Brendan
**DISCLAIMER** I am writing this review as a gamer. Professional artists and/or content creators looking for a good 1440p 144 Hz Samsung panel should skip this monitor, because the Samsung CHG70 uses Quantum Dot (AKA QLED) instead of the LCD panel on this monitor. This means that the blacks are blacker, the whites are brighter, and the colors are much more accurate. Straight out of the box. The monitor here, on the other hand, requires some tinkering before getting colors what would even be considered "acceptable" to you guys. And even then, its not QLED and has relatively low contrast ratio. So just spend the extra cash and get the Samsung CHG70 instead of this one, you wont regret it. **BAD THINGS ABOUT THE MONITOR** Let me get the bad things out of the way first. This is a midrange LCD panel, so the colors arent that great out of the box. Theyre awesome once you calibrate the monitor, but theyre still not perfect. Also, LCDs require backlights. This particular backlight bleeds a little bit (see the third picture). The blacks arent perfect, but believe it or not theyre actually pretty good for an LCD. The backlight bleed is only noticeable when the screen is totally black. Otherwise, it disappears. So I guess its not that bad. Im just nitpicky. Oh yeah, viewing angles arent perfect either (see the second picture and compare to the first one, theres a difference). Colors shift slightly to a lighter hue. Things surrounded by white get blown out. Its not as bad as other VA panels, but you definitely tell its a VA panel and not an IPS panel (which doesnt have that effect). So uh, make sure to look at the monitor dead-on. Oh, and the stand sucks. The stock stand that comes with the monitor? It sucks. No swivel, no height adjustment, no tilt, nothing. Its solidly built, but its totally void of any other useful features besides holding the monitor up. The monitor is VESA-compatible, though, so its not all bad. Since the way my desk is ergonomically set up, I look at the monitor dead center naturally anyway, so the stand isnt too bad for me. But for literally everyone else, get a VESA mount. Dont let this all scare you though, Im just very nitpicky. **GOOD THINGS ABOUT THE MONITOR** Okay, now for the good. Theres so much to praise about this monitor, way more than there is to criticize. Let me get this out of the way right now: the monitor, for the $320 I paid for it, is absolutely worth it for what I do, which is high-end gaming. Playing games at 1440p and being able to see 144 Hz is just...its a godsend. The curved panel makes things so much more immersive, too. The colors of this panel blew me away for the price (but only after calibrating them; look at how beautiful that desktop background looks on the monitor in the pictures), and the contrast ratio is pretty damn good too. Not nearly as bad as many other VA panels. The slight shift in color when looking off axis is not nearly as bad as other VA panels, either. All in all, Samsung did an excellent job here with the panel. I just wish the default settings that came with the monitor out of the box were better. I was able to overclock this particular monitor to 150 Hz as well, which isnt exactly any palpable change, but it is a nice even number and its good to know you can overclock the monitor. Oh, and the little navigation nub thing on the bottom of the monitor? Pretty dang user friendly and easy to use. The build quality is probably one of the least important parts of a monitor, but Samsung did a pretty decent job on that too. The exterior of this monitor is mostly hardened plastic. Like, really hardened plastic. As in not "cheap" plastic. And the bezels on this monitor are pretty small for its size. Its just a really good monitor all around for the price. Its not perfect, but it definitely ticks most of the boxes that people care about. **OVERALL** If youre a gamer, buy this monitor. Dont even think twice. This monitor will do literally everything you need it to do as long as you change the stand. If youre a professional artist/content creator, get the higher-end Samsung CHG70 instead of this monitor. It has better everything, really. But for gamers, the monitor here is absolutely all you need. Its not the best of the best by any means, but its pretty damn close. And for that $300 price tag, you cant really complain when it nearly goes toe-to-toe with other monitors that cost upward of $600. Samsung has always been good with displays, and this one is absolutely no different.
