Pros: Huge. Beautiful Display. Excellent Response Time & Contrast Ratio. MagicBright and MagicColor!
Cons: Quirky Menu System. Annoying Bright Blue Power-On Light. Minor Backlight Bleeding.
The bottom line: The muscle for a gamer as well as the space for a stock trader. With outstanding specifications and a reasonable price tag, you just can't beat the Samsung 226BW.
When searching for the right LCD monitor, there’s a variety of specifications to consider – everything from contrast ratio to response time. You also have to sift through a variety of brands, sizes, and interfaces which can cause quite a headache for most consumers. I purchased the Samsung 226BW based upon its high ratings along with very impressive high-end specifications.

Speaking of specifications, let’s take a look at them.

Screen Size - 22” Wide Screen

Simply put, this LCD monitor is massive. It’s like I’m sitting in front of a television… but I completely love it! The large screen allows me to hit a max native resolution of 1680x1050, making everything very sharp and crystal clear. I also have enough room to multitask, making my life much easier from web design to web browsing or just staying in touch with friends. And yes folks, it dwarfs a 19”… it put my old Samsung 940BF to shame.

Response Time - 2 Milliseconds (Gray to Gray)

Along with being massive, believe it or not this LCD monitor is geared for gaming. A 2 millisecond response time means minimal ghosting, and is the fastest response time you’ll find on any LCD monitor out there. Games play smooth, even wild games like Need for Speed Carbon.

Contrast Ratio – 1000:1 (Dynamic Contrast 3000:1)

1000:1 is great, but how often do you see 3000:1? With the Dynamic Contrast mode on, the colors are extremely vibrant… but will be overkill for most viewers. Either way, the 226BW knows how to boast its colors giving you a crisp, clear, and astounding experience even at the default 1000:1 contrast ratio.

Goodies – VGA, DVI, and Swivel Base

Once connected, I discovered that the base swiveled to the left and right! A feature that I’ll only use once, but hey it’s there. The base is also supposedly supposed to tilt, but the 226BW is so top heavy I’m not even going to go there.

As for interface, the 226BW supports both a legacy VGA port as well as a DVI port. If at all possible, plug in the DVI port… but as of now there’s still not much noticeable difference between the two.

Setting Up

Before even considering the purchase of this monitor, make sure you have enough room on your desk. Then take that room, and expand it about twice. Yes, the 226BW is that big. Even on my own desk I now have to put my two front speakers behind the monitor rather than beside it.

The 226BW comes in a rather large, heavy, and bulky package but that means it has had some kind of protection while the UPS guys had their fun playing football and soccer with it. Once unwrapped, be sure to drool away from the screen, and to also have someone remove it for you… preferably someone who you can trust not to take it and run.

After unwrapping everything, attach the base by holding the screen horizontally and just screwing it on. Make sure you get it tight for the base is quite small compared to the size of the screen. Once on a table, it’s quite sturdy… but you never know.

All in all, I had mine assembled, placed, and connected in say, oh, 20 minutes. That includes my run to the UPS truck to pick it up before he could even think about whose doorstep to put it on.

Display Calibration & Menu Interface

With all LCD monitors, you need to calibrate the colors of the display. This means adjusting your contrast, brightness, sharpness, etc. or choosing what preset you wish to use that the monitor has built it or none at all. A rumor on NewEgg.com where I purchased the 226BW was that there are 3 separate panels – the A, C, and S. Some say these stand for what country it was assembled in, some say it stands for other companies, A being AOC, C being Chimei, and S being Samsung.

Either way, you shouldn’t need to worry about which panel you receive, nor will I tell you how to figure out which you received because it doesn’t matter! I have a C, which is supposed to be one of the worst of the panels, but after some tweaking it looks just fine.

Calibrating your colors is very simple, but can be done in a few different ways. Even with all the new fancy ways of altering your display, I would stick with the old school method – the options built into the monitor. Now of course, to our luck Samsung placed the menu buttons in an inconspicuous place (under the freaking bezel), which will irk you a bit.

In the menu, you can change just about anything you’d like or just use one of the preset displays. Instead of listing all the different menu selections and how to get to them, I’ll let you explore those on your own, for it’s quite a challenge. The menus are like a game, and finding the buttons makes it even tougher. I’ll be nice though and let you in on a secret – I use the Game MagicBright setting along with Intelligent MagicColor.

Performance

Backed with a 3 Year Parts & Labor Limited Warranty, the 226BW is a very solid performing monitor and looks great too. I haven’t a single detection problem, driver installation problem, or configuration problem except for being stuck at a 60Hz refresh rate which I believe is a problem on my end.

Ghosting is borderline non-existent in both games and movies. When I’m drifting a Chevrolet Corvette Z06 at 120MPH in Need for Speed Carbon, there is no unwanted car shadow, ghost, or blur around the car or scenery. And when I’m watching a por—I mean, exciting movie, nothing blurs. It’s just clear, fast, and crisp.

Gripes

After sitting down and inspecting just about every aspect of the 226BW, I’ve found only three things that I can complain about. First would be the menu system, for it’s so secluded and frustrating. Second is the backlight bleeding, which is minor but still a noticeable halo of light around the upper and lower portions of the screen (only shown on a black screen)… but you’ll have that problem with just about every LCD monitor out there. And finally, the large power-on button is just ridiculous. Why slap on a huge penny-sized button with an incredibly bright blue LED circling around it?! When I’m watching a movie in darkness, the thing just glows in my face.

Closing Remarks

Samsung did things right with the 226BW. They combined a 22” wide display with a high performance response time, as well as a monstrous contrast ratio and sold it all for under $400.00. What’s that give them? 2 NewEgg.com Winners Choice Awards for LCD monitors and a very happy customer known as Rufster who has sat down to devote an hour just to spread the love.

The best part about the 226BW is that it will suit anyone, and will be a purchase that will last for quite awhile. Most large monitors come with a lower response time scaring gamers away from them. But not the 226BW… it’s got the muscle for a gamer as well as the space for someone such as a stock trader.