Samsung 940BW

Samsung is the first manufacturer whose products I tested for this article, with a simple but promising monitor, the 940BW. It's a little more expensive than the average for 19" wide displays, but while the quality may be there, sometimes it's worth an extra $40 for user comfort that's a notch better.

Design, Finish, Ergonomics And Connectivity

Design and Finish

The monitor's shell is simple and unpretentious. The finish is very plasticy, but the quality of the materials is respectable.

Ergonomics

The ergonomics of this monitor was by far the best of all the units I tested for this article, with tilt and height adjustments and a pivoting base. The OSD has a MagicColor function that adjusts the color rendering to the content. Several options are available (Documents, Games, Movies, etc.), and the settings they use are quite good. It's a laudable effort on the manufacturer's part for an entry-level monitor. For the price, I might have hoped for a little more, but the strategy here is clearly to avoid competing with the maker's higher-end models.

Connectivity

Connectivity is minimal but sufficient. There's only a dual VGA/DVI connector. The single VGA connector seems to have made a big comeback on entry-level displays, so the presence of digital connectivity on this model is significant.