Samsung 49-inch CRG9 curved gaming monitor (LC49RG90SSNXZA) review

Samsung 49-inch CRG9 curved gaming monitor (LC49RG90SSNXZA) review

Samsung 49-inch CRG9 curved gaming monitor (LC49RG90SSNXZA) connects multiple devices like Laptop, PC, Desktop Computer, Mac and Macbook Pro; Compatible with Xbox and PS4. Super ultra-wide 49 inch monitor provides the enhanced productivity thru split screen functions like Picture-by-Picture (PBP), letting you connect to two devices while maintaining their original quality. It has good reflection handling and gets very bright, enough to overcome glare with ease. Fast-moving scenes look clear and smooth, as it has a high refresh rate and quick response time, and it supports variable refresh rate technology to reduce screen tearing. Find more in Samsung 49-inch CRG9 curved gaming monitor (LC49RG90SSNXZA) review.

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In the box

  • Quick Setup Guide
  • Power cable
  • USB-B cable
  • HDMI cable
  • DisplayPort cable
  • VESA mount adapter

Pros & Cons

The Pros

  • Exceptional image quality
  • Smooth performance
  • Versatile design
  • Rich connectivity options

The Cons

  • Moderate ghosting in darker scenes in fast-paced games
  • Can’t change overdrive settings when FreeSync is enabled

Specifications – Samsung 49-inch CRG9 curved gaming monitor (LC49RG90SSNXZA)

General

  • Screen Size: 49 inch
  • Display Type : Dual QHD Display
  • Flat/Curved : Curved
  • Curvature : 1800R
  • Resolution : 5,120 x 1,440
  • Aspect Ratio : 32:9
  • Brightness (Typical): 600cd/m2
  • Peak Brightness (Typical): 1000cd/m2
  • Brightness (Min): 600cd/m2
  • Static Contrast Ratio: 3,000:1(Typ.)
  • Dynamic Contrast Ratio: Mega ∞ DCR
  • HDR: Yes
  • Viewing Angle (Horizontal/Vertical): 178°(H)/178°(V)
  • Response Time: 4(GTG)
  • sRGB Coverage: 125%
  • Color Support: 1.07B
  • Color Gamut (DCI Coverage): 95%
  • Panel Type: VA

Features

  • HDMI input: Yes
  • HAS(Height Adjustable Stand): Yes
  • Wall Mountable: Yes(100×100)
  • Windows Certification: Windows10
  • Samsung MagicBright: Yes
  • Eye Saver Mode: Yes
  • Flicker Free: Yes
  • Quantum Dot Color: Yes
  • Game Color Mode: Yes
  • Gaming: Yes
  • Image Size: Yes
  • Off Timer Plus: Yes
  • Screen Size Optimizer: Yes
  • Black Equalizer: Yes
  • Low Input Lag Mode: Yes
  • Custom Key: Yes
  • Refresh Rate Optimizor: Yes
  • Super Arena Gaming UX: Yes
  • Picture by Picture (PBP): Yes
  • Refresh Rate: 120Hz

Accessories

  • Power Cable Length: 1.8 m
  • Quick Setup Guide: Yes
  • HDMI Cable: Yes
  • Display Port Cable: Yes

Inputs

  • HDMI: 1
  • EA Display Port: 2 EA
  • Headphones: Yes
  • USB Ports: 4 EA
  • Display Port Version: 1.4
  • HDMI Version: 2.0
  • USB Hub Version: 3.0×2, 2.0×2

Design

  • Color: Dark Blue Gray
  • Tilt: Yes
  • Swivel: Yes
  • Stand Type: HAS
  • Calibration Factory Tuning: Yes

Price and availability

Samsung CRG9 (49-inch Black) at Amazon for $1,049. If you want to buy the Samsung CRG9 it is available right now in the US and UK, and will roll out in October in Australia. That is, it will be available to anyone that is willing to drop the $1,499 (£1,249, AU$2,499) that’s required to pick it up.

If you want the ‘true’ HDR viewing experience, you will need a gaming monitor with full-array local dimming such as the ASUS PG27UQ which can nowadays be found for as low as $1,300, the Acer X35 for ~$2,000, or a 4K 120Hz OLED TV, such as the LG CX for ~$1,500.

This is definitely a lot to ask for from a gaming monitor, especially when you can pick up the holy grail of gaming monitors – the Asus ROG Swift PG27UQ – for around the same price these days. Though, that monitor isn’t QLED and it doesn’t have the wild super-ultra-wide resolution.  

Key Features

Samsung C49rg90 Review

Apart from AMD FreeSync and Low Input Lag, the Samsung C49RG9 display offers additional gaming features, including Black Stabilizer (improves visibility in dark scenes), Virtual Aim Point (custom crosshairs), and pre-calibrated picture presets for FPS, RTS, RPG, and AOS genres.

Other presets include Cinema, Dynamic Contrast, High-Brightness, Custom, and sRGB, as well as three customizable Game Setting profiles.

There’s also the Eye Saver mode, which filters out the harmful low-blue lights, which in addition to the flicker-free backlight of the Samsung C49RG9, ensures a comfortable viewing experience even after prolonged use.https://320681ff015cbc1fd23e168a7ded6e36.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html

The OSD (On-Screen Display) menu is compact and user-friendly, and you can easily navigate through it using the joystick, which is placed beneath the screen at the right side.

There are three additional hotkeys that you can use to access the customized picture profiles quickly.

Standard picture adjustments such as contrast, brightness, sharpness, color temperature, gamma (three profiles) are available as well. You can also turn the local dimming on/off; it will automatically turn on when HDR content is detected.

PBP (Picture by Picture) is supported as well. However, when you enable PBP, you won’t be able to use HDR, FreeSync, and local dimming, among other things.

Compare SAMSUNG 49-Inch CRG9 Curved Gaming Monitor vs Sceptre 35 Inch Curved UltraWide LED Creative Monitor

 SAMSUNG LC49RG90SSNXZA 49-Inch CRG9 Curved Gaming Monitor, BlackSceptre 35 Inch Curved UltraWide 21: 9 LED Creative Monitor
Aspect Ratio16:921:9
Display Resolution Maximum5120X1440 pixels3440 x 1440 pixels
Screen Size49 inches35 inches
Display TypeLEDLED
Item Dimensions15.08 x 47.36 x 20.68 inches32.96 x 19.04 x 9.68 inches
Item Weight33.00 lbs16.60 lbs
Mounting TypeWall Mount
Refresh Rate120 hertz100 hertz
Size49″

Samsung 49-inch CRG9 curved gaming monitor (LC49RG90SSNXZA) review

Build

The bezels are all black  except for the bottom, which has this attractive gunmetal finish, interrupted only by the Samsung logo and some minimalist button labels. The buttons themselves, by the way, are on the bottom of the monitor.

Design

  • Weight (without stand)  26.0 lbs (11.8 kg)
  • Weight (with stand)  32.6 lbs (14.8 kg)
  • Curved Yes
  • Curve Radius 1800R

The Samsung CRG9 has a sleek but simple design. The borders are thin on three sides while the bottom bezel is just slightly thicker. The stand is wide, but it’s quite small considering the size of the screen. There’s a small ring of LEDs where the stand connects to the screen.

Stand

The stand itself is rather deep, meaning it’s going to sit pretty far forward on your desk, wasting a lot of space behind it. It’s also fairly wobbly, in my experience, though it does have height, tilt, and swivel adjustments so you can position it just right. The stand even has cable management routes so you can hide the rat’s nest behind your monitor—and you’re likely to have a few cables, thanks to the CRG9’s ample I/O. 

Wall Mount VESA 100×100

The back of the monitor is quite plain but looks good. There’s a ring around the back of the stand mount that can light up, as shown here. There’s a small hole at the bottom of the stand for Cable management, and there’s a headphone hook near the top.

It can be VESA-mounted, but there’s no quick release feature. VESA-mounting requires a special adapter.

Display

Resolution And Size Native Resolution 5120×1440Aspect Ratio 32:9Megapixels 7.4 MPPixel Density  109 PPIScreen Diagonal 48.8 inchesScreen Area 623 sq inches

The ultrawide 32:9 aspect ratio and 5120×1440 resolution deliver an outstanding amount of screen real estate to work with. This is an outstanding monitor for multitasking or a more immersive gaming experience. The higher resolution of the CRG9 makes a noticeable difference compared to the Samsung C49HG90/CHG90.

In any super ultrawide monitor, there’s always an aspect of them being unstable, due to their size, but the Samsung CRG9 proves a steady hand. It is supported by an articulated armature clad in brushed silver color that spouts from the back side of the base. The arm does a good job holding the monitor, and accounts for the Samsung LC49RG90SSNXZA’s impressive adjustability.

Ports

DisplayPort 2 (DP 1.4)Mini DisplayPort NoHDMI 1 (HDMI 2.0)DVI NoVGA NoDisplayPort Out NoUSB 2 (USB 3.0), 2 (USB 2.0)USB C NoAnalog Audio Out 3.5mm 1Microphone In 3.5mm 1Digital Optical Audio Out NoAnalog Audio Out RCA NoPower Supply Internal

Unlike the Samsung C49HG90/CHG90, there’s no Mini DisplayPort connection. Instead, there’s an additional DisplayPort 1.4 port. There’s a 3.5mm Microphone In port, which acts as a passthrough, and the Microphone Out port must be connected to a PC for it to work. There’s also a headphone jack, and you can control the volume through the monitor’s OSD.

Refresh Rate 

Native  120 HzMax Refresh Rate  120 HzVariable Refresh Rate  YesFreeSync  YesG-SYNC  NoVRR Maximum  120 HzVRR Minimum  < 20 HzVRR Supported Connectors DisplayPort

The Samsung CRG90 has an excellent 120Hz refresh rate, and it supports FreeSync 2. There are two FreeSync modes, and we recommend the ‘Ultimate Engine’ mode, which has the widest FreeSync range and supports low framerate compensation (LFC). This might not work with all games, though, in which case the ‘Standard Engine’ should work, but it has a worse FreeSync range of 70 to 120Hz. Unfortunately, this monitor only supports FreeSync over DisplayPort. If you want a similar monitor with an even higher refresh rate, check out the Samsung Odyssey G9.

HDR & Gaming

What makes the Samsung truly stand out from its competition—like the cheaper Philips 499P9H (review)—is the color. Even in non-HDR mode, the QLED tech in this screen makes colors incredibly vivid. Quite often I caught myself just staring at my 32:9 wallpapers in awe, and colorful games like Rocket League and Overwatch are truly a sight to behold (even though the latter doesn’t support 32:9 aspect ratio). HDR games and movies look similarly great when it comes to color, although CRG9’s local dimming—which is only available in HDR content—leaves a bit to be desired, since there are only a few edge-lit zones across the screen. 

Samsung 49-inch CRG9 curved gaming monitor (LC49RG90SSNXZA) Performance review

The Samsung CRG9 specifications alone look impressive, but the monitor has another trick up its sleeve: A technology called quantum dot, that has been around for a while, and works by filling the screen nanocrystal semiconductors. This tech delivers unparalleled color depth, better contrast ratios and all sorts of impressive stimuli for your retinas.

From edge-to-edge, this monitor delivers rich, velvety colors. Gameplay is enhanced by AMD Radeon FreeSync2, a sweet 4ms response time and 120Hz refresh rate, in addition to quantum dot technology and HDR 1000 that accelerates delivery of realistic color and better contrast. The latest gaming desktops, especially those using Nvidia’s RTX 20 Series graphics cards (RTX 2070, 2080, 2080 Ti etc.) will have a field day here. Even at the very high settings, motion is fluid, colors don’t bleed, and they are precisely where they need to be.

It’s easy to see why — right out of the box, the LC49RG90SSNXZ sports an impressive 3000:1 contrast ratio, 32:9 aspect ratio and it displays 125 percent on the sRGB spectrum and covers 95 percent DCI-P3 and supports 1.07 billion colors.

How does that impact practical use? It means, you’re getting a monitor that looks great, without tweaking a single setting. All you do is pull it out of the box, plant it on a desk, connect to the mains, and you’re done. You no longer have to mess around with the default settings to get the most out of this monitor — it’s bold, it doesn’t need any coaxing.

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