Samsung 730BF

[Mogget]

I am considering the Samsung 730BF, but the "LCD Buyer's Guide" links to an article by Xbit, which says it has serious problems.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/other/display/response-compensation_15.html

So, the main and very serious drawback of the SyncMaster 730BF and 930BF monitors is their very shoddy implementation of RTC: the RTC error amounts to tens of percent, so any moving object is accompanied with visual artifacts. The artifacts are so strong that they even make working with desktop applications uncomfortable: light, almost white, trails follow behind the mouse cursor and moving windows. The trails become the more conspicuous if you reduce the brightness and contrast below the default (but at the default settings the brightness of white is 200cd/sq.m, i.e. two times above the level recommended for work with text). I could also complain at the inaccurate color temperature setup of the 730BF, but this defect is really negligible against the gross problems with the RTC setup!

This I would be happy to accept, if it wasn't for the many other reviews that make no mention of the problems.

I have also talked to quite a few people who have the monitor, or at least have seen it in action, and also claim it has no problems.

Is it possible that Xbit just got a faulty model or something? Does anyone have this monitor, and can tell me how it runs?


Thanks a lot,

Mogget

 

[xtknight]

Well the overshoot on the monitor is quite wild. The reason no other reviewers mention it is anyone's guess. Some reviews are just careless jobs done in a ten minute run through some grayscales. This is why I find X-Bit Labs reliable. They'll tell you any problem with the monitor. Tom's Hardware would mention this too. I don't think X-Bit's monitor is bad. Tom's Hardware Guide shared X-Bit Labs' opinion about the horrible response time accelerator on a different monitor that had the exact same problem.

You should consider the very similar Samsung 740B instead. I don't think it has the problems, but I'm not sure, because X-Bit Labs hasn't reviewed it yet. The reason I don't think it has the problem is because it has a reasonable response time, nothing rock-bottom on a gray-to-gray measurement, a dead give-away for response time accelerator chips. No response time accelerator = no artifact problems. If the artifacts are so bad you might trade them for the ever-so-slight blurring.

 

[Mogget]

Ok,

But in the actual visual quality of the moitor I'm a bit confused. When people who have the monitor read about the "light, almost white, trails follow behind the mouse cursor and moving windows" they say WTF?

It would be great if anyone who has the 730BF, or has used it, would post their impressions.

The Samsung 740B is on my 'considering list', as well as the Philips 170B. I'm awaiting a quote on them now, but I'm fairly sure both are slightly out of my price range.