Merry X-mas!

Merry X-mas, Futurama style!

Although my Christmas loot this year was rather lackluster, it feels rather like I got my old PC as a Christmas present since it arrived right before the holiday and then I got a new LCD as a present from my folks! It was a nice Samsung 23" Widescreen, model SW2333.

When reading reviews of the gaming LCDs in my price range, I was immediately impressed by what I read about this one. Only one thing gave me pause, and that was several people who purchased this model claiming that it arrived with one or two stuck pixels. Having never had to deal with any pixel-related LCD problems (my last one was an LG and it was absolutely flawless), I was quite concerned.

On Christmas morning, as I plugged in my new LCD and got it working, I immediately noticed a blue pixel that wasn't changing unless the screen called for "white". An obviously stuck pixel; I was dismayed.

However, a quick google search revealed a lot of different techniques for solving such a problem, and so I downloaded an excellent application called Undead Pixel, which will flash through all colors on the dead pixel(s) only, at like 60 colors a second, which sometimes helps to unstick a pixel.

I also tried gently putting some pressure on the screen as this program ran. I only applied pressure for like twenty seconds or so, and immediately wanted to check my handiwork. UD Pixel had only been running for about ten minutes, so I wasn't really expecting any results since the suggested run-time was between one and eight hours.

When I stopped the program to check the pixel, it was fixed. Awesome! So now I have a flawless Samsung SW2333 LCD that I'm quite happy with so far. Haven't quite used it enough to give a full review, but so far I haven't found anything at all to make me regret my choice. I'll try to update later on with a final verdict, once I've had time to really put this thing through the ropes.

Until then, Happy Holidays everyone!