Samsung C27HG70 27-Inch HDR QLED Quantum Dot Curved Gaming Monitor (144Hz / 1ms) Model C27HG70QQN

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I was very angry when I found out this monitor did not work with HDR enabled and 1ms response time. Not once do they mention that its either HDR, or 1ms. If you want this as a gmsing monitor, please save your money and skip the HDR and this monitor, just get a decent 1ms monitor with good inherent color reproduction. Seems like both the acer and Samsung monitors with both "HDR/1ms response time/curved" both have this flaw, its ether HDR or 1ms, neither mentioned his fact

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Monitor arrived with dead pixel right in the center of the screen (see photo) and two clusters of dim pixels (one approximately 3x5 pixels in size and the other approximately 2x2 pixels in size) two thirds of the way down the screen, about an inch out from the screen’s left side. Was investigating RMA process with Samsung, but their service check request webpage was resulting in an error message, instead of processing successfully, so I am returning and repurchasing from Amazon. UPDATE: replacement monitor arrived, and to my absolute disappointment, it also has at least one dead pixel -again- right in the center of the screen, about 1/4 of the way down from the top of the screen. I contacted Samsung support again and -this time- explained that their service check request webpage isnt working, and they told me to call their service center at 800-726-7864 to request a RMA. I have been waiting for this monitor for so long now, and this is such a let-down. Feeling very frustrated and disappointed with Samsungs terrible quality control, and I will update as I progress through their warranty service. FURTHER UPDATE: RMA was processed quickly and was completely free (Samsung gave me UPS label, shipped on 4/24, arrived at their service center on 4/27 and the repair was completed the same day, and it shipped out on 4/30 and arrived back on 5/2. AND, it was defective--it has a dim pixel at the center top of the screen. Its a lot better than a dead pixel, so I am going to keep the monitor, but this is ridiculous quality control.

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I love this monitor. Bright whites and dark darks. The colors are vibrant thanks to Samsungs Quantum Dot LED and 144hz refresh rate makes any game run as smooth as butter. The 1800r curvature is subtle yet noticeable. It pulls you into the experience better than a flat monitor does. The menu interface navigates silky smooth thanks to the joystick on the easy to reach, bottom right corner. Games look more vibrant and run smoother than it ever has on my 4k monitor. The only not-so-much-of-a-con-con I can think of is HDR. If your only reason for purchasing this monitor is HDR (High Dynamic Range) I would still recommend purchasing this monitor. HDR isnt (as of writing) fully integrated into enough games (assuming youre purchasing this to game, as this is a gaming monitor) to fully justify this purchase solely based on HDR. HDR is just icing on the not yet fully realized cake. QLED, 1440p, 144hz refresh rate and gorgeous aesthetic come together to make this a worthwhile purchase. After putting away my Acer xb280hk (28" 4k w/ G-Sync) due to a desire for higher refresh rates and better fps, I am not disappointed at all. My rig achieves an average of 146fps at 1440p Ultra and I have had no desire to return to a G-Sync equipped monitor ever since setting up this monitor. For my NVIDIA owning fam: Dont worry about the lack of G-Sync. As long as youre not pushing past the refresh rate of the monitor, you shouldnt notice significant tearing (I only experienced slight tearing playing GTA5). I was hesitant to purchase this due to the lack of a G-Sync unit, but I dont regret my purchase at all. I doubt you all would either :) Rig added for additional context: CPU: Intel Core i7 6700k GPU: MSI Geforce GTX 1080 ti (Twinfrozr cooler) Ram: 16GB Kingston HyperX (DDR4)

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UPDATE: 11/16/17 - Samsung has released another firmware update that lowers Freesync range down to 48-144hz. The overdrive issue remains. tftcentral has published a wonderful review that brings to light this monitors biggest weakness (pixel response times, black smearing, etc). UPDATE: 10/27/17 - I cant recommend this monitor for Freesync users as its become clear why Samsung ships these with such a poor Freesync range (72-144hz). When Freesync is active and you are in Freesync range, there is some extremely bad ghosting (overshoot) with dark transitions that appear to be from a lack of adaptive overdrive. It is less apparent at higher FPS but gets really obvious below 100FPS in games like Deus Ex. To test this manually, I used CRU and deleted the vendor specific block, extended Freesync range to 36-144hz and fired up a few games. At or Below 70-60FPS the ghosting is so bad that its unbearable. Disabling Freesync completely clears things up so as of right now it looks like there is something wonky with the overdrive implementation and Freesync. All tests were done on the latest firmware. PREVIOUS INFO: -This monitor is not flicker free. It uses 360hz PWM at anything below 95 brightness. -The overdrive settings (Fast, Faster) strobe the backlight to improve motion clarity. You lose all brightness control and Freesync when activating this and its not quite on the level of Nvidia ULMB but close and a significant improvement. -The original Freesync range was 80-144hz but Freesync 2 certification requires that supported monitors have LFC. Samsung has released numerous firmware updates (via USB thumb drive) since the monitor was released and the Freesync range is now 72-144hz enabling LFC. -It only has 8 edge lit dimming zones (4 per side) which can result in blooming but IMO is still an improvement vs no local dimming. Having it on means loading screens are pitch black, etc. -Dont buy this monitor for HDR, Windows 10 HDR implementation is broken + this monitor gets no where near bright enough to matter for HDR content. Although it has a wide color gamut, the lack of brightness (and dimming zones) results in crushed blacks. -Although the monitor is very fast for a VA, there is still very minor G2G pixel response issues. Its basically impossible to notice unless you know exactly what to look for and go out of your way to find it. Overall a great monitor. The only reason Im not giving it 5 stars is because of how much variance Ive witnessed between the 3 samples Ive had. BTW, they come factory calibrated with a calibration report in the box.

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For context, my PC consists of a factory clocked i7-7700k, GTX 1070 and16 GB of RAM. I took the leap of faith on the 27" version of this monitor and have to say i absolutely love it. I primarily use my PC for gaming (PUBG, BF1, LoL) and Ive owned and experimented with many types of displays with varying types of panels - • 27" 4k IPS panel (LG something) • 34" Ultrawide Curved 3440x1440p panels (Dell U3415W) • 27" 2k IPS G-SYNC Panels (ASUS PG279Q) • 25" FHD 240Hz G-Sync TN (6-bit+FRC) Panel (Alienware AW2518H) This is all to say, Im not a monitor expert. Im speaking purely on a level of what i "felt" when i was gaming while using these different monitors and how i feel they stack up with one another. Of all different levels of performance ive experienced, I think the Samsung CHG70 is the best solution for me. Its a beautiful orchestration of everything I want as a gamer - Color reproduction, performance, size and ergonomics all hit the mark. Compared to the Alienware - while having a 240Hz refresh rate paired with G-Sync is nice, quite frankly, the level of fluidity is negligible when compared to a 144Hz panel with no adaptive sync technology. I couldnt see any advantage when using the 240Hz refresh rate, despite how awe-inspiring it is on paper. The Samsung felt just as responsive as the Alienware with G-Sync enabled while providing a far superior image quality (Alienware sports a TN 6-bit+FRC panel) at a similar price. Like Alaskan111, i also compared it with an ASUS PG279Q. Again, for me, the Samsung comes out on top. The main differences between these two monitors are: ASUS - G-SYNC, slightly faster refresh and IPS panel. Samsung has a curved display, FreeSync (AMD equivalent of G-Sync), and an AH-VA panel. I didnt notice any difference when gaming without G-Sync and i very much prefer the VA Panel with Quantum dot technology over the IPS that comes with the ASUS. The most significant factor making the Samsung superior to the ASUS for me was the curved panel. I love the curve. I find it subtle, yet impactful because i dont have to strain my eyes to see the edges of the display in tense situations. I wont go into great detail comparing this panel against the others - frankly, gaming on a 60Hz panel is rough for me. I can tell a significant difference when playing on a 60Hz panel compared to 144Hz or higher. IPS is always going to produce great colors and images, but at the cost of slightly lower performance. And while a 4k IPS panel is a delight on the eyes, its rough for gaming. Most titles will require you to either drop your graphics settings significantly, or drop your resolution to 2560x1440 at minimum, essentially putting you back to an even playing field in terms of resolution with the Samsung CHG70. Except now, the native 4k panel is scaled down to 2k and youre stuck with 60Hz refresh rate when you could have a native 2k with 144hz refresh rate. Food for thought. In terms of size, for me personally, i always felt that 27" was just slightly too large given the distance i am from my display. I have to turn my head slightly and strain my eyes to see the edges. The 25" Alienware was the perfect size for me given how close i sit to my monitor. Introduce the curve. If you havent experienced a curved monitor before, it is really a treat, especially for gaming. With the curve, the 27" feels incredibly comfortable - no more head turning or eye straining to see the outer edges. You get the benefit of extra screen real-estate with the comfort of a slightly smaller panel. Elaborating on the ergonomics of the monitor. I have a fairly sturdy desk, and i find the stand to be quite good. My monitor doesnt wobble at all unless i ram into my desk by accident. The stand holds the monitor securely in whichever position i articulate it. It supports height, tilt and swivel adjustments - for that reason, youre going to need a larger footprint to keep it stable. Despite how large it is, its still relatively sleek and can easily be worked around. Lastly, to address the negative reviews floating around - a couple of things to note. 1) Statistically, fewer people that have had a positive experience with a product take the time to write a review. People with a negative experience almost always write reviews. So you have to assume that for every 1 negative review, there are an exponential number of people who have had a positive experiences with the product. 2) Everyone places different levels of value on different aspects of the product - some people might give this monitor a 5 star rating based solely on its color reproduction ability while others might give it only 2 stars because they have a flimsy desk and the panel wobbles when someone walks by. So try to approach each aspect of the monitor objectively, as it is on paper.

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I’m writing this as someone going from a 4K 60hz panel to this 1440p 144hz. I have to say I’m satisfied with it. Once again I can actually aim on pubg again, while holding a good framerate. Going from my 27” 4K to this 32” 1440p is definitely a noticeable change, but the difference is fairly minimal. My 4K definitely had better colors being an IPS, but theres no getting past the fact that this is a 144hz panel with lower response too. I run my games on a 1080ti and I still struggled to maintain a steady 60+fps on 4K, but I blister through triple digits on this making everything feel great. Build quality is good, it has 2 USB ports to passthrough, displayport 1.4 so you only need a single displayport, small bezel, and a strong rotating stand. Its a really well made product with the except of the power cord and location of the ports. For one, the power cord is right angled, but in the wrong direction. So you have to turn it 180 degrees to get to the hole if you use the included cover for the back. Also, the power cord is SHORT. Only a 3ft cord. It barely makes it to the floor. I do hate that the ports on the back face down instead of toward the wall. So you have to put your head down on the desk to look up at them.

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OK, I very much wanted to like this monitor, it has a few pretty awesome things going for it: +refresh rate/resolution is great (on an nvidia card, cant say anything about Freesync) +colors were great after using Windows calibration tool +HDR if/when it works (which is a PRETTY big if due to shoddy Windows 10 HDR) is stunning when implemented correctly in a game. Assassins Creed Origins looked very nice, Destiny 2 looked nice, but Far Cry 5 was a mess because you cant control peak luminance in that game (more on that in a moment). MY MAIN ISSUE with this monitor is the panel quality. It just looks plastic and smudgy, and when viewing a solid gradient (such as the blue sky in AC Origins or just the white of Windows 10) I can see a thin layer above the image. I have no idea if this is an error in the anti glare coating or if Im just not used to VA panels (looking closely at my LG IPS panel I do not notice panel above the image). Although I think HDR is a very cool feature this monitor cant reach the peak luminance of most HDR TVs. The contrast is pretty good on this monitor, definitely a little bit better than my LG IPS monitor, but nothing compared to HDR Ive seen on modern TVs. Plasticky panel + meh peak luminance for HDR led me to returning this monitor.

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I purchased this monitor a little while ago to upgrade from the 24" 1080p 60Hz monitor I had previously been using, and I couldnt be happier! Im a PC Gamer, so graphics are important to me. I also play a lot of the FPS genre of games, so naturally, I wanted to move up to a higher refresh rate than the 60Hz Id been using since I started gaming on PC back in 2013. After spending some time getting the monitor calibrated to my liking, which was quite easy to do due to the user-friendly OSD, I am absolutely in love with this monitor! The colors are deep, rich and vibrant. There are no artifacts, no dead pixels, and I dont get any screen tearing either. I wasnt sure if Id like the curve in the panel, as Id never used a curved monitor before, but a lot of people on the Internet told me Id never look back, and I have to say; they were right! The curve just adds something... special, to the monitor. It enhances my gaming experience a lot! I bought an aftermarket mount for this monitor in the same order, since I knew that for my desk, it just wouldnt work. The arm on the back of it protrudes out quite a bit, and with the size of my desk and how close it is to the wall, the arm hits the wall and doesnt allow me to position the monitor exactly where I want it. I knew this before I bought it, so I bought a Pixio VESA Mount / Stand with it and Im very happy with that too. All in all, I absolutely love this monitor. I cant believe I didnt get one when I first heard about how amazing they are, and I can say in all honesty that it is DEFINITELY worth the money! If youre on the fence; get off the fence and buy it!

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Before using this monitor, I suggest you read this review to know how to use it properly. You will thank me, trust me ;)) Alright, lets start it. Pros: - 144Hz goes with 10-bit, yes, not 8-bit+FRC. Thats why I love it than Aorus AD27QD. Some monitors require you to low the refesh rate to achieve 10-bit. But this one is HDR10. It means 144hz and true 10-bit. - LFC for low framerate compensation. - Freesync 48-144hz. - Curved. Amazing. My first curved monitor btw. And I will never go back to flat ones. - Freesync 2 HDR. Great. But not many games can use Feeesync 2. Mostly switch to Freesync 1 + HDR. Im not sure why but dont mind it. Input lag is not noticiable. - High contrast. VA is best at contrast. And I recommend Samsung VA only. Dont buy other VA monitors. - Local dimming. Most of brands forgot that they can have HDR, but without local dimming, you can only enjoy 50% real HDR. So it means HDR + non local dimming = bad. This is real. - HDR 600 with insane brightness. It hurts my eyes a lot after using ;)). I suggest you not using 100 brightness. For your safety. I warned you already. Cons: - Flickering. Not sure why but Freesync on this monitor is weird. Over 144hz will cause flickering. Cap the framerate + AMD Chill + Enhanced Sync. But damn it framerate cannot be capped ;)). AMD faults actually. But upcoming firmware will fix. Not because the monitor trust me even you see the warning about flickering. Still AMD issues. - The panel for cable management sucks. The cords are too hard to keep in a hole. I suggest 3 holes ;))

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When this is working correctly, I think it is a great gaming monitor. But, I have now had the DisplayPort stop working on this twice. As I am a gamer with a pretty beefy rig, having to use HDMI does not fully utilize my machine. If I am spending the kind of money asked for this product, I expect it to work. Also, the first time around, Samsung customer service was terrible. They sat on my device for two weeks, then closed the ticket out as not received. Then when I called, they reopened the ticket, called me the next day and said I had to pay for a new screen because it arrived broken. After a couple days of calls and them telling me I had to pay, finally they waived the charge and said it could have been an issue while sitting in their warehouse for the extended time. So now that the issue has happened again, I am dreading having to go through all of this again. And the worst part is, I love Samsung products, only this product seems to not be up to the standards I have come to expect from the company. It sucks when you lose confidence in one of the companies you like.

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