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Syncmaster 955DF vs. 900IFT?

R

RKM

Member
I have narrowed my search for a new 19" monitor down to a choice between the Samsung Syncmaster 955DF and the 900IFT. I know the 955DF has better specs. on paper but I was wondering if it was worth the extra money and effort (the 900IFT seems to be harder for me to find locally... don't want to go the online purchase route) or is the image not significantly better?
Please don't suggest the 900NF as I am one of those people who just can't get used to those "wires" so the Trinitron and Diamondtron monitors are out of the question for me.
NO AG for me!
Thanks in advance for any advice and help in making my decision.
 
Oops, meant to say that "I knew the 900IFT has better specs." sorry for any confusion.
 
I have the 900IFT.....what I'd say for sure is - make sure you get a good look at it when it's delivered. The screen geometry can be ok or very bad!
I've had a replacement dude to this.
Samsung customer service are excellent here in Hong Kong, but for all the great reviews the Samsung monitors generally have it's not been evident in the actual products that I have used (visual products)
The present version I have is OK'ish It's got flaws and will be rectified by customer service.
Main problem seems to be geomentry, focus and something called moire issues
Basically you will either get a great one or a bad one from what I have read...
I can e-mail you all the comments I gave to Samsung HK..?
Let me know 🙂
 
Simple answer related to the 17" version though....
According to Samsung the DF is a lesser quality model than the IFT version.
My mate has the 755DF and it is very good indeed..although it does have some moire effect.
I was told the IFT was a higher quality product, after seeing the DF version I thought - well yeah pay teh extra for an even better monitor. From what I have seen the image quality is better on the DF (actual Samsung CRT I beleive?) - the IFT uses a Diamondtron tube I think?
 
To choose between DF and IFT, ask yourself these:

1. Are you going to use resolutions like 1600x1200?
2. If so can you stand 65? Or do you absolutely need 75Hz or higher?
3. Do you need BNC support?

If you answer yes to either number 2 or 3, get IFT. Otherwise, get DF.
 
<<According to Samsung the DF is a lesser quality model than the IFT version.>>

They're both Samsung, and you can expect the same Samsung quality. Unless you're talking about image quality.


<<My mate has the 755DF and it is very good indeed..although it does have some moire effect.>>

Moire effect can differ from monitor to monitor. Doesnt mean that all DFs have worse image quality than IFTs.


<<I was told the IFT was a higher quality product, after seeing the DF version I thought - well yeah pay teh extra for an even better monitor.>>

The IFT is a higher class(not higher quality) product because it has higher specs, thats all.


<<From what I have seen the image quality is better on the DF (actual Samsung CRT I beleive?) - the IFT uses a Diamondtron tube I think?>>

The CRT tube used on the DF and IFT are both the same Samsung DynaFlat tubes, so theoretically they should look the same. Only the NF line uses Diamondtron.

 
I've just visited the Samsung site and yes I see that the IFT and DF do indeed both have the same CRT listed.

The DF that my friend has produces sharper image quality than my IFT....I've seen 3 IFT CRT monitors now and the image quality was not on a par with the DF model that my friend has. There is substantial moire on the IFT as opposed to very mild moire on the DF. 🙁

I'm not sure what would cause the problems on the IFT series if it is a higher grade product...also reflected in the cost?

As u say LXi - I'd opt for the DF model - in my case from experience more than anything...

 
Like LXi said, the DF and IFT are virtually the same monitor, the IFT had a higher video bandwidth and BNC connections. The added circuitry adds cost hence the higher price.
You have to remember that many computer users upgrading to larger monitors still run one meg Trident video cards hardly capable of pushing larger resolutions. Low bandwidth monitors like the Samsung DF help these folks save money for a new video card.
Personally, I think a 19&quot; monitor should be able to run at least 1280x1024 at 85Hz. Use a 17&quot; monitor if you run lower resolutions on a regular basis.

I ran a 900IFT for a few months. It's a very good monitor but is very tricky to adjust properly. It took quite a few days of fiddling with the controls to get a near perfect display. The only flaw I could not adjust out was a one mm bow in the top right side of the screen. It was really only noticeable when a window was placed near it.
 
<<does that mean they all looked good or bad?>>

Its probably the best flat shadow mask right now.

 
I expect my IFT to have excellent display properties...it should be once the Samsung tech gets round to check it out... 🙂

Thank goodness for the 2 year onsite service!
These monitors are actually the only monitors that I have had consistent problems with.

There are many other issues including focussing - which in turn affects the moire pattern..

The geometry of the monitor I am typing on right now is very good...the first one had a very bad bowing effect from the centre raising upwards to the RHS - this could not be adjusted whatsoever. the temporary replacement was awful...like something you would have thrown out. Samsung mentioned that it would be sent back to Korea for testing. Basically the geometry was terrible and only the right hand portion of the screen could be focussed - 50% of the screen was out of focus!!!

I have tried everything with the moire problem and cannot get it adjusted out by on-screen controls, the screen also allows for adjustment of focus on either the left side or right side - so to get reasonable focus I can only choose a compromise between sharpness of either the left or right handside. I don't think this should be the way a screen is foccused though!

I feel a bit &quot;guilty&quot; about having so many complaints about these monitors as the customer service people have been very helpful. However the fact remains that the IFT products - 1 x 17&quot; and 2 x 19&quot; have not performed anywhere near reasonable expectations.

My friends DF however is very good and he is extremely happy with it. Perhaps Samsung has had a bad batch of IFT monitors? I have other very good Samsung products which have performed flawlessly - it's very strange indeed.. 🙁
 
When did you buy those IFTs? 'cause I know their first generation tube that was used in the IFTs are awful. But since they developed the DynaFlat technology, the quality have been excellent. And the new DF tubes are what they put into their IFTs today.
 
Hehe this is like instant messaging!
The 19&quot; is only tweeks old the first 17&quot; was bought perhaps one month or only 3 weeks ago..
This one is direct from Samsung HK.
 
Hm... I think you just got 3 lemons, I mean, thats the only explaination I can come up with. There is no way the same DynaFlat tube can look bad in an IFT and look good in a DF.
 
Thanks for all the great responses and I am enjoying the back and forth of opinions... learning all the time.
There is a $250 Cdn. price difference between the 955DF and the 900IFT so we are not talking about an insignificant amount... it's like a 25% hike on the total purchase cost to go from the DF to the IFT.
I am using an ASUS V7100 GeForce2MX so I am not planning on driving at extreme resolutions but I want this monitor to last through at least a couple of vid card upgrade cycles so... it has to be a capable monitor.

>>>LXi wrote>>>
>To choose between DF and IFT, ask yourself these:
>
>1. Are you going to use resolutions like 1600x1200?
>2. If so can you stand 65? Or do you absolutely need 75Hz or higher?
>3. Do you need BNC support?
>
>If you answer yes to either number 2 or 3, get IFT. Otherwise, get DF.


As I stated above, I don't plan on running 1600 X 1200 at this time but I can foresee the possibility. I do think refresh rate is extremely important and that was the one spec. on the spec. sheets of these two monitors that jumped out at me. I don't need BNC now but I can't say if it will be necessary in the future.
So, here's a couple of new questions to throw into the mix. What is the average life expectancy of a 19&quot; monitor? Is my expectation of getting a couple of upgrade cycles (probably 5 yrs.) out of this monitor unrealistic?
I must say that &quot;gtd 2000&quot; has me a little shy of the ITF right now... especially with the DF being so much cheaper price wise. As far as the offer of emailing me the comments sent to Samsung... sure, I'm very interested.
Please, keep the advice coming.
 
BNC can greatly increase the image quality because it has a cleaner output to the CRT since the wires are not all wrapped around each other, link in a VGA cable. And BNC also allows for higher bandwidth on each color channel, which also means a clearer and crisper image. The refresh rate is one spec, but also the most important spec, because no matter how high of a refresh rate you can get, or how good the image quality is, low refresh rate makes it unusable. Keep those in mind. The IFT is only ~$60 more than the DF in USD.
 
Samsung kicks major KDS ass. Dont make me pick, I like them both.

Well if you point a gun at my head, I'd still pick the SyncMaster 900NF because it IS better than AV-195TF.
 
>>>chiwawa626 wrote>>>

>its all bout the KDS AV-195TF!!!!
>Screw samsoung

Ah, in case you didn't notice in my original post... I am not interested in AG monitors... can't get used to the wires.
But thanks for participating anyway.
 
Right on! Zealous people usualy ignore the contents of the thread and just goes in and say &quot;so and so rules, screw so and so!!!&quot;
 
>>>LXi wrote>>>
>The IFT is only ~$60 more than the DF in USD.

Wow! Okay, I should explain that I live in the &quot;wilds&quot; of small town western Canada so my buying options are limited. I have done some freelance trouble-shooting work for the shop where I got those prices from so I don't &quot;think&quot; they are trying to rip me off. Quotes on the two monitors I got were as follows:

955DF = $575.00 Cdn.
900ITF = $780.00 Cdn.

I noticed after I had posted one of my replies that I had transposed the &quot;5&quot; and the &quot;0&quot; when I wrote $250... should have been $205. That 25% was a quick guestimate off the top of my head just looking at the numbers and typing... I didn't take the time to get out a pencil and do the math. It is actually a 35% (or so, that's rounded off) jump based on $205 being 35% of $575.
I have been unlucky with online purchasing and I would like the ability to take the monitor back to someone instead of dealing with someone by phone in case of trouble. At todays exchange rates $60.00 US. is about $91.00 Cdn. so something is not right.
This is not a big &quot;superstore&quot; operation I am dealing with locally so I realize I will pay more for local service (nearest city is a three hour drive which sucks big time in the winter) but you state a $91.00 difference vs. the $205.00 I was quoted. Seems steep to me... I'll have to check into this. Can you point me to where you got your price differential quotes?
Thanks.
 
Ok, $575CND coverts to about $385USD, which is about right. But $780, which is $520, and that is WAY off. Onvia.com from the US(also has Canadian store you can buy from), priced the 955DF at $368 and the 900IFT at $410. If you can buy from local, and if you can return, why dont you buy the IFT and try it out, if it doesnt look right, exchange it for the 955DF.
 
I checked the Onvia site (Cdn. page) and I found something quite interesting. The quote I got from my local shop for the 955DF was exactly the quote they have listed on the Onvia site. The quote I got for the 900IFT from my local shop was &quot;exactly&quot; $100.00 more than the price quoted on the Onvia site. I will chalk this up to human error for tonight and tomorrow go into the shop and ask about this difference ($100.00 is just too much to ignore).
I can see the local guys needing to charge extra because they have a store front to maintain and other costs but I think $100 is excessive and that's not even taking into account that they are dead on the price of the 955DF.
 
The 900IFT here in Hong Kong is US$600, we don't have a 19&quot; DF version.
The 700IFT is US$383 and the 755DF is US$292.
I don't understand why the IFT would be so cheap in the USA - we don't even have any sales or import tax here in HK?
Must just be getting ripped off with the prices here I guess... 🙁

 
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