Computers

Samsung 27-inch Curved Gaming Monitor review: All you could ever want

A great gaming display thanks to high refresh rate and curved built.

Published

October 5, 2020

Gab Orlina

A lot of people find something nice about a curved display. I personally think that this kind of display gives you an illusion of depth to anything you put on it. Whether it’s playing a game or watching a video in full-screen mode, it gives you that sense of immersion. Of course, part of it also comes with bright and accurate coloring.

This is what I feel the Samsung 27-inch WQHD Curved Gaming Monitor offers, on paper. It’s a widescreen, curved display mostly suited for competitive gamers thanks to its high refresh rate. With multiple features suited for the competitive player, it’s the ideal monitor for people looking to build their first gaming setup.

But if you’re just looking for a great monitor for your home/office space, or if you’re just a casual gamer, should you even consider this?

For starters, there’s the high refresh rate and it’s curved

The Samsung 27-inch Curved Gaming Monitor comes with a 144Hz refresh rate, a staple for most. Obviously with such a high refresh rate, you get some kind of increase in gaming performance. With this monitor, my experience was just along what you’d expect.

Every time I played a game on it, the whole experience just felt smooth. I’m not the most competitive gamer in the whole world, as long as I get to run the game. However, to me it still hits differently when you see the game run smoothly as you trudge along the battles.

As the name suggests, it’s also a curved display — and I felt this is the ideal way to construct a gaming monitor. Now, for most games I’ve played, having a curved display has its perks. With such a large amount of screen space that just curves along, I roughly get to see the whole game’s environment. In essence, you feel some semblance of immersion every time you play Fortnite or Call of Duty Warzone.

Port selection is pretty great for the most part

Along with the high refresh rate, the Samsung 27-inch Curved Gaming Monitor also has a nice selection of ports. It comes with two HDMI ports and a DisplayPort 1.2, all of which you can switch to on the fly. I feel like this is more of a standard across most gaming monitors, but Samsung does things differently with their ports.

From L to R: HDMI 1, HDMI 2, DisplayPort 1,2m Audio, Power

Apparently, only one HDMI port actually grants you the 144Hz refresh rate. Out of the two HDMI ports that come with the device, only the HDMI 2 port gives you the high refresh rate. I’m not entirely sure why Samsung decided to do this. I’ve heard that some of their other products also place the high refresh rate option on a specific port.

Furthermore, I would have loved for them to include a DisplayPort cable along with the HDMI cable. Given that most GPUs come with a DisplayPort anyway, I think this would have been a nice move. Also, the DisplayPort supports the 144Hz refresh rate so I felt this was a missed opportunity on their part.

Speaking of missed opportunities

Another missed opportunity for this monitor was giving it FreeSync or G-Sync support. I know that other similar models of the Samsung 27-inch Curved Gaming Monitor come with FreeSync support. However, the model I have didn’t — the DisplayPort doesn’t support it, and it honestly would have made the display perform better.

With FreeSync, you’re able to play your games at a stunning rate without losing much detail. In essence, it allows you to react faster — especially for most FPS games like Valorant and CS:GO. Obviously, FreeSync also raises some risks especially when you’re playing for longer hours. However, it would have provided this monitor with better performance if it supported it.

As a casual gamer, I honestly didn’t mind that FreeSync wasn’t supported mostly because I was still happily playing at 144Hz anyway. However, there were instances when I felt the game lag behind a bit. It would have been nice if the amount of lag I experienced was reduced, and FreeSync would’ve been a great thing to have.

Is this your GadgetMatch?

For PhP 27,199 (US$ 562), the Samsung 27-inch Curved Gaming Monitor is a pretty decent curved gaming display. It’s biggest selling point is in its high 144Hz refresh rate, which fits both competitive and casual gamers alike. Also, it being a curved display allows for greater immersion during gameplay.

Of course, this does have some missing technologies that would have made it better. I felt that this monitor had some missed opportunities that would have improved its performance in the long run. But, as a casual gamer, it honestly doesn’t matter to me as much as it would to others.

Overall, this gaming monitor serves its ideal purpose for those who need it. If you’re more casual than competitive, this is honestly all you could ever want.

Related Topics:Samsung 27" Curved Gaming Monitor

Computers

Razer Axon: Top 10 wallpapers for summer

Refresh your summer

Published

April 28, 2024

GadgetMatch

Haven’t thought about your PC wallpaper for a while now? Can’t blame you. Maybe it’s just the summer weather or you’re too drained in the heat to think about it — or both. Nevertheless, Razer Axon, a wallpaper PC app, can let you decide easier and better.

Here are a handful of summer-themed animated and static wallpapers from both Razer Axon’s team and the Razer community which were selected through a contest. For Razer Chroma RGB users, these visuals can be scan be synced to bring new depths of color and immersion to your desktop.

The wallpaper compilation covers everything from tropical beaches and lush rainforests to refreshing underwater scenes and vibrant sunsets. Perhaps, now’s the time to change your PC’s wallpaper for a refreshing restart.

Vintage California collection (Alison Silver)

As the name suggests, this series is designed with nostalgic vibes and So-Cal’s warm summer tones. Cue 2Pac and Dr. Dre’s “California Love.”

Morning Routine (Hakimi Hamizi)

Meanwhile, “Far Far Away” gives warm animated images that remind you of settings in animes. These wallpapers definitely feel like you’re in those sunny countryside scenes.

Sonic Superstars (Sonic Team)

Join Sonic and his team in this colorful wallpaper with Chroma RGB effects, perfect for PC users sharing their devices with children.

Vacation Vibes (Razer)

Of course, what’s summer without beach vacation vibes? This Razer original wallpaper brings the essence of summer vacation right in front of you.

Lost in Santorini (Ric Yang)

On the other hand, Ric Yang offers not one, not two, but three choices to bring your PC displays to Santorini’s vibrant greenery and architecture and the Mediterranean sea’s majestic azure.

Back to School (Jiri Najman)

The young student in us definitely had this classroom view before. Green chalkboards? Check. Study tables and chairs? Check. Learning materials to complement the classroom’s ambience? You bet. Najman’s dynamic “Reconnect With Your Inner Child” wallpaper features nostalgic early morning rays and late summer nights.

The Serene Cabin (Don Li)

Furthermore, Don Li reminds us that in spite of the heat, this cabin basking in warm summer rays and surrounded by luscious greens can offer respite.

Green Alley

In another animated wallpaper, take yourselves to a rural countryside, away from the city’s hustle and bustle. This one paints a vivid and homely retreat, allowing everyone to reconnect with nature and forget that it is scorching hot, at least for a moment.

Discovering Japan Vol. 1 Collection (Ric Yang)

Speaking of anime, these shots of Japan during its warmer seasons evoke a sense of zen — something that can only be found in the land of the rising sun.

Axon Create Contest Choice: Retro Revival

These backgrounds are generated by the Axon community via Razer Axon Create’s AI generative technology. Retro Revival presents a myriad of warm-toned scenes, sending us back to generations ago with its distinct color grading. BRB, need to hit the nearest 50s diner.

Computers

Colorful launches 1st ever Mini PC

Compact and space-saving

Published

April 26, 2024

GadgetMatch

Colorful has announced its first ever Mini PC: The Colorful CMNH01-12450. This new offering gives users a solution for their daily productivity and entertainment needs, all in a compact and small PC chassis.

Space-saving computing

The Colorful Mini PC is a space saver. It is basically just five inches by five inches large, with a thickness of above two inches, conveniently fitting setups with limited spaces. It has a fast 2.5 GbE LAN port and an assortment of connectivity ports for other peripherals and devices.

It also has two USB2.0, two USB 3.2 Gen2, and one USB Type-C ports, as well as one DisplayPort and one 3.5mm audio jack. Furthermore, it supports PCIe Gen 4 SSDs, up to 64GB of DDR4 memory, and an M.2 slot for Wi-Fi modules.

Powerful, efficient

Performance wise, Colorful’s compact PC houses a 12th Gen Intel Core i5 12450H processor with eight cores and 16 threads. The PC can deliver a maximum boost clock of 4.4GHz. The chassis also has a silent turbo fan underneath for cooling. As for its GPU, the mini PC has Intel Iris Xe graphics. Moreover, it will run on Windows 11 Home.

Colorful looks to have different configurations for the product depending on the region. Pricing and availability will be announced later.

Computers

Lenovo Innovate: Smarter Yoga, Legion, LOQ lineups unveiled

Unlocking smart technologies

Published

March 27, 2024

GadgetMatch

Tech companies continue to harness the power of AI to help provide consumers with better devices that are tailor-fit for today’s demands. Lenovo is no exception. At Lenovo’s Innovate 2024 event, the company gave its consumers a glimpse of its future lineup of Yoga, Legion, and LOQ devices for the Asia-Pacific market.

In a nutshell, Lenovo calls these new devices the new standard in terms of what they can offer. The latest computers are all smarter and come equipped with the latest Intel Core Ultra processors (select models) and Copilot in Windows 11.

So, what’s new?

Basically, Lenovo has added even more innovative features, mostly AI-enabled, for all lineups. These enhancements make them even more exceptional. Lenovo consumers know by now what each specific lineup is exceptional at. For instance, the Lenovo Yoga lineup is mainly engineered to help creators. On the other hand, the Lenovo Legion devices are meant to handle gaming effortlessly, on top of other tasks.

Empowering creators

To set the latest Yoga devices apart, Lenovo has equipped them with PureSight Pro and Puresight OLED displays. These color-calibrated screens deliver greater brightness, contrast, and accuracy that meet the demands of creators for precise visual work — whether it’s graphic design, photo editing, or video production.

The Yoga laptops also have a Copilot key shortcut to assist users right away with the help of AI. Specifically, the Yoga 9i 2-in-1 and Yoga Pro 9i incorporate Lenovo AI Engine+ driven by Lenovo’s LA AI Core chips. This utilizes software machine learning algorithms, leading to a more optimized system performance.

Lastly, the Yoga lineup is enhanced with Lenovo Creator Zone. This generative AI software turns text or sketches into visuals to aid creators. Select Yoga Pro laptops will also support image training, where creators can train a personalized model that learns and creates images that match their preferences.

Advanced gaming performance

On the gaming side, Lenovo’s Legion and LOQ products likewise now harness the capabilities of Lenovo LA AI Core chips. These allow higher FPS and improved power efficiency to handle titles better and provide gamers the top-tier experience.

Furthermore, Lenovo has introduced the Legion Coldfront: Hyper thermal solution exclusively for the Intel-based Legion 7i and Legion 5i. This new cooling system transforms the airflow within the chassis, channeling hot air from the chips to optimize heat exchange.

LOQ laptops, meanwhile, debut the new hyperchamber thermal technology to keep processors cooler. This technology draws out up to an additional 25W power in Extreme Mode, while keeping temperatures lower.

New PCs

Here are the new Lenovo PCs to be introduced to the Asia-Pacific market, for your perusal.

The new Lenovo Yoga lineup includes:

Lenovo Yoga Book 9i (13-inch, Gen 9)
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i (16-inch, Gen 9)
Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i (14-inch, Gen 9)
Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 (14-inch, Gen 9)
Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 (14 and 16-inch, Gen 9)
Lenovo Yoga Pro Bluetooth Mouse, Yoga 600 Bluetooth Silent Mouse, Yoga True Wireless Stereo Earbuds, and Lenovo Yoga Sleeve