I must say the Samsung SyncMaster 220WM look very nice. It is a 22-inch widescreen LCD with a piano black glossy frame. However there are some issues with this monitor. I'll go over them in this review.

The SyncMaster itself was very cheap. At $200 for 22" widescreen who can really complain? It's definately one of the cheaper large LCD monitors out there. So being at such a low price point, you can complain about a lot, but that doesn't mean you will find a much better LCD at a cheaper or similar price range.

Specs

In the Box

The Samsung SyncMaster 220WM comes with the 22" LCD, stand, power cable, VGA Cable, DVI Cable, Speaker Cable, and also manual and driver.

As I already said, the monitor's frame looks great. I really love the piano black finish. However there are some features that I wish this monitor would have. First of all, you can't adjust the height of the SyncMaster 220WM. You'd have to literally just stack some books under it if you need it higher. Lastly, you cannot rotate the screen to a portrait orientation. Supposedly you can tilt the angle of the monitor from -5 degree to 20 degrees.

In the back you can use either VGA or DVI to connect to your computer. Of course DVI looks better and clearer, so use that if your computer has a DVI port.

Another feature that the SyncMaster 220WM has are built-in speakers. To me having speakers built into the monitor is pointless because it just doesn't give good sound. I think it really just adds extra weight to the LCD monitor. Just purchase a regular 2.1 or better speaker system for your computer. Or you can also get a really good pair of headphones.

The 22" 220WM monitor was easy to put together onto the stand, though a bit wobbly. The resolution is good. It's a great big screen to watch videos on, especially since I was using a 19" CRT before, but when it's too dark, it can be a little hard to see, due to the 700:1 contrast ratio. I can't really say if it works with HD video, as it doesn't have the HDCP symbol that many other monitors do. Not sure how good it is for gaming, but the 5ms is a good response time from what i remember.

The one big problem I have, is with Adobe Photoshop CS3. For some reason in Photoshop the white's don't look white! They are a bit yellow. It's not just my eyes, because when I see the white on a web page it's pure white versus the "white" I see in Photoshop. I've updated my monitors drivers to the latest version, and I've tried to change color profiles, but it just won't turn white. If someone knows how to fix this, please let me know! My friend even said my white balance was off, when it looks completely fine on my screen. :(

Pros

• Bought it for only $200!
• Good looking frame
• Huge 22" widescreen LCD
• Samsung 3-year warranty

Cons

• Not adjustable, except for tilt
• Built-in speakers are very weak - but who really uses them?
• Color problem with Photoshop - at least on my computer
• Contrast is not very high
• Wobbly stand

Recommended for people who want a big screen and are on a budget! It does it's job, but you may have problems with intensive graphic and picture editing.

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