Samsung 2333 SW 23" LCD Review

[gaborbarla]

Hi,

Thought I would review the new 23" a Samsung 2333sw which I think is a new series. I havent found a single useful user review on the net.

The 2333 SW has 20000:1 dynamic contrast and looks way superior compared to any of the 4 LCD monitors I have previously owned. The colours and contrast is just superb. I am writing this on my Acer 22" AL2216W which I had for about 2 years and use the 23" at work but I really wish I had another Samsung here.

The resolution is a bit funny because it is HD 1080p so its like a 22" monitor but another inch wider. 16:9. 1920x1080. The extra with works well in most windows apps and in games too. 5ms panel doesn't blur at all in games or videos.
I have tried it with Counter strike source in some dark areas for good measure and it performed with remarkable clarity and vivid colours that looked much better on this LCD than any other I have seen before.
It has DVI-D inputs with HDCP and Analog inputs (no HDMI)

I really like this new monitor, best of all the price I paid was about 160us$ which is almost identical to the 22" Samsung here in South Africa. Great to see a bargain between the "boring" 22"-ers and the expensive (double price) 24"-ers.

The only negative thing is that you get a Tennis neck from working with the wide screen looking left to right. 😛

Gabor

 

[Guest]

Good review Gabor! Me and three other guys in our office are thinking of getting this exact LCD so good to know it sounds like a deal...!

 

[PhReaK2007]

I really like this new monitor, best of all the price I paid was about 160us$ which is almost identical to the 22" Samsung here in South Africa. Great to see a bargain between the "boring" 22"-ers and the expensive (double price) 24"-ers.


Gabor

Hey where did you get it for that price, I can only get them for about R2400 ?? ( US$240) ?? here in SA ??

 

[Lourens]

I just bought the Samsung 2333 SW for R2 199 from buycomputers.co.za. I cannot believe my eyes. The clarity and contrast is absolutely amazing. I have had a 19" CMV LCD until now - which I bought in 2003 for approximately the same price i.e. around R2000. I cannot believe that for the same price you now get an image more than twice the size, with almost a 50% improvement in clarity. And the image is rock-steady! There was a slight flicker on my old CMV. Well done Samsung!

 

[n0bby]

Hi there, this is my first post, specifically to add my own thoughts to this Samsung 2333 SW thread.

I was also surprised at the lack of information about this monitor, as it seems to offer an excellent spec at a brilliant price (£160 delivered here in the UK). I went ahead and ordered one even though review material is thin on the ground.

Upon delivery I set it up - which wasn't entirely straightforward. Mine has a non-height adjustable stand that's a bit of a nightmare to attach to the screen, as you have to apply quite a lot of pressure on the top edge of the screen to get the stand to push through the rubber seal surrounding the locating hole in the base of the monitor. It takes more pressure than one would generally like to apply..!

Anyway, once it was fitted together, I sat the screen on a couple of thick books to get it the right height on my desk (no biggy, my second monitor is height adjusted the same way!).

The monitor looks fantastic - glossy black case, lovely blue power light (personally, I can't get enough of blue power lights... but I can imagine that some may find that its large size, and the fact it also reflects off the shiny black base, means it's a bit distracting).

The menu buttons being on the side of the monitor is a bit of a pain - especially with my two monitor setup with the second screen against the same edge that the controls are on. With the menu displayed I still find it too easy to hit the wrong button whilst groping blindly round the edge.

Minor niggles aside... the screen size of this Sammy is amazing - even upgrading from a 21" widescreen TFT the extra screen real-estate makes a BIG difference. I was knocked out at how much more working (and gaming!) space this size and resolution offers.

And the clarity of the screen is superb. I reduced the sharpness just a little to make text look a tad smoother, and also reduced the brightness to about the halfway mark - the screen seemed over-bright OOTB. But overall the screen looks fantastically sharp, with no hot pixels and very even colour rendition.

However, what I had a major problem with was the noticeable graduation of screen brightness from top to bottom. The top of the screen was significantly darker, from all viewing heights/angles. It really was quite poor, with my blue desktop background being almost black at the top, and the taskbar being very washed out, so that the Quick Launch icons had no discernible outline and black text in a browser window, viewed near the bottom of the screen, was getting unreadable.

So I called Samsung support, and one of their tech support team, Stephanie, talked me through trying some adjustments. We got it so that with some fiddling - particularly changing the Gamma Setting to its No3 option - the graduated brightness was reduced, but as it was still having an adverse effect on picture quality Stephanie decided that it should be declared DOA and I should return it for a replacement. So I'm currently organising this with the retailer the screen came from.

I have to say Samsung UK support seem excellent. And what was also great was that I'd bought the 23" screen to replace a dead 21" Samsung, and when I gave Stephanie the details of the dead screen it turned out that it too is still covered under their 3 year guarantee - and so it's going to be replaced with a new unit direct from Samsung.

 

[michalmierzwa]

Hey where did you get it for that price, I can only get them for about R2400 ?? ( US$240) ?? here in SA ??

Dear South African's

That awesome LSC was retailed in Durban (PC Zone store) for a mere R 2000 - 3 weeks ago. How awesome is that! I bought 4 of them 😱 One for me, girlfriend got the same, parents and a friend. Ohh yeah. Its beautiful LCD.

Now i got some interesting info 2 share with the community. You can use the 23" with an on-board GPU! So you dont have to slash out on a dedicated GPU just to power such a large screen. I've successfuly tried it on Intel G31 Chipset M/B.

I was previously using 2x 17" for extended desktop and panoramic views while playing Oblivion and Civ4. However, 23" is way better investment. You should just see how HUGE x2 23" look ! Awesome! I am runnig on a 7950GT (AGP) & Semptron 2600. And Oblivion was stuningly playable at staggering 3840 x 1080

 

[Titi_24]

It an insparational added element 4 ma Design work AND aNIMATION, with innovative featureS. It Luvly Luvly Luvly!
iT LIKE i'V BOUGHT A NEW cAR.

 

[squizzy]

Thanks Dude.

Yours is still the only review I can find on this particular monitor.

You have been most informative and helpful.

I think I might buy one based on your review.

 

[gaborbarla]

I just want to add that by now, you can also get the 24" Samsung P2450H for quite cheap (about 15% more price than the 2333SW)

While I don't own one of these, they have HDMI which helps to make it into a small HDTV. No speakers though.

More specs: 24" WIDE LCD, 1920 X 1080, 2ms (GTG), 70000:1 Contrast Ratio, Analogue/DVI/HDMI, Tilt Stand, MagicBright3, Rose Black

It's been 10 months and my 2333 SW 23" is still working without problems and I am still happy with it.

Cheers,
Gabor

 

[vtakk]

after having this monitor for two weeks it started to make very irritating humming noise.
it has smth to do with power supply or smth - when I press the power cord into the slot much harder - it stops for a while. then starts again. And it is not like there is loose connection between power cord and the jack - it has smth to do with either board/power supply inside. The monitor stand holds the panel so it shakes a lot even from little vibrations - this also causes the issue to come back.

Not sure what to do now. Great monitor but this issue is just unacceptable. Would be returning this one since I believe replacing won't help - I found out this is common issue with Samsung's LCD panels...

 

[Guest]

Great review but let me put my opinion out there "DON'T BUY A SAMSUNG MONITOR"!!!

The 2333 most certainly has a design fault in that it continually shakes when you type. I contacted Samsung today here in Australia and their support team basically said "bad luck". Wow - that's fantastic customer service. I showed them that if you type "Samsung 2333 monitor shakes" into Google you get a plethora of feedback on the issue. Response - "Bad luck - you bought it."

Of course one could ask how you're supposed to know the monitor shakes when you're looking at it on a shelf at the computer store. One could also ask about suitability for intended purpose (isn't there some sort of law that says products should be suitable for the purpose for which they were manufactured/marketed/sold???) But the real issue here is being told to "sod off" by "Chris" at Samsung. Oh, and the manager, he was too busy to take my call.

So if it's a case of buyer beware - beware of the 2333 - beware of poor customer service - and beware of Samsung. There are a stack of good monitors out there for the price - leave Samsung alone. I have two HP screens at home - they're good units.

That good sir is the last Samsung product we ever buy for the company and for me personally too. Got me for $299 but they'll never get me again.

 

[gaborbarla]

...
The 2333 most certainly has a design fault in that it continually shakes when you type. I contacted Samsung today here in Australia and their support team basically said "bad luck". . .

Hi,

LONGEVITY:
I am still using my 2333sw (over 4.5 years now) at work and it still hasn't given me major problems. It has been on every work day for about 8 hours average. I did notice a slight darkening in the bottom right of the desktop that is about 5cm wide and 3cm high half sphere. It doesnt really bother me because it is a slight effect. It is like a reverse backlight bleeding.

SHAKING:
I have just tested this shaking theory and mine is rock steady, in fact I have to really bang on my table to get both my monitors (other is a Mecer LED) to shake but it goes away within a second. I have seen monitors shake before when the desk in use is flimsy or unstable. My father's expensive LG IPS 23"-er shakes like a leaf every time he types because his desk is cheap. On my work desk it basically never happens.

 

[michalmierzwa]

Its been 5 long years and the 2333sw's I bought have been totally awesome. Not a single hitch, no shaking just doing a fantastic job.

Perhaps some of you just had a bad batch or just purely bad luck. I guess I was blessed LOL.

I would be more inclined to purchase Samsung again and again.

 

[gaborbarla]

Ok after 5.5 years of office use (monitor at sleep at night) my 2333sw monitor started making a deep buzzing sound. Increasing the brigness to 100% made it go aways but a few hours later it switched itself off. When I switch it on, it goes off again after a few minutes. I am not sure if it is worth fixing it, as the backlight seems a bit tired after over 5 years and the quality is no longer that great.