I know your going to absolutely love the
system I am using, check it out for yourself:
Alienware ALX gaming box
AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processor
4800+
ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe motherboard
1 GB PC3200 Corsair XMS 2.5-4-4-8
550MHz
Dual NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GTX (SLI)
Hitachi Deskstar 250GB Drives (raid)
Microsoft Windows XP Media Center
PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 850
SLI
If that system doesn’t fire you up, you
just don’t have a flame. Look for a full review of it very
soon.
Installation was very straightforward,
with relatively no problems. The only thing that will slow
you down is installing the base of the monitor. I used to be
a professional mechanic, so I am good with tools to say the
least. It was easy for me, but it’s not going to be a breeze
for folks that are not good with their hands. Not a big
deal, but could be if it was a 60 year old lady. The
included instruction manual is more than adequate, and the
cables have a good length. The screen colors looked
excellent right out of the box, and did not require any
adjustments.
The monitor’s base is very sturdy and
compact, and doesn’t take up much desk space (you are
looking at about 8 inches d). The solid black color of the
base is accented with a silver ring, which matches the
silver accents on the bottom of the screen itself. The
display area’s solid flat black, with a thin silver accent
around the exterior of the unit. Controls are located on the
bottom of the screen, in the center. The back of the unit
includes a cable access cover, which hides all cable
connections. This makes for a sleek look when your monitor
is exposed from behind.
Play Time
The Samsung 930BF is somewhat plain
looking. There are no bells and whistles, no shinny silver
colors, no gold accents, no tilting base, and no fancy
speakers. What you get is a 19” monitor that is what it is.
And you know what? I love it. I think it’s great. I would
rate the overall looks of this monitor pretty high. The base
is solid and attractive, the black color is plain yet
perfect, and the rear panel’s cable cover is an excellent
addition.
Let’s talk functionality. I like the
Magic Bright function; it’s a real nice touch. Basically,
it’s a front panel button which allows the monitor to adjust
its brightness depending on what you are using the monitor
for. Options include text viewing, gaming, internet, sport,
and movie. The reason I like it is simple; it’s easy to use,
and works as designed. I didn’t like the Magic Color feature
though. It does work, but it’s a little complicated to use
which cripples its functionality. I ended up turning this
feature off.
The visuals while surfing the web and
using some office applications were very good. The font is
acceptable, but I did find it slightly blurry compared to
other LCDs I have used in the past. The letters and numbers
didn’t have that tightness that I am accustomed to seeing
with LCDs. The whites are not too bright, yet not too
shadowed. I did have the brightness cranked up to almost 100
for the most part, so there isn’t really a lot of brightness
to play with. Do you dig this screen saver or what? Nice
colors and the realism is just fantastic!
The first game I loaded up and played
was Doom 3. I cranked up the resolution to native 1280x1024,
and got stunned. I am sure much of this contributes to the
absolutely amazing system I am using to run the game, but
the visual quality looked fantastic. I have been addicted to
Doom every since. Gameplay was smooth, and I did not notice
any trailing. This monitor definitely has a gamers attitude,
and with a 4ms refresh rate, it’s the fastest I have ever
used. I know you want some screen shots:
The pictures just don’t do it justice
and of course won't show how pretty the picture was on the
930BF,
but it’s a little slice of the fun.
