If you are on the lookout for a 19 inch LCD monitor, then consider the Samsung Syncmaster 915n.  Unlike your typical 19 inch LCD monitor, this has an extremely low pixel response time of 8ms which makes this monitor very attractive for gaming.  The previously recently reviewed LG 1980U had a pixel response time of 12ms.  The real question that you may ask is whether there is really a difference between 12 and 8ms.  In general, the answer is 'yes'.  There is a slight difference, that is, if you have a picky eye.

Although pixel response time is important to gamers, we cannot forget the other features that are important to the quality of a monitor.  This includes things like the overall design, contrast ratio, and of course the overall picture quality.  In this review, we will be taking a look at Samsung's newly released Syncmaster 915n LCD monitor.
 

The monitor arrived pre-disassembled into two main parts: the base and the screen.  In order to assemble the monitor, all you have to do is slide the base onto the stump of the screen.  I was skeptical at first about the size of the base being able to support the screen, but I was reassured after feeling the weight of the base and letting the assembled LCD monitor sit on my desk.  What is nice about the base is that it leaves a smaller footprint on your desk.  Since there is a larger gap between the screen and the base, I can easily 'tuck' my keyboard onto the base of the LCD monitor to recover some desk space temporarily.

Although it's nice to have an LCD monitor as thin as possible, I feel that this monitor neither extremely thin or too big.  It is actually just right.  When looking at the monitor from the side, the monitor maintains a relatively slim look.  The bezel around the screen is uniform in size and does not make the screen feel bulky at all.

There's not much to mention about this monitor in terms of color.  This monitor, all around, is simply black.  The entire monitor is black except for the white 'SyncMaster 915n' label at the top left corner, and the 'Samsung' logo at the bottom-center of the screen.

The stand of the LCD monitor is thick, yet non-adjustable.  That means you will not be able to adjust the height of the LCD monitor.  The monitor can, however, tilt forward and back to accommodate the user no matter what height they are sitting at.  I have to admit that the monitor is sturdy and stands firm.  I never had the sense that the screen was tilted slightly to the left or the right. 
 

The controls and buttons are located at the bottom right of the screen.  There are 6 buttons lined up at the bottom-right edge of the screen.  The main problem with the controls is that you have no way of knowing what they do unless you either press it or look extremely close at it.  Although the buttons are difficult to see, they are appropriately organized so that once you use it once, you will generally know the locations of the buttons and what they do.

For example, the power button of the monitor is the button on the very right, next to the tiny LED.  When you press the power button, the LED will light up green.  The green LED will blink if it was automatically turned off your computer in order to save power.

Without entering the menu of the monitor, you can easily change the brightness of the monitor, but not the contrast.  You will need to navigate through the internal menu in order to change the constrast.  Also, by pressing a single button, you can cycle through the various 'modes' which is appropriate for different situations.  The preset 'Entertain' mode helps by setting the monitor very bright making it ideal for watching movies or playing games.  There is also an 'Internet', 'Text', and 'Custom' mode.  The 'Custom' mode allows you to easily switch to the settings that you personally changed in the monitor.
 

There are small little quirks of an LCD monitor that I have seen vary from display to display.  When pressing the 'Power' button the LCD display, this monitor is relatively quick in showing the display on the screen.  The same can be said when switching from one resolution to another.  Since this monitor does only have an analog VGA port, there is the occasional time where the display might be a bit off-center.  Don't worry though, by pressing the Auto Adjustment button on the monitor, the monitor will automatically adjust and center the picture on your screen in a matter of seconds.  It make take a little to learn how to navigate through the internal menu of the monitor with the horizontal buttons.  The most time spent using the menus will probably be just the first time you calibrate the monitor.  After that, it shouldn't be a problem after since smaller changes will only be made.
 

I tried using this monitor in a wide variety of games such as Need for Speed Underground 2, Doom 3, Half-Life 2, Natural Selection, and others.  This is where the pixel response time is crucial on an LCD monitor.  If the pixel response time is too high, you will see the ghosting effect, which is undesirable for games.  When comparing the Samsung Syncmaster 915n with the LG 1980U, I noticed just a slight improvement in the smoothness of the overall picture.  This was more apparent in the first person shooter games where there is much more visual movement.  When I mean a slight improvement, only the trained gamer eye will notice it.  The average consumer, on the other hand, might not notice the difference.  This slight difference may or may not be the deciding factor for the gamer comparing two similarly sized monitors with similar specifications.

This LCD monitor has a native resolution of 1280 x 1024.  In fact, this is the native resolution for the majority of 19 inch LCD monitors.  If you have a decent video card, I think this native resolution is best for gaming.  You may have already considered a 20 or 21 inch LCD display that has a native resolution of 1600 x 1200, but let's face the facts.  If you play a game at 1600 x 1200, you will definitely need a high end video card in order to experience full visual effects.  Once you get used to that resolution, you might be disappointed that not all games support a maximum of 1600 x 1200 resolution.  In fact, the majority these days go up to a max of 1280 x 1024 or worst case 1024 x768 for some games.  Therefore, a 19 inch monitor seems to be the perfect balance between visual effects and performance in games.

With an large LCD monitor like this, you want to ensure that you get the most out of picture quality and colors.  Samsung has included the NaturalColor software to help you calibrate and adjust the colors of the monitor.  Like the name implies, the whole purpose is to bring out accurate and natural colors in the monitor.
 

It is hard to not like the Samsung Syncmaster 915n.  It contains all the features you could ever want in an LCD display: a low pixel response time, good color and picture quality, and a nice bright display.  The low pixel response time worked well in the latest games and that's all there is to it.  It's good to see LCD displays getting better and better. 

Although this is an analog display, this monitor could have had a DVI port as well.  Samsung has released another fine monitor that will probably appeal mostly to gamers looking for a nice, large LCD display.  This monitor will also please the average consumer looking to upgrade to an LCD monitor as well.

Reviewed by ronald@digitalreviews.net