Hi Dagwood, my comment about monitors was really expressed to give you, and others reading the thread some idea about expectations from them. Most of us are hobbyists and cannot afford to get a pro monitor that is specifically built for image editing. The best we can do as far as monitors go is to do the best we can with what we can afford. In general, cheap monitors are really a waste of time for anything other than web searches and office use. When I purchased my monitor it had to have at least two criteria: 1 it remained stable when you moved you line of sight to left or right and 2. it was suitable for video gamers and editors. I plumbed for the HPw2207 (this model has since been upgraded) which has a photo editing setting that I leave on all the time. The top of the range Dell monitors are fine too.
Your Samsung monitor looks very similar to mine. Samsung, in my opinion is probably one of the best panels you can get for the money, and you shouldn't have much of a problem with colour rendition. Most modern monitors with a medium to high price range are now spot on with colour and it would be doubtful you could improve it much by calibration. I always adjust gamma and brightness every so often to suit my eyes and have never bothered to calibrate it using a device. To be honest, I couldn't improve on the IQ of my screen as it is. I'm sure someone will say I am talking a load of old rubbish, but before you spend out on a calibration tool why not check with Samsung to see if they recommend it? You can reach a technician online here:
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Read more: How to Calibrate a Samsung Monitor | eHow.com
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