[vyncy]

Good and informative review as always. I do have a question about response time of this monitor. I have an issue which is much more noticeable. You talk about smearing and trailing and sure its noticeable if you really look for it, but personally I am not bothered by it. But this issue I am having is far, far more noticeable then issues you talk about in your video review ( haven’t got time yet to read written review ). So I am surprised you didn’t mention it, and it makes me question if maybe only my monitor has it, and model you tested doesn’t. I am talking about whole parts of the screen shimmering / flickering when you move around. I see it just watching your video review. For example, in BF5 trees and bushes almost always shimmer when you move. For example starting at 29:25 entire tree top flickers when you move. Or at 36:46 when you talk about the flag tree above is shimmering and flickering. So I am wondering if monitor you tested had same issue, or maybe something is wrong with my monitor ? I had va monitors in the past, and they had same issue, so I presume this is just va thing. Just surprised its not mentioned in the review, so I would really appreciate some clarifications. This is not related to gsync flickering as I have disabled it while testing, and my previous va monitor didn’t even have gsync, and it had some problem. For what its worth, I have geforce 1060 and also experience gsync flickering and black screen sometimes when its on. Even that doesn’t bother me as much as this pixel response related flicker. Gsync issue seem to stop on my monitor longer I play. Its usually present when starting the game, entering the menus etc…

[PCM2]

There’s nothing wrong with your monitor – this is just another example of how the pixel response time weaknesses common to VA models can manifest. It doesn’t just cause trailing behind objects, it causes trailing within the objects as well or more to the point causes an apparent brightness change. This is actually mentioned in the review. It’s also been mentioned in other reviews of VA models we’ve looked at and is sometimes mentioned in the videos. From the written review:

“It’s worth noting that weaknesses in pixel responsiveness don’t always manifest themselves with distinct trailing, either. For intricate mixtures of light and dark, such as a rocky wall with plenty of shadows and indentations or some vegetation, there’s a blending together of shades that essentially makes the textures appear dimmer than when there isn’t movement. Some of these shades will appear brighter when the movement ceases, so alternating between these two states can appear as a sort of flickering.”

I simply forgot to cover this aspect in the video review. I sometimes get a bit carried away talking about other issues and think I’ve already covered things when I haven’t. This is why I always encourage people to read the written review as well, there is plenty of useful data and information there that isn’t covered in the video reviews. But again, that’s not an excuse not to include it – I simply forgot to cover it there and I have in some other videos. 🙂

[vyncy]

Don’t worry about it, I will read the written review now 🙂 This particular issue is not really explained or talked about much in reviews of va monitors, so I just wanted some clarifications. What I find strange is that nothing I do helps even a little bit. I don’t see a noticeable difference between for example overdrive set to “off” and to on “strong”. Or even 60hz vs 144hz. This flickering seems to be always there, while other pixel response related issue are affected by different settings. I guess there is nothing to be done, and I just have to learn to live with it ?

[PCM2]

I’m afraid it’s caused by pixel transitions that are slow enough to give you issues at 60Hz and can’t be overcome by the ‘Strong’ overdrive setting either. Any transitions that are slow enough to cause a ‘smeary’ trail behind objects will cause this blending together of objects during movement if the objects contains those shades as well. You can technically improve this at the expense of contrast by reducing the colour channels or ‘Contrast’ control of the monitor. Or perhaps trying a different gamma setting (‘Gamma2’). But that will upset the image in other ways – might still be worth doing if you can’t get used to the alternative, but it won’t completely eliminate the issue.

[Synoxia]

PCM2: (mod: reference from this thread)

“As I said earlier, the 27″ 2560 x 1440 144H VA options are all characterstically very similar. That includes the AOC CQ27G1, which is similar to the AOC AG273QCX and by extension the Samsung as it uses the same CELL as those. But is not available here in the UK (hence no review – and I haven’t used it). They’re also due to release the follow-ups very shortly, by the way.

…Uses a different (more steeply curved) CELL and there’s a flat variant in the works

…But I don’t expect massive differences in terms of contrast or colour reproduction.”

if the “more steeply curved” is now G7, does this mean they are going to make a flat variant of G7? Any news on that?

[PCM2]

Synoxia – this didn’t need its own thread, so I’ve merged yours with a suitable one. You seem to have missed the context from the post you quoted. The important bit is that I said:

“They’re also due to release the follow-ups very shortly, by the way. Uses a different (more steeply curved) CELL and there’s a flat variant in the works.”

It should’ve been quite clear from that what I was referring to, you seem to have misinterpreted things and jumped the gun there. I was referring to those AOC models with 1500R (vs. 1800R) curve as discussed a bit in this thread and which I specifically linked to in that post. “They” were AOC, I should’ve stated “AOC” instead to make it less ambiguous, but I thought it was pretty clear due to the link I gave.

[Synoxia]

Oh okay. Definetely this post fits what i think.
All the 27 VA are horrible, with SR75 panel and i don’t even consider curved ones.
The 31.5 from AUO doesn’t support 4k signal like samsungs, so that makes it DOA for future console use.
So i am stuck here and cannot buy anything… i can wait if a flat VA is in the works for samsung, otherwise i have to give up to the curve and buy like dell S3220DGF… (mod edit: relevant thread here).

[AgentPooky]

I’d like to give some feedback on the Samsung S27R750, as I struggled to find much apart from a couple of reviews and some information on this discussion board.

The pros

– I like the look of the monitor. I came from a Dell U2719D, and while the Dell is quite elegant and thin and I appreciated the consistency of the bezel width, the Samsung has a kind of “block” shape and feels more “industrial” – I like it.

– After adjusting the colour settings to get it how I like it, the monitor displays colours as vibrant as the Dell with the added contrast that VA brings. You can really notice this when watching or playing in a dimmer room, specifically when there is light and dark content in the same scene.

– No more shadowing/backlight bleed around the edges of the screen. The Dell U2719D had shadows along the bottom left and top right of the screen which I noticed. Apparently it’s a known issue with the thin bezels on these monitors. The Samsung has no such shadows and I can’t see any backlight bleed. Of course, there is some “VA glow”, but it’s definitely not as bad as the Dell’s “IPS glow”.

– Freesync works well, even with an NVIDIA card. After applying the latest firmware, it unlocks freesync as well as a few other OSD options (like three gamma modes). It does seem to flicker a bit in some games that go lower than the adaptive sync range, but I believe this is more of a freesync issue than this specific monitor’s issue. Freesync range appears to be 48-144Hz. I have read that you can simply change this with a tool called CRU, but I’m hesitant to try. I wonder if anyone has experience doing this and if it is successful?

– The clamp stand works well for me. I can adjust it to the perfect height for me at the right distance. This would depend on how high you sit and your desk size of course.

– The text handling is fine for me, it appears normal.

The cons

– The main con is the matte screen surface, which does add a bit of a “crystalline” sheen across the screen. It’s mostly noticeable on large areas of the same colour. I guess coming from a Dell U2719D, which has a low-grain matte finish, it’s quite noticeable, but it’s definitely not a deal breaker.

– The bottom bezel juts out a little, which I can see being a bit of a dust trap.

– The VA contrast/colour shift and black crush, although I would take this any day over the vertical gamma shift of a TN panel.

Other thoughts

I installed firmware 1006.3, but I see only on the South Korean Samsung site, there is also a 1007.1 firmware. I wonder if that has any updates worth installing for? Although it may change the language of the monitor’s OSD.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.

[PCM2]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the S27R750Q – a very useful and welcome addition to this thread. I’m glad you’re enjoying the overall experience. I agree that the screen surface on these models is a touch on the grainy side, but hopefully you’ll get used to it and it will indeed be noticeable coming from a model without such pronounced graininess. Glad you’re finding the text and fine-edge clarity just fine coming from the Dell as well.

A small note is that you’re using ‘Nvidia G-SYNC Compatible Mode’ via Adaptive-Sync as an Nvidia GPU user, it’s not technically FreeSync which is an AMD trademark. The end result is of course broadly similar, but it’s good to use appropriate terminology even so.

[ppn7]

Hello,

i heard some good news/feedback about the new Samsung Odyssey G7. It seems to have a very good pixel responsiveness.
I wonder if you plan to review it ?

It’s quite expensive, here 650€ in Europe but could be a good monitor for those who like curved screen and VA contrast.

[PCM2]

Relevant discussion on the Odyssey G7 models can be found on this thread. Very interesting products for sure. And to quote a post from that thread:

“We’d like to review them and Samsung’s PR team are aware, but no samples are currently available and there’s nothing we can do about that.”

[MK]

I purchased the AOC C27G1: 27″ version of the AOC C24G1 (curved, 24″, 144hz, 1080p, VA) recommended by pcmonitors.

While I feel I can live with it, I don’t particularly want to. The minimal amount of back light bleed on the edges is enough to ruin many black scenes/images/games for me. That plus the issue you mentioned in the review of “smearing” when there are some high contrast areas (black text on white background, and vice versa). I feel both those issues together are enough to rank it lower than a good TN panel.

I understand that back light bleed is something that varies even among the same model. So I feel like if I continue trying more monitors I might not ever find one without some “minor” defects.

My BenQ XL2411z was fine except the blacks weren’t great, but the two black-related defects on this monitor don’t make it much better.

I tried the Viewsonic XG2402, 24″ 144hz TN as well, and I think any benefits it has over the XL2411z are irrelevant. And the viewing angles on the XG2402 were so bad that there wasn’t any distance from the monitor I could sit at to get it to display properly.

I tried the Acer Nitro XV273: 27″, 240hz, IPS. And the IPS glow is so bad that it made me angry that anyone would recommend an IPS.

I want 27″ 1080p, and I’m thinking that it might be better to just go with a good TN (since it only has 1 problem with blacks instead of 2), but I don’t even know if such a thing exists without getting really lucky or returning lots of monitors?

[PCM2]

Sensitivity to such issues varies. TN models aren’t immune to backlight issues such as bleed and clouding, they have significantly lower static contrast and offer much poorer gamma handling vertically. Some users can’t stand the vertical gamma shifts on TN models, which greatly mask dark detail higher up the screen and make things look blocky and not at all masked enough lower down. Nonetheless, you’re entitled to prefer TN models yourself based on your own subjective assessment – especially if you can’t accept the motion performance of the VA model you tried. The C24G1 is somewhat more responsive than the C27G1 as well, just to note, but certainly not as responsive as the TN or IPS models you tried. Full HD TN models are something of a forgotten combination really, so there’s nothing I’d specifically recommend in that segment.

[jasswolf]

It’s quite expensive, here 650€ in Europe but could be a good monitor for those who like curved screen and VA contrast.

That’s the MSRP, but if you look around, you should be able to find it for €500 including 20% VAT.

[MK]

Yeah the better blacks are why I got this VA. It just feels like a let down if the blacks are going to be ruined anyway by back light bleed and the smearing issue.

I’m wondering if this is really the best 27″ 1080p VA monitor out there? It’s quite cheap at $230. I see in the other thread, a year ago you said this was the best option, but is that still the case? I paid much more ($500) for the IPS monitor that I would say is not better than this one overall (mainly due to IPS glow).

[PCM2]

There’s nothing in that segment that offers a better all-round experience in my opinion. The Gigabyte AORUS CV27F might be worth considering if you want more vibrant colour output and don’t mind a bit of overshoot for some faster pixel response times. Or a somewhat steeper curve and basic HDR support. It also offers a more conventional subpixel layout (no partial subpixel illumination), so offers better text and fine edge clarity, although in my view with this pixel density it’s not exactly wonderful at that anyway.

[MK]

Looks like the Gigabyte AORUS CV27F is even worse in the two issues that are bothering me the most. It seems to have more glow/bleed, and worse smearing.

[PCM2]

Yeah, was a while since I used or even thought about that model to be honest. I had in mind that it was better for responsiveness than it actually was, having now looked back over my testing. I correctly recalled the overshoot it had but it was basically in addition to smeary dark transitions – great! 😉 It also has some quirky backlight behaviour that was apparently improved in firmware but possibly not completely fixed (like forced dynamic contrast in some scenes).

[kadoosh]

I’m also looking for a 27 VA monitor, one preferably that’s not horrible ;).
Using a TN panel for a few years but I’m sick of the whitish colour production(AOC G2770PF).

I’ve narrowed it down to these models:
AOC AGON AG273QCX €390
+best contrast 3220
+Curved slightly, I tried 1800r and that’s seems ok, I think 1500R would be maybe to much?
Response time 6ms
+Freesync range of 30-144

AOC AG273QX €470
-price
+best response time of 4ms according to a review
+165hz even though 144hz should be enough
– minimum brightness sdr 110 nits . I hate monitors being to bright, my TN panel is also quite bright.

AOC CQ27G2U/BK €300
++price
– brightness
+looks better

I will be using my own vesa stand so for that I don’t care.
I think the AG273QX for 470 is just to expensive compared to the CQ27G2U. The AG273QCX seems better priced.

I will be using in a lowly lit room and darker at night of course.

Would you say the AG273QCX is better then the CQ27G2U.

[PCM2]

Hi kadoosh,

Just to say, the pixel response times you’ve mentioned in your post are very misleading. All of these models have significant variation in pixel response times depending on the transition being performed. Whilst some transitions may be performed at ~ 4ms, others are several times as high. It’s extremely misleading to look at cherry-picked values or averages when looking at VA monitors. This is one reason we provide such broad subjective analysis in our reviews instead – it’s more representative of what you can expect ‘in the real world’ and is less misleading.

Some comparisons with the AG273QCX are drawn in the CQ27G2(U) review. The main draw of the AGON model, for some users, is the support for HDR and more powerful backlight. And the more ‘premium’ design (powder-coated metal stand etc.) – but I prefer the simpler looks of the CQ model myself. And it’s far from a full-fat HDR experience you get on the AGON, plus most users would run the CQ27G2(U) at below maximum brightness so the more limited luminance is inconsequential. The CQ model has some other advantages:

– No subpixel related issues. Superior text and fine-edge clarity.

– Steeper curve is more noticeable but not extreme. I feel it works well, but I wouldn’t buy or avoid either model based on this particular aspect alone.

– Slightly better pixel responsiveness overall, less widespread ‘smeary’ trailing. None of these models are amazing for pixel responsiveness, though, per the review and the first paragraph of this reply.

– It’s clearly the best price to performance ratio if you find the design agreeable and aren’t bothered about HDR support – and if you are, you’d need to accept a pretty limited HDR performance anyway.

[Author]

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