22" Widescreen - Asus MW221U vs Viewsonic VX2235 vs Belinea 2225S1W vs Fujitsu L22-1W

Suspended
Joined
26 Jul 2003
Posts
6,348
Location
Surrey
Since I am in the market for a 22" Widescreen and unable to stretch to the very nice 24" models available (Dell / BenQ) I am finding myself running around in circles over the available 22" Widescreens that are now on the market at incredible prices.

According to the Badass website (http://www.tftcentral.co.uk) they all have the same TN film giving the usual viewing angle problems associated with it, while giving the advantage of low cost and fast response times.

Other draw backs are 16.2million colours with dithering to bring it up to the full 24bit 16.7million colours.

Excluded from my extended thought processes are several models also using this panel, most notably being the Acer AL2216W, Samsung SM225BW, BenQ FP222W and Iiyama E2200WS. This is simply because in my opinion they are so hideously ugly that they are not worth the trouble.

Edit: Having seen a Samsung in the flesh I have reviewed my opinion and think its one of the better looking models out there.

Samsung SyncMaster 225BW
samsung-sm-225bw.jpg

  • 16.7 Million Colours
  • 700:1 Contrast Ratio
  • 5ms Response Time
  • 280 cd/m2 Brightness
  • DVI / VGA

Asus MW221U - Price: £273.72
asus-mw221u.jpg

  • 16.7 Million Colours
  • 700:1 Contrast Ratio
  • 2ms Response Time
  • 300 cd/m2 Brightness
  • DVI / VGA

Viewsonic VX2235wm - Price: £295.91
(Viewsonic Image Removed coz its damned ugly in real life).
  • 16.2 Million Colours
  • 700:1 Contrast Ratio
  • 5ms Response Time
  • 280 cd/m2 Brightness
  • DVI / VGA


Belinea 2225 S1W - Price: £225.87
belinea-2225s1w.jpg

  • 16.2 Million Colours
  • 1000:1 Contrast Ratio
  • 5ms Response Time
  • 300 cd/m2 Brightness
  • One Analogue Input (D-SUB)

Fujitsu L22-1W - Price: £215.91
fujitsu-l22-1wa.jpg

Above image from UK source

fujitsu-l22-1wb.jpg

Above image from German source

Unknown at the moment what is accurate for the UK

  • 16.2 Million Colours
  • 700:1 Contrast Ratio
  • 5ms Response Time
  • 300 cd/m2 Brightness
  • Two Analogue Input (2 x D-SUB)

I have put in bold the features that stand out for each particular model.

To analyse the advantages/disadvantages of each model.

Physical Looks
Note: This section is of course my opinion and entirly based on pictures found around the web (mainly the OCUK).
Asus MW221U - Personally I like, the bottom length of bezel is a bit shiney/flashy however
Viewsonic VX2235wm - Without seeing it in the flesh there is no way to know if the shiny black is going to look "cheap" or quality, Marmite design
Belinea 2225 S1W - In my opinion this is a very weak in the looks department, sprayed silver plastic just looks cheap
Fujitsu L22-1W - The German version looks the best out of all these 4, going by a German source who actually has one the base is entirely metal as well, very clean appealing design

Specifications
As can be seen in the bold part above the Asus clearly is the leader in terms of what they quote to be the specifications, whether in reality the Asus actually has what it quotes - for example the 16.7million colours is still likely to be 6bit + 2bit dithering they just choose to do some marketing and tell us what we want to hear. The 2ms quote is also impressive giving that (like the colour quote) its the same panel across all 4, not knowing enough (maybe Badass can fill us/me in) about panel technology can the refresh rate be improved upon with electronics seperate to the panel?

The Belinea stands out of course because of its 1000:1 contrast ratio unique amoungst all those shown here, it is (arguably) let down by its single D-Sub connector. This is due to EU tax, where keeping the price down is done by not including the DVI connections. The Viewsonic is interestingly the only one with 280 cd/m2 Brightness, while all the rest are 300. The Fujitsu has the lowest spec, but it does have two D-Sub connectors.

Price
The Viewsonic is the most expensive but doesn't offer all that the Asus model allegedly does, they are both almost £60 more than the Belinea and Fujitsu this I expect is almost entirely down to saving money with no DVI connections.

Conclusion
Concluding my personal ramblings that is simply trying to help me make up my mind which model I want to purchase, the Asus stands out as having the most features while the Fujitsu stands out as being the best physically looking and the cheapest. The Viewsonic prices itself out of the contest entirely by being more expensive and offering no advantages over the Asus. The Belinea mean while sits their being the ugliest but with a nice 1000:1 Contrast Ratio at a good price. However as pointed out elsewhere on these forums it is doubtful that it would actually be achieved under real world conditions.

Leading to the final show down for VGA vs DVI. There is a reason now that all top end graphics cards come solely with DVI and that its standard on all expensive monitors, however arguably there is no quality improvements to be had by using it. Indeed my Hyundai L90D that I use now shows absolutely no difference between the two.

This leaves me leaning between the Asus and the Fujitsu, Price and Looks vs Features. I dont consider the Asus ugly at all but its not got the clean lines of the Fujitsu.

Update: In regards to the Samsung I have seen this in the flesh now down Tottenham Court Road. It impressed me very much with its looks, its also quoted to be 16.7mil colours like the Asus although the brightness is down to 280. I think its between the Asus and the Samsung now with the Samsung in the lead due to being in stock everywhere while the Asus is still too new.

What are other peoples thoughts and opinions regarding this set of monitors?
 
Last edited:
Soldato
Joined
10 Feb 2006
Posts
4,066
Location
London
This is exactly what i have been thinking about as i am looking to move from my much loved 22 inch crt to a flat panel that doesnt cost a bomb but still has a big enough screen for games to be as immersive as i'd like. I'm also leaning towards the asus and the fujitsu but really undecided still.
 
Suspended
OP
Joined
26 Jul 2003
Posts
6,348
Location
Surrey
Having just returned from my lunch break I took a trip to Tottenham Court Road and I can safely say I underestimated the Samsung 22" Widescreen, its very nice in the flesh indeed.

While the Viewsonic is not that nice, bezel is just too big with too much shiny plastic.

The Acer is as boring to look at in real life as it is in the pictures.

I saw the Asus on a shelf but not plugged in, it also had one of those clear plastic sheets over the front of it. But from what I saw its very nice indeed to look at, although maybe not as nice as the Samsung (which i'll say again really surprised me how nice it looks considering the pictures).
 
Associate
Joined
13 Dec 2004
Posts
103
From what I've heard the samsung 225BW uses a different TN panel to the other 22" models. Just got one this weekend and I'm very pleased with it - I'd certainly not say its hideously ugly either.
 

Pug

Pug

Soldato
Joined
20 Oct 2002
Posts
5,184
Location
Over there...
good summary there for me, cheers!

Might have swayed me onto the Asus (affordable, and has both DVI and VGA (PC on DVI, Xbox 360 on VGA) plus its HDCP, and 16.7 million cols

i should also mention on my cheapy Digimate 19 4:3 jobbie, the VGA is considerably worse than DVI i find...
 
Last edited:
Associate
Joined
20 Oct 2002
Posts
1,452
nice summary. I'm planning on buying a 22" either this week or next, just need to decide which one. My last monitor lasted me 5 years so I'm trying to be careful about which one I pick. :)

The Asus and Samsung were leading, but after reading some reviews and reports of the Samsung there seems to be some issues regarding backlight bleed. The Samsung looks nice, but I preferred the black version (as opposed to the silver ones sold in the uk).
Gonna wait for some Asus reports before I make up my mind. I'm not too fond of the design, but it's the image quality that's the most important factor for me.

DVI and HDCP aren't much of a concern for me just now, but in a few years they may be more important so I'd like to have those features.
 
Soldato
Joined
29 Dec 2003
Posts
3,950
Location
UK
nice thread, Im in the same market, i thought i had settled on the Asus due to its looks & response time but im going off the silver strip on the the bottom. The samsung does look very nice but i found some hands on reviews showing back light bleeding. ( i cant remember where now though :( )
 
Associate
Joined
16 Jul 2004
Posts
470
Location
London/UK
Devious said:
Asus due to its looks & response time but im going off the silver strip on the the bottom. The samsung does look very nice but i found some hands on reviews showing back light bleeding. ( i cant remember where now though :( )
I *think* that Samsung addressed that backlight bleeding problem with the latest batches. According to user reports, it's a nice monitor and interestingly enough it's using TN panel manufactured by Samsung itself. For the Asus, you are paying for the looks and the brand name. Not really worth it imho ... especially as I still don't recognise the Asus as well respected and established "monitor" brand. At this stage, they are simply not there and price premium is still questionable (from my point of view).
 
Associate
Joined
20 Oct 2002
Posts
1,452
Yeah I heard the new silver Samsungs don't suffer from backlight bleed as much. Gonna try some more searching to see if I can find other reports.

That silver strip on the Asus is what puts me off it aswell. :)

I'll still be tempted however if the reviews are favourable.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
19 Oct 2002
Posts
29,508
Location
Surrey
Great review. I love the look of the Fujitsu but for me it would be between the Sammy and the Asus. Agreed the Asus silver bar is a detriment. but the speakers could be useful even though they aren't great.

But the Asus does have a faster G2G, HDCP and a zero bright pixel policy. I have an Asus laptop and the build quality is superb (second only to my IBM Thinkpad).

EDIT: Just read someone on another forum who got their Sammy today and says it still has backlight issues.
 
Last edited:
Associate
Joined
13 Apr 2006
Posts
1,140
Noxis said:
Having just returned from my lunch break I took a trip to Tottenham Court Road and I can safely say I underestimated the Samsung 22" Widescreen, its very nice in the flesh indeed.
.


Nice one, can you email my trust account or to oem123 @ gmail.com and let me know where you went in Tottenham Court Road?! I never knew there were monitors like that there!

As for monitors, against those selections (in OP), Samsung would be my best choice.
 
Suspended
OP
Joined
26 Jul 2003
Posts
6,348
Location
Surrey
ihatelag said:
Nice one, can you email my trust account or to oem123 @ gmail.com and let me know where you went in Tottenham Court Road?! I never knew there were monitors like that there!

As for monitors, against those selections (in OP), Samsung would be my best choice.

No need as I got no idea the name of the stores I wandered into :p Just wander down the left side (from TCR Tube) popping into the stores that sell computer bits then cross over and wander back down the other side. 5 - 10mins each side.

I saw the Asus in the flesh down there as well but they wanted £399 for it :eek: Wasn't turned on tho :( Have to say that it looked really quite nice, shame it doesn't have height adjustment.

Saying that I now have the Asus on pre-order for £277 inc delivery :D
 
Back
Top Bottom