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I wanted an LCD with top image quality for precise photo editing, as well as general use. The 173P was above average in price, but the image quality is outstanding. I use the DVI input at the native resolution of 1280x1024 and it looks great. In my opinion, the image quality is the best of any monitor I have seen. Contrast, color, and angle of view are all excellent.

I was worried about color and tonal accuracy when editing my images because many serious photographers recommend against LCD monitors for photo editing. These "experts" must be behind the times because my images on the 173P come the closest I have experienced to looking at my original slides on a light table. I calibrated with an eye-one display calibrator, but even before calibration I would rate the color accuracy as excellent.

I also use this monitor for text and gaming. Text looks great and is very readable, especially using ClearType on Windows XP. When gaming, I don't see any visible ghosting or other motion artifacts, so the response time must be adequate.

As you can tell, I am extremely satisfied with this purchase. I'm a picky buyer and usually have some nits to pick with almost anything I buy, but after 2 months of use I am 100% satisfied with this monitor. Not only does the image on the screen look great, the monitor itself has a very elegant design. It looks clean and simple and has a great range of position and angle adjustments. My 173P doesn't have a single bad pixel. You can get a cheaper LCD if you only want to use it for text, but if you want the best, you won't be disappointed with this one.

I recently purchased the Samsung 173p, looking forward to using its pivot function for word processing, seeing the whole page by pivoting the monitor 90 degrees. Pivot Pro software came bundled with the monitor, which was supposedly necessary for enabling what you see on screen to make the 90 degree shift along with the hardware.

Immediately, I ran into a serious pivoting problem. Whenever I turned the monitor off, with it remaining in the 90 degree position, it would not work properly when I turned it back on. Instead, it would come on stuck in the lowest possible resolution, too low even to show normal images on the screen. I would have to delete the Pivot Pro software in order to get the monitor functioning properly again.

I discovered an effective solution. While waiting for Pivot Pro tech support to respond with a solution, I downloaded the latest graphics card driver from the NVIDIA web page. My graphics card is the aging NVIDIA GeForce 2 mx/mx 400. It turns out that the new driver contains the pivot function! It works with my monitor more efficiently than the Pivot Pro software did, and there are no problems! Ironically, the tech support solution, which I received a day later, was to download upgraded graphics card drivers from NVIDIA.

I tried the same thing with my monitor at work, and it worked beautifully also. It is the Dell ultrasharp 1703, with the NVIDIA GeForce 5200 graphics card. This is without any Pivot Pro software being anywhere near that computer.

I have read that the latest ATI Radeon grahics card driver update contains the pivot function also, but I have no experience with an ATI graphics card.

Finally, the Samsung 173p is definitely cool. But, the price needs to come down.

I recently purchased two of the 173P displays for use in a dual-monitor setup. They are truly gorgeous, with respect to both image quality and exterior fit and finish.

Unfortunately, Samsung's choice of the MagicTune software instead of a true hardware-based On-Screen-Display can be problematic. In my case, I wanted to calibrate the displays using my EyeOne system. Now, the first step in any good color calibration process is to accurately set the white point. I expected to use MagicTune to accomplish this, but found it sorely lacking. First, on my DVI connection I got no white point control--there was just nothing to click, a blank spot in the interface! Portrait Displays, the vendor that makes Display Tune (the software OSD rebranded by Samsung as MagicTune) says on their support site that "[the white point] sub menu may not function if you are using the digital connection of your graphics card and monitor". Hmm, rats. OK, how about the analog VGA connection for my secondary monitor? No luck. I found the granularity of the RGB primary adjustments to be very large, such that it was absolutely impossible to get the white point where it needed to be. Either R, G, or B was constantly over or undershooting the target.

Next, I tried using my video card driver's software RGB brightness controls to set the white point. It seemed OK at first, but failed after the profiling process. The white point was wacky on both monitors, and there were large inconsistencies in the color rendition between analog and digital that I couldn't live with. Any attempt to fine tune manually after profiling (again, using the video card controls) only made things worse. Granted, my particular video card setup is partly responsible, but having hardware color control in the monitor would have been REALLY nice at this point.

Finally, I found a solution in a shareware utility called PowerStrip. Among many useful features, it lets you tweak your video card color output (with individual brightness/gamma/contrast/temp controls for all RGB primaries) directly at the hardware level. I set both white points, profiled the monitors, and cleaned up the analog/digital inconsistency post-profiling in just a few minutes.

In spite of my minor ordeal, I really love the 173P and am very satisfied. All other aspects of the MagicTune software are a pleasure to work with--it's a bit odd that color control is so limited. At any rate, workarounds do exist for us color fanatics :)

(NB: my system runs Windows XP w/ a Radeon 9600XT)