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

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In our first LCD round-up of the year, we put four monitors thorough our benchmark suite and find some surprising results. Even if you're an enthusiast with cash to spare, paying more doesn't guarantee a better display. Our tests explain why.

Black/White Uniformity And Viewing Angles

Acer S231HL Bid

While the S231HL Bid can’t achieve our standard 200 cd/m2 after calibration, the experience it delivers is complicated by slightly poor white luminance uniformity. With the exception of the lower right-hand corner, the values that we measured are lower than the center of the screen, which leads to a vignetting effect.

Separately, Acer's choice to employ TN technology is particularly evident in the bottom row of pictures. From low vertical angles, the screen appears washed out.

Acer S231HL bid
White Luminance cd/m^2
139.5966154.6733153.2672
143.1036165.7612154.9442
152.6986169.1083165.1925
Black Luminance cd/m^2
0.73070.71060.6318
0.63270.58400.6193
0.77030.81200.7390

Dell S2330MX

With the exception of its above-average color production, Dell’s S2330MX exhibits the typical weaknesses of other budget-oriented TN-based displays. Like the S231HL Bid, white uniformity is poor, but the problem isn’t as noticeable thanks to calibration. Even so, its picture still appears washed out from low vertical angles.

Dell S2330MX
White Luminance cd/m^2
187.4039174.1443167.1880
169.4942197.2808157.6985
178.5247161.2816162.2522
Black Luminance cd/m^2
0.31830.16760.2184
.30170.19270.2665
0.23490.14750.1927

LG IPS236V

LG’s IPS236V exhibits the best uniformity of the bunch, and viewing angles are excellent thanks to its IPS panel. However, contrast remains low because we’re unable to achieve deep black production.

LG IPS236V
White Luminance cd/m^2
200.8004212.3469192.1041
189.7031213.3274180.4633
186.9778193.9527192.9520
Black Luminance cd/m^2
1.29081.12161.6251
1.14791.05530.9956
1.36640.99910.9492

Samsung S23A550H

Even though the S23A550H suffers from poor contrast, Samsung achieves pretty good uniformity considering its TN-based panel. When we view the screen from lower vertical angles, there is minimal washout.

Samsung S23A550H
White Luminance cd/m^2
180.0246188.7714177.9484
192.4707201.6051176.2663
209.0496189.6473196.2824
Black Luminance cd/m^2
0.82880.63770.8420
0.96980.72360.7831
1.02480.66440.7024
42 Comments Comment from the forums
  • compton 22 February 2012 11:24
    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 22 February 2012 11:24
    ^ I mean the panels, not the two monitors themselves.
    Reply
  • klyzet 22 February 2012 12:14
    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 22 February 2012 12:26
    why no review a viewsonic monitor they have a 150$-180$ monitor with these same specs
    Reply
  • tlmck 22 February 2012 13:34
    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 22 February 2012 13:42
    Can anyone tell me why the prices haven't dropped? i bought my asus 24" screen 2 years ago for 178$
    Reply
  • acku 22 February 2012 14:12
    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 22 February 2012 14:12
    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 22 February 2012 14:18
    Also, what was the Gamma setting on the IPS236V?
    Reply
  • acku 22 February 2012 14:29
    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