samsung 930b VS samsung 960bf

[xslider]

Hello !

I was just about to purchase the samsung syncmaster 930b when the new 960bf came out.

the new screen has the same specifications but with a 4ms (grey to grey), a pivot and adjustable height/swirl.

Although I don't really need pivot, and the 4ms really isn't that big deal (grey to grey), I decided to go with the 960bf since it's a new screen, with adjustment capabilities and most important - the same specifications as the 930b which I already new was good for my need.

BUT....
I started to hear strange rumors about that screen - a lot of ghosting and other bad stuff (unlike the 930b). since no review is available on that screen, I was wondering if any body has experince with the new 960BF and shed some light on whether it has the same abilities as the 930 or it has problems.

Thanks for the help

 

[Fulg]

Hello,

I just bought two Samsung 960BF monitors... Haven't seen the 930B firsthand so I can't confirm the rumors, however I can say that I am quite pleased with the 960BF. (Disclaimer, I've only had the screen for two days...)

There is no ghosting on the screen most of the time (it is a 4ms panel after all) however the refresh rating is a bit misleading, as you can see here: http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/11/10/the_secret_sauces_of_thg/page13.html (there was a better explanation elsewhere on THG but I can't find it now)

For example if you move the mouse cursor over a dark area, the response is perfect (no ghosting at all) however if you do the same test over a light gray area, the mouse cursor leaves a small white trail (inverse ghosting?) This is invariably a side-effect of the Overdrive (or whatever Samsung calls it), but it's nothing major.

Games look awesome on it (tried HL2), the screen is very responsive and there are no sign of ghosting or blurring when gaming (assuming you run games at 1280x1024).

Color reproduction is excellent, contrast ratio is great, everything really looks awesome. Text is crisp (and awesome with ClearType). The viewing angle is excellent, but maybe a bit short vertically (this is more apparent in pivot mode).

The one negative thing is the fact that this monitor has no buttons whatsoever (besides the power button) so any adjustment needs to go through their massive MagicTune software (250MB for a frickin' color control?!). Also the software does not support more than one Samsung monitor, so if you have two (like me) you need to go through some hoops to select which one you want to configure:

- disable the monitor you don't want to configure
- reboot
- configure enabled monitor
- re-enable the disabled monitor
- watch MagicTune crash
- reboot again
- etc...

Thankfully, once configured the settings are stored in the monitor and you can remove the lame software from your system (or just prevent it from launching at Windows start, in case you need it again later).

Another minor nitpick is that is says "Auto Pivot" on the box - this is a lie, the screen does not support this function. Only the (very minimal) built-in OSD pivots. This is a nice touch but quite misleading.

BTW I also thought the pivot thing was a gimmick, but it will take about four seconds to convert you. Web browsing was made for pivot

Note, if you do use pivot, don't install their MagicRotation crap unless you have to. I use NVRotate and it's much better (multimonitor support, quick shortcut in the systray, no extra crap in the desktop menu, plus it rotates D3D apps!).

Cheers!