Samsung SyncMaster F2380 review

The F2380 achieved a brightness score of 237cd/m² -- lower than the XL2370's 344 and lower than Samsung's claimed maximum brightness of 300. In practice, we found the F2380's brightness level slightly lower than we like, especially when viewing games or Web sites with plenty of colour.

We looked at Kill Bill: Vol 1 on DVD and several 1080p movie files from Microsoft's WMV HD Content Showcase. Movies on the F2380 looked great, thanks to the display's high contrast ratio, exhibited by its very deep blacks. The display's tested contrast ratio was 2,517:1, which is lower than Samsung's claimed 3,000:1, but higher than that of any monitor we've tested before.

Unreal Tournament 3 and World of Warcraft both looked great running at a 1,920x1,080-pixel resolution and showed no signs of ghosting or input lag. We did notice a graphical anomaly while playing Warcraft, however. In certain spots, very subtle green circles appeared when we moved through the world. This most probably can be attributed to the display's 8ms response time. We didn't see this on the XL2370, which has a faster 2ms response time.

The optimal viewing angle for a monitor is usually directly in front of the screen, about a quarter of the distance down from the top. At this angle, you're viewing the colours and gamma correction as they were intended to be seen. Most monitors are made to be viewed only at that angle. Depending on the panel type, picture quality at non-optimal angles varies. The F2380 uses a cPVA panel. Vertical Alignment panels usually show only minimal colour shifts with angle changes. This is the case with the F2380. Viewing the screen from multiple wide angles did nothing to diminish the quality of the picture.

Conclusion
The Samsung SyncMaster F2380 has one of the best contrast ratios we've seen. Unfortunately, the display crushes dark greys at the low end of the colour scale and, while its colour reproduction is good, it looks rather dull compared with the SyncMaster XL2370's. If viewing angles and ergonomic options are important to you, the F2380 is a great buy. Otherwise, the XL2370 monitor is a better-performing and better-looking alternative.

Additional editing by Charles Kloet