Impressions: Samsung CHG70 - Your Next Gaming Monitor?

Long gone are the days in which PC gaming displays simply meant purchasing a big screen monitor to fit your desk. Now there are a whole slew attributes that gamers should really take into consideration before browsing any retailer. In this article, we’re going to showcase our experience with Samsung’s feature-packed CHG70, a 32-inch HDR curved monitor.

The Samsung CHG70 is a quantum dot monitor advertised to deliver more accurate color. However, it’s not just meant for visual design buffs. Its FreeSync 2 capability and HDR support make it a potent display for gaming. Before we get too far into the specifications, let’s discuss the unboxing experience.

Unboxing this monitor was nothing too unique. Inside are your typical accessories and hardware. This includes a box with your power cord, HDMI cable, USB 3.0 connector along with an adapter to mount the monitor on a wall. Likewise, there are cutouts for the arm and stand, something of which we’ll get into a bit later.

Set between two foam cutouts is the real pride and joy, the monitor. Assembling the CHG70 is a breeze with just a couple screws needing to be placed on the arm to the monitor along with two additional screws connecting the stand and the arm. This essentially creates a Y shape stand on your desk with the base and legs protruding toward the user.

The monitor supports a full range of physical adjustments. It can pivot 90 degrees, swivel, tilt, and of course be raised and lowered. Likewise, it’s worth noting that the arm of the stand has a handy clip available to help maintain your cables.

While it doesn’t support the thinnest bezels, the overall monitor design is rather plain. You’ll find the joystick style control system that Samsung is known for on their monitors and televisions. This is used to maneuver around the menu system. Likewise, the back features ports such as two HDMI ports, a DisplayPort, audio ports, and two USB 3.0 ports.

However, if you’re hoping to find something more stereotypical to a “gamer’s” display, then this may be a letdown. There are no sharp angles or brightly-colored contours. Instead, this monitor feels appropriate for business as well as gaming.

Interestingly, Samsung placed an LED ring behind the monitor.It’s becoming a more common feature amongst gaming displays. But though it adds a lovely flair to the CHG70, I didn’t find it bright enough to cast any intense light on the wall.

As a 32-inch monitor, the resulting standis naturally rather bulky. This is actually one of my biggest gripes with the monitor.It requires a commitment of desk space. We recommend mounting it onto a wall if possible.

The CHG70 uses a VA panel, which does look stunning with rich color and deep blacks. And though the panel itself may appear plain, the high refresh rate, AMD FreeSync 2 support, and true High Dynamic Range (HDR) support make it an excellent gaming display. Coupled together with a 1ms respond time and 144 Hz refresh rate, the resulting gameplay is smooth and crisp.

The 32-inch Samsung CHG70 has an MSRP of $700, but it can currently be found online for around $639. If you’re looking to get a size smaller, there is a 27” model that will run you $479. Since we were sent the 32” model, we can’t vouch for the 27” in particular, but it does seem to sport the various specifications of its slightly bigger brother.

All-in-all, the Samsung CHG70 is a rather solid monitor. Gameplay is smooth and the visuals really pop, especially if you’re playing an HDR video game title. However, you’ll find yourself with less desk space all thanks to the stand. If you have the room or are willing to mount the monitor, then we’re sure you won’t be disappointed.