Monitor with a superb display for gamers

Samsung's latest monitor will not be out of place in a sci-fi movie.

Not only does this 24-inch screen use the fancy-sounding quantum-dot technology to display a wider range of colours (125 per cent of the sRGB colour space), but the CFG70 also has a dual-hinge arm that looks vaguely like that on the robots you would see at an automotive assembly line.

This arm is very flexible. You can adjust the height and tilt and swivel the screen.

Or even rotate the display to portrait orientation, though I am not sure how useful this would be, because the CFG70 is curved.

The only downside of this dual-hinge arm is that it sticks out at the back.

Coupled with the monitor's relatively large base, the CFG70 requires a fair amount of desk space.

If this is a problem, you can hang the monitor on the wall.

Unlike more gaudy gaming monitors, the CFG70 is mostly black, with silver edges.

Its only concession to the gaming crowd is the LED light beneath the screen.

Dubbed Arena Lighting, this LED can be set to pulse in sync with the audio from your computer.

The CFG70 has a rather pronounced curve. It is rated at 1800R, or as curved as a circle of radius 1,800mm.

However, the 24-inch display does not quite surround you to give the immersive experience of, say, a larger 34-inch curved monitor.

Viewing angles are wide, thanks to the use of a vertical alignment (VA) panel.

Another benefit of the VA screen is that the contrast ratio is impressive at 3000:1.

The quantum-dot feature also makes the reds and greens pop out, which is especially great for games that are colourful and cartoony.

I was pleased that the CFG70 has two HDMI slots compared with a single one on some of its competitors, as well as a DisplayPort.

But it lacks USB ports. There is no built-in speaker either, just an audio jack.

The monitor supports AMD FreeSync with AMD graphics cards.

This feature helps to keep the game's frame rate in sync with the monitor's refresh rate in order to reduce stuttering and tearing.

For those without an AMD card, you can manually set the monitor refresh rate at 60Hz, 100Hz, 120Hz or 144Hz.

Pick the one that comes closest to the frame rates produced by your PC hardware and game settings.

Samsung also deserves much credit for the excellent on-screen display (OSD), which can be accessed via the small joystick at the back.

The controls are intuitive: flick the joystick in various directions to quickly change settings like brightness and contrast, or click to go into the menu for more options.

I like the fact that the OSD shows a summary of current settings, like refresh rate and whether FreeSync is enabled, at the top.

There are also a number of useful presets for game genres like first-person shooter and real-time strategy that significantly change the contrast, brightness and sharpness of the display.

The CFG70 was very well-calibrated out of the box. In my test with a colourimeter, the colour accuracy was good.

It also scored highly for contrast and brightness.

vinchang@sph.com.sg

Verdict: A great-looking display with a high 144Hz refresh rate and an excellent OSD with a tactile joytstick controller. It is a bit pricey, though.

TECH SPECS

PRICE: $648

RESOLUTION: 1,920 x 1,080 pixels

ASPECT RATIO: 16:9

BRIGHTNESS: 350 cd/m2

RESPONSE TIME: 1ms

PANEL TYPE: Vertical alignment

CONNECTIVITY: DisplayPort, 2 x HDMI, audio jack

RATING

FEATURES: 4/5

DESIGN: 5/5

PERFORMANCE: 4/5

VALUE FOR MONEY: 3/5

OVERALL: 4/5

This article was first published on Feb 01, 2017.
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