Actually I would recommend the 216bw. It is 21.6 inches which is pretty much 22 inches and it doesn't suffer from some of the issues that the 226bw suffers from. The 226bw had problems with backlight bleed I believe.
Some 24" can be found for $300. My brother recently found a 245bw for that price. So don't hesitate to check all the stores in your local radius.
Anyhow, the 931bw/906bw are good monitors as well. Both are 19". The the 931 is the european version and came out earlier.
Always check Hardforum.com, they seem to have in-depth inspections of pretty much every recent LCD monitor.
And the last piece of advice: You can pretty much never go wrong with a Samsung.
I'd actually like to counter this one. I recently purchased a 226bw and was unhappy to discover the whole "bait and switch" controversy afterward. Samsung originally made the entire monitor, including the LCD panel, and all was well. After a successful run of monitors and good reviews, they proceeded to split production among themselves and at least two other LCD panel manufacturers, both of whom make displays whose performance is sub-par compared to the native Samsung displays.
What results is a "luck of the draw" when purchasing one: you don't know if you'll get a genuine Samsung, or one of the lame knock-offs. I was one of the unlucky folks, and my panel has poor color accuracy (even after repeated attempts to calibrate it manually and with a Spider2 puck). It also has a posterization effect whenever gradients move across the screen, possibly due to the monitor attempting to improve its response times, I suppose. I has been difficult for me to use the monitor for editing photos with any accuracy, both in color and in brightness.
Is this monitor worth the money I spent? It's not very expensive, so it's probably a bad deal. But be wary of the rave reviews you'll read online. Many are either a) old (posted during the initial run of genuine Samsung panels), b) have been posted by people who are now lucky enough to get a genuine panel, or c) have been posted by people who read the good reviews and are convinced that the display is great, but they can't tell the difference.
Unfortunately, Newegg is smart enough to know not to accept returns on LCD displays, so I was stuck with this crappy version. If you can purchase a 226bw from a dealer who accepts returns, go for it. Some intertube searching should help you reveal who actually made your panel. Hopefully this will allow others to make an informed decision. Good luck!
i would have to say the hp 22 inch monitor (w2207h) which is usually about 329.99. i work in computer sales and i know by experience beacause i mess around with them every day that this monitor is beautiful like all hp high gloss monitors. it also has dvi and hdmi inputs along with a 90 degree swivel. the samsungs are nice but i dont think they are as good as hp even though they have a faster response time and their contrast ratio is higher. when looking at monitors do not listen to the contrast ratio because instead of having really bright colors, the monitor could just have a really dark black. wich the high gloss samsungs tend to have.
Our Sam's Club has a 24" Samsung for under $400... I've got one at work and hope to replace my other monitor soon, since now I see how much the old one sucks now. It's not fancy, just VGA and DVI, but it's good.
The best monitor I've ever owned... HP 22" w2207 $250 @ TigerDirect.com 1650 x 1080 resolution VGA and DVI with HDCP (great for PS3/X360/Blu-ray) Built in speakers and 2 port USB hub I have 5 LCD monitors, this monitor has the best quality picture (contrast/saturation), largest screen size and the cheapest out of all of mine. There is also a model that has HDMI instead of DVI but it's an extra $100.
got an 223BW ... good performance for the money... but since i work with EIZO's..i have to admit these LCD's are crap compared with it.... anyway..i see movies in it, play games...the LCD is pretty much a solid piece, it was 208€ and has HDMI already.
I have a 226bw and I DO NOT recommend. I too have horrible posterization in gradients, esp the blacks, that I can't get rid of -- even with a color calibrator. It makes photoshop work nigh impossible. I can't wait to get a new monitor, one that that doesn't say Samsung on it.
Sad because everything else I own by Samsung is great.
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Definitely the 226bw from Samsung. That is, if they still sell it in stores.
Thats a TN.
We don't know what the guy wants the monitor for but if he wants accurate colors and good viewing angels he definitely doesn't want a TN panel.
Actually I would recommend the 216bw. It is 21.6 inches which is pretty much 22 inches and it doesn't suffer from some of the issues that the 226bw suffers from. The 226bw had problems with backlight bleed I believe.
Some 24" can be found for $300. My brother recently found a 245bw for that price. So don't hesitate to check all the stores in your local radius.
Anyhow, the 931bw/906bw are good monitors as well. Both are 19". The the 931 is the european version and came out earlier.
Always check Hardforum.com, they seem to have in-depth inspections of pretty much every recent LCD monitor.
And the last piece of advice: You can pretty much never go wrong with a Samsung.
tn panels are BS unless you get them for a very low price
I wouldn't pay more than 250 for a 24" TN
I recently bought a dell 2408wfp for $499 though
it's fantastic except for 3 things:
slight input lag (no big deal)
panel is brighter on the left side (no big deal)
limited scaling options (huge deal)
I'd actually like to counter this one. I recently purchased a 226bw and was unhappy to discover the whole "bait and switch" controversy afterward. Samsung originally made the entire monitor, including the LCD panel, and all was well. After a successful run of monitors and good reviews, they proceeded to split production among themselves and at least two other LCD panel manufacturers, both of whom make displays whose performance is sub-par compared to the native Samsung displays.
What results is a "luck of the draw" when purchasing one: you don't know if you'll get a genuine Samsung, or one of the lame knock-offs. I was one of the unlucky folks, and my panel has poor color accuracy (even after repeated attempts to calibrate it manually and with a Spider2 puck). It also has a posterization effect whenever gradients move across the screen, possibly due to the monitor attempting to improve its response times, I suppose. I has been difficult for me to use the monitor for editing photos with any accuracy, both in color and in brightness.
Is this monitor worth the money I spent? It's not very expensive, so it's probably a bad deal. But be wary of the rave reviews you'll read online. Many are either a) old (posted during the initial run of genuine Samsung panels), b) have been posted by people who are now lucky enough to get a genuine panel, or c) have been posted by people who read the good reviews and are convinced that the display is great, but they can't tell the difference.
Unfortunately, Newegg is smart enough to know not to accept returns on LCD displays, so I was stuck with this crappy version. If you can purchase a 226bw from a dealer who accepts returns, go for it. Some intertube searching should help you reveal who actually made your panel. Hopefully this will allow others to make an informed decision. Good luck!
Correction to my comment above: "it's not very expensive, so it's probably _not_ a bad deal"
I got a 225bw and i love it
I second the 226BW. I have a 225BW ($300), and three 930B's on my desk ($150 each). Never seen a setup I'd prefer more.
i would have to say the hp 22 inch monitor (w2207h) which is usually about 329.99. i work in computer sales and i know by experience beacause i mess around with them every day that this monitor is beautiful like all hp high gloss monitors. it also has dvi and hdmi inputs along with a 90 degree swivel. the samsungs are nice but i dont think they are as good as hp even though they have a faster response time and their contrast ratio is higher. when looking at monitors do not listen to the contrast ratio because instead of having really bright colors, the monitor could just have a really dark black. wich the high gloss samsungs tend to have.
To solve all the problems of that back panel thing, just find a SyncMaster 226cw. It's a bit better and has no chance of that crap sauce.
Our Sam's Club has a 24" Samsung for under $400... I've got one at work and hope to replace my other monitor soon, since now I see how much the old one sucks now. It's not fancy, just VGA and DVI, but it's good.
The best monitor I've ever owned...
HP 22" w2207 $250 @ TigerDirect.com
1650 x 1080 resolution
VGA and DVI with HDCP (great for PS3/X360/Blu-ray)
Built in speakers and 2 port USB hub
I have 5 LCD monitors, this monitor has the best quality picture (contrast/saturation), largest screen size and the cheapest out of all of mine. There is also a model that has HDMI instead of DVI but it's an extra $100.
got an 223BW ...
good performance for the money...
but since i work with EIZO's..i have to admit these LCD's are crap compared with it....
anyway..i see movies in it, play games...the LCD is pretty much a solid piece, it was 208€ and has HDMI already.
I have a 226bw and I DO NOT recommend. I too have horrible posterization in gradients, esp the blacks, that I can't get rid of -- even with a color calibrator. It makes photoshop work nigh impossible. I can't wait to get a new monitor, one that that doesn't say Samsung on it.
Sad because everything else I own by Samsung is great.