Joining Samsung's long-running SyncMaster family of displays, the 2232GW ($359.99 list) is easily one of the best-looking models in the line, and it handles 3D gaming like a champ. The addition of a few user-friendly features such as a height-adjustable stand or a couple of USB ports would have been nice, though. Their absence keeps this 22-inch widescreen LCD from being a truly impressive display.

The 2232GW's glossy black cabinet sports subtle curves and a thin bezel, giving it a sleek, modern look likely to jazz up even the drabbest of desktops. The 1,680-by-1,050 glossy panel (shine courtesy of Samsung's MagicClear coating) attaches to its oval base via a snap-in hinge that provides tilt maneuverability, but I found the mechanism to be a bit too stiff for one-handed adjustments. Height, pivot, and swivel adjustability are not available on this model.

A circular blue LED power switch on the lower right-hand corner of the bezel is the only button visible on the front of the panel. Five well-marked function buttons located underneath the lower bezel are used to navigate the on-screen display menus and act as hot keys for adjusting the brightness, enabling the Auto Adjust function, and accessing the MagicBright menu. Similar to the Eco Mode function found on the Envision G416, MagicBright offers a choice of seven different viewing modes that are optimized for popular applications: Text, Sports, Internet, Game, Movie, Custom (user defined), and Dynamic Contrast, which ups the contrast ratio from 1,000:1 to 3,000:1. Enabling the Dynamic Contrast makes for a very bright picture with much darker black levels, but there is a noticeable loss of highlight detail with the contrast cranked up. While you wouldn't want to use it for photo-editing purposes, this setting works best for watching movies, as the colors appear much bolder and the overall screen image is crisper. Other on-screen functions include gamma and color tone level controls, coarse and fine image adjustment, and MagicColor, which uses preset color temperature and RGB settings to accentuate skin tones.

Input connections include one DVI and one analog port. While I'm pleased that the digital port is HDCP compliant, I think a monitor in this price range should offer something more in the way of multimedia connectivity, such as an HDMI port or a card reader. Cables for both available connections (DVI and VGA) are included in the box, along with a CD containing a comprehensive user manual and Samsung's MagicTune software, which lets you make image adjustments using your keyboard and mouse rather than the on-screen display buttons. It also includes a color calibration tool to help you choose the best color and gamma settings for your lighting environment.

Performance was a mixed bag. While displaying images from the DisplayMate (www.displaymate.com) diagnostic suite, the 2232GW did a good job of reproducing shades of dark gray, which in turn resulted in nice, deep black levels. Light grayscale performance was much weaker, though: The last four steps on the 64-step grayscale were indistinguishable from each other, and highlights on my test image appeared washed out. Although colors remained strong and vibrant, the grayscale flaw was responsible for a slight loss of detail in the lightest shades represented on the 25-step color scale. I wouldn't recommend this monitor to anyone who demands precise grayscale reproduction, such as a professional photo editor, but it is more than capable of handling everyday productivity and multimedia tasks. ViewSonic's VP2250wb, a wide-gamut display, may be a better choice for those concerned with overall color accuracy.

Gamers playing the latest 3D action games will enjoy the benefits of a fast 2-millisecond (gray to gray) pixel response. I fired up a round of F.E.A.R. and was very pleased with the way the panel handled fast-motion sequences: There was no evidence of smearing or motion artifacts, and game play was very smooth. Likewise, a viewing of the DVD movie The Departed was error-free, and the movie looked outstanding on the high-gloss widescreen, with good viewing angles up to about 170 degrees. Last but not least, the 2232GW did a good job of handling small text, displaying Arial fonts set to 5.3 points without a problem.

Samsung offers a generous three-year parts-and-labor warranty on the 2232GW and provides toll-free technical support from Monday to Sunday (9 a.m. to 9 p.m. eastern).

The Samsung SyncMaster 2232GW should appeal to style-conscious users seeking a 22-inch monitor that can meet their everyday computing needs and handle today's 3D games with aplomb. If you can do without USB ports, height adjustability, and other convenient features, the 2232GW is worth a look.

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