Samsung 226BW

The 226BW is the oldest kid on the block, released some 18 months ago, and has been the rebellious teenager of the Samsung lineup. Cheap, imported models caused the local units to gather dust. Eventually Samsung replaced the 226BW with the improved 226CW, but that’s only available at Harvey Norman and is well over the $400 limit.

But enough history. With the pricetag on the 226BW crashing down and plenty of units still around, there are decent deals to be had.

Out of all the monitors we tested, the 226BW is structurally the sturdiest of the lot. Samsung’s attention to detail certainly shows -- the finish is excellent and it sports a good, solid stand that swivels as well as tilts.

But when it comes to performance, the older tech driving it starts to show its age.

Its gradient test was smooth and colour reproduction was good (if a tinge blue), but there was slight flickering in the very darkest of greys and the very brightest were indistinguishable from the background. It is worth pointing out that you aren’t going to notice any of these issues unless you moonlight as a Photoshopper, especially with the constant motion in games and movies.

It has a couple of good image presets for general use, but you should stay well away from the dynamic contrast option. We found that if you leave it on its ‘internet’ preset, it is generally well suited to everything.

The points it lost in image quality are certainly earned back in build quality. A very good monitor, but in terms of raw performance it’s not the best.