type. Despite the large amount of real estate, the colors stay consistent when sitting in front of the monitor at all but the most extreme angles.

Conclusion: Samsung 2220WM-HAS

The monitor's packaging and accoutrements were very accommodating and provided all that was necessary to get this monitor up and running with one's computer. The packaging was also very sturdy and strong. The plastic handle for carrying was a nice plus. The monitor itself maintained a minimalist and austere look that seems to be all the rage in consumer electronics.

The monitor performed like a champ, providing crisp imagery with no bleed or ghosting occurring. Dead pixels were non-existent in this monitor, but also appear to be occurring less and less in general among LCD panels. The adjustable brightness, contrast and color levels give the user of the monitor total control over the monitor, like in most monitors. Plus, the MagicBright presets were very helpful for picking the appropriate color level, which helps those users who have no desire to endlessly tweak the colors of their LCD monitor.

The speakers were a major letdown coupled with the clunky volume interface. The slightly askew base was another sour point of this monitor, but both are more of a slight annoyance than any real problem. While the speakers are nothing more than a bell and whistle (and a poor sounding bell and whistle to boot) the base prevents this monitor from attaining a perfect score in the functionality category. The inability to display 720x400 @ 70hz correctly is also a problem that should be resolved in this stage of the monitor game. It's especially contentious considering older 17" LCD monitors have no problem displaying such a resolution.

Despite these misgivings, the Samsung 2220WM-HAS has shown itself to perform where it really counts. An inability to display a smaller resolution may be a problem, but its ability to display its native resolution with gusto is what really matters with these monitors.

Currently priced at $259.99 from NewEgg.com, this monitor will not break the bank, but it doesn't set itself into an area that lures the budget conscious. Though, the Samsung brand name, which has built a reputation for making high quality monitors and TVs, is a strong selling point. Despite being one of Samsung's lesser expensive LCD models, it still performs quite well and shouldn't disappoint any user who uses it.

Pros:

+ MagicBright settings for easy switching
+ Bright and colorful display
+ No ghosting or bleeding in games
+ Very consistent color at all but most extreme angles
+ No Dead pixels

Cons:

- Poor Speakers
- Inability to display certain resolutions
- Slightly askew track in the base.

Ratings:

• Presentation: 9.25
• Appearance: 8.00
• Construction: 8.00
• Functionality: 9.75
• Value: 8.50

Final Score: 8.7 out of 10.

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