Business and home users will love the 173T's bright display, crisp clear text and low price point.
Summary
The 173T does not offer any technological improvements over its predecessor, the 172T, so you will need to decide if it is worth the $100 increase to step up to a higher contrast ratio on an older model. The Syncmaster 172T offers higher a contrast ratio (700:1 over 450:1) than the 173T, a better looking and more adjustable base and can still be found for under $600. In fact the 191T, Samsung's 19” LCD from last year can be had for a mere $20-$40 more than the 172T. But what the 173T does offer over other 17” LCD monitors in its price range is both analog and DVI inputs. Business users will love the features and functionality that the 173T has to offer and once the 172T becomes unavailable the 173T will be the best 17” monitor in its class.
*Update 11/7/03 - The Final Word: I spoke with Samsung public relations and here is the final word as far as what Samsung is claiming happened. For 2003, Samsung is using a PVA panel with a 700:1 contrast ratio in their 173T LCD monitor but in 2004 will be switching to a panel with a 450:1 contrast ratio due to limited supply of the original panel. So instead of advertising the 173T with a 700:1 and then switching it to a 450:1 contrast ratio spec in 2004, Samsung thought they would do us all a “favor” and advertise the 173T as having a 450:1 CR from the start on SamsungUSA.com. Then when they switched the panels out at a later date there would not be a need to update the spec. The problem which I discovered, was that Samsung Canada and some retailers decided to go the other route and to advertise the 173T with the correct contrast ratio spec now, and to switch it later. There is no doubt that this monitor is a beautiful monitor to look at, but if you want the current 700:1 contrast ratio, you need to rush out to the store and buy it before 2004 when they will be switching to a different PVA panel featuring a lower 450:1 contrast ratio. We will be re-reviewing the monitor at that time.
RSS Feed
by Michael on August 2, 2004:
“I bought this monitor half year ago. Transfer rate is very responsive. I have never switch off this monitor so only on save mode until today there is no problem at all.” More...