The Samsung U32J590 is a decent 32", 4k monitor. It delivers decent picture quality, with a very good native contrast ratio and decent black uniformity. It supports FreeSync VRR and has a great response time. Unfortunately, it can't get very bright to overcome glare in a bright room, and the image degrades when viewed at an angle. It also has a fixed stand that can only tilt, so you might not be able to place it in an ideal viewing position.
Decent monitor for mixed usage, but it doesn't excel at any one usage. It delivers decent picture quality, but can't get very bright, and it has disappointing viewing angles. The stand has terrible ergonomics, making it difficult to place. Good motion handling for gaming and movies, but there is PWM flicker at low backlight settings.
Decent monitor for office use. The large, high resolution screen, and picture-in-picture/picture-by-picture support are all great for multitasking. Unfortunately, although it has good reflections handling, it can't get very bright to overcome glare, and the stand has terrible ergonomics.
The Samsung UJ59 is an okay monitor for gaming. It has decent motion handling and a great response time, as well as FreeSync support, which is nice. It also has excellent low input lag. Unfortunately, there is PWM flicker at low brightness levels, and the max 60 Hz refresh rate may disappoint more serious gamers.
Decent monitor for multimedia. The large, high resolution screen is great for watching the latest 4K movies. It can't get very bright, but has good reflections handling, a very good contrast ratio and a great response time. Unfortunately, the image degrades when viewed at an angle and it doesn't support HDR.
Okay monitor for media creation. The large, high resolution screen allows you to see more of your project at once. Unfortunately, the stand has terrible ergonomics, and the image degrades when viewed at an angle.
The U32J590UQN does not support HDR. For a decent HDR Gaming monitor, take a look at the CHG70, also by Samsung.
The Samsung U32J590 has a decent stand. It is slightly thicker than the stand on the CF398, and it supports the monitor better. The monitor does wobble quite a bit though, even from the vibrations caused by typing aggressively.
The back of the monitor is very plain. There is a single vent that spans nearly the entire width of the monitor. The inputs can be difficult to access when the monitor is VESA mounted. There is only very basic cable management.
This monitor does not have a local dimming feature, the above video is for reference only.
Disappointing peak brightness, the worst we've tested so far. The Samsung UJ59 isn't an ideal choice if you have a bright room. If you want a similar monitor that can get brighter to combat glare, check out the Dell S3221QS.
HDR is not supported on the U32J590
Disappointing horizontal viewing angles, nearly identical to the Samsung UE590 and LG 32UD59. The black levels rise rapidly at even moderate angles. Colors stay accurate even at wide angles, which is great, and the brightness only drops to half at an even wider angle, which is great.
Decent vertical viewing angles, as good as the LG 32UD59, and above average for VA panels. Whether you are looking at this monitor from above or below doesn't matter, the image remains accurate even at moderate angles. At around 30° the colors become inaccurate and the black levels are too high.
Great gray uniformity. Again, the UJ590 is nearly identical to the CF398. When playing sports games or browsing the web, there is below average dirty screen effect (DSE), which is great. In near-dark scenes the uniformity is even better, with very little DSE.
Out of the box, the Samsung U32J590UQN has good accuracy. The white point and color error are high enough that some enthusiasts might notice it, but not high enough to be noticeable by most people. The gamma curve is a bit high, so some darker scenes appear too dark. Finally, the color temperature is a bit on the cool side.
After calibration, nearly all inaccuracies are corrected. The gamma follows the target curve nearly perfectly, and any remaining inaccuracies in the white balance and color are not noticeable. The color temperature is much closer to the calibration target of 6500 K.
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.
s.RGB Picture Mode: User (Calibrated)
Adobe RGB Picture Mode: User
The Samsung UJ59 has an excellent SDR color gamut. It almost perfectly covers the smaller s.RGB color space, and has excellent Adobe RGB coverage as well, great for professional photo and video editing. These results are nearly identical to the CF398 and LG 32UD59-B.
The U32J590 does not support HDR, and so it cannot display an HDR color gamut.
HDR is not supported on the U32J590UQN.
There are no signs of temporary image retention on the UJ590, even immediately after displaying our high contrast static test pattern for 10 minutes.
Decent reflections handling, similar to the VG245H and the Samsung UE590.
The U32J590 has a very good response time. There is a slight blur-trail behind fast moving objects, but this shouldn't be very noticeable with normal content.
There are some duplications noticeable in our photo due to the PWM flicker. This should not be noticeable under normal viewing conditions, as most people will have the backlight set bright enough that there is no flicker.
The Response Time setting can be adjusted to customize the Overdrive. There are three levels, but we recommend using 'Standard'. The other two modes provide slightly faster response times, but with higher levels of overshoot that may bother some people.
Unfortunately, the Samsung U32J590 uses PWM to dim the backlight. There's flicker at a setting of '30' or below. Since the monitor is not very bright, this shouldn't be an issue for most people, as there's no flicker at higher brightness settings. If you want a completely flicker-free monitor, check out the LG 32UL500-W.
Update 05/10/2019: We have retested the UJ590 with NVIDIA drivers 430.39, and FreeSync is now working properly on our GTX 1060 6 Gb, but only with the FreeSync setting on the monitor set to 'Ultimate'.
The maximum refresh rate is 60 Hz, which may disappoint some people. It supports FreeSync over HDMI and DisplayPort.
FreeSync has two modes on this monitor: Ultimate Engine provides the widest FreeSync range, and results in the least amount of screen tearing. In some cases, there may be some noticeable screen flicker in this mode, which can be reduced by switching to the Standard Engine, although this mode has a reduced VRR range of 50-60 fps.
Excellent low input lag in any mode, even with FreeSync enabled.
The 32", 4k screen is great for multitasking, as it provides a great deal of screen real estate. It also provides for a more immersive gaming experience.