Samsung SyncMaster 172W Silver 17" LCD Monitor

(17", 1280x768, .289mm, DVI, PC/Mac - MPN: 172WSILVER)

Description: Featuring one of the brightest displays on the market and a wide format aspect ratio, the SyncMaster 172W is the latest addition to Samsung?s MagicBrightTM family of monitors, which feature three separate ?brightness modes? designed specifi.... Read More

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Date Reviewed: 12/08/2003
gehughes40 from PA Member Since: Dec 2003 View Member's: Reviews Product Experience: 21 Days	ATTENTION TO THOSE READING db2's REVIEW!!! I'm ... Strengths: Great picture quality, amazing brightness, folds flat, hangs on wall Weaknesses: Speakers sound a little cheesy Summary: ATTENTION TO THOSE READING db2's REVIEW!!! I'm sorry, but I became a PriceGrabber member just to refure db2's review because I felt it was gravely in error. After seeing this monitor at my local Apple dealer and falling in love with it (it was mounted to a wall, like a painting, and hooked up to a 12" PowerBook) I came home and read these reviews here. I was confused by db2's review so I took my 15" PowerBook (running OS X 10.2.3) back to the dealer to try it. It didn't even need any drivers. I simply plugged the DVI cable into the PB and the computer recognized the monitor immediately and it displayed in 16:9 mode without any setup. The monitor's manual says the native resolution is 1280x768 at 60Hz and that's indeed what showed up in my display preferences. So I bought it. Now here's the deal (and where db2 may have had trouble): When I got home I tried it on my OTHER 15" PB which has no DVI port, just an RGB display port and which is running OS 9.2.2, not OSX. When I plugged the monitor into that computer it defaulted to 832x768 and the picture was indeed distorted and stretched. I simply opened the Monitors control panel and switched the resolution from 832x768 to 1280x768 and VIOLA, it was perfect. Only had to do that the first time I plugged it in. Would I buy one again? Certainly...and I did! I now have two, one for each computer. Unfortunately, Samsung has discontinued this model for some reason, but if you can get your hands on one do it! Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you? Report this as inappropriate. There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.

Date Reviewed: 11/16/2003
jamesvbon from TX Member Since: Aug 2000 View Member's: Reviews Product Experience: 2 Weeks	i got this moniter about 2 weeks ago. i would high ... Strengths: great picture, easy controls, can mount to wall/desk , awsome stand for reposistioning, also has very easy controls Weaknesses: none that i can see as of yet Summary: i got this moniter about 2 weeks ago. i would highly recomend it. the auto screen adujst works well and menus are easy to follow and control. buy this moniter it is worth every penny. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you? Report this as inappropriate. There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.

Date Reviewed: 06/09/2003
rjain from NY Member Since: Apr 2003 View Member's: Reviews	NB: I haven't bought this yet, but let me respond ... Strengths: published brightness is amazing Weaknesses: published contrast is mediocre (compare this second generation model to the Samsung 191T, a first generation model) Summary: NB: I haven't bought this yet, but let me respond to db2 from NY. I might adjust my rating when and if I actually buy one of these, but my impression from reviews and specs is that it's at least one of the better monitors on the market. It's not an incompatibility of Samsung's product with Macs. It's a lack of support for the appropriate video modes in your video drivers (definitely not a limitation of the hardware, unless they somehow create these limitations specifically for the cards they build for Macs). About the image quality: ghosting, streaking, etc is ONLY a result of ANALOG signal degradation. Try using the DVI port and the image will be far sharper and more geometrically correct than any CRT you've ever used. About the contrast: if that's measured at the top brightness, then maybe it's not too bad, as more towards the middle of the brightness range (which is around the top of the average LCD's range anyway) the contrast might improve. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you? Report this as inappropriate. There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.

Date Reviewed: 05/19/2003
db2 from NY Member Since: May 2003 View Member's: Reviews Product Experience: 3 Days	I recently bought this screen to use with my lapto ... Strengths: Widescreen, great price, good looks. Weaknesses: Not really widescreen on Macs. It's Widescreen stretched which doesn't really give you more screen. Fuzzy text, and pretty bad ghosting with media. Summary: I recently bought this screen to use with my laptop when I'm at home. I'm a designer/ musician and I use a lot of applications that could benefit from the extra desktop space. I also wanted the second display because laptop screens have a smaller viewing angle and are usually quite a bit darker than normal LCD's. I can't necessarily review this display for pc owners. But for mac owners, DO NOT buy it. I had to send it back because my powerbook wouldn't support the aspect ratio. I have a brand new 12" G4 with a great video card too. The powerbook can do much higher resolutions, but apple said it wont do anything but a 4:3 aspect ratio. I also tried it on a G4 tower and it wouldn't do anything but 4:3 either. You can hit the wide screen button on the display, but it's not widescreen. It's a 15" image stretched out across 17". You gain no more space, and it looks horrible. So I used it in the 4:3 function, which basically makes it a 15" square centered within the 17". Even then, the screen isn't sharp enough for designers, and for games and movies, it had really nasty trails in the blacks. I assume it's just as bad on PC's I feel let down by Samsung because they pride themselves on the fact that all their displays are Mac compatible. You can plug a Mac into the 172w, and it will work. - Kind of. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you? Report this as inappropriate. There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.