I got my Samsung 2253LW 21.6″ 2ms LCD monitor today for $289 at Netplus Micro Computers in Myaree. It was their official opening today and I was probably one of the first few customers, if not the first, to buy anything from them in their new store. A little upset because all the stock has yet to arrive at the store and most items are just being displayed today when they could have done it prior to the opening day. The main store is located in Osborne Park, a little too far for me to travel to get my parts.
This review is based on my first impression and my 4th hour or so running it from my laptop. Displaying 1680×1050 which is the same as its 22″ competitors, Samsung 2253LW doesn’t look any smaller than its .4″ larger counterparts. In fact, I reckon it looks larger than the others due to its frame that is rather thick. Sporting a glossy frame and base, it stands out and looks elegant unlike the normal matte look on most panels. However, this means more dust and fingerprint will be collected and is definitely more prone to dirt. I was initially worried that the glossy look of the frame will be distracting when watching a movie, but it proves to be not a problem at all.
Backlight bleeding is minimal on my unit, at least to me anyway, with about 4-5% of top and bottom of the LCD, which is really unnoticeable unless if I probably have another >$500 LCD placed side by side. I honestly don’t think it’ll be a problem at all when watching movies, more to say gaming. I also checked for dead pixel on my unit with Dead Pixel Buddy and didn’t see any dead pixel, so this unit is close to perfect 
Only one glitch that is common among some Samsung LCD panels – the audible humming frequency when the brightness is below a certain point. Mine is about 60 or so? It’s not a problem for me because I set my brightness to 100%, but it still is annoying knowing that you paid your hard-earned money into an item that has problems, small or big.
The viewing angle of this panel is simply great vertically, but not exactly the case horizontally. The colour changes to slight yellowish when viewed horizontally (don’t ask the angle because I won’t know). The base/stand swivels with the monitor, which is quite weird, but thankfully it swivels with ease, so I won’t complain on that.
The monitor can be tilted upwards by a great deal, which is really good, but doesn’t really tilt downwards much, which I would like because I like watching movies away from the desk on my bed. One downside of the LCD is that there isn’t an adjustable height stand for it, so for people with low/high desk, you may need to get either a new desk or chair. Mine is just right, so no fuss with that.
Anyway, enough rambling:
Pros – Great IQ, viewing angle (vertical), swivels & tilts (with limitation), great resolution, response time of 2ms, 1000:1 contrast ratio, elegant looks (may not be the case for some), value for money.
Cons – 8000:1 DCR gimmick, bad Magicbright bullshit (use default please), horizontal viewing angle quite limited (but viewable), buttons a little hard and plasticky, humming audible sound at certain brightness level, no height adjustment.
Don’t let my description of the monitor fool you. I give Samsung 2253LW 4/5 because it’s a great deal for <$300 22″ LCDs and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a great LCD monitor but doesn’t know which one to go for.
I also have the 2253LW and I like it too. But I find it strange that I have a c-panel. Wich panel do you have?
@Degrader -
C-panel? What’s a c-panel?
@Raymond Chan – Some Samsung monitors have different panel’s in the same serie (s-,c- and a-panel) C-panel is made by another factory than Samsung. Put the Brightness and Contrast to zero and than you have to push the Source-button for 5 seconds. Than there will appear a window with information. So if you this, than you can see wich version you have. Mine’s: VERSION: M-AQ22V0CIA-1001.0
@Degrader -
Wow, thanks for the info. Mine’s the same as yours except that it’s 1001.4 at the end. Is that a bad thing? :/
@Raymond Chan – No, I don’t think so. The type of your panel is probably also c. You can see that on the letter ‘I’ in the version number (M-AQ22V0C ->I<- A-1001.0). Other panels have a ‘A’, ‘L’ or ‘D’ or in it.
See here below:
* X-xxxxxxxAx-xxxx: Samsung panel.
* X-xxxxxxxLx-xxxx: AU Optronics panel.
* X-xxxxxxxDx-xxxx: CMO panel.
* X-xxxxxxxIx-xxxx: CPT panel.
The Samsung 226BW can have a CPT or CMO panel, which is the C-panel and that was in that serie the worst panel, the A and S-panel were clearly better. So we have probably also a C-panel, but I think that all the 2253LW’s do have this panel and we really like the image quality. So in the end we don’t have to worry, because there are probably not any better 2253LW’s, like the 226BW had
@Degrader -
lol! thanks for the info! I just find that the Natural Color Pro software that comes with the monitor a little buggy. I use my monitor for picture editing purposes, so I’ll probably need to get myself a Spyder monitor calibrator for precise colours. Thanks again!
i wonder what is the different beetween this model (2253LW) and 2253 BW?… tx.
@pri -
This model is 21.6″, not 22″ and also glossy finish (the frame is glossy). The other model is not glossy and is 22″. I’d go for the other one but I really like this one that I have now