Samsung CHG90 Series Curved 49-inch Gaming Monitor Review

The Samsung CHG90 is a beast that combines smooth, stutter and tear-free gaming experience offering exceptional brightness and high-contrast visuals. Support for wide color gamut and black levels to show the faintest and brightest of images makes this monitor a stand-out in its category. It offers HDR content at twice the brightness and colors that are offered by the standard sRGB screens.

This guide provides an overview of display features and functions of the TV screen. The Samsung CHG90 review is followed by benefits and drawbacks when compared to other widescreen monitors in the market. If you like its excellent quality, you can buy it from Amazon to take advantage of promotions and shipping deals. Since it is a relatively new model, there is little difference between the new and the used monitor. The Samsung CHG90 Amazon prices are comparatively similar to its main competitors but the monitor certainly excels in quality. Here are some of the defining features of the Samsung screen:

Everyone talks about taking the gaming experience to the next level, but there are few things as overpowering as the world's largest gaming monitor, the Samsung CHG90. If you have heard about head-turners, the sleek 49-inch monitor will surely stop most of us on our tracks to get a good glimpse. Regardless of the fact if you're a gaming enthusiast or a movie fanatic, the picture quality and well-angled curve will surely impress even the hardest critics.

The Size

If you want one, you must also make enough space for the huge monitor. If there is not enough space available on the desk, try adjusting your mouse, keyboard, and gears. The monitor also covers a lot of area due to the extended base that may take the entire breadth of the desk. While the base and stands are all made up of high-quality plastic, the placement of the legs is designed to hold the bulky 26-pound monitor in its place. Once in place, gamers will be satisfied by the balancing act as the monitor seems perfectly aligned to the base.

The Display

Depending on your preference, the curve offer symmetry to the human view allowing gamers to enjoy both the single and multiple screens. When playing multiplayer games with split-screen, the wide-angle of review is much better than the 27-inch monitor setup we have become accustomed to.

On a single screen, your vision is closer to the natural human eye due to the curves on both sides. The gaming experience is enhanced by the interactive view, which is closer to virtual reality. We say it's much better than the virtual reality when sitting close to get all the angles because there is nothing unnatural about it. The wider angle of view also means that you get the advantage while playing games such as Fortnite allowing the gamer an extra split second to view the enemy sneaking behind.

The Performance

We don't need to boast about the quality of display; therefore it's better to talk about the field test performed on this gaming monitor. When pitting it up against similar monitors from HP and BenQ, the Samsung CHG90 QLED comes out as a real winner. Its display contrast ratio is 1,160, which is much higher than its competitors. To put the contrast ratio in perspective, most gaming monitors of this size have a contrast ratio anywhere from 600 to 1000.

Similarly, the display also excels in color Gamut, which exceeds 88 percent of the AdobeRGB. In contrast, most monitors will only offer a color Gamut nearing 70 percent mark. As for color accuracy, this monitor really shines because the color error rate is as low as 1.26 in contrast to similar monitors where the color error rate usually exceeds 2.00 and often reaches 3.00. In simple words, these technical specifications mean that this monitor is a solid device that accurately balances the display performance.

It's also important to understand the display performance because most gaming monitors usually reduce color gamut and color accuracy in favor of large screen size. Reducing such factor is a common practice in the industry to compensate for the stylish features that are the selling point of these televisions. Luckily, Samsung CHG90 series offers performance, stylish looks, and high-quality – a benchmark that has made Samsung the leader in gaming technology.

As with most large monitors, viewers would not get the full widescreen when playing certain movies. You need to understand that this monitor is much wider than your typical widescreen TV, which means that a DVD with a 16:9 aspect ratio will only cover the screen vertically. You will see black bars on either side of the screen because DVDs cannot cover the horizontal aspect of the screen. To compensate for this drawback, it's practical to enlarge the video to another resolution but that would cut the top and bottom of the screen. The setting will definitely work on some videos that don't require the 16:9 aspect ratio, but you will need to be content with the standard display for most videos.

Gamers are mostly immune from this drawback as most games take advantage of the extreme aspect ratio of these gaming monitors. Most popular games will definitely allow you to experience the entire screen; however, you may need to tweak others to work properly. Perhaps, the easiest method to solve any type of anomaly is restarting the monitor.

Display Features

While Samsung CHG90 series has clearly tilted the balance in its favor, this CHG90 monitor is not the brightest monitors. At 286 nits, there are much brighter computers out there in the market. Despite the lack of brightness, ask yourself if you really require brighter screens? In fact, sitting closer to a bright big screen may take away from your gaming experience as brightness is known to impact the vision when sitting close to monitors.

Regarding features, most gaming monitors pack a variety of multiple features which may include 4K, HDR, refresh rate, 144 Hz and G-Sync. All these features play an important part in how the gamer will feel when playing the game. Adjusting these features to match individual screenplay and games is what makes high-end gaming monitors worth every penny. As for this monitor, it packs a punch by allowing gamers to adjust three of the five features addressed earlier. Accordingly, you can play around with refresh rate, 144 Hz, and HDR to enhance your experience while playing a particular game.

The monitor offers an impressive HDR quality. The high dynamic range imaging is critical to producing a greater dynamic range of luminosity than what can be achieved using typical imaging techniques. As a result of HDR, humans can enjoy a much better perspective of the image reflected on the screen. For instance, some of the high-intensity games such as Battlefield 1 are a joy to play on this screen as this HDR-enabled monitor provides amazing depth and contrast to the viewer. The sensation is so intense that gamers have related it to 3-D experience. It should be noted that the HDR may not work that well on certain operating systems. It does not look that good on Windows 10, but certain games may benefit from it even when you've Windows 10 version.

When tested against the different HDR channels on YouTube, the monitor offers a perfect balance of colors in dark and light shade areas. Overall, its HDR performance for video games and standard videos is much better than the average monitor. If you want to go beyond the normal, then try adding AMD free-sync to the monitor. The AMD is marketed to offer a more streamlined experience than traditional setups.

It seems that the developers could have worked on the resolution as the current resolution is short of the other stand-out features. It's the same resolution that you get on a normal 27-inch gaming screen. The pixel density is not attractive as viewers can sometimes discern individual pixels on the screen when graphics are spread out on the 49-inch monitor.

Another potential upgrade that is missing is G-sync mode. The G-sync mode prevents screen tearing on the NVidia graphics card. Perhaps, the developers didn't include it due to the very high price tag associated with such inclusions as G-sync. If you really want to get the free sync support, then try the AMD graphics card, which is a good alternative to enhance the display on the fast-moving gaming experience. The AMD will also offer variable refresh rates as low as 48 Hz, and over 48Hz to 100Hz over HDMI. In fact, the AMD supports low framerate compensation technology, which means that you will get a smooth viewing experience even at 48Hz. If you're not into buying additional accessories, you're not alone as many gamers wouldn't really think about any extras when they're already getting a high-quality viewing experience.

Post Calibration

Despite the fact that we would love to have all the display features on this TV, but you need to ask yourself if you need everything. For instance, post-calibration tests reveal that you're likely not going to find any reasonable differences in colors, resolutions, and display when combining different display features. This is because Samsung has given us a solid monitor that is ready to impress out of the box.

If you love large screens, it may be noticeable that calibration plays a big part in some of the other monitors where gamers can definitely increase the screen display after fiddling with controls. Such changes are often necessary because there are so many varieties of computer games that can take advantage of the post-calibration process. Luckily, this monitor stands out from the competition as it gives an almost-perfect experience with standard settings. You can play your favorite game with default setting without scarifying the overall viewing experience.

Controls and Ports

There are four physical buttons on the monitor, which are located at the bottom-right edge of the screen. The power button is the largest of these as it also doubles-up as a joystick to select menu. The remaining three buttons are for onscreen display settings. As described in the previous paragraph, you can play around with OSD to adjust on-screen display features. These three bottoms will particularly come handy for games that can take advantage of enhanced picture quality; although, we really don't think that you will need OSD that often.

As for the ports, there are plenty of options for gamers to connect their favorite accessory. The panel has HDMI port; one full-size and one mini display connector; three USB ports; an audio-in jack, and one headphone jack. It lacks a typical Type-C port, but the port is very rare on standard gaming monitors. It is also missing support for internal speakers as the model doesn't come with built-in speakers.

Experts have also tested the input lag using a lag tester. Results of these tests are excellent as the pixel response is almost 1 millisecond, which compares favorably with the input lag measurement of 11 milliseconds. It's true that you may come across monitors that have better results but these readings prove that CHG 90 is a solid all-round performer.

Advantages of the Monitor

Shades of Color

The model uses the benchmark quantum color technology, which is reputed to enhance the gaming experience by delivering a billion shades of accurate colors. In non-technical language, it means that gamers will enjoy sharp and crisp colors out of the box without fiddling with calibration.

HDR 

​The monitor supports high dynamic range imaging, which is vital to the user experience when playing open-world games. It renders images closer to real-life by offering bright colors in brighter areas and dark colors in darker areas. Gamers will love the contrasting features of sunlight and the shadow.

AMD FreeSync Support 

Gamers will be delighted to get AMD support for their graphic cards. It means you can enjoy a brighter color and more contrast when playing games. The AMD support is particularly essential for gamers who love open-world experiences where the scenery and outdoor elements are as important as the gameplay.

The Speed 

​Motion blur in fast-paced games is a nuisance to hardcore gamers. Luckily, this gadget is embedded with advanced motion blur reduction and superior VA panel to allow a greater MPRT response time. A motion picture response time of less than 1ms means that everyone can enjoy a clear transition from slow to fast movement without any discernible difference.

Smoother Gameplay

 The gameplay is enhanced by a super smooth 144HZ screen refresh rate. Gamers will love the smoother transitions in action games that usually have a very high frame rate. The in-built features will also allow you to reduce the refresh speed to 120Hz or 60Hz.

The Black Equalizer

The unique image equalizing capabilities of the monitor allow gamers to adjust brightness in real-time. Its powerful 20-step black equalizer means that you can detect the faintest shade of enemies hiding in the darkest of places by adjusting the screen for black spots.

Eye Saver Mode

 To increase the amount of gameplay, the monitor comes with an eye saver mode. Turning on the eye saver mode will reduce reflections and glare from the blue light associated with stress and fatigue. Using this feature, gamers are sure to enjoy hours of gameplay without feeling the impact of screen time.

Automatic Picture Mode

The monitor is designed to detect the game genre allowing maximum exposure for sharpness, black gamma levels, and contrast. Users can also select a variety of picture modes including FPS, RTS, RPG, and AOS. The system was developed in coordination with the Samsung Galaxy Team – the semifinalist of LOL World Championship 2016.

Game-style Dashboard 

​The monitor allows gamers to select their favorite setting by adjusting controls on the fly. A game-style intuitive dashboard controls the settings using shortcut menus. This is a very handy feature for gamers who like individual display settings for different scenes.

Multi-tasking

Forget about joining two computer screens to multi-task or play multi-player split-screen games. Now you can enjoy the same experience equivalent to two side-by-side 16:9 monitors. There are no bezels impeding your view of the two screens, which also means that there is no need for separate cables, power source, and monitors. It's a 2-in-1 experience …

Multi-Screen 

​If you think two screens on a single monitor are cool, think what you can achieve with multiple screens on your monitor. The easy setting box on the monitor allows users to instantly divide the screen into many smaller screens of different sizes. Multitasking will be a breeze in a single mouse click.

Picture-in-Picture 

 This feature allows gamers and individuals to enjoy a separate screen on the main monitor. You can even connect and view input from different sources without degrading the overall quality of the entire frame.

Light-it-Up Function

 Unique to Samsung chg90 series curved 49-inch gaming monitor, the light-it-up function is located at the back panel allowing the lightening to increase in intensity according to the situation. The function is aligned with the audio, which means that the light will react to the game sound. As the game sound gets louder, the light will also increase accordingly elevating moments of intense gaming.

Screen Adjustment 

​This thing is built for gamers as you can easily adjust the device according to your preference. The height-adjustable stand allows us to adjust the height, tilt, and swivel it. It's easy to adjust the super-light frame allowing you to relax and play in comfort.

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Downsides for this monitor

Size 

The sheer size of this 49-inch screen may make it difficult to adjust in tight corners. You may also need to replace your existing desk to incorporate it in the office. Even if it fits the desk, you should have enough space for keyboards, mouse, and other accessories.

Screen Dimensions

If you're intent on playing games on this monitor, then you may not have any problems; however, most of us will be enticed to watch movie and documentaries. In this case, 16:9 aspect ratio will surely test your temper as there will be a wide black panel on both sides of the screen.

Pixel Density

While the overall picture quality is excellent compared to other monitors of its size, the Samsung lacks in pixel density. Lack of sufficient pixel density may not render a perfect image, particularly if you increase the screen size to compensate for screen dimensions. On a positive note, you can also take the low pixel density as a cost-saving factor because you will not need a top-of-the-line graphics card to run on its descent frame rates.

Built-in Speakers 

Many widescreen monitors have built-in speakers to enhance the audio quality of the video. These speakers can ensure a listening experience worthy of an opera; however, lack of in-built speakers is something to crave for. On second thought, the designers may not have needed these speakers due to the excellent acoustics of Samsung.

The Verdict

Cost – The Samsung CHG90 Price is approximately $1000 on Amazon. Accessories and shipping will add to the overall expense. While there is no doubt that it's an expensive piece of hardware, the higher level of quality makes it a great value for your money.

Overall, the Samsung CHG90 monitor is a great value for your money if you require a very large widescreen gaming monitor. The picture quality and graphics offer quality gaming experience on the highest level. In fact, the stylish curved screen and a wide-angle view are similar to a 3D experience. Support for multiple screens and multi-tasking makes it a great option for doing office work, watching TV, or playing multi-player games. While there are no major drawbacks, we would like an in-built stereo, support for G-Sync, and a possible C-port.