Acer, Dell, LG, And Samsung: Four 23" LCD Monitors, Rounded-Up

Four-Way 23" LCD Round-Up

Despite all of the exciting display technology we saw at CES, it's going to be a while before OLED and autostereoscopic displays make their way to your desktop in any meaningful way.

As a result, we're in a bit of a lull when it comes to combining "new and exciting" with practicality in our monitor round-ups. But that doesn't mean there is any shortage of screens we still haven't reviewed. And that's why we have four more screens to add to our display analysis.

Until new technologies become more affordable, we're living in a display world where nearly everything employs LED backlighting. Even if you prefer CCFL-based monitors for their color accuracy, it's hard to ignore the power consumption- and form factor-oriented benefits of LED technology. Those positive attributes are reflected in today’s 23” LCD round-up.

Although all four of the screens we're reviewing sport the same dimensions and backlighting technology, there's a relatively large $100 spread between the most- and least-expensive models, and the benchmarks truly demonstrate some divergence between what these monitors can do. In the end, paying more for a display doesn't mean you're necessarily getting a better product.

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BrandAcerDellLGSamsung
Price$150$180$250$200
ModelS231HL BidS2330MXIPS236VS23A550H
Panel TypeTNTNS-IPSTN
Screen Size23"23"23"23"
Max Resolution1980x10801980x10801980x10801980x1080
Aspect Ratio16:916:916:916:9
Response Time (GTG)5 ms2 ms5 ms2 ms
Brightness cd/m^2250250250250
SpeakersNoNoNoNo
VGA1111
DVI111-
DisplayPort----
HDMI1-11
Energy Star QualifiedYesYesYesYes
Refresh Rate60 Hz60 Hz60 Hz60 Hz
WarrantyThree-yearOne-YearOne-YearThree-Year
  • compton
    I thought the LG used not S-IPS but e-IPS, 6 bit + AFC. I actually thought it was almost identical to the CCFL backlit Dell U2311H (except the module is for LED backlight in the LG's case, not CCFL).

    I guess I was wrong.
    Reply
  • compton
    ^ I mean the panels, not the two monitors themselves.
    Reply
  • klyzet
    Im not sure if that input lag test is accurate.
    Why dont you guys test it the usual way? with a CRT monitor side by side running a timer (with ms ofc) and take some photos?
    Reply
  • illusiongamer12
    why no review a viewsonic monitor they have a 150$-180$ monitor with these same specs
    Reply
  • tlmck
    Also noticeably absent is the ever popular ASUS brand. I don't have one myself, but it seems a lot of people do. Would have been an interesting comparison.
    Reply
  • Eman25th
    Can anyone tell me why the prices haven't dropped? i bought my asus 24" screen 2 years ago for 178$
    Reply
  • acku
    9527531 said:
    I thought the LG used not S-IPS but e-IPS, 6 bit + AFC. I actually thought it was almost identical to the CCFL backlit Dell U2311H (except the module is for LED backlight in the LG's case, not CCFL).

    I guess I was wrong.


    LG's QA website.
    Reply
  • kyuuketsuki
    I own the LG IPS236V, and I find your numbers completely non-believable. The contrast ratio is not that abysmal, and it can reproduce decent (though not the best, I admit) blacks. Also, on a review of the IPS226V, while being the 22" model, it is otherwise identical, and DigitalVersus found it to have a contrast ratio of over 1000:1. I'm wondering where the huge disparity in numbers is coming from, and I don't think it's DigitalVersus mussing things up.

    Question: did you go into the Menu > Picture and change the Black Level setting to Low? It defaults to High for some unknown reason, and at that setting the blacks are indeed terrible. At Low, the blacks are much, much better, and the slight decrease in white levels isn't much of an issue given that this is an extremely bright monitor.
    Reply
  • kyuuketsuki
    Also, what was the Gamma setting on the IPS236V?
    Reply
  • acku
    9527539 said:
    I own the LG IPS236V, and I find your numbers completely non-believable. The contrast ratio is not that abysmal, and it can reproduce decent (though not the best, I admit) blacks. Also, on a review of the IPS226V, while being the 22" model, it is otherwise identical, and DigitalVersus found it to have a contrast ratio of over 1000:1. I'm wondering where the huge disparity in numbers is coming from, and I don't think it's DigitalVersus mussing things up.

    Question: did you go into the Menu > Picture and change the Black Level setting to Low? It defaults to High for some unknown reason, and at that setting the blacks are indeed terrible. At Low, the blacks are much, much better, and the slight decrease in white levels isn't much of an issue given that this is an extremely bright monitor.

    Gamma set to 2.2. We did set to low. And as you know we measure luminance (nits) not illuminance (lux). Maybe this unit sat in the review pool too long... Not sure, but those were the readings that we achieved.
    Reply