The Samsung C27RG5 is an okay budget monitor with a 27 inch, 1080p VA screen that delivers impressive contrast, as expected. It also has excellent gray uniformity and decent black uniformity. It has no issue with glare, with good peak brightness and good reflection handling. It has an extremely high refresh rate, and it supports a few advanced gaming features, including variable refresh rate (VRR) support. Although mainly advertised as a gaming monitor, it's not very well-suited for that use, as it has a bad response time, resulting in significant blur behind fast-moving objects. We also encountered a few issues, including a distracting brightness flicker with some content when VRR is enabled, and the overdrive settings don't appear to work correctly, as there's very little difference between them. Unfortunately, it has bad ergonomics, with just a small tilt range, so it might be difficult to place it in an ideal viewing position, and the image degrades at an angle.
Our Verdict
The Samsung CRG5 is an okay monitor overall. It's an okay office monitor, with good peak brightness and good reflection handling, but just okay text clarity and a low pixel density. Unfortunately, it has narrow viewing angles, and although it's advertised for gaming, it's not very good, as it has a bad response time and some distracting flicker issues.
- High contrast ratio.
- Good peak brightness.
- Good reflection handling.
- Superb low input lag at the max refresh rate.
- Terrible response time.
- Bad ergonomics.
- Some text clarity issues.
- Image degrades at an angle.
The Samsung CRG5 is an okay office monitor. It has good peak brightness and good reflection handling, so glare shouldn't be an issue for most people. The 27 inch, 1080p screen is decent for multitasking, but the pixel density is a bit low, and it has just alright text clarity. Unfortunately, it has bad ergonomics, so it might be difficult to place it in an ideal viewing position, and the image degrades at an angle.
- Good reflection handling.
- Superb color gamut.
- Excellent gray uniformity.
- Superb low input lag at the max refresh rate.
- Terrible response time.
- Bad ergonomics.
- Some text clarity issues.
- Image degrades at an angle.
Although it has a very high refresh rate and low input lag, the Samsung CRG5 isn't a good choice for gaming. It has a bad response time, resulting in a long blur trail behind fast-moving objects. It has a few additional gaming features, including support for a variable refresh rate (VRR), but VRR only works over DisplayPort, and enabling causes a distracting brightness flicker effect with some content.
- Good reflection handling.
- Superb low input lag at the max refresh rate.
- Terrible response time.
- Overdrive settings appear to not work properly.
- Bad ergonomics.
- Flicker with VRR enabled.
The Samsung CRG50 is okay for watching videos. It has good peak brightness and good reflection handling, so glare shouldn't be an issue. It also has excellent gray uniformity, a high contrast ratio, and decent black uniformity. Unfortunately, the image degrades at an angle, so it's not very good for watching your favorite stream with a friend, and it has bad ergonomics, so it's hard to adjust to an ideal viewing position.
- High contrast ratio.
- Good reflection handling.
- Excellent gray uniformity.
- Superb low input lag at the max refresh rate.
- Terrible response time.
- Bad ergonomics.
- Image degrades at an angle.
The Samsung LC27RG50 is just okay for media creation. The 27 inch, 1080p screen is decent, but the pixel density is a bit low and it has just okay text clarity. It has excellent gray uniformity, good reflection handling, good peak brightness, and an excellent SDR color gamut. Unfortunately, the image degrades at an angle and it has bad ergonomics, so it's not ideal for sharing your screen with a client or your colleagues.
- High contrast ratio.
- Good peak brightness.
- Good reflection handling.
- Superb color gamut.
- Excellent gray uniformity.
- Terrible response time.
- Bad ergonomics.
- Some text clarity issues.
- Image degrades at an angle.
The Samsung CRG5 doesn't support HDR.
Changelog
- Updated Nov 24, 2022: Added the full mode codes for the 24 and 27-inch models in the Variants section for clarity.
- Updated Aug 06, 2021: Review published.
- Updated Aug 04, 2021: Early access published.
- Updated Jul 30, 2021: Our testers have started testing this product.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 27 inch Samsung CRG5, which is part of Samsung's 2021 curved gaming monitor lineup. It's also available in a 24 inch size, but we don't expect our review to be valid for that size as it has a different curve and a lower refresh rate.
| Model | Full Mode Code | Size | Native Resolution | Max Refresh rate | Panel Type | Curve |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C24RG5 | LC24RG50FZNXZA | 24" | 1920 x 1080 | 144Hz | VA | 1800R |
| C27RG5 | LC27RG50FQNXZA | 27" | 1920 x 1080 | 240Hz | VA | 1500R |
If you come across a different type of panel or your Samsung CRG5 27 inch doesn't correspond to our review, let us know, and we'll update the review. Note that some tests, like gray uniformity, may vary between individual units.
Our unit was manufactured in January 2021; you can see the label here.
Popular Monitor Comparisons
The Samsung CRG5 is an okay monitor overall, but it has some very serious flaws that limit its usefulness. It's one of the only 240Hz VA monitors on the market, and it delivers a much better dark room experience, but it has a bad response time, resulting in significant blur behind fast-moving objects, especially in dark scenes. There are much better alternatives available.
For more options, check out our recommendations for the best 27 inch monitors, the best gaming monitors, and the best 1080p monitors.
The AOC CQ27G2 is much better than the Samsung C27RG5. The AOC has better ergonomics, a higher-resolution screen, and a much faster response time. The AOC is more versatile, as the variable refresh rate (VRR) feature is available over HDMI and DisplayPort, and it has an optional black frame insertion feature. The Samsung we tested has much better black uniformity, but this varies between units.
The AOC 24G2 and the Samsung C27RG5 use different panel technologies, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Despite this difference, the AOC is still a much better monitor for almost everyone. The AOC has a much better response time, better ergonomics, and an optional black frame insertion feature. The Samsung has better contrast, so it has better blacks in a dark room, but other than that, the AOC is better.
The MSI Optix MAG271CQR is much better than the Samsung C27RG5. The MSI has a much faster response time, resulting in significantly clearer motion. The MSI also has better ergonomics, a higher-resolution screen, and it has an optional black frame insertion feature. The Samsung we tested has better black uniformity, but this varies between units.
The ASUS TUF VG32VQ is much better than the Samsung C27RG5. The ASUS has a much faster response time, resulting in clearer motion when gaming, and it has an optional black frame insertion feature. The ASUS also has a larger, higher-resolution screen and better ergonomics, so it's better for multitasking and easier to place in an ideal viewing position.
We buy and test more than 30 monitors each year, all of which we purchase ourselves, without cherry-picked units or samples. We put a lot into each unbiased, straight-to-the-point review, and there's a whole process from purchasing to publishing, involving multiple teams and people. We do more than just use the monitor for a week; we use specialized, custom tools to measure various aspects and deliver objective, data-driven results. We also consider multiple factors before making any recommendations, including the monitor's cost, its performance compared to the competition, and whether it's easy to find.
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