Samsung SyncMaster 305T 30" LCD Monitor Review

Long-Term Impressions

You might be asking yourself right about now “why in the world is this crackpot putting the long-term impressions before any other testing?” Well, the answer is quite simple: the next section contains observations from throughout the testing period while this section will be a general view of the trials, tribulations and triumphs I experienced from the Samsung 305T from day one.

All in all, it has been a good two months enjoying the eye-candy which a 30” monitor can bring with it not to mention the looks of awe it garners from any tech-savvy friends who happen to see it.


The Installation Hassle

From the moment I set up this monitor, there was something dreadfully wrong; I couldn’t get the darn thing to work at anything above WXGA (1280 x 800) resolutions. Windows Vista would start its boot process and when it was done…BOOM, the monitor would go into the auto-test mode instead of going to the standard Vista desktop. I tried everything from the power cord to the video card to posting on forums about the issue but the one thing I overlooked was the DVI cable that came bundled with the 305T (doh!).

In my blind excitement to get this oversized beast hooked up, I neglected to check what kind of DVI connector Samsung provided with this monitor. I automatically assumed the packaging list’s claim of a dual-link DVI connector was God’s Own truth but once a clearer head prevailed, I took a gander and lo and behold; a single link DVI connector!! I will make this clear right now: the 305T REQUIRES a dual-link DVI cable in order to work at most resolutions. Unfortunately, Samsung packaged a single-link connector with this monitor.

After polling a few of my friends who own the 305T, it seemed that out of the 14 monitors purchased for work and personal use, two (not including mine) had single link DVI cables. What this tells me is that my situation was not an isolated case but after contacting Samsung, they have indicated that anyone with this issue should contact them to have a dual link DVI cable shipped out free of charge.

That being said, for all the tests I have used a Cobalt Cable Ultimate DVI-D Dual Link cable.


OSDs are for Sissies

Unlike some monitors on the market, the 305T comes pre-calibrated from the factory which offers users the most accurate color representation possible right out of the box. This acts as a double-edged sword in many cases since there are plenty of people out there (myself included) who like tweaking the monitor depending on lighting conditions. Basically, if I buy a monitor for the office I will adjust the settings so it looks best under fluorescent light (which can throw colors WAY off) and so on.

On the flip side of that coin, having too many options can get confusing and there are times when you can never find just the right setting for a particular monitor without professional (read: expensive) calibration services. Samsung providing color calibration can therefore be a boon to anyone using the 305T in normal room lighting conditions.

Throughout my time with this monitor I never found myself wanting an OSD since the monitor was calibrated perfectly to my discerning eyes. There were a few times during the last 60 days where I wished there was an On Screen Display (mostly during movie watching) but I usually just set up a custom color profile in the Nvidia or ATI drivers. In my opinion these profiles in both the Nvidia and ATI control panels offer users a much more dynamic color adjustment scale than an OSD ever could so I would recommend everyone use these before resorting to an OSD.


HDCP is for….higher-end monitors?

Really Samsung, a 30”, $1400 monitor without HDCP? Give me a break. Should I be coming down even harder on Samsung for not including HDCP and a HDMI connector? Hell yes but what I want to say isn’t meant for prime time. Sorry folks.

What Samsung has done with the exclusion of HDCP compatibility on this monitor is effectively hamstring it from accepting any high definition signals from a Blu-ray or other high def video source. So here we have a beautiful 30” monitor which can’t be used to its full potential. Not only does this narrow the potential market for the 305T but it also left me scratching my head in confusion. This means that right now there is a massive gap in the Samsung line-up since they don’t even have one 30” screen with HDCP compatibility in the sub-$4000 category.

Every time I went to play a Blu-ray movie on my 24” Dell Ultrasharp 2408WFP monitor, I glanced over longingly at the 305T hanging on the wall wishing that it was the Samsung monitor with HDCP and not the Dell. All in all it was depressing.


The "Why?" Factor

My girlfriend saw the 305T and promptly rolled her eyes at the ceiling and mumbled “why not just get a TV?” You guys know this well-rehearsed drill as the infamous Why Factor where someone (girlfriends, parents, forum trolls, etc.) is constantly giving you grief for your newest big-ticket purchase. Everyone will ask you why you bought such a large computer monitor…until they see it in action and then the phrase quickly changes. Within minutes of me using it in the latest of our graphics card reviews, my girlfriend stopped rolling her eyes and was pushing me out of the way to get her turn flinging grenades at North Koreans in Crysis.

To say that this monitor is absolutely stunning running at 2650 x 1600 is an understatement of titanic proportions since nothing can describe playing a game at the 305T’s native resolution. Even though I am risking giving too much away at this point in time but I have to say that Samsung’s flagship was as close to perfection as I have seen in a monitor at its default settings when playing games.