The Samsung CRG9 is a good super ultrawide monitor. Its 32:9 aspect ratio provides plenty of space for an immersive gaming experience and allows you to work comfortably with multiple windows opened side-by-side. It has good reflection handling and gets very bright, enough to overcome glare with ease. Fast-moving scenes look clear and smooth, as it has a high refresh rate and quick response time, and it supports variable refresh rate technology to reduce screen tearing. Unfortunately, despite having a VA panel, its contrast ratio is only decent, and its edge-lit local dimming doesn't improve black level by much. Also, black uniformity is bad on our unit, although your experience may vary. Viewing angles are sub-par; however, the screen's curvature helps with visibility on the sides. Lastly, it can deliver a pretty good HDR experience thanks to its wide color gamut and high peak brightness.
Our Verdict
Overall, the Samsung CRG9 is a good monitor for most uses. It delivers a great gaming experience, as it has excellent low input lag and impressive motion handling. Its large, high-resolution screen is excellent for office use or media creation, allowing you to have multiple windows opened side-by-side. Unfortunately, the image degrades at an angle, and due to the large size of the display, it has limited ergonomics.
- Excellent SDR and HDR peak brightness.
- Large screen size.
- Good reflection handling.
- Sub-par viewing angles.
- Limited ergonomics due to the monitor's size.
The Samsung CRG9 is a good office monitor. The wide, high-resolution screen is great for multitasking, and it supports Picture-by-Picture, allowing it to display images from two sources at once. It also has excellent peak brightness and great reflection handling, so glare won't be an issue even in the brightest settings. Unfortunately, the image degrades when viewed at an angle, and due to the large display, it has limited ergonomics.
- Excellent SDR and HDR peak brightness.
- Large screen size.
- Good reflection handling.
- Sub-par viewing angles.
- Limited ergonomics due to the monitor's size.
The Samsung CRG9 is great for gaming. It has impressive motion handling due to its fast response time, resulting in very clear motion. It also has excellent low input lag at its native refresh rate, and it supports FreeSync to reduce screen tearing, though only over DisplayPort. Unfortunately, the image degrades at an angle, so it isn't ideal for co-op gaming.
- Large screen size.
- High refresh rate.
- Great response time.
- VRR support.
- Limited contrast.
The Samsung CRG9 is good for media consumption. The huge screen delivers an impressive movie experience, but it has only a decent contrast ratio and bad black uniformity, so it isn't great in a dark room. It has great reflection handling, though, and it gets extremely bright, making it a good choice for well-lit rooms. Unfortunately, the image degrades at an angle, so it isn't as well-suited for sharing content with others.
- Excellent SDR and HDR peak brightness.
- Large screen size.
- Good reflection handling.
- Sub-par viewing angles.
- Limited contrast.
The Samsung CRG9 is good for media creation. It has a huge amount of screen real estate, so you can spend more time creating, and less time scrolling and zooming. Unfortunately, it has narrow viewing angles and limited ergonomics, so it isn't a good choice for sharing the screen with clients or coworkers.
- Excellent SDR and HDR peak brightness.
- Large screen size.
- Good reflection handling.
- Sub-par viewing angles.
- Limited ergonomics due to the monitor's size.
The Samsung CRG9 is decent for HDR. It displays a wide range of colors and gets bright enough to make highlights pop for a vivid HDR experience. It also has a decent native contrast ratio that makes blacks look fairly black, but unfortunately, its local dimming feature doesn't do anything to further improve it. There's also a lot of blooming around bright objects with the local dimming on.
- Displays wide color gamut.
- Great HDR peak brightness.
- Edge-lit local dimming.
- Bad black uniformity.
- Limited contrast.
Changelog
- Updated Feb 17, 2023: Added text in the macOS Compatibility and Console Compatibility boxes and clarified text throughout as part of Test Bench 1.2.
- Updated Feb 17, 2023: Updated to Test Bench 1.2, resulting in changes to the results and scores with the Response Time and Input Lag. Added tests for Console Compatibility and macOS compatibility and made minor changes to other tests, which you can see in our Changelog.
- Updated Nov 05, 2020: Updated review for accuracy and clarity.
- Updated May 15, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 49" CRG9, model code LC49RG90SSNXZA, which is the only size available. There's also a Costco variant of this monitor, the LC49RG92SSNXZA. It appears to have the same specs, and we expect it to perform the same.
| Model | Size | Resolution | Refresh Rate |
| C49RG9 | 49" | 5120x1440 | 120Hz |
If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their CRG9 doesn't correspond to our review, let us know, and we'll update the review. Note that some tests, like the gray uniformity, may vary between individual units.
The C49RG9 we tested was manufactured in May 2019.
Popular Monitor Comparisons
The Samsung CRG9 is a good ultrawide monitor, but unless you're specifically looking for a monitor with this aspect ratio, there are better options out there.
See our recommendations for the best ultrawide gaming monitors, the best gaming monitor size, the best curved gaming monitors, and the best 34-49 inch monitors.
Overall, the Samsung Odyssey G9 C49G95T is a bit better than the Samsung C49RG9/CRG9, mainly due to its higher refresh rate and lower input lag. However, the CRG9 has significantly less overshoot when running at its maximum refresh rate even though its response time is slightly slower, and it gets much brighter in SDR.
The Samsung CRG9 is a bit better than the Dell U4919DW, depending on your needs. The CRG9 has much better gaming performance, with a faster refresh rate, better response time, and support for FreeSync variable refresh rate, and the CRG9 supports HDR. The U4919DW has better viewing angles and might be a bit better for office use for some people, as it can connect to two displays at once with a single keyboard and mouse.
Although they use different panel technologies, the Samsung C49RG9/CRG9 is slightly better than the LG 49WL95C-W for most uses, and is much better for gaming. The LG has better viewing angles, which might be better in some cases, but the Samsung is significantly brighter, especially in HDR, and it has a better contrast ratio. The CRG9 is also much better than the LG for gaming, as it has a faster refresh rate, much faster response time, lower input lag, and it supports FreeSync.
The Samsung Odyssey Neo G9/G95NC S57CG95 is a higher-end and better monitor than the Samsung C49RG9/CRG9. The G95NC has a bigger screen with a higher resolution for a more detailed and immersive gaming experience. The G95NC also has a much higher 240Hz refresh rate, and combined with its faster response time, gaming feels smoother. Lastly, the G95NC delivers better picture quality thanks to its Mini LED backlighting and superior local dimming, so it displays deeper blacks alongside bright highlights with less blooming.
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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