17" DVI LCDs: Samsung 171P/172T, Apple Studio Display, or others?

[Eug]

I'm thinking of buying a 17" 1280x1024 LCD screen with DVI, mainly for my new laptop which comes with a DVI output.

I can get an Apple Studio Display with DVI-->ADC adapter for a little bit more than the cost of a Samsung 171P or 172T. Paper specs:

Apple Studio Display 17"
Luminance: 200 cd/m2
Contrast: 350:1
Viewing Angle: 160 degrees.

Samsung 171P or 172T
Luminance: 250 cd/m2
Contrast: 500:1
Viewing Angle: 170 degrees.

I dunno the response times.

I'm leaning towards the Samsung mainly because it also has VGA. The Apple would be purely DVI. The on-paper Apple specs don't seem all that great, but in real-life the picture is very good. I have never seen the Samsung in action.

Whaddya think? Any other options?

My criteria (in that order):

1) Image quality
2) Ergonomics
3) Response times
4) Price

 

[Kingofcomputer]

Apple is LG-Philips panel.
The spec is so-so.

Samsung is 25ms. (listed in the spec.)

Another one you should consider is Hitachi's new 16ms 17".

Don't forget the crazy Dell brand LCD deal too. Dell is Samsung OEM.

 

[phlip]

I got the Samsung 172T last week, i'm running it on Analogue (just as a warning, it doesnt come with a DVI cable in the box) at the moment but it is absolutely amazing in terms of image quality. I got it as a replacement to a Sony E400 19", the screen size is almost identical. It's a stunner in terms of looks, and as it has a thinner bezel (edge around the screen) I think it looks far better than the 171P. The 172T was £500, but the 171P was £450 from the place where i bought it from, although they have stopped stocking the 171P. The image quality is excellent, I can only imagine (until I get a DVI cable..) what its like with DVI! I would never go back to a CRT. It performs excellently in Quake 3 with no visible ghosting, and thats on Analogue.

Hope thats helped a little!

 

[foofoo]

i have a 171p and am running it on the dvi connector.
this is the best lcd i have ever used. better than the apple displays that i have played with too.
try to check out the samsung somwhere, it's really nice.
my 0.02

 

[GT1999]

While the Samsungs are nice, I'd check out the Hitachi CML174B

 

[Eug]

Samsung 172T - CAD$909 (US$580) or 172-S Silver model $979 (US$625).

Sounds like a good deal to me.

P.S. I didn't know the Apple was an LG. It interesting because Apple invested 100 milion in Samsung, specifically to support their monitor line.

 

[Eug]

Is the Dell Dell UltraSharp 1702FP the same thing as the Samsung 172T?

 

[Eug]

Even with an analogue VGA input this Samsung 172T is one of the best 17" LCD monitors I've ever seen. I can't wait until I get my Mac PowerBook laptop with DVI and my dual Asus DVI Geforce 4 440 card for the PC.

Pic!

The colours are beautiful. Very high contrast and brightness - I currently have contrast at 50/100 and brightness at 20/100.

The design is IMO much less clunky than the 17" Apple Studio Display. It's way more adjustable with both very easy height and angle adjustment. The monitor takes up much less desk space than Apple's. It also has a way smaller foot print for the base, yet it is very sturdy. And the bezel around the edge is very small (well less than an inch), unlike the Apple display. I got the silver and it kinda looks like what I remember from the 867 PowerBook Titanium's paint job, but I'm not sure how close the colour is. I like the silver better than some of the black monitors I've seen. The thing comes with a wall mount bracket, but I won't be using that at this point. It would be great in my office wall mounted, but I can't justify getting another monitor for the office.

The size is almost as big as my 19" CRT for viewable screen real estate. The 19" CRT has less than an inch more on the diagonal measurement. I'd say this 1280x1024 resolution is perfectly suited for the 17-18" size. 19" LCDs at this same resolution would be nice but IMO unnecessary unless the screen is going to be fairly far away. I'd rather put the coin towards a second LCD monitor.

Playing Contact's wormhole sequence yielded no noticeable ghosting. I guess you can believe their 25 ms pixel response time spec.

As for the price, I paid about US$555, locally. That includes both a VGA cable and a DVI cable. Once I can verify DVI works well, I will wholeheartedly recommend this LCD monitor to everyone.

Online review.

 

[Eug]

Better pic here.

Matches quite nicely with my black and silver Microsoft wireless keyboard and mouse, and black and silver G4 Titanium.

 

[GT1999]

That's a really nice setup ya got there Eug. It makes me want to buy an LCD so bad, but my wallet says no still

 

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: Geekish Thoughts
That's a really nice setup ya got there Eug. It makes me want to buy an LCD so bad, but my wallet says no still

I'd love to buy a LCD also, but my wallet is not willing, either.

 

[Rhombuss]

Currently using the Samsung 171S. It's a great LCD, I'd recommend any Samsung LCD line.

 

[EXman]

that Hitachi w/ 16ms rise/fall is amazing! whoa That will be my next purchase when my wallet says it is ok. I found it as low as $630 still alot for "17 but hopefully since it was just released last month the price will drop by the time I can afford it.