Critics found that the Samsung U32J590 is the perfect monitor for console gamers who want UHD 4K resolutions when playing games. Its low input lag, fast response time, and Freesync compatibility perform amazingly with consoles that use AMD cards. While experts did find it to work correctly with Nvidia cards, it isn’t the best fit for PC gamers who want to play at high frames per second as the refresh rate is limited to a low 60Hz. Other than that, with its high contrast ratio, wide color gamut, and exceptional color accuracy, they found it displayed images at excellent quality despite the low peak brightness. Therefore, for gamers who mainly play on consoles and are okay with playing in a dark room, this is the perfect monitor; for others, it’s best to consider any of the features ranging from a dim brightness to a glare-prone panel or mediocre refresh rate is a dealbreaker.
PICTURE QUALITY
Blacks
- The Samsung U32J590 was found to have decent blacks levels by reviewers. While they didn’t have much to add regarding the black levels themselves, you should expect deep levels thanks to its high contrast ratio. As for the black uniformity, they were reasonably impressed with it as it makes images appear crisp and vibrant.
- However, they did notice a few issues regarding the black levels when viewed off-axis, especially with the black levels appearing too high when viewed off the vertical axis.
Brightness
- Experts were disappointed with the Samsung U32J590 monitor’s brightness as the peak brightness is limited to a mediocre 270 nits. While it doesn’t completely ruin the image quality, they found it to be well below that of most other 4K monitors. However, the brightness uniformity is excellent in the Samsung U32J590, with deviations staying below 5%. They also liked the brightness calibration, which improves colors and selectively boosts the contrast ratio at settings of about 20 to 30%.
Color Accuracy
- The Samsung U32J590 delivers magnificent color accuracy with an out-of-box DeltaE of 3.1 and a color temperature slightly off the ideal setting at 6900K, according to testers. But with calibration settings that allow you to control the image quality, they found that the DE can be reduced to 0.8, and the color temperature made closer to the ideal 6500K for better and more accurate colors.
Color Gamut
- Critics found the Samsung U32J590 monitors to perform exceptionally well in terms of color gamut with its vast 99.1% sRGB XY gamut coverage as well as an Adobe RGB XY of about 87.6%. And paired with the monitor’s 10-bit color support, it displays vibrant colors with better dynamic range and more details.
Color Gradient
- The Samsung U32J590 reviewers didn’t have much to add regarding the monitor’s color gradient. However, you should expect good gradient colors with minimal or no banding thanks to its excellent black uniformity, color accuracy, and vast color gamut.
Color Uniformity/Variance
- Top experts were pleased with the Samsung U32J590 monitor’s color uniformity thanks to its excellent grey uniformity with a 5% DSE of 0.072%, which means you’ll experience less than average dirty screen effect, making for an overall better experience. They also mentioned that it has moderate black uniformity with minimal clouding and backlight bleed, which allows for less washed-out blacks.
Contrast
- The Samsung U32J590 4k UHD monitor was measured to have an outstanding native screen contrast ratio of 2800:1 according to expert critics. They found this to significantly improve the immersive gaming experience by giving more critical details to shadows for realistic image quality. It was also stated to improve the gaming experience by making dark scenes more visible.
Resolution
- Product testers relished the Samsung U32J590 monitor’s impressive 3840 x 2160 pixels 4K resolution. It was found to pair up nicely with the large display size to make content appear more sharp and crisp with great colors and a 4k UHD level picture quality. And with the high contrast, they were impressed by its exceptional image quality when playing games or watching movies.
Refresh Rate
- The Samsung U32J590 4K UHD monitor was measured by reviewers to have a maximum refresh rate of 60Hz. While it’s not the best out there, they considered it an excellent fit for console gaming with its Variable Refresh Rate and AMD Free Sync compatibility. They work together to provide you with a smoother gaming experience by adjusting the screen refresh rate with the console or PC’s graphics card resulting in an FPS(Frames per second) varying between 40 to 60 fps.
Glare and Reflections
- Top experts were not very impressed with the Samsung U32J590’s glare handling ability. Even though it has a good reflection handling with its TN panel, the dim brightness prevents it from overcoming the ambient light in a bright room, thus causing glare on the screen. As such, they recommend using it in a dark room.
HDR
- The Samsung U32J590 doesn’t support HDR(High Dynamic Range). HDR usually allows for better details in images with better colors and contrast. So while it doesn’t support HDR, the Samsung U32J590 should still have an excellent image quality thanks to its high contrast ratio. However, it will still fall out in terms of overall brightness compared to most HDR-compatible monitors.
Image Flicker
- Expert testers measured the Samsung U32J590 to be flicker-free at high brightnesses, which should be all right for most people as in most use cases, the monitor will be used at higher brightnesses.
- However, they did encounter flicker when reducing the brightness below a setting of ’30’. Thus, they recommended that users keep the brightness high to prevent flicker and eye strain.
Image Retention
- The Samsung U32J590 was found to have no temporary image retention even after displaying high contrast static images for 10 minutes, according to reviewers. However, it is still best not to keep static images on for too long as even though it’s rare, TN panels like that of the Samsung U32J590 suffer from burn-in.
Local Dimming
- Critics couldn’t comment on this aspect as the Samsung U32J590 doesn’t feature local dimming.
DESIGN
Aesthetics
- The Samsung U32J590 testers didn’t have much to add regarding the design of the Samsung U32J590 but did mention that it has tiny screen bezels. Overall, paired with the chevron-shaped stand and a matte finish on the screen, it adds a clean and simple look to your setup.
Build Quality
- Experts considered the build quality of the Samsung U32J590 to be quite decent despite its plastic build. They didn’t find any gaps or faults, and overall it has a sturdy build that should last you a long time.
Portability
- The Samsung U32J590 was measured to weigh about 12.8lbs without the stand, and 12.7lbs with the stand according to reviewers. While they didn’t have much to add regarding its portability, at this weight, you shouldn’t expect problems moving it around a lot. If you’re specifically looking for a portable monitor though, you can check out the SideTrak Portable Monitor, weighing only 1.65lbs.
Size
- Product Critics measured the Samsung U32J590 to have overall dimensions of 28.7″ x 21.0″ x 9.9″ with the screen itself measuring 32 Inches. This gives you more screen space to keep multiple windows open and efficiently multitask, but it also means the monitor will take up quite a bit of desk space.
Stand and Mounting
- The Samsung U32J590 monitor comes with a sturdy stand considered to be decent by experts. It comes with a tilt adjustment with a range of -15° to 2.5°, as well as a VESA mount capability to save you desk space.
- However, you should also note that it doesn’t feature any form of height or swivel adjustments which means your options for adapting it to your needs are limited.
FEATURES
Connectivity and Inputs
- Product testers found the Samsung U32J590 to support a good collection of ports which range from a Display Port 1.2, one HDMI 2.0 port, one HDMI 1.4 port, and one 3.5mm audio jack. They also noted that only the HDMI 2.0 port supports 4K at 60Hz, while the HDMI 1.4 port is limited to 4K at 30Hz. It’s similar to the Samsung 27” CRG5 monitor which has two HDMI ports. Their tests also revealed that both the DisplayPort and the HDMI ports allow for Freesync, which means greater freedom in port availability when using multiple devices(not simultaneously) connected to the same display.
- However, being located at the back of the monitor, they mentioned that it becomes more difficult to access the ports when the display is VESA mounted.
Controls
- The Samsung U32J590 provides you with many calibration options for its OSD(On Screen Display) menu, which can be controlled via the joystick located at the bottom-right rear of the monitor. Although reviewers didn’t have much to say regarding this aspect, the joystick should allow you to easily adjust the settings instead of having multiple buttons that make browsing through the menu confusing. If you’re looking for a monitor that will enable more accessibility and features, make sure to check out the Samsung Smart Monitor M7.
Bluetooth
- Experts couldn’t comment on this aspect as the Samsung U32J590 doesn’t support Bluetooth.
Menus
- The Samsung U32J590 has a simple yet helpful menu that critics found to make calibrating the monitor a breeze. While they didn’t have much else to say regarding it, you can expect to easily control it through the joystick button to manually adjust the brightness, contrast, and other image factors for a better viewing experience.
Microphone
- Testers couldn’t comment on this aspect as the Samsung U32J590 doesn’t feature a microphone.
Speakers
- The Samsung U32J590 doesn’t feature a speaker, but you can use the audio jack to plug in external speakers if needed.
Webcam
- Top experts didn’t have anything to say regarding this feature as the Samsung U32J590 doesn’t feature a webcam.
GAMING
G-Sync / Freesync
- The Samsung U32J590 was found to support AMD Freesync but not Nvidia G-Sync. However, product testers found that despite not having G-Sync, the Samsung U32J590’s Freesync feature works properly with the newer Nvidia cards without any issues as long as the Freesync setting on the monitor is set to “Ultimate”. Overall, they were impressed with its performance in limiting screen tear and ghosting to a minimum, making it an ideal monitor for PC and console gaming.
Adaptive Sync
- Expert critics didn’t have much to say regarding this feature. However, you don’t need to worry about this as it essentially provides the same features(reducing screen tear and ghosting) as Freesync, which the Samsung U32J590 has already been tested to support.
Input Lag
- The Samsung U32J590 has a low input lag of 10ms, according to reviewers from Display Ninja and Rtings.com. This helps eliminate any delay or lag when playing fast games, making your gaming experience a lot smoother. They were also thrilled to find that inputs were registered swiftly even with Freesync enabled which makes for both fewer screen tears and faster input times.
Response Time
- Experts measured the Samsung U32J590 to have a very swift response time of 4ms which, paired with the monitor’s VRR(Variable Refresh Rate) feature, will provide fast transitions and changes in the screen without delay. It will also help to make both your gaming and viewing experience smooth without screen tears. They also mentioned that it features an Overdrive feature that allows for three levels of response times, among which they found the ‘Standard’ mode to perform best as the other two results in higher levels of overshoot(inverse ghosting), despite faster response times.
Text Clarity
- The Samsung U32J590 4K UHD monitor critics didn’t have much to say regarding its text clarity. However, you should expect to see clear and sharp text thanks to its high contrast ratio and Ultra HD resolution.
Viewing Angles
- Product testers were disappointed with the Samsung U32J590 monitor’s horizontal viewing angles, which cause the black levels to rise a lot when viewing off-angle and the brightness to drop the more off-axis the viewpoint goes. And while they mentioned it to have accurate colors off-axis horizontally and decent viewing angles vertically, colors tend to get inaccurate when viewed from an angle higher than 30 degrees vertically.
