Samsung 172B 17" LCD
Review by Navid Mortezaei on 03.07.03

Packaging/Contents of the box:

The Samsung SyncMaster 172B comes with a very nice and slim box. The box is blue and white, and a close-up of the monitor itself is pictured on the box's left. On the right, Samsung the main features of the 172B, and in large print is written "Super Slim & Narrow Design." As will be explained in more detail later in the review, this monitor is truly "Super Slim".

The box of the monitor is designed in a three layer format. The top layer of packaging is pictured below, which holds all the cables as well as the power supply.

In the middle layer the monitor itself is wrapped in a plastic bag.

Lastly, on the bottom layer are manuals, CDs and mounting equipment.

Below are all the contents from the box except the monitor itself (cables, manuals and mounting equipment).

Samsung has included a very thorough manual that is translated into several languages. The driver CD includes drivers and Samsung’s Natural Color program which aids in configuring the optimal settings for the monitor. The rest of the papers are registration and warranty details.

This is the power supply of the monitor which this connects to the power cable and that connects to the LCD. Samsung has chosen to include an external power supply to help reduce the thickness of the monitor itself. Think is a great idea, and it would be nice to see other LCD manufacturers doing this.

This is the included VGA cable. Samsung has included a nice and long cable, which is quite helpful if the LCD is to be located on a high desk, or if the computer case is located far away from the monitor.

This is a very long mini-jack to mini-jack cable that Samsung is included. This connects the monitor's speakers to a sound card, or other audio device if desired.

The 172B is wall mountable, and Samsung has included everything needed to mount it to the wall except the drill ;). Pictured below are the mounting base, mounting instructions and the screws. While most competing models don't offer wall mounting functionality at all, many that do offer the capability don't provide a mounting kit along with the basic LCD retail package. It's always nice to see a complete retail package, which Samsung definitely did in this case.