Samsung C32HG70 32-inch HDR QLED Quantum Dot Curved Gaming Monitor (144Hz / 1ms) Model C32HG70QQN

Comment

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.

Show more

Comment

Ive had this monitor for a little over a week and a half, and I feel I can give my impressions of it at this point. So far, the monitor is fantastic in almost every way. The color is amazing, the refresh speed is high (higher than my Sapphire Vega 64 GPU can handle when settings are maxed out on some games), good FreeSync range with the latest firmware (FreeSync 2!), and the HDR does add noticeably to the picture. As many have noted, its not full HDR. Full HDR is on TVs or monitors that cost several grand at least. But, HDR600 is an improvement over the standard color, and its better than the next best monitor with HDR in this price range, from AOC (maybe BenQ as well, but the BenQ is more expensive; both are only HDR400). The curve, while more than some others, is comfortable and doesnt create any blurring issues, though as with all curved monitors, its noticeable when viewing a static document. Luckily, this monitor is for gaming. That brings me to the one thing preventing me from awarding it 5 stars. Samsung used some kind of anti-glare laminate that creates a mild screen door effect. Im guessing the engineer wasnt a gamer. While anti-glare is important in a well-lit room, most often games are played with the lights low or off and window shades closed. The effect isnt noticeable from a distance (which makes me think it was designed for TVs), and you dont generally notice at all when playing. But when youre in a menu screen and only 2 feet or less from the monitor, you start to see the little edges created by that overlay. Shipping was fine, the monitor has no dead pixels. UPS had a one day delay where they didnt update me (irritating when I work from home to wait for a package!), but thats not Amazons fault. I snagged this for $480, right before the price went up, so I figure I got a good deal; its competitive with a couple of the newer monitors. The stand is massive; make sure your desk can handle it. It allows for very precise adjustments for height and angle, but Im probably going to order an Amazon Basics desk mount arm to save some space. That reminds me, it is VESA compatible. Just attach the included VESA plate to the back. I highly recommend this monitor for AMD gamers looking for the best FreeSync 2 monitors, and it will work fine with Nvidia cards (just no adaptive sync; if your card is beefy enough, you probably wont have screen tearing issues). For those complaining that it doesnt have GSync, remember that would boost the price to $700-800 (or more; thats the cost of quite a few 27"). If I have any issues, Ill update the review accordingly.

Show more

Comment

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.

Show more

Comment

First of all, I do love this monitor for the 144hz and Quantum Dot color picture quality, and deep black level resulted from VA panel. But mine does have an issue with unit powering back on (wake on sleep) after it goes into sleep mode. The display will not power back on after sleep no matter what I do. This issue has nothing to do with cabling signal, or software version. I could plug any active HDMI or display port device (PC, Amazon fire TV, PS4, Google chrome cast), but the display appears dead after sleep, and the only solution is to totally unplug the display power cable, and plugging back on and powering on seems to reset. But once it goes into sleep mode, same issue... monitor appears dead and wont respond to any input or display signal. Samsung, if you are hearing this, please acknowledge you do have an issue and come back with a solution please!

Show more

Comment

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

Show more

Comment

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.

Show more

Comment

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.

Show more

Comment

Just like everyone in the reviews state the QC is terrible. It came in defective, not even plugging it to my PC yet and the monitor already keeps flickering on and off. Tried using a different power cord, cables, outlets, computers, installed latest drivers from Samsung direct site, etc.. the monitor just refuses to work for me. I cannot recommend this monitor until Samsung ups there QC on there monitors like they have their phones. I would go back to Asus monitors for they have yet to fail on me.

Show more

Comment

Died within a year, pretty common problem with this panel. Warranty service charged 150 fee for physical panel damage. Monitor has been shipped back to them in perfect condition.

Show more

Comment

I bought this monitor about 9 months ago and initially loved it. However, about 4 months after getting it the display port completely stopped working which meant no 144hz so I sent it in for repair. The repair took about two weeks and I got it back, everything worked fine for about a month and then the display port stopped working again. I sent it in again, got it back, and now HDR does not work. Whenever I try to turn on HDR the monitor recognizes HDR then goes black for a few seconds before coming back on without HDR. It recognizes HDR and goes black again for a few seconds. Just repeats over and over. I sent it in for a third repair, explaining the issue to multiple people with every single detail I could. They said the couldnt replicate the issue and sent it back to me unchanged. This has been extremely frustrating and inconvenient to be without my monitor for so long. I do not recommend this whatsoever. Im to the point where Im going to just let go of HDR -- a major feature -- because its just too much of a hassle to keep sending it in over and over for repair.

Show more