Samsung S27B970D Series 9 27" LED Monitor $799

At first I thought it was the new Samsung 9 Series Ultrabook for $799 ... then I saw the 27" LED monitor. Thumbs up for a nice monitor tho!

Thumbs up!

I was going to post this deal, but the OP beat me to it. I purcahsed one of these recently, and this is the lowest price by far. This is NOT the 8-Series version, but the Samsung 9-Series. This one has the glossy glass panel, so if you prefer matte you probably want the cheaper 8-Series version.

I've been on a monitor rampage over the last few weeks after trying a bunch of different monitors ranging from the cheaper "reject" LG 27" IPS Panel monitors all the way to an Apple Cinema Display. I finally settled on the Samsung, at the $799 price it seemed to be a great deal and a fantastic monitor. My thought process is that if i'm spending this much on a monitor, it better damn well be perfect (or close to it).

I didn't have great luck with the cheaper panels (Auria brand from Microcenter as they were local and that version has a DisplayPort connector), they were fine for the price, but the first had a dead pixel dead near the middle, and once you see it, your eye always fixates on it. The second was much better and I thought i'd be happy with it, but it suddenly died after 2 days. Also lots of bleeding on the corners of the panel, and after having one die on me, I didn't have faith in keeping it and trusting the warranty from a small unknown company (might get a refurb back with dead pixels etc)

The Apple Cinema Display (ACD) was beautiful both as a monitor as well as the overall design. In practice, it lacked inputs/outputs and wasn't very adjustable (Frys had these for $799 as well). The lack of input options along with no controls for brightness/contrasts/colors on the monitor itself made this a deal-breaker. Non removable cables was another problem, as if anything happened to the cable it would probably mean sending the monitor in. Colors/bleeding were better than the Auria which used the same panel, and the included FaceTime camera was a nice touch, but not enough to overcome the downsides. The final straw that broke the camel's back was a speck of dust or something else behind the glass making a pixel look dead. At this price range it wasn't acceptable (although on the Auria or Catleap one would probably just live with it due to the price difference).

I was considering the Asus PB278Q which uses the same panel as this Samsung, but I prefer a slightly glossier panel, and honestly, for the money, the Asus just looked a bit plain (bezel, finish, etc.). Also regardless of what some sites say, $699 appears to be the going rate, and I just don't like paying MSRP (this is Slickdeals after all). The best deal I could find was the free headphone package sometimes offered by NewEgg and TigerDirect. I also wasn't ready to pull the trigger site unseen on this one as I couldn't find any local stores that carried it yet.

Now for the Samsung. The S27B970D at $799 is VERY nice, far more adjustability than the Apple, beautiful aesthetics with a thin chrome bezel and chrome accents on the stand. Touch controls with the ability to select color temperature from a wide range, and fine tune colors etc. Height and tilt adjustable which a big plus. Using a Spider Pro to calibrate, it needed a slight bit of tweaking but was very close to optimal out of the box (likely the tweaking was needed to compensate for the lighting in my room). Gloss panel is beautiful with wonderful accurate colors. Overall I was VERY impressed. By FAR the nicest of the monitors I tried at home and the ones I looked at in stores (Dell, HP). I don't game, so I didn't mess around with response times, but any lag in Windows wasn't noticeable.

If you're looking for a 27" 2560x1440 screen, this is one is EXTREMELY nice. I'm not sure I would have bought it at the original MSRP of $1199, but at $799 it's just an insanely nice screen. Only $100 more than the Asus, and IMO looks much nicer sitting on your desk. I would guess that since this is Samsung's top of the line, and as they would likely want to show off their panel technology, that far fewer corners were cut when compared to the offerings which typically sell for a few hundred less. Lots of cables in the box for all types of connections too!

Also, the Microcenter site says it ships in 5-7 days. Mine shipped the same day I ordered

so nice... I dont think I can afford it though... if it were 399 i might consider it. ):

Quote from agureghian : so nice... I dont think I can afford it though... if it were 399 i might consider it. ):

Currently at $399 (or even less) you could try your luck with the lower grade LG IPS panels (Catleap, Auria, etc.)

When are these 1080P+ large monitors going to drop in price? You can buy two 24" monitors for ~$300 and have more pixels but if you want all of the pixels in one housing the price triples.

Quote from RonPaulFan : When are these 1080P+ large monitors going to drop in price? You can buy two 24" monitors for ~$300 and have more pixels but if you want all of the pixels in one housing the price triples.

My guess is that it's more difficult to manufacturer a single larger panel than two smaller ones, as there is probably a greater chance for defects.

Also keep in mind that these are either IPS or PVA panels (in this case PVA). When you look at decent IPS/PVA panels even in the smaller sizes, they're far cheaper than the lower res TN Panels that most people buy (based primarily on price).

I'd assume it's also supply and demand. The average user will be happy with a 24" lower res TN screen at $150 or whatever. Only those who want accurate colors/image quality will want something a bit better.

Except for the no-name/import IPS models using less than A+ grade panels, I don't think there are any 27" WQHD Displays under $700.

Quote from intence01 : Thumbs up! I was going to post this deal, but the OP beat me to it. I purcahsed one of these recently, and this is the lowest price by far. This is NOT the 8-Series version, but the Samsung 9-Series. This one has the glossy glass panel, so if you prefer matte you probably want the cheaper 8-Series version. I've been on a monitor rampage over the last few weeks after trying a bunch of different monitors ranging from the cheaper "reject" LG 27" IPS Panel monitors all the way to an Apple Cinema Display. I finally settled on the Samsung, at the $799 price it seemed to be a great deal and a fantastic monitor. My thought process is that if i'm spending this much on a monitor, it better damn well be perfect (or close to it). I didn't have great luck with the cheaper panels (Auria brand from Microcenter as they were local and that version has a DisplayPort connector), they were fine for the price, but the first had a dead pixel dead near the middle, and once you see it, your eye always fixates on it. The second was much better and I thought i'd be happy with it, but it suddenly died after 2 days. Also lots of bleeding on the corners of the panel, and after having one die on me, I didn't have faith in keeping it and trusting the warranty from a small unknown company (might get a refurb back with dead pixels etc) The Apple Cinema Display (ACD) was beautiful both as a monitor as well as the overall design. In practice, it lacked inputs/outputs and wasn't very adjustable (Frys had these for $799 as well). The lack of input options along with no controls for brightness/contrasts/colors on the monitor itself made this a deal-breaker. Non removable cables was another problem, as if anything happened to the cable it would probably mean sending the monitor in. Colors/bleeding were better than the Auria which used the same panel, and the included FaceTime camera was a nice touch, but not enough to overcome the downsides. The final straw that broke the camel's back was a speck of dust or something else behind the glass making a pixel look dead. At this price range it wasn't acceptable (although on the Auria or Catleap one would probably just live with it due to the price difference). I was considering the Asus PB278Q which uses the same panel as this Samsung, but I prefer a slightly glossier panel, and honestly, for the money, the Asus just looked a bit plain (bezel, finish, etc.). Also regardless of what some sites say, $699 appears to be the going rate, and I just don't like paying MSRP (this is Slickdeals after all). The best deal I could find was the free headphone package sometimes offered by NewEgg and TigerDirect. I also wasn't ready to pull the trigger site unseen on this one as I couldn't find any local stores that carried it yet. Now for the Samsung. The S27B970D at $799 is VERY nice, far more adjustability than the Apple, beautiful aesthetics with a thin chrome bezel and chrome accents on the stand. Touch controls with the ability to select color temperature from a wide range, and fine tune colors etc. Height and tilt adjustable which a big plus. Using a Spider Pro to calibrate, it needed a slight bit of tweaking but was very close to optimal out of the box (likely the tweaking was needed to compensate for the lighting in my room). Gloss panel is beautiful with wonderful accurate colors. Overall I was VERY impressed. By FAR the nicest of the monitors I tried at home and the ones I looked at in stores (Dell, HP). I don't game, so I didn't mess around with response times, but any lag in Windows wasn't noticeable. If you're looking for a 27" 2560x1440 screen, this is one is EXTREMELY nice. I'm not sure I would have bought it at the original MSRP of $1199, but at $799 it's just an insanely nice screen. Only $100 more than the Asus, and IMO looks much nicer sitting on your desk. I would guess that since this is Samsung's top of the line, and as they would likely want to show off their panel technology, that far fewer corners were cut when compared to the offerings which typically sell for a few hundred less. Lots of cables in the box for all types of connections too! Also, the Microcenter site says it ships in 5-7 days. Mine shipped the same day I ordered

Wow. Great post!

Quote from intence01 : Currently at $399 (or even less) you could try your luck with the lower grade LG IPS panels (Catleap, Auria, etc.)

thanks, but its the high resolution that I want. i'm going to have to wait. haha

Quote from jmor : Wow. Great post!

Thanks!

Quote from agureghian : thanks, but its the high resolution that I want. i'm going to have to wait. haha

The resolution is the same. The lower grade panes are rumored to not have met Apple/Dell's strict specs (as they both apparently use the same LG 27" IPS Panel). Perhaps colors aren't as even, excessive bleeing, dead pixels, who knows. For what it's worth, for the price, I though the Auria was very nice, and many have been very happy with it. The Catleap also has great reviews as long as you know what you're buying. Especially if you score one for under $300 on the 'bay.

I had bad luck with dead-pixels and a dead monitor, and didn't want to roll the dice again. I'm likely in the minority as many many people have been happy with their Auria, Nixeus, Catleap, etc. Be careful though, I purchased the Auria locally, had issues, but was still blown away by the resolution and the panel, and just couldn't go back to my old monitor

For those of you who are poor (like me!), I'd say the next step down is a cheap IPS monitor.

For whatever it's worth...I've got this one and love it!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/...01_s00_i00

It's a nice monitor I'm sure but where are the 120hz panels...