The 2233BW is a stylish 22'' monitor with digital inputs that isn't too expensive.  And that's about it. 

If ever there was a screen destined for consumers who wanted a cheap and cheerful way of connecting their graphics card up to a monitor with a digital signal, then this it.

We certainly can't accuse Samsung of slacking off when it comes to product launches.  This year alone, we've already tested six 22'' monitors--one every two months or so--and now it's the turn of the SyncMaster 2233BW.

On the front, it's identical to the T220 series, with the only change being a blue LED to indicate that the monitor is powered up instead of a red one. 


On the back, though, the designers have decided to engrave a flower pattern.  Whether or not this is a good idea is a question of personal taste …

What is clear, though, is that the rest of the outside of this monitor doesn't really break any new ground: there's no HDMI port, for starters, nor any speakers, just a simple rotating cradle and VGA and DVI inputs.

With a response time of 5 ms, the fastest games will end up producing ghosting.  Whether or not this is a problem will depend on your own preference though.  On average, we're talking about a delay of 1.1 frame,  while the best 22'' screens get this down to 0.35.

The input lag is minimal, and won't pose a problem for network gaming

Unfortunately, color handling doesn't do anything to inspire that little extra notch of confidence that would have helped separate the 2233BW from the rest of the pack.

We noticed a light blue tinge on almost all colors, apart from pure whites which suffered from being too red.  Our lab tests confirmed our first impressions, giving a DeltaE of 5.9, showing a very large discrepancy between the colors sent by the graphics card and those actually shown on screen.

Activating the 'Warm' color profile and setting brightness to 60 allowed us to reach a DeltaE of 3.9, but it's still close from the all-important 2.9 figure where the faults become more or less invisible to the human eye.

Only a decent contrast of 900:1 gives the 2233BW a very slender advantage over the competition.