Introduction:
My quest for a LCD started when i felt the need for some room on my desk. I use a 5 feet by 2.5 feet desk at home but somehow i always found it to be small on space. My room wasnt getting bigger too for another desk so in the end i decided on an LCD. In my search i came across a lot of options available in the market. From Benq's to LG's to Viewsonic's but i finally setteled on a Samsung. Though there was another model of the 17" LCD varient of the same company but i chose for Samsung 740N instead of Samsung 713N cause of postive feedback about this monitor on the net.
Specifications:
I wont go deep into the specs. Mainly its a 17" TFT which does a 1280x1024 Res and has a response time of 8ms. Works on a VGA port instead of the much tought about DVI and is pretty bright. For complete specs click here.
Initial Impressions:
The moment i opened the box of the LCD i was so very happy to see the side beezel of the LCD. I had always thought to run a dual monitor setup and a thin side bezel always heps in achieveing that. Not to mention the LCD looked great too. Apart from the unit the box contained its Stand, Powercable, VGA cable, Manual & CD, Warrenty card and assembling instructions of the Unit with the stand. I installed the LCD and i wasnt expecting too much out of it as i was using a 19" CRT before this but as soon as the PC booted the colours looked amazing. They looked so life like. I immidiately checked for the dead pixels and on spotting none i was 100% satisfied. Initial Impressions Excellent
Verdict -*****
.[break=Monitor Close-Ups]
Monitor Shots in Action
Button layout
Back Panel Off
Back Panel On
Comapared with a 19" CRT Screen Size
Desk Space Occupancy
[break=Performance]
Performance:
After installing the drivers and Magic tune software(will talk about this later)I then tried CSS on the LCD and in CSS i found a difference while playing. Let me tell you one thing straight. Colours looked excellent in game also. But i did notice some ghosting on fast turns.
Was a bit disappointed cause CSS is my main pass time on this machine
. I then loaded need for speed and volla Josie Marin looked so tasty
Yummmmm... Okey jokes apart the console of the game looked beautiful. Never felt it looked so good on the CRT. Started a race and felt zero lag/ghosting. This time agin it looked more colourful. The horizon and leaves on the trees everything was pretty sharp in there. Satisfied i got out of the game. I then played a Couple of movies both(Including Animation) and i saw no ghosting again.
But ghosting in CSS was still haunting on the back of my mind. Then came darknight the rescuer. He gave me a call and i informed him about the ghosting part. He then asked me weather i have turned V Sync in the game on or off. I immidiately realised my mistake and tried the game with V Sync on. Voila the ghosting was gone.
Verdict:**** 1/2
[break=Movie & Gaming Shots]
Movie Shots
CSS Shots
Need for Speed Most Wanted
Note: Take the pics with a pinch of salt as my camera skills suck. The colours on monitor looks great in person.
Bundled Software and OSD menu:
The OSD menu on the Monitor is both pretty good and bad. Good because once you understand it its an excellent monitor. Bad because it is a pain to understand. I would like to bring one thing in notice to the readers. There is a Auto button located just on the left of the Power button and upon hitting it monitor calibartes itself with the resolution you are working on. In my case 1280x1024. Good
...The OSD menu on the monitor is a disgusted the Magic tune Software on the CD is a blessing in disguise. You can almost tweak each and every possible setting of the monitor through this. Its an excellent piece of nifty little utility which samsung has made and does wonders and saves you loads of headques while tweaking your monitor. Every Monitor manufacturer should take a leaf out of Samsung's book and should implement it.
Verdict - **** 1/2
[break=Conclusion]
Awesome twosome offer:
Well i will let the pic do the talking.
Well in all for 13700 + 1000 you get a Samsung ML 1610 Laser printer free with the Samsung 713/740 monitor but there is a catch you need to do some paper work and printer gets delivered to you with in a period of 6-8 weeks but who is complaining. You get a free printer after all. Kudos to samsung for brininging out such a fabulous offer.
Verdict - ***** :hap2:
Conclusion:
Well as for me i am fully satisfied with this monitor. Does what is needed and does it pretty well too. Would not be more happier( Well a 30" is always welcome but
). I will definately recommend this monitor to peeps who are considering a new an upgrade or a new purchase. For a very serious gamer i will like him to check it in person before buying as a good gamer's requirement might be a tad more then mine but all in all a excellent product. Overall -**** 1/2
