>I have a 22" Samsung 225BW which I quite like - it's a couple of years old now. The only things I don't like:

Another Samsung fan.


>- its black is not true black - noticeable when watching movies in a darkened room

Movies would be the exception.

>- it makes a bit of a high-pitched noise, which is noticeable in my very quiet office

Hah! No problem there. I can't hear anything over about 8 khz due to certain youthful indiscretions.

>My Samsung has a matte surface, which I like because there are zero reflections. Most current LCDs have a glossy surface, which increases the contrast ratio numbers but drive some people nuts with reflections.
>
>The only decent-looking option for LCD panels is to run them at their full native resolution. For Windows apps to look "normal" you want to run normal size, not large, fonts. Depending on your age and eyesight, if you have a choice of native resolutions in the 24" size, you may be better off running a lower-resolution panel at its native resolution than running a higher-resolution panel at reduced resolution. Some people are very sensitive to the colour fringes produced when LCD panels interpolate at reduced resolutions.

I think my home-office 24" monitor is running native. I haven't noticed any problems. I'm near-sighted and I wear glasses that are otimized for looking at a computer screen (so I can see fairly small print).


>The guts (panels) of most consumer LCDs are made by only a few companies, so the raw performance tends to be similar if not identical amongst, say, 24" models using the same panels.
>
>Getting reviews on currently-shipping models is not always easy. Amazon is worth checking out for reviews, if they carry the models you're interested in.
>
>Checking the warranty, especially any dead-pixel policy, is always worthwhile.

I see lots of complaints at NewEgg about their dead-pixel policy. At least they have the guts to print them.

Thanks for the info.

Peter