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Nigeria, Abuja
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Review on SAMSUNG Odyssey Ultrawide Adjustable LC49RG90SSNXZA Swivel Adjustment, USB Hub, Adaptive Sync, Height Adjustment, by Stephen Pryor

Revainrating 3 out of 5

It's probably a very good gaming monitor, but not yet a single-monitor solution for the M1 workstation.

Rarely have I had such hardware conflicts as with the CRG9. I ended up buying it because current M1 Macs (you may read this in the future so it may not apply) can only use an external monitor. This isn't a problem for most people, but I use three 4K color-calibrated Dell 27 monitors in my office, so switching to one was very daunting. There are a few 49-inch panels, but there are really only three top-notch ones to consider if you're on a budget. An IPS panel from LG, which is also offered by Dell, and then Samsung makes two, one in this CRG9 and one in the Odyssey G9. I think some other companies are rebranding the CRG9 panel as well. In hindsight, I should have gone with a Dell/LG IPS panel for my work, but at the time I felt that the CRG9 had the best balance of the three according to rtings.com's analysis, and it was cheaper too. According to this thorough website, colors were more accurate, contrast and brightness were much better, and of course it's 120Hz, which I don't need but is nice to have. the pros and cons of this monitor, talk about who should and shouldn't buy it, then discuss how to get it working properly with the M1 (tl;dr, it works properly and it's not that hard, to get it running). . Pros: Size: 49 inches is actually only about 2/3 the screen size of my previous triple 27 setup (basically two 27s together), but it's even better than expected for multitasking. I found that due to the bezels of my three-monitor configuration, I was giving entire programs more space than I needed, as in some cases cutting them in half (two for each monitor) wasn't enough. That is, the space was used inefficiently. Using magnets in macOS makes it really easy for me to break things into 49 thirds, and one third is what you need to have three really big windows side by side, which works for me. If lack of monitor space is your biggest problem with M1, CRG9 and all these 49 will solve this problem completely. Frequency: 120 Hz surprisingly makes a difference for a desktop. I was just as surprised as everyone else, but I could actually tell the difference just by moving the windows and stuff. The return to 60Hz is probably not a hurdle, but only for office workers wondering, yes, it makes itself felt outside of gaming. Brightness: The brightness of this monitor was almost off the chart. At night he threw my shadow on the wall. I work in a very dark office so it's not a big deal for me, but if you work in a bright office it will be beneficial. Cons: Colors never looked right on the CRG9. I compared it side-by-side with my color-calibrated Dell, and colors almost always looked washed-out and dull (and yes, that's with HDR disabled). It didn't look terrible, but there was a noticeable drop in color intensity. The resolution, although 5k on the side, is not enough for a Mac user. We're so used to 200+ PPI that without trying to look for it, at 109 PPI, like on this monitor, everything looks rough and unpolished. My Dell 4K (27") look great although they don't go over 200 PPI so you don't need to upgrade to LG 5K or XDR, but the drop in pixel density was a lot bigger, annoying than I was hoping for. Remember, that this probably doesn't matter much to you if you're not used to high-resolution displays and only work with things like spreadsheets Viewing angles were ok They're in the 'bad' range because they're a notable improvement over an IPS panel but they aren't terrible or anything.There can be some blurring at the edges of the monitor.Curvature:For many people,curvature is the ultimate requirement in monitor design,but in graphics it introduces distortion.All straight lines look curved,and eventually the people you work with and the end product see them as flat so this is an unnecessary element to compensate for I would expect but tats oh, it's the stand that gets me. That might be inevitable for a huge monitor like this, but it's absolutely the center of attention on your desk. It became difficult to move the mouse at all without hitting the leg. Make sure you have a deep desk or monitor arm. Connectivity: No one-cable solution here. Ugly: Besides the resolution, the real killer for me is the backlight. The backlight is unusually uneven. I've attached photos of me so you can see what I mean (note they look worse in the photo than in real life). I had a particularly horrible smudge in the bottom right corner of the panel that almost looked like a flashlight shining on the display. It even gave the area a slight blue cast. Keep in mind this might be acceptable for gamers and every CRG9 has a really dingy backlight as far as I can tell, although mine was below average I suspect. But it is not suitable for product design or anything like that. And I think that's the main issue here: that's the game bar I was trying to get working for performance. Some people will like this feature, some will not. The resolution just isn't high enough for a monitor of this size to have a sharp and crisp image, at least not in my eyes. For the affluent home user who just needs an epic monitor, or for the gamer, I guess these downsides are acceptable. It might even be desirable for gamers. How it works on M1 Mac (Early 2021 release). I have used this monitor on both my MBP 16 with Radeon graphics and my M1 MBP 13. They're all pretty much the same, except you can get the correct resolution at 60Hz (but not 120) on an older MBP with Radeon. by simply holding down the select key while selecting a resolution. With the M1, you'll need to use Switchresx, which is separate software that gives you finer control over your display settings. You'll also need it on non-M1 Macs if you want 120Hz. The next tip is to only use Displayport cables and connect directly from USB-C to the monitor. Also consider changing your monitor's settings in the onscreen controls from Displayport 1.4 to 1.2. Ultimately, the setup on my Macs wasn't too painful, contrary to what I often hear about it. I wouldn't let that particular element put me off.

img 1 attached to SAMSUNG Odyssey Ultrawide Adjustable LC49RG90SSNXZA Swivel Adjustment, USB Hub, Adaptive Sync, Height Adjustment, review by Stephen Pryor



Pros
  • Ultra wide screen
Cons
  • i will be quiet

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