Samsung SyncMaster XL2370 1080p monitor with LED backlight: Hands-on photos

If you want a monitor that looks awesome, saves you money and the polar bears, you might want to look at the Samsung XL2370, which is really very good at all of those things

Ian Morris

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Ian Morris

Oct. 1, 2009 5:05 a.m. PT

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LED illumination for both TVs and monitors has been gathering pace recently, with Samsung's XL2370 the latest we've seen to make use of the advantages LEDs offer over traditional cathode backlights. Firstly, they're dimmable, which means you get good contrast and secondly, they use much lower power, which means you won't make the polar bears sad.

At 23 inches, the XL2370 is a good size for a PC monitor, and its 16:9 ratio and 1080p resolution mean it's likely to appeal to people who work with video, or those who watch loads of movies.

LED illumination also means the monitor can be incredibly thin and light -- which not only looks glorious, but might be an advantage for people wanting to wall-mount it or use an articulated arm. The only downside is that the stand provided feels rather flimsy, and the mounting socket can wobble quite a bit. Still, as long as it's just sitting on your desk, it's unlikely stability will be a problem. The stand also features quite a basic tilt mechanism, but it does work, and it's not uncommon for some monitors to omit this crucial feature.

Samsung claims the XL2370 has a response time of 2ms, which is excellent if you're a gamer. Our computer, being from the age of Noah and his Ark, won't play games, so we didn't have a chance to fire up an FPS to test it out -- but we have watched 1080p video on it, and it's truly beautiful. If you do want to watch video, there are both HDMI and DVI connections, which mean you could connect a Blu-ray player and a PC at the same time.

We've used the XL2370 every day now for more than a week, and we have to say, we're in love. It's easy on the eyes and out-performs pretty much any other monitor we've seen recently. At £300 or so, it's a little more expensive than we'd like, but even so, we're actually tempted to cough up our own moolah to buy one of these.

A full review of the Samsung SyncMaster XL2370 is available now in our monitor reviews channel, but click through for some more hands-on photos showing just how skeletally thin it is.

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We much prefer the subtle design of this screen to the 'rose-black' models. This monitor looks much more elegant, and will fit in no matter where you put it.

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It really is remarkably thin. Yummy.

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Samsung claims a 2ms response time, which sounds very good indeed. Gaming performance, however, relies on other factors too, which aren't so straightforward.

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Buttons are a dirty word in this post-iPhone world, so the monitor is controlled with touch-sensitive keys.

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The on-screen menus are surprisingly clear and easy to use. The system still suffers slightly with the confusing key layout. Getting into a menu can be bothersome, and it's too easy to accidentally press the wrong button and lose the setting you were trying to adjust.

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Inputs are via either DVI or HDMI. If your computer uses VGA, Samsung helpfully provides an adaptor cable, which works a treat.

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The stand just clicks into place at the bottom of the monitor. It's not the most stable arrangement, but unless you live on a fault line, it's unlikely to be a problem.