Samsung JG50 Monitor Review

The Samsung C27JG50 has a decent design. The stand supports the monitor well, but does wobble a bit when nudged. It has a very similar design to the Samsung CHG70, but unfortunately, the stand is fixed and has terrible ergonomics, so it might be difficult to place it in an ideal viewing position unless you VESA mount it. The monitor has decent build quality, with no obvious issues.

The stand has a very similar design to the CHG70's, but with a glossy finish that tends to attract fingerprints a bit more.

Unfortunately, the Samsung LC27JG50QQNZA has terrible ergonomics. There is no height adjustment, it can't swivel, and it has a very narrow tilt range.

The back of the monitor is very plain. The entire stand can be removed, which is great if you are planning on VESA mounting it, but there is no quick release.

The borders are very sleek and thin, and they aren't very distracting.

Due to the curvature of the screen, the CJG50 appears thicker from the side than most monitors. When VESA mounted it sticks out quite a bit.

The Samsung LC27JG50QQNZA has decent build quality, slightly better than the CF398, but slightly worse than the UE590. The stand is difficult to adjust, as the tilt is very tight. It does feel sturdy though, and there are no obvious issues with it.

The CJG50 has a great native contrast ratio, better than the CHG70. This allows the monitor to display much deeper blacks than IPS monitors.

The Samsung LC27JG50QQNZA does not have a local dimming feature. The above video is provided for reference only.

Good peak brightness; it can get bright enough for most rooms. There is almost no variation in brightness with different content, which is great. It isn't as bright as the CHG70, but is a bit brighter than the UE590.

The Samsung C27JG50 does not support HDR.

Like most VA monitors, the JG50 has poor horizontal viewing angles. The image quickly washes out as you move off-axis, and the brightness gradually decreases. For better viewing angles, check out an IPS monitor, like the Gigabyte Aorus AD27QD.

Poor vertical viewing angles, typical of monitors with VA panels. Even slightly off center, the image quickly washes out. Colors lose accuracy at a narrow angle, and the brightness gradually decreases as you move off-angle. For better viewing angles, check out an IPS monitor, like the Gigabyte Aorus AD27QD.

Excellent gray uniformity, very similar to the CHG70. There is very little dirty screen effect (DSE), which is very important when browsing the web or playing sports games. In near-black scenes the uniformity is even better, with very little DSE.

This monitor has bad black uniformity. There is noticeable backlight bleed along the top and bottom of the screen. Although this test image is overexposed to highlight any problem areas, this is somewhat noticeable in dark scenes in a dark room.

Out of the box, the Samsung LC27JG50QQNZA has very good accuracy. There are some inaccuracies in shades of gray, but most people won't notice it. Colors are little less accurate, and there are noticeable inaccuracies in many shades. Gamma does not follow the sRGB target curve at all; very dark scenes appear quite a bit darker than they should, and bright scenes are over-brightened a bit.

After calibrating, the Samsung JG50 has excellent accuracy. Overall, colors are much more accurate, but some people might still notice some inaccuracies with pure blues. Gamma follows the sRGB target curve almost perfectly, but some bright scenes are still over-brightened a bit.

You can download our ICC profile calibration here. This is provided for reference only and should not be used, as the calibration values vary per individual unit even for the same model due to manufacturing tolerances.

sRGB Picture Mode: FPS (calibrated)
Adobe RGB Picture Mode: FPS

Great SDR color gamut. It's able to display most of the standard sRGB color space, but like many monitors, can't display the wider range of greens and blues in the Adobe RGB color space. This is fine for desktop use and gaming, but not ideal for professional photo or video editing.

sRGB Picture Mode: FPS
Adobe RGB Picture Mode: FPS

Excellent color volume. Like the majority of LED displays, this monitor can't display very bright blues. Despite the great contrast ratio, it also can't display very dark saturated colors very well.

HDR is not supported on this monitor.

HDR is not supported on this monitor.

After displaying our high-contrast static test image for 10 minutes, there are some signs of image retention. Thankfully, it clears up very quickly, so there shouldn't be any issues for regular use.

The CJG50 has excellent gradient handling. As it only supports 8 bit color, there is 8 bit banding in our test image.

There is no visible color bleed, which is great.

Great reflection handling. In an average lit room there are almost no noticeable reflections, and you shouldn't have any issues.

Response Time Standard
Response Time Faster
Response Time Fastest

The CJG50 has an excellent response time, delivering clear motion with a very short blur trail behind fast-moving objects. Like the CHG70, the 0-20% transition is a lot slower than the others, so some ghosting may appear in very dark scenes.

There are a few different response time settings. There is very little difference between them, which is a bit strange and unexpected, but we don't know why. Since there is no overshoot in any of them, and very little difference, we recommend the 'Response Time Fastest' setting.

The backlight uses direct dimming, which is great, as there is no PWM flicker. There is a very slight wobble at extremely low backlight settings, but this isn't noticeable at all. This monitor does not have an optional black frame insertion feature.

The Samsung C27JG50 has a great 144Hz refresh rate. Unfortunately, it doesn't support any of the variable refresh rate technologies, like FreeSync or G-SYNC.

Like the CHG70, the refresh rate has to be set from the monitor's OSD (as shown here), as well as your source device. If the refresh rate setting does not match what the source is sending, input lag is significantly higher.

HDMI port 1 is limited to 1440p @ 60Hz, as it is an HDMI 1.4 port. 1440p @ 144Hz is only supported on HDMI 2, or DisplayPort.

The Samsung LC27JG50QQNZA has outstanding low input lag, even at 60Hz, great for console gaming.

Like the CHG70, the refresh rate has to be set from the monitor's OSD (as shown here). If the refresh rate setting does not match what the source is sending, input lag is significantly higher.

HDMI port 1 is limited to 1440p @ 60Hz, as it is an HDMI 1.4 port. 1440p @ 144Hz is only supported on HDMI 2, or DisplayPort.

The C27JG50 has a great resolution and size. The 27", 1440p display is great for multitasking, and provides enough screen real-estate to work comfortably with multiple windows open.

HDMI 1 is an 1.4 port, whereas HDMI 2 is a 2.0 port; unfortunately, this is not labelled on the monitor.

HDMI port 1 is limited to 1440p @ 60Hz, as it is an HDMI 1.4 port. 1440p @ 144Hz is only supported on HDMI 2, or DisplayPort. There is an audio out port which can be used as a headphone port, as the volume can be adjusted from the monitor's controls.

This is very basic monitor, with very few additional features. It has a Black Equalizer feature, that can be adjusted to help you see details in dark shades, without affecting the rest of the image. There is also an adjustable upscaling option.

The CJG50 has a simple joystick control, similar to most other Samsung monitors we've tested.

• Quick setup guide
• HDMI cable
• Power adapter
• Plastic panel for the inputs