Samsung?s 204B LCD: Choice of a new generation?

The last time we checked out a LCD Samsung graced us with their 19” model with a low response time geared to gamers. Now we take the small (19″ vs. 20″) yet big (1280×1024 vs. 1600×1200) leap to their 204B model.

Category: Displays
Manufacturer: SAMSUNG
Product: 204B
Price: $299.99

LCD versus CRT; the debate is constantly raging even right here on our
own forums. Many of the traditionalists will never waiver and stay to
their CRT upbringing. Dead pixels versus power savings, multiple
resolutions vs. clarity, size vs. space savings - it’s always the same
battle. However, LCDs have been steadily making progress. With ever
decreasing response times, which are the big knock on LCDs for us
gamers, LCDs are becoming a more viable option. Samsung continues their
excellent product line with the next size up from their previously
reviewed 940BF with their 20 inch
204B. Offering a 5ms response time and a 1600×1200 resolution what is
not to like about this monitor? Let’s take a look and give this monitor
a thorough going over.

The Monitor
Samsung does excellent in the packaging department. Both of the
monitors I have used from them including this one are packed in custom
molded Styrofoam right around the unit itself and the box was also
stuffed and packed tight with other packing material. When you spend
good money on something like this you definitely want to rest assured
it will arrive safely and, baring any overzealous UPS man mishandling,
Samsung’s packaging does just that.

The monitor ships with a VGA cable, a DVI cable, a power cable and a
driver/setup CD. If you must ask: Yes, use the DVI cable when all
possible; It does offer a better picture.

Let’s take a look at the specs of this glorious pixel filled display:

Panel Type: a-si TFT/TN
Viewable Size: 20.1″
Pixel Pitch: 0.255mm
Brightness (Typical): 300 cd/m²
Contrast Ratio (Typical): 800:1
Viewing Angle (H/V, Typical): 160°/160° (CR>5)
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Interface: Analog/Digital
Response Time (Typical): 5 ms
Native Resolution: 1600 x 1200
Maximum Color: 16.7M
Input Video Signal: Analog RGB, DVI Digital Link
Sync Type: Separate H/V, Composite HV, SOG
Input Connectors: 15-Pin D-Sub, DVI-D
Power Consumption: 36 Watts (max)
VESA® Wall Mount: 100 mm (optional)
Emission Standard: TCO ‘99
Bezel Color: Black
Dimensions: 17.5×16.8×7.9 (WxHxD) inches (w/stand)
Weight: 16.9 lbs
Special
Features: Narrow bezel, rear main power switch, Magic Tune with asset
management, MagicColor, Magic Bright, and Magic Speed.
Warranty (P/L/B): 3/3/3 (years)

There are some excellent numbers here but what stands out?
{mospagebreak heading=The Monitor&title=The Details}

Well
the 5ms response time on a panel this size is excellent. It should mean
next to no ghosting if any at all. Versus the 4ms on the 940BF the
difference is negligible. It’s much akin to the body counts in Saw 2
vs. Saw 3, so close who is keeping count? Also the 1600×1200 resolution
is excellent. Moving from 1280×1024 (1,310,720 pixels) to 1600×1200
(1,920,000 pixels) is a difference of 609,280 pixels and it’s a
noticeable improvement. The 800:1 contrast ratio is a sizeable
improvement over the 940BF’s 700:1 meaning our darks should be darker
and our lights lighter. Think of washing your clothes with Tide instead
of brand X.

Taking a look at my own 904B in comparison to the 204B we can get an
excellent idea of the size differential. It isn’t a huge difference but
that extra diagonal inch allows us a better pixel pitch (i.e. closer
together pixels producing a sharper image) and a bigger resolution.

The actual monitor itself is sharp. All black with grey writing and
white on the buttons on the front bottom of the bezel. It’s classy and
simple and looks great with my other black/grey components; G5, Func
pad, Microsoft Multimedia Keyboard and my Antec P180B. The monitor has
a very narrow bezel which adds to the space savings and sleek style it
will bring to your desktop.

The 204B features an on/off switch on the rear bottom along with the
DVI and VGA inputs and the power cable jack. The on/off switch is an
interesting addition as there is also one on the front bezel which
includes buttons for tuning the display and navigating the menus and an
auto detect signal button. To be honest it is much easier to use the
Magic Tune software to make any adjustments which is included on the
driver CD. Also on the back on the display’s stand is a cable holding
ring to help ease on wiring clutter and keep your cables close together
going to and from the monitor.

The monitor is sturdy and simple. The stand features a simple tension
sliding tilt, pivot and height adjustments. I wasn’t sure at first how
to make the adjustments as I was looking for buttons, clips, something.
But the screen sits in two sliding rails and with a firm press one way
or another you can make adjustments. It doesn’t get any easier than
this. Hold the base with one hand, push up or down or with the other on
the screen, simple.

{mospagebreak title=Setup}
Setup
Setup was breeze. With my system off I plugged in the monitor to the
DVI cable and ran it down to my video card and then plugged in the AC
power cable. Booted up and it worked like a charm. After logging in to
Windows in ran the driver CD and installed the drivers so the monitor
was fully recognized by Windows. After this I installed Magic Tune
Premium and was prompted to reboot. After reboot I started toying
around with Magic Tune.

Magic
Tune makes adjusting the display almost as easy as using it. All the
options are there: color calibration, brightness, contrast, magic
color, image settings, gamma, and the program settings itself for an
icon in the taskbar or the windows transparency. A couple quick
adjustments; I adjusted the brightness as this is a bright panel for an
LCD and dropping it down to 80-70% still allows for great white hues. I
tweaked the color a touch and we were off and running to test out just
how this monitor looks in use. It should be noted that using
MagicRotation software you can turn the monitor 90 degrees and extend
the image vertically up and down the monitor. A interesting application
though the image doesn’t look as good this way as it does default and
this isn’t that practical for our uses.

Image Quality
The biggest question and concern when picking out a display is how does
it look? The main uses of a computer are on the desktop, gaming, and
multimedia. This covers most of the bases.

Overall image quality is superb on this LCD. Some of the best I have
seen on an LCD and out do that of even my 940B. The pixel pitch
presents a smooth and sharp image that my pictures can’t even do
justice. This being one of the main benefits of a higher native
resolution monitor that the pixels are packed closer together providing
a cleaner and clear image.

The whites are clear and crisp even with the brightness turned down a
bit. The darks aren’t perfect but we know that is usually the case with
LCD’s. As the backlight is always on to provide lighting thus even a
black image is somewhat illuminated. The darks aren’t natural and as a
good as CRT this is a common thing with LCDs.

{mospagebreak title=The Views}

The
viewing angles aren’t perfect but then this is an LCD technology issue
more than with this monitor. Extreme angles from one side or the other
or from way above or below will offer a lesser view of the image. The
monitors 160 degree viewing angles aren’t as good as some of the
competition at 20.1” and 1600×1200 but it is the same as the 904B and
904BF. But how often are you viewing your monitor from not at almost
straight on? I find myself not being head on and having a need for
massive viewing angles especially when gaming.

While
I don’t use my LCD for movies that often, many of us do. A big gripe
with LCDs and viewing movies is of course the illuminated blacks we
just talked about but also backlight bleeding from behind the screen
showing too much light through distracting from our viewing pleasure. I
took the above two images while viewing “X-men: The Last Stand” to see
any light bleed if there was any at all with my lights on and my lights
off. If you look close there is a touch of illumination near the bottom
but nothing drastic. Again this more of a per LCD screen issue than a
model or manufacturer issue. Sometimes you get good panels sometimes
not so good. The backlight bleed on this monitor was minor in
comparison to the other LCDs I have used and pretty standard fair.

Video playback was good. Not perfect but good. As we have mentioned before
the pixels don’t help smooth video images out. It is just the way LCDs
work versus that of CRTs. Testing out my X-Men DVD the movie was
definitely watchable. However I do prefer to watch my movies on my TV
via s-video and my dual display setup. It is personal preference but by
no means would your moving watching pleasure be lessened on this
display against another LCD.

Gaming? The question everyone wants to know. Does it ghost, do the
images smear, and does it affect game play? The honest and accurate
answers? I wouldn’t call it ghosting per say as you only see image
smear in very rare occasions. Specific dark images of lighter
backgrounds once in a while. On the odd occasion that you see it, it
doesn’t take away from game play what so ever. I have been gaming on
CRT monitors for years and the 940B and 204B were my only personal
forays into LCDs and there is virtually no adjustment curve. Overall
this is a high end panel and the ghosting is negligible. The 204B (5ms)
versus that of my 904B (4ms) is a wash. Furthering my thoughts on
quality panels and their 2-8ms times all being pretty close. Both of
these monitors look great and show that LCDs are right on the cusp of
going mainstream for gaming. Mark my words, eventually it will happen
unless something like SED takes off for games and is cheap. I have
played everything from F.E.A.R to Oblivion to CS:S to Marvel Ultimate
Alliance and enjoyed every visual minute. You can game on this offering
from Samsung and have no worries.

Resolutions scale great within games and on the desktop. I was also
hesitant to run my 904B in a non native resolution (1280×1024) but the
204B looks much better than the 904 did in a lower resolution like
800×600. The image isn’t as clear or crisp when in a off resolution but
if you need those extra FPS in Counter Strike or Battlefield you can
safely drop the resolution and not be appalled by the sight before your
eyes. However I would recommend staying in 1600×1200 when you can and
the added desktop space within Windows is great.

{mospagebreak title=Conclusion}
Conclusion
Warranty wise Samsung steps up to the plate. 3 years all around on the
warranty and I have even returned LCD’s to them with a single dead
pixel. In fact I just sent off my 904B because it had a single white
“on” pixel and it was under warranty. Samsung gave me no hassle at all
with the return. That was one of the biggest fears of mine when making
the leap to LCD getting the dreaded dead pixel yet Samsung makes this
choice worry free. While this isn’t the expressed warranty on their
website it appears they are starting to hold themselves to a higher
standard and allowing for replacements for any dead pixels instead of
“X number of pixels on Y size of a screen”. In Asia Samsung started
that policy and it might be that they are finally bringing it
stateside.

Are you ready to make the move to an LCD? Tired of having half your
desk space taken up by those bulky Cathode Ray Tubes? Electric bill
have mom yelling at you turn off your PC and to save her money? Well
fear not! LCDs can be the answer to your dilemma and Samsung’s 204B can
be the cure to what ails you. If you are ready to make the move to LCD
and you have around $350 in your budget you shouldn’t definitely take a
glance and consider this monitor. It’s price to performance ratio is up
there with the best of other 20.1” LCDs. Gaming in 1600×1200 resolution
is a joy and with full AF and AA you can begin to push your average to
better hardware. The picture quality is superior to that of its smaller
siblings the 904B and 904BF thanks to a better pixel pitch. The 204B is
clear, bright, and a overall pleasure to experience. I can recommend
without any qualms that if you want an LCD the 204B should be one of
the top considerations for that beloved space on your desk.

Pros
+ 1600×1200 resolution great for games and desktop
+ Crisp and clear picture for an LCD with a small pixel pitch
+ Fast response time, 5ms, makes gaming a joy
+ Height, tilt and pivot adjustable, a big bonus depending on your desk environment
+ Sleek, slim, and a classy look
+ Zero dead pixel policy from Samsung
Cons
- It’s not a CRT, movie playback shows just that
Rating
9.6 out of 10