Samsung SyncMaster 305T

Somebody must be buying 30" screens, because new models keep coming out, and praise be to that!

Everyone has a 30" now. Well not everyone, it’s pretty much Dell, HP, Apple and Samsung, but that’s markedly better from the original Dell and Apple options. Things are generally getting better too in terms of display quality, with Dell and HP currently using the same panel – the S-IPS based LG LM300WQ1 – while Apple lags on an older model – the LG LM300W01– although an update is expected soon. So it’s nice to see Samsung come along and bring its own S-PVA LTM300M1 panel to the mix. We wonder if Dell will switch its 30" over to S-PVA soon for cheaper production, as has been the tendency in the past.

Of course this is likely not to please one audience – the pro-gamer – as there’s been a lot of talk about input lag on S-PVA screens. Input lag is the amount of time it takes between the monitor receiving an image and displaying an image. This gives a feeling of lag from the time when you move the mouse, and your viewpoint changes or reaction is shown onscreen, and may even appear as if there’s been a slight audio desynch. This is highly disconcerting for twitch reaction gamers, and generally occurs on response time accelerated monitors. While we didn’t notice anything that could be considered detrimental, hardcore gamers would be best playing it safe and going with the HP or the Dell to negate any possible effects for their large screen pwning.

Height, tilt and swivel options are available, although both Dell and HP offer better stands and more manageable height adjustment, with the HP giving a superior experience over all. Unlike other monitors, the casing seemed to be a little tight around the screen itself – the corners being pinched by the fascia and slightly darkening as a result. Image viewing angles were not as good as the HP.

Sadly like all the huge bastard monitors out there, Samsung’s does not have an OSD, giving us only power and brightness controls, and leaving the rest to be managed from the video card’s control panel. While this is acceptable, it’s still not as accessible as simply doing things through the monitor itself. So, as before, we don’t understand the lack of menu here.

Also like almost every other 30" monitor it only has a single DVI input – HP’s solution manages to take three DVI connections, although to be honest we’d prefer some component and HDMI inputs and the ability to set hardware scaling, to allow us to turn the monster monitors into a useful TV as well. At this size, convergence is surely king. For now though, you’re going to have to invest in your own upscalers and perhaps a few converters to get the digital signal you require.

Firing up the DisplayMate tests on our standard test bench complete with 8800GTX, the Samsung edged out its competitors – being able to display all one to 255 shades in the greyscale test, and providing sumptuous colour ramps and gradients. HP and Dell are only able to offer four to 251, which is still a good range, but as a result the Samsung’s images should be able to pack in more subtle colour shifts, with dark scenes particularly benefiting.

As usual gaming and movies were great, our 1080p standard sample looking nice and vibrant, if a little stretched at 2560 x 1600, while Quake 4 was just as lovely.

Samsung has entered the game at a very high mark, its S-PVA panel giving it a slight price and image advantage over its competitors. Still, if you’re a pro-gamer rather than a digital artist or photographer, need more inputs or simply prefer a better build quality, the HP would be a superior choice.