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Samsung CF791 Ultra-Wide Curved Gaming Monitor Review

We are witnessing an evolution of display technology in 2017. The trends are shifting from conventional flat panels to the curved display options. Either it’s a TV, Smartphone, or even a Monitor. Professionals and gamers are adapting to curved visions. With that said, the future looks too curvy!

Now that’s when emotionally intelligent manufacturers like Samsung are coming up with unique products like CF791. It’s an ultra wide, pure curved monitor with 34-inches measured diagonally. Along with an insane aspect ratio of 21:9. That sums up the widest and the most spacious curved monitor to date. Multi-tasking has never been too easy with around 3 chrome tabs, side by side on Samsung CF791.

It’s spacious, but all that space is acquired by Samsung’s quantum dots. Resulting in an ultimate QHD resolution of 3440 x 1440. That’s refreshed @ 100Hz on a Vertically Aligned panel technology. All these trending specifications will undoubtedly result in fast refresh rate, fantastic color reproduction, quick response time, amazing viewing angles along with a lower input lag.

Not only that, but gamers be aware of AMD Freesync feature for a buttery gaming experience. Although we don’t have Nvidia G-Sync support yet, which isn’t great. But luckily quantum dot’s will show you the sharpest colors (darkest blacks) without even bleeding like IPS panels. And that’s when professional users like editors prefer this curved monitor over others. The attention to detail when working with images and videos is superb. You won’t even feel the need to grab an AMD’s Freesync enabled GPU.

Design & Features

As for the looks are concerned, Samsung CF791 reminds me of an Apple iMac. The white backplate and silver bezels feel premium to brag on your table. Whereas the stand is the sexiest of all curved monitors, we know of. It can even be VESA mounted, but we don’t think it’s designed to stick to a wall. Samsung has aimed to deliver a well focused working display with a dramatic 1500R curvature. The 34-inch diagonal shape is meant to kick off multiple monitors off your table.

Samsung isn’t behind in offering an excellent combination of connectivity options. The great news is that you can hide all the cables inside the stand. We have a standard DisplayPort along with a pair of HDMI 2.0 inputs. It’s enough to connect a Desktop and a MacBook side by side. On the other hand, we have three USB 3.0 ports, to do a lot more than we can think of. And hey there’s even a 3.5mm headphone jack, and iPhone users should be happy again. It also has built-in 7W speakers, and unlike the competition, they sound too good to be true!

Thank God, we don’t have touch buttons on this curved monitor. Instead, there’s an interactive joystick located at the back. Although it’s neatly factory calibrated, depending on your environment and needs. It can be adjusted pretty nicely. You can customize everything from the OSD, like gamma, colors, response time and more. We felt the text looking too edgy with sharpness turned to 75 by default. Turning it down to 30 resulted in a much better experience. But like I said before, you will have to make changes accordingly only if you are a Pro.

Display & Performance

Samsung’s Quantum dot technology is too good to be true. The basic concept is to deliver accurate colors using minimal power. We fell in love with the darkest blacks, just like OLEDs and ahead of IPS displays. Even the Delta-E score of 0.56 promises that it’s perfect for color critical work. Professional Video and Image editing are what we think of. Along with a 99.1% sRBG coverage and 81.2% Adobe RBG, seems too natural. What kills an IPS is the insane contrast ratio that only VA panels are known to have. Tests claim a 2,330:1 and we can’t neglect this score! The brightness of 315cd/m2 is again something competitive. So, popping colors with bright lights and no sense of bleeding is where we are headed!

Although VA panels are riskier for future. They are known to suffer from ghosting, motion blur and input lags. And we are even headed to 144Hz refresh rates in competition, but it’s still at 100Hz. This is an undeniable fact that Samsung CF791 might not be as great in next 5years. The reason is that technology might change and even better alternatives might be out soon. But Samsung has been in the display industry for a very long time. It won’t get obsolete even in the next 10 years and then we still have 1-year of full proof warranty. That can be extended with a few bucks each year.

Samsung CF791 Preview:

Reviews from Verified Buyers

PROs

• The image quality is the darkest and deepest for a curved monitor.
• I can finally say goodbye to color bleeding.
• Moving windows are pretty responsive, thanks to a 100Hz refresh rate.
• Amazing screen for professional video and image editors like me.
• Enough adapters to get all my connections done without paying extra for that.
• I love how Samsung didn’t add useless logos, and stickers like others do.
• It has the thinnest bezels of around 1cm on a curved display that I’ve seen so far.
• The CF791 has no artifacts or scanlines like IPS panels have, which is great.
• It’s been months, and there haven’t been any ghosting and input lags so far.

CONs

• Minor color shifts are observed when changing viewing angles.
• The Freesync doesn’t work well with all AMD GPU’s, and you will need a compatible one like AMD Vega.
• A 1-year warranty is too short for a costly monitor.
• Watch out for dead/stuck pixels and claim warranty asap. Or do a DIY to fix dead pixels.
• The text clarity isn’t as good as an IPS display.
• I can’t work on multiple monitors with this beast turned on.
• Although it can, it isn’t practically designed to be VESA mounted.

Final Verdict

For us, Samsung CF791 is an all rounder curved monitor. Best suited for geeks who love to work and play professionally. It’s spacious, the colors are great, responsiveness is even greater. You can literally stay focused at extreme working hours, without eye strains. There are pros and cons for everything and even ‘Gold.’ But considering what’s more important to your exact needs is what’s more important. It has been a topper for people that Samsung kept in mind. Quantum dots might appeal you and so does the overall design and build quality. But, there can be numerous reasons to go for it and quite fewer to let it go. We won’t force you to get it, nor do we like you to choose something below it. Anyways, we hope that you have made a great decision and if not, feel free to let us know in the comments section below!