Samsung SA850 - 27" PLS LED Monitor

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Thanks.

Yeah I think ideally I'd still go for Samsung, but depends on how soon it gets released. Thank you for your input/update. I'm aware that originally this monitor had a July release date, are you aware of an official uk release date?
 
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Samsung's releases this year have been very much delayed in the UK in particular this year. It was indeed scheduled for a July release initially but the latest I've heard from Samsung is 'October'. I would like to think it will be released very soon but I've been chasing this model for several months wanting to review it. As with the SA750 and SA950 series it has just been delay after delay so I don't think it is really certain when we will see it :(.
 
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I'm looking for something that shows the whites like LED but dose not have the glare that the Apple 27" LED's have.

I was going to buy the Dell 30" U3011, is it worth me holding off?? :confused:

I did have the U2711 but didn't like the way web pages looked, I had it mounted next to my IMac and that shows whites really nice and is really bright!
The U2711 look very dull and I couldn't get the brightness up (think I had a dud). I've now sold that and gone back to my trusty Dell 24" that is a lot brighter! Only problem is I do a lot of 20+ megapixel image editing and the 24 is just to small.

I plan to get the bigger screen and run my 24" next to it in portrait.

What do I do, I really cant make my mind up??

Xray
 
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My spider senses tell me this one draws near. I hope to have one next week. ;)

Took Samsung long enough to pull their finger out... :p

Looking forward to knowing what you think, and hopefully, if your getting one next week, it should mean it's not long before they're available in the UK properly :)

How long does it normally take you to write a review? Is it more like a day, or closer to a week? (just anxious to read it)
 
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Just an update - Samsung has finally given me an S27A850D to try out. They also sent over an S27A950D to apologise for the delay ;). I haven't really had a chance to test it out much yet but my impressions so far are slightly mixed but largely positive. The first thing to say is that I like the overall build of the monitor and the screen surface is agreeable. The monitor is solidly built but has more of a 'designer' approach than similar competing models. It is exceptionally thin compared to any IPS monitor I've seen and the brushed metal on the stand and bottom bezel are nice touches. Due to all of this 'thinness' it's a tad wobbly if you knock it but I would advise not doing this!

The default settings provide a good rich image but colours are noticeably oversaturated. It honestly looks similar to a display with a broad colour gamut and I suspect when I test the colour gamut I will observe extension beyond sRGB in places. It will also be partly down to partly down to the low-haze screen surface making everything look more vibrant. The image clarity and 'smoothness' (i.e. lack of grain) is very good. It is not quite at the 'glossy' level of smoothness but it's pretty damn close and the screen doesn't look dirty when displaying light colours and whites nor are reflections an issue (although it's pretty grim outside today anyway). I am sure the colour balance can be improved with a bit of calibration.

Another point I notice is that the input lag of the monitor is already quite noticeable. I have just come from an S27A750D so this was to be expected but I'm sure when I test this later it will be more similar to the U2711 in that regard than the likes of the Hazro screens. I'll have to see though and no further impressions until I've done more testing :).
 
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Grr, sad to hear about the input lag. I had high hopes for this monitor!
I look forward to the full review so thanks for taking the time to write it :)

It's not a problem I've been wanting to test this out for ages. :D

I will certainly have to test out a little more before making any solid conclusions regarding input lag. I really want(ed) this to have low input lag too.
 
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i dont know, but they haven't given me the courtesy of a response when i asked them about it the other week. haven't bothered chasing as too busy with other screens but will do so soon :)
 
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Ah right. Well let me know what you find out from them. I usually find if they don't respond quickly giving a generic email to Samsung@ instead of any particular person gets a good response. :p
 
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Thanks for the review :)

Not the monitor for me though, I play a reasonable number of FPS games and I'm sensitive to lag. Looks like a 120Hz monitor for me. Do you think there is any chance of a 120Hz screen coming out that is higher than 1080p before March next year? :)
 
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Soldato
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Thanks for the review :)

Not the monitor for me though, I play a reasonable number of FPS games and I'm sensitive to lag. Looks like a 120Hz monitor for me. Do you think there is any chance of a 120Hz screen coming out that is higher than 1080p before March next year? :)

No or I would most probably have heard something about it. ;) If you're looking at the 27" screen size then it's very unlikely that we'll see anything with greater than 1920 x 1080 and 120Hz refresh rate in LCD form for these reasons. OLED technology and whatnot should natively support that kind of refresh rate quite happily and I would expect it to be fairly standard regardless of resolution. But if we see that by March next year you'll need to get the defibrillators ready for me.
 
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I was waiting for somebody else to link to this but I guess I'll have it do it myself. Review has been published :).

Cheers for the link, tbh, I was expecting you to let us know when you were done, so I wasn't checking :p

Anyway, looks like a nice monitor, but not for gaming...

Have you reviewed the Hazro ips screens? How do you think they compare?

Don't suppose you reviewed the Samsung T260 when it came out did you? Just wondering how it compares, as that's my current main monitor, and if it's actually much worse for everything than the 850, then I shouldn't really be put off by it :)
 
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Cheers for the link, tbh, I was expecting you to let us know when you were done, so I wasn't checking :p

Anyway, looks like a nice monitor, but not for gaming...

Have you reviewed the Hazro ips screens? How do you think they compare?

Don't suppose you reviewed the Samsung T260 when it came out did you? Just wondering how it compares, as that's my current main monitor, and if it's actually much worse for everything than the 850, then I shouldn't really be put off by it :)

I may have used a T260 a while ago but it would be in a fog of monitor memories so I couldn't really say. I haven't used the Hazro monitors. I was going to order a few but have been put off by the QC issues as it's a business order and I can't do with any nonsense. The Hazro monitors are essentially similar to the Apple LED Cinema Display in terms of IQ if you get a good one and are a bit more responsive than the Samsung. If Hazro calibrates them properly in the factory then the gamma curve should be tighter and closer to 2.2 compared to the S27A850D. Coupled with the glossy screen surface I would say that the Hazro has a clarity advantage in controlled lighting conditions and will display 'bright' and luminescent colours (oranges and cyans for example) better than the Samsung. It is kind of difficult to describe but there is a certain 'purity' of colours that you get from a completely smooth screen surface that the Samsung didn't quite capture, but came much closer to doing so than any matte IPS monitor I've used. The Samsung did produce some rather spectacular colours, as noted in the review, and the screen surface is a really good compromise which combines some of the clarity and vibrancy benefits of glossy displays with the glare-busting of matte. Depending on what you want to do with it then the Samsung could serve its purpose very well. :)
 
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