Introduction

Unfortunately, this monitor has not received much press since it has been introduced, which is a shame, because this is a really good monitor. It uses the excellent Mitsubishi DiamondTron NF picture tube, which is also used in many other 19" monitors (which you may or may not have known)! It is in the Samsung SyncMaster 900NF, as well as its competitors, the ViewSonic PF790, NEC FE950, iiYama VisionMaster Pro 450, and Mitsubishi's own DiamondPro 900u (which is a good $100 more than the 900 NF) and DiamondPlus 91. There may not be a specific reason to buy this Samsung over all of its competitors, but if you see it selling for cheaper than any of the others, why not? I did, and bought it immediately when it was still on sale. And I have not regretted it at all! Bottom line, this is a very good monitor, and a very good value. In fact, the only other monitor that I have seen that is clearly better is the Sony F400, which costs almost double what this monitor does. Why bother? Save your money and put it towards something else.

The Nitty Gritty

Okay, so everyone wants to know about this sheep in wolf's clothing, especially since it has not been reviewed by the major magazines yet.

Screen Geometry

Now let me say that it is not perfect. There are some minor geometry flaws present, but to tell you the truth, I have yet to see a perfect flat screen CRT as it is physically harder to do it -- you can't cheat the laws of physics. There are a lot of adjustments possible with the controls, which are able to work out most of the kinks, but you can't make everything flawless.

Grade: B+

Sharpness and Text Useability

Sharp and legible text and graphics all the way to 1280x1024 resolution, which is the standard recommended resolution for 19" monitors anyways. Once you get above 1280x1024, the text loses sharpness. Few 19" monitors remain sharp enough for small text at 1600x1200, however. But then again, who runs their 19" at 1600x1200 unless you're using it for graphics and games? The text is simply too small at that resolution unless you have the eyes of a hawk.

Grade: B+

Uniformity

Focus is not 100% consistent across the screen, and so one of the corners is slightly less sharp than the rest of the screen. Likewise, there is a small patch near the bottom right of the screen that is a little darker than the rest of the monitor.

Grade: B+

Brightness/Contrast/Glare

In most situations, this monitor has ample brightness and contrast. Sometimes I have to crank it up to maximum, like when it's sunny and my blinds are open, but it does a good job considering the circumstances, and the screen does not distort and turn fuzzy like cheaper monitors when you crank up the contrast and brightness. The good thing about this monitor is its flat screen, which reduces glare.

Grade: A-

Value

Compared to monitors equipped with the top of the line Sony FD Trinitron picture tube, the Mitsubishi DiamondTron NF equipped monitors are just a notch below, but the price is much less. In fact, I have yet to see a monitor significantly outperform my Samsung 900NF except for the twice-as-expensive Sony F400.

Grade: A

OVERALL GRADE: A-, highly recommended



Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 439
Operating System: Windows