ATI X1950 PRO PCI -Express 256 MB Just purchased.....

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

My 60th has just past and I appear to have survived relatively unscathed..LOL! My better half kept pestering me for weeks before and finally I made the decision and she bought me a Samsung SyncMaster 226BW 22" LCD Display Monitor (1680x1050x32). There has been a great deal of controversy (hysteria?) surrounding this monitor on the net and has focussed around the fact that there are 3 (now possibly 4) different panels being fitted - 'S' (made by Samsung), 'A' by AU Optronics and 'C' by CHI MEI Optoelectronics in China. The 'S' panel is reputedly the best and has been configured correctly out of the box. However, these are like gold dust and you are more likely, as I did, to end up with a 'C' panel. Fear not for I have discovered that all you need to do is invest in a clever gadget called 'Spyder2express', create an accurate colour profile for the monitor and the results are almost beyond belief! If you want to join the ever burgeoning widescreen brigade then this is most certainly the best in its class. Quite wonderful! -------------------------------------------------------------------Hi Mike!I'm going today to look at the same one you have. I was going to look at the 24 inch, but it is not 2ms fast and the 22 inch is wide enough if your face is only 18 inches from it! I want to run the X1950 Pro at 1680x1050 such as yourself. Also, since the X1950 Pro is HDCP-ready, I believe that this monitor can also run in HD T.V. mode, right? I know the card can....I'll let you know if I bring it home, vs. something else. It is a race between the Samsung and the LG. BTW, how...WHERE do you see the letter S,C, whatever to denote whose panel is in the Samsung frame? That would be most helpful... Is it on the box within some code? Inquiring minds wish to know...lol!!!Thanks,Mitch

[Sesquashtoo 2,846]

OK, found out where the S,A,C is...on the back tag at the top right. Hopefully, Samsung has begun shipping with the 'S' part as the norm. I don't want to have to open up ten boxes or more to find one.Cheers!Mitch

[Cruachan 705]

Hi Mitch,"OK, found out where the S,A,C is...on the back tag at the top right."Sadly, it is now no longer quite so straight forward as the panel letter identification has now been removed!This article takes you through the steps necessary if you are really determined to find out what you have bought:http://www.bcchardware.com/index.php?optio...=4259&Itemid=40This article also refers to quite pronounced backlight bleeding issues affecting the "C" panels. I don't know whether the fact that I have a Rev C1 (July 2007) has any relevance, but I really don't see this. It is possible that more recent "C" panels are better in this regard than the earlier variants.Following the initial rumblings out there about the allegedly 'inferior' "A" and "C" panels, those sneaky people at Samsung presumably issued directives to their subcontractors to remove those indentification letters from the label at the back of the unit. You now have to invalidate your warranty by opening up the back to get at another label inside. This is now further complicated by the fact that this label has been moved from the right hand side over to the left so you do have to take care when lifting up the metal container that houses the power and video circuitry so that you can see underneath. It's not difficult, I've done it so I know it is possible.However, if my experience is at all typical then it seems to me that it really doesn't matter what panel you end up with as this appears to be a configuration issue. The "S" panels appear be set up correctly out of the box and these were the panels sent out by Samsung to the reviewers. Not surprisingly this tactic attracted the kudos, which also explains why customers who were not so lucky subsequently may have felt they had been cheated.Now it could certainly be argued that AU Optronics and Chei Mei Optoelectronics should have paid much more attention to this aspect before releasing their panels to market and does beg the question as to why Samsung, once they were rumbled, did not insist on uniform quality control rather than trying to hide the problem from their customers.In the end, this 'problem' does have a solution. In my case, I had downloaded prepared colour profiles for both the "A" and "C" panels in anticipation that it was more than likely I would end up with one or t'other rather than the fabled "S" panel. But then I started to consider the other major variables, the GPU and drivers, and so I decided instead that it would be far more sensible to create my own accurate colour profile. As it turned out the tool for the job is the Spyder2express and this clever piece of kit can be used over and over again no matter the GPU or monitor. Expensive? Possibly, but to my mind it is a very worthwhile investment. Even the "S" panel will drift over time and will need recalibrating. With this tool you can always be sure that the colour profiling is spot on.This experience has underlined the fact that the vast majority of monitors in use are not calibrated correctly and owners are not seeing the benefits. I find trying to calibrate a monitor with any degree of accuracy is difficult at best and consequently I'm forever fiddling until I achieve a reasonable compromise. The Samsung comes with a plethora of on screen controls which, paradoxically, just makes this aspect all the more difficult.Oh, I did try the pre-prepared "C" colour profiles and they did help a great deal. You can download them from here:http://www.andrewswihart.net/blog/review-s...6bw-lcd-c-panelBut, the created Spyder2express profile is, without doubt, an order of magnitude better and really makes this monitor shine. I can now see real black with the room lights out. On my previous LCD panel I could only achieve an approximation with ambient lighting left on. Playing space games/sims like Orbiter and X2 and X3 are now wonderful to behold! And, of course, the reason why we are all here: FSX and FS9. Accurate colour profiling has simply transformed the appearance of both sims and each in its own right has now become an exceptional visual delight as viewed on this very fine monitor :)Cheers!Mike

[B777ER 2,492]

Very informative post. I am going to order this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814161082This will be the upgrade over my x850xt as I am still staying with FS9 and the AGP interface in my computer. I was a little worried the 28amps on my single 12v rail would not handle it but the feedback I got off another site conviced me it will work (ATI recommends 30amps but apparently they always high ball that number). I have a 480 watt PSU so it should work....hopefully!Mike..thank for the great great tip below!!Right click the ATT icon in the system tray, select 'Tools & Options', 'General Options' and then check the box Disable low level color correction and then click on 'OK'.