Samsung 1100p Plus 21inch Monitor Review - PAGE 1

The 1100p+ is a slightly higher end revision of the 1100p. Both offer the same viewable area, but the newer 1100p+ has a finer 0.25mm dot pitch, and a higher maximum pixel clock frequency that gives it the ability to display a maximum resolution of 1800x1440@75Hz and a rock solid 1600x1200 resolution at 85Hz refresh.

Specifications

The 1100p+ is part of Samsung’s Professional series of monitors, but it does not feature a perfectly flat screen as do Samsung's Perfect Flat Series including the 1200NF which we will look at soon. With prices hovering around $720-750USD, this monitor is around middle of the price category for its size class (where a $900-1200 monitor is not uncommon). But how does it fare compared to others in its price and size class? We found it to be a capable monitor with a slim price tag, suitable for home users and the casual office user alike.

The Basics

Controls on the 1100p+ are recessed just as they are on the other Samsung monitors, via a popout console. The button configuration and functionality is also identical to other Samsung monitors, which is a good thing, because I find their button controls intuitively easy to use compared to systems used by other companies. The amount of control you are given is also quite impressive, as illustrated by the specs list, but we found we had to make few adjustments to achieve excellent picture precision.

In Use

Because of the screen curvature, you can tell this monitor is using a slightly older technology, but when the monitor is actually in use it won’t be what catches your attention. If you are used to the absolute flat screens of today’s mainstream 17” and 19” monitors then the curvature will be more pronounced, but though the curvature is noticeable, the image quality is little hampered by this factor.

Our objective tests found the 1100p+ to be surprisingly accurate. Screen uniformity was excellent, and overall geometry was likewise good – but we did find that the curvature of the screen made our geometry patterns look somewhat strange, an effect that should not be noticeable unless you do a lot of precision graphics work or if you work with grid graphs a lot. In the sharpness and focus tests, we found the monitor to be uniformly sharp with no streaking or ghosting, though there was some slight blooming and a loss of precision in the upper right corner of the screen. There was so little swirl and interference patterning on our pattern tests that we were somewhat taken aback – this is definitely a strong monitor when it comes to geometric accuracy. Color saturation, however, was not one of the 1100p+’s strong points – we found that colours were considerably less vibrant then on a good 19” monitor, and a little less intense then we have seen on other 21” monitors.

Subject tests confirmed a lot of what we found in the objective tests: the monitor offers good precision, but lacks the colour quality to push it to the top of its class. This is most easily illustrated in games or graphics applications, where the colour saturation is often important to accurately recreate the effect or look that the artists or designers originally intended the audience to see. Though the graphics were not hazy, they lacked life and vibrancy.

Up to the Task At Hand

The performance of the monitor is neither a major surprise or a serious letdown, although it was a lot more accurate then we would guess. For the price, we found the monitor to live up to expectations, without delivering too many extras that would otherwise make it stand out. I found the monitor more suitable for windows application than for gaming, due to the average colour quality (a factor that strongly affects gaming immersion). Never underestimate the power of pricing though; this is easily one of the most popular and well accepted monitors in the public. It’s price and performance are perfect for the casual home user with little need for high quality gaming or graphics display. In everyday windows task, such as emailing, web surfing, and instant messaging, this monitor was more than apt. And with the added real estate of the large 20” screen, you might be willing to sacrifice a little colour for the accuracy, and to fit more… stuff… onscreen at once.

Overall Score: 80%

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