Samsung SyncMaster SM770P review

If you're keen to keep on the cutting edge of fashion then the new SyncMaster SM770P will have you salivating amorously at first sight.

It's finished in silver and white, and is so dashingly handsome that it wouldn't look out of place next to a sleek Apple Mac. The icing on the cake is a natty blue power light that glows attractively.

Most monitors look pretty ugly from behind, but the Samsung looks stunning from any angle. This is thanks to a neat little breakout box that's wired to the base. This houses a single DVI connector and the socket for plugging in the external power supply. There's no need to panic if you only have a graphics card with the older D-Sub analogue connection though, as there's a DVI to D-Sub cable included.

We were expecting superlative image quality from the SM770P due to its unheard of contrast ratio of 1500:1. The contrast ratio of a monitor describes its ability to discern between dark and light colours and shades. Our Windows desktop was incredibly bright and crisp, and text in particular was superbly resolved. Colours were vividly reproduced and our test photos looked great.

The Samsung, however, had real issues discerning between black and very dark grey, and at the opposite end of the scale very light shades of colour were indistinguishable from pure white. For a TFT at this price, this is disappointing. Thankfully games and movies didn't exhibit any ghosting or blurring, but motion still wasn't quite as smooth as the cheaper SyncMaster SM730BF.

The SM770P looks gorgeous, provides good image quality and its adjustable stand is superb. But for £264, we'd expect all that and more. This really is a case of form over function, which we might be able to live with if it weren't for the relatively high price-tag. Forgo the swivelling stand and model looks and you can get our Best Buy TFT, the NEC 72VM, for less than £200.