My Samsung 940B Review

I ordered my 940b today. Very excited to get it. When it's here I'll take some pics and give a little review of my own.
 
get the 940B, its a newer panel and will have better color.
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I'm still having a hard time deciding between the 940B and 930DF, since where I'll be ordering from, they come out to almost the EXACT same cost. Since I'm a casual gamer, the only thing holding me back from snapping up a 940B right now is its 8ms response time in comparison to the 930BF's 4ms response time... Can anyone comment on how much of an impact this disparity will have? I understand advertised specs aren't exactly always real world specs, and I wonder how much of a difference 8ms is as compared to 4ms (I can't find much of anything comparing these two anywhere...for all I know the 940B is a faster display than the 930BF, but I can't find much of anything anywhere comparing these two monitors). Thanks.
 
you are comparing them wrong... The 930BF is 4ms Gray to Gray response time which alot of manufactures use to make them seem faster. The 940B has 8ms Black to White to Black responce time which is considered "True" response time. 4ms GtG is prolly about the same if not a hair slower than 8ms BwB response time. The advertisers like to get tricky here to trip up consumers and use these different terms. The 940B is a newer, has better colors, is probably a bit faster, and is overall a better panel which is why it replaced the 930BF.
 
The 930bf looks fast on paper but is actually a very slow monitor. http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/11/04/do_the_new_19/page22.html -THG shows it ghosting up to 30ms even when its not fluctuating its at a steady 16ms, its a shame how bad the overdrive is done on this monitor. The VP191b performs way better than it and its 8-bit P-MVA panel using overdrive. The 940b hasnt really been reviewed in depth like that but its most likely a better monitor because its a true 8ms TN. I just got mine a week ago and it doesnt ghost at all, but there is motion blurr but thats on every lcd due to its nature. Make sure you know the difference because at first i couldnt tell much of a diff between my 940b and my old 30ms lcd. Dont let this confuse you though the 940b is a superb monitor in every aspect that i would highly recommend.
 
Still in love with my 940B

best hardware purchase since my 6800gtoc. Cant believe i waited this long to move to LCD.

I play CS:S and BF2 regularly, and there is no ghosting, period. Games look great.
 
I got my 940b today and I got it all set-up. I set it up with a DVI cable and I installed the MagicTune software. Overall I've got it looking pretty nice, but not perfect. My movies are really washed out, they seem to have a film over them. If I open a movie in Windows Media Player and then move the box around, it leaves the film behind where the picture was and you can see the true colors (i hope that makes sense), but if I just leave it in place it's very washed out.

Windows Media Player opens clear, and then there seems to be a film over the picture. If you move the Player to the left or right you can see the true colors of the movie, then the film seems to cover it again. Any idea on what the problem might be? Qucktime doesn't do it so it has to be a WMP problem.

Overall I really like it, it's just a lot more difficult to tune in then the Dell LCD.
 
PowerDVD does the same thing. Could it be my graphics card? I'm on a 9700pro right now until my x850xt gets here. The only thing that plays clear is Quicktime. Everything else seems to have a fuzzy film over it. If I move the player you can see true color and then the haze 'catches up' to it again. It's weird, I don't know what the problem is. My brother got one today too and his doesn't do it, so I'm guessing this is just a graphics card issue if anything. What do you guys think?

As far as games, it's amazing. I played Lost Coast this morning and this thing won't ghost at all.

Everything looks really clear and crisp as well, I really like it.

Some colors are still pretty bright, like my hotmail inbox for example, but I just have to play around with that.

Overall it's really nice, I love it.
 
mine gotta go to RMA :( have a backlighting prob on top of the screen which is very noticeable on black backgrounds.. but overall the monitor is great no dead/stuck pixels..

how's samsung RMA?
 
Its great. Just got the RMA of my Samsung 940B, they shipped to a near by UPS Store and I just had to swap them there and didn't pay a dime.

Sadly I am not completely thrilled with my replacement. Maybe I am nuts but I still notice a slight color fade at the bottom, though not as bad as my first one. Colors are way off to start with, I am still putzing with settings and that isn't much fun. No dead pixels on either one, definitely happy about that.

-Yaden
 
Yeah, as annoying as the backlight bleed is on mine (in certain situations), I still think I'm just gonna keep it and deal. I don't really want the hassle of an RMA or take a chance of getting one as bad or worse... ;)
 
lol, yeah, could be worse so I am definitely going to give it a chance and try not to think about it... probably won't even notice after a while. :) Getting another RMA with a big pixel in the middle would drive me nuts far more so.

-Yaden
 
I took the plunge and ordered the 940b for christmas. The prospect of backlight bleeding and dead pixels seems pretty terrifying, so I hope I get a good monitor. Anyone have any updated impressions on it? I'll post mine here when it comes.
 
KillerPotato said:
I took the plunge and ordered the 940b for christmas. The prospect of backlight bleeding and dead pixels seems pretty terrifying, so I hope I get a good monitor. Anyone have any updated impressions on it? I'll post mine here when it comes.
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I don't think you'll have anything to worry about. I love this monitor, it's great for everything and once you get it dialed in, it has an amazing picture.
 
Can I get some impressions on how the resolution scaling is on this monitor? My computer is getting a bit out of date (xp2500+, 9800pro) and I'm going to have to end up running some games in a lower than native resolution. How does it look in 1024x768? Thanks.

Edit: if anyone had some pictures of this monitor in non-native res I'd love you long time!
 
i dont have any pics, but i have run a few games at 1024X768 cuz they didnt support 1280X1024. It looked pretty good for non native res IMO. Not as sharp as native res, but didnt make the game any less enjoyable if thats what you're asking.
 
Budwise said:
i dont have any pics, but i have run a few games at 1024X768 cuz they didnt support 1280X1024. It looked pretty good for non native res IMO. Not as sharp as native res, but didnt make the game any less enjoyable if thats what you're asking.
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I agree. While 1280x1024 looks much better, 1024x768 still looks very nice for most games on this monitor... ;)
 
I just got mine on friday and the thing is pretty damn nice but I must say getting the colors adjusted is a huge fucking pain in the ass. Everyday I come home from work and it looks like it needs more adjustments, then I end up making it worse and having to start over.

This LCD makes Everquest 2 and Quake 4 look stunning.

Overall I am very happy with my purchase. I am just annoyed with the colors. I'm sure I will find the sweet spot soon just need a little patience which I don't really have lol
 
Hey all -

I just got my 940b ten days ago. This review factored alot into my decision, so thanks for posting it. There is no ghosting in gaming, and the picture quality is amazing.

However, I was wondering if other 940b ownrs noticed a slight "droop" in horizontal lines on the monitor. This is something I have notied in 19 inch lcd's. For example, if you were on a mail site or forum with lots of horizontal lines, they would all slightly slag in the middle, creating a bended look to the page. This is more pronoucned when looking at the monitor from a lower angle. Looking at it straight on, it's not as noticeable.

Also, there is a slight uptick in the upper left corner where the explorer bar meets the actual webpage. I noticed this on Sony 19inch lcd's, and my samsing 940b, plus a few other lcd's at the store, from 17 inch to 21 inch. It's not quite uniform, something I was expecting from a flat panel LCD.
Also, text on the left side of the pciture seems to slightly scope down on an angle, and then on the right side slightly scopes up. I noticed this on numerous monitors at the store as well as my 940b.


Here are some examples taken from my monitor:

http://d43.yousendit.com/F/2XH50T3BPGAHA3IW4YT1U66W8Q/example pack.zip



Also, people have discussed light leaking on the top and bottom frame edges. I think that is normal for such a bright monitor. Turning brightness down to 25(the highest setting for alot of other monitors) gets rid of it.
 
Really? Im still using the default colors, haven't messed with the color options yet. Have you turned the brightness down? This monitor is MUCH brighter than other LCD's. I keep it at 25 brightness for internet work(colors seem very good with no adjustment ) 80 for photo work and 100 for games.
 
Interesting. I just looked at all your photos and just to make sure i got a piece of photo paper and held it against the screen. Was perfectly straight in your screen shots and my screen... Maybe there is some sort of optical illusion going on? I looked and looked for the "uptick", but couldnt find it on yours or mine...


gallatin said:
Hey all -

I just got my 940b ten days ago. This review factored alot into my decision, so thanks for posting it. There is no ghosting in gaming, and the picture quality is amazing.

However, I was wondering if other 940b ownrs noticed a slight "droop" in horizontal lines on the monitor. This is something I have notied in 19 inch lcd's. For example, if you were on a mail site or forum with lots of horizontal lines, they would all slightly slag in the middle, creating a bended look to the page. This is more pronoucned when looking at the monitor from a lower angle. Looking at it straight on, it's not as noticeable.

Also, there is a slight uptick in the upper left corner where the explorer bar meets the actual webpage. I noticed this on Sony 19inch lcd's, and my samsing 940b, plus a few other lcd's at the store, from 17 inch to 21 inch. It's not quite uniform, something I was expecting from a flat panel LCD.
Also, text on the left side of the pciture seems to slightly scope down on an angle, and then on the right side slightly scopes up. I noticed this on numerous monitors at the store as well as my 940b.


Here are some examples taken from my monitor:

http://d43.yousendit.com/F/2XH50T3BPGAHA3IW4YT1U66W8Q/example pack.zip



Also, people have discussed light leaking on the top and bottom frame edges. I think that is normal for such a bright monitor. Turning brightness down to 25(the highest setting for alot of other monitors) gets rid of it.
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any other tips on adjusting the colors

Its driving me insane

Ill get it to look good for web pages but then I go to play a game and it looks bad so I have to adjust it again. rinse repeat
 
i actually realized something the other day. I reformatted my computer and never installed any calibration software and it looked great. I proceded to install Natural Color and as soon as i rebooted it threw the colors off so that i had to put them back so that it looked good again. I have now uninstalled NC, and everything looks great at default. Give that a try and see if that fixes your wagon...
 
Budwise said:
Interesting. I just looked at all your photos and just to make sure i got a piece of photo paper and held it against the screen. Was perfectly straight in your screen shots and my screen... Maybe there is some sort of optical illusion going on? I looked and looked for the "uptick", but couldnt find it on yours or mine...
Click to expand...

Thanks Budwise. I'm starting to think it is an optical illusion of some sort. Have you tried reclining quite low and looking up at it? Maybe my CRT toasted my eyes, lol.
 
Budwise said:
i actually realized something the other day. I reformatted my computer and never installed any calibration software and it looked great. I proceded to install Natural Color and as soon as i rebooted it threw the colors off so that i had to put them back so that it looked good again. I have now uninstalled NC, and everything looks great at default. Give that a try and see if that fixes your wagon...
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Yeah Im happy with the way games look at default. They look awesome. The super brightness of the lcd may be throwing people off
 
NebulaD said:
any other tips on adjusting the colors

Its driving me insane

Ill get it to look good for web pages but then I go to play a game and it looks bad so I have to adjust it again. rinse repeat
Click to expand...


Isn't there some sort of software Samsung inlcuded that lets you hit a button to automatically go from preferred mode for games, net, work, etc?
 
its built into the monitor. Its the little button that looks like it has a peacock on it. It lets you cycle between Game, Internet, etc modes...
 
yeah ill try uninstalling natural color do you have magic tune or whatever its called installed still?
 
really you guys think it looks great at default?? After installing and tweaking with NC i realized just how bad the default was. I wouldnt say it looks horrible but certainly not great, the reds were kind of faded and whites had a yellowish glow for me at default.
 
IRT gallatin

We wont be able to see your problem with screenshots. Youll have to actually take a picture of your monitor in order for the stuff to show up since taking a screenshot is showing what your video card would output, and not necessarily how the monitor would display it. So we're just seeing how it would look normally on our monitors.

IRT everyone else

What settings are you guys using in the calibration programs if you install them? I'll see what mine looks like when I open it on christmas, but it'd be nice to know what you guys have set up for me to try first.
 
KillerPotato said:
IRT gallatin

We wont be able to see your problem with screenshots. Youll have to actually take a picture of your monitor in order for the stuff to show up since taking a screenshot is showing what your video card would output, and not necessarily how the monitor would display it. So we're just seeing how it would look normally on our monitors.

IRT everyone else

What settings are you guys using in the calibration programs if you install them? I'll see what mine looks like when I open it on christmas, but it'd be nice to know what you guys have set up for me to try first.
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I used Budwise settings, he posted them within the first few pages of this thread. I have brightness at 80 and contrast at 75 which is also what he's running.
 
yup, they are in the first post. When i did use Natural Color, those settings worked best for me...
 
All my settings are 1.05 everything on NC software, running blue/red/green at 53 in magic tune software (50 is default), 60 sharpness with cleartype enabled, minor tweaks in Nvidia control panel such as digital vibrance, etc. and brightness 85 contrast 75.
 
The monitor is beautiful. I'm still playing around with colors, but it still looks much more vibrant and colorful than my fading CRT.

Ghosting is very minimal in games, only minutely noticable when I'm trying my hardest to make it appear. However, I would like to know how to enable triple buffering for vsync in games. There is a slightly noticable lag in FPS's when the frame rate drops to like 15, so I'm hoping triple buffering might let it stay a little higher.

Overall though, I love the monitor. I watched Serenity last night on it and it looks better than ever, and everything is crisp at 1280x1024. It scales decently to lower resolutions, but text is noticably worse, but games are still playable.

Can anyone help me with the triple buffering thing?
 
I received this monitor from Newegg just before Christmas to replace an older HP 17" CRT. I have to admit I was skeptical about the overall performance/picture of LCD's and I was prepared to send the monitor right back if I wasn't happy with it. My concerns were unjustified however, the 940b exceeded my expectations.

I use the DVI connection to the monitor and text is razor sharp, so sharp, that I like it better without clear type enabled. Images are crisp and clear. Colors were vibrant yet realistic once I had the color calibrated using the Natural Color software to the 1.05 lvls that others have recommended here.

Occasionally I watch movies on my pc and the they look great to me. I've heard some complaints in regard to black levels on LCD's but I thought that darker movies looked excellent on this LCD.

I haven't been much of a pc gamer here lately with the exception of World of Warcraft but it looks better to me. Colors really jump out compared to how they looked on my crt.I've put in some long gaming sessions since I got this monitor and I really do find this LCD to be way easier on the eyes compared to the CRT I was using. I haven't noticed any ghosting from the games I've played.

I've played my xbox 360 some on the monitor using VGA cables and the resolution on the xbox dashboard set to 1280X1024. It looks great to me although if someone was looking for a monitor to use for regular 360 use I would go with widescreen since the games on the 360 are 720p.Games like Kameo and Perfect Dark Zero both had black bars on top and bottom so some screen space isn't fully utilized. I tried taking pictures with my point and shoot digital camera but they don't turn out well.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the monitor.I know each monitor is different but I found no dead pixels or backlight issues fortunately with this one. Spec-wise the 940b definitely seems like one of the better ones in the $300 price range.
 
u r using 360 on lcd did u download the patch 2 get 1280x1024 resolution or u r getting this resolution without the patch
 
Dreamsbetray said:
u r using 360 on lcd did u download the patch 2 get 1280x1024 resolution or u r getting this resolution without the patch
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As far as I know I never downloaded any patch. It should be one of the available resolutions if you're using the VGA cable.
 
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