Three-Way 23" LED LCD Roundup: Dell, HP, And Samsung

Features
By Andrew Ku
published

We've spent a lot of time evaluating the performance of graphics cards and processors, but a good monitor is almost every bit as important to gamers and professionals alike. For our first look at monitors in 2011, we are starting out with three 23" LCDs.

Dell SR2320L

The first LCD in our roundup is a budget-oriented option from Dell. At $229, the SR2320L is what you would expect from a 23" LCD priced for affordability: it's big, bulky, and thick.

The front of the display is encased in a piano-black finish. And while this makes for a visually appealing monitor, the glossy trim loves fingerprints and creates reflections in a well-lit room. This can be a distraction if you're shopping for a productivity-oriented screen.

Dell really positions this as a consumer option, mostly to be used for watching movies and viewing pictures. The only place you'll find a matte surface is behind the LCD, near the ports and the neck of the base stand. Visually, this doesn't matter much, because neither area is really visible.

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It's a breeze to change OSD (on-screen display) settings. The buttons are placed on the front of the bezel and use capacitive sensors to maintain a low profile. Navigation is naturally intuitive because the labels appear right next to the buttons.

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Andrew Ku
105 Comments Comment from the forums
  • jimslaid2
    Ummmm LG! How Could you have left out LG?
    Reply
  • taso11
    I think you mean DVI-D not DVD-D on your front page chart.
    Reply
  • pirateboy
    hey where did my comment go?

    anyway...
    please review 16:10 monitors next time
    Reply
  • sleeper52
    where's the NEC EA231wmi or EA232WMI? that's around $300 as well and it's an IPS
    Reply
  • aznshinobi
    Hmmm.... Could've added an LG, I love my LG W2286L
    Reply
  • Eggrenade
    Input lag!!

    http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/response_time.php
    Reply
  • fstrthnu
    I'd actually rather see a 24 & 25.5" monitor shootout, they tend to be the higher-end displays of the brands (like Dell's super-duper Ultrasharp U2410).
    Reply
  • Assmar
    A certain retailer has the samsung monitor listed for 280 with free shipping. If you don't live in CA, that's tax free, i'm pretty sure.
    Reply
  • sleeper52
    fstrthnuI'd actually rather see a 24 & 25.5" monitor shootout, they tend to be the higher-end displays of the brands (like Dell's super-duper Ultrasharp U2410).
    +1 I'd like to see that. HP LP2475w (rev 2.0) vs Dell U2410 (rev 2.0) vs ASUS PA246Q
    Reply
  • LuckyDucky7
    Why would you bother buying one of these monitors when you can get an IPS one for the same price?

    How about reviewing something like the ASUS ML239H and give us a useful review, rather than going over which one of these junk TN panels is the best? 100% sRGB is useless if you can't see it unless you're straight inline with the screen (any sometimes not even then).

    KTHXBAI
    Reply