Samsung S27B970D Series 9 27" LED Monitor $799
 

http://microcenter.com/product/39...ED_Monitor

Screen Size 27"
LED Backlight Yes
Widescreen Yes
Aspect Ratio 16:9
Viewing Angles 178 horizontal / 178 vertical viewing angles
Maximum Resolution 2560 x 1440
Color Support 16.7 million
Response Time 5ms
Brightness 285 cd/m2
Native Contrast Ratio 1,000:1

unboxing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sS8fWfEmGE
review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn3gsyEKzKQ

This post can and should be edited by users like you :)
 

Go here to Amazon and submit for price match: http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-S27...s=S27B970D

Scroll down to Product Details section, and click on a link that says "tell us a lower price" then follow directions from there.

This monitor at 799 USD if PM at Amazon can be combined with the 10% off coupon that was sent out to lots of people make it close to 720 USD which is about 28% lower than the current price of 999 USD at TigerDirect and J&R.

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. ):

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.

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.

Wow. Great post!

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

Thanks!

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...

i noticed that this is a PLS monitor. is this any worse than an IPS monitor. i've noticed that PLS seems to have better ms. any experts want to chime in before i buy this monitor. i also noticed that recently on newegg the last few reviews have talked about dead pixels. i'm a little worried about this as all the earlier reviews don't talk about it.

i'm also considering the Nixeus WQHD 27" S-IPS Ultra High Resolution 2560x1440 PC/MAC Monitor NX-VUE27 right now for a good gaming monitor.

I have a Yamakasi Catleap Q270, and man is it nice.

I paid $500 for a "perfect pixel" guarantee one where the ebay seller powered it on and did some QC tests on it to verify no dead pixels or bleeding. It shipped from Korea and took about 3 days to get here.

The panel is no different between the Catleap I bought and this Samsung or a 27" Apple. The main differences are that my Catleap has a horrible stand and comes with no warrenty (ok technically it does, if I could speak Korean and wanted to ship it back to South Korea for service). If you do your research, and choose carefully you can end up with a 27" 2660x1440 monitor for half the cost of a Samsung. But as always, there is a risk that you end up with something that bleeds around the edges or the color balance is screwy. So if you want to be 100% sure, and have a warrantied product then go for the Samsung, they produce great monitors and have great service and support.

If people want to know more I would suggest they read this thread (or at least the first post or two): http://www.overclock.net/t/121586...tleap-q270

Or you can PM me and I'd be happy to answer questions.

Great monitor, but Apples and Oranges as that one is 24"

Not to threadcrap, but why not just get a TV and use that as a monitor? 8-hundo for a 27" screen seems really expensive. I've got a TV w HDMI hookup to my desktop and it is fantastic...

This is NOT the same panel! the Samsung is using a new PVA Panel, it is NOT using the same IPS Panel that is made by LG and used by Apple, Dell, etc.

AFAIK the new Samsung Panel is used in two Samsung models (8 and 9 series, matte and gloss), Asus, and Viewsonic.

Do you have a Displayport connector on your monitor? What about a warranty, local service center or send it back to Korea? Height/Tilt adjustable? Quality of buttons, bezel, etc. Not knocking the Catleaps, but take all factors into considerations. Some may be willing to forego the above to get a cheaper monitor, others may want to pay a bit more for those features. Having said that, I have no doubt that the Catleap is a beautiful screen. For me personally, the Catleap at $300 is a great deal. At $500 i'd rather put up a bit more money go with Asus, Samsung, etc. Not knocking your decision at all, as I wanted DisplayPort and after my luck with the Auria monitors, wanted the peace of mind of a warranty.

These are HIGHER than 1080p resolution, also most TVs use TN type panels. These are PVA (and otheres being discussed are IPS) which have accurate colors and don't change colors off-angle.

For regular use a TV might be fine in certain instances. For accurate color reproduction (working with photos/images) it probably isn't the best choice.

Main reason? Because most TVs are either 720p or 1080p, where as this monitor is 1440 px vertical resolution. It is a big, big difference.

cuesta tan mucho, no?

This one is likely better for gaming (which is why the Asus is getting so much attention). This Samsung is usually $1200, so the Asus at $699 gets far more press. At this price, i'd research the Samsung to see what it's like for games (I don't game, so I honestly don't know. I do know that the published specs show that these new Samsung panels have better refresh rates than IPS).

As for the Nixeus, again i'd check the forums (HardOCP etc) to see if it's good for gaming. The Nixeus appears to be a clone of the Auria or vice-versa (Nixeus claims they're using A panels while they claim Auria uses A-, but the monitors appear IDENTICAL). I don't trust either as if you read the return policy for dead pixels, it's not a single dead pixel on the Nixeus, but you need to have a certain number etc. If they really were A panels, then a dead-pixel return policy shouldn't have been an issue?

The Auria/Nixeus have high quality features such as a backwards facing DisplayPort connector (sarcasm), getting the cable out involved sticking a flat screwdriver against the cable to release it. Gotta love no-name chinese build quality! The buttons for power and controls and also very cheap feeling, and there is no height adjustment, with a thick black plastic bezel. The Auria looked fantastic despite the cheap build quality. I had a dead-pixel and then a monitor that died, so I gave up. I was glad I purchased locally and could simply walk into a store to return it. The panels themselves are great, but i'm guessing there's more to the monitor than just the panel.

Opps, didn't see that this was the PVA. That is a big difference in terms of

And yes, I absolutely agree with you. There are major major differences and I'm not saying that my Catleaps is better than the Samsung. It just depends on what you want/need in a monitor.

There are tradeoffs to getting a Catleap, it has only DVI-D, no hight adjustment and a fairly flimsy base. But you still end up with a 2440x1440, 6 ms monitor with beautiful color and it cost half of what the Samsung does.

But do you prioritize warranty, an anti-glare coating, a newer display tech (PVA) and more input options? That is a individual decision that you have to make, and it comes down to your individual circumstances.

Yeah at $799 it is the lowest I could find...newegg, bestbuy, etc has it at $999.

Agree 100%. As mentioned earlier, I only ended up here because I purchaed the Auria (two bad ones) but was blown away with the fantastic colors/resolution and didn't want to go back to my old screen :) The Catleap was VERY tempting, I only bought the Auria because it was available locally at Microcenter, but if I hadn't started down that route, I likely would have ordered a pixel-perfect Catleap.

I'm guessing that the Catleap is likely made in Korea, and probably of better quality than the Chinese made Auria/Nixeus.

My local Microcenter was out, so I ordered online, not knowing they would ship same day. I tried to get Best Buy to pricematch (online pricematch requires going over the phone). In short, Best Buy SUCKS. They only pricematch a small list of stores?!? (Amazon, Newegg, and a few others). WTH?!?

Original price was $1199 and it appears some retailers are still at that price. At $799 it's VERY nice :) I like the design/build quality better than the Apple Cinema Display, which I thought was very nice to begin with.

That is actually thing in all monitors produced from South Korea (Catleap, Auria, Hazro etc) they have a kind of funky way of determining how many dead pixels is a defective monitor. The number is less than 5 total on the entire screen it passes QC.

Apple, Samsung and other companies then take those panels and QC them all again and take only the ones that are truly 100% and brand them for sale under their names.

So if you buy one of the S. Korean brands you are not getting that second round of QC inspection. But that doesn't meant that the monitor you are going to get is necessarily defective, just that it could have up to 5 dead pixels and still be something that you would buy in S. Korea. Hence why I was willing to pay $100 extra to get one that was guaranteed 0 dead pixels.

Anyway, I feel like I'm thread jacking a bit here. This is an excellent deal on a great Samsung monitor, and if it is what you need then don't hesitate. I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

You're right on the money...sure, one would save hundreds by buying a Catleap but if something goes wrong that person is screwed. Samsung products have always been much more expensive and this monitor is well worth the extra $ if you can afford it. The design and quality on the outside and in are sexy and speechless. It's like comparing a Coby HDTV at Walmart to a Samsung Smart TV at bestbuy for example.

Nixeus is a us company. and their ips is 6 ms for 27". it is more expensive than korean but you get us support and has at least a some warranty. oops, i see that you edited nixeus out right before i quoted you. http://www.overclock.net/t/128651...-usa-brand

:lol:

Simply false.

Dell/apple/american monitors use grade A panels and catleaps are at best A- panels. I have a dell 27" at work and a catleap Q270 at home. The dell is vastly superior in terms of backlight uniformity, build quality, color uniformity, etc.

Catleaps are NOT for anything other than gaming, which is entirely why I bought one. I've gamed on both monitors and saw no difference. Some people report that catleaps are in fact superior to a dell 27" but I didn't see any difference in input lag on either monitor, nor did 67hz (catleap) feel any different than 60hz (dell).

If you do any sort of serious work with your monitors, spend the extra money on this samsung or a dell. Catleaps are a great great deal but great for gaming ONLY. I love mine for that purpose.

Yeah, my understanding is they basically buy the S Korean panels, put them in their own frame and then slap their brand on them. So you are buying a S Korean panel, but with a US fronted company. Although in the research I did when buying my Catleap I basically heard that their warranty support was really spotty. So I ended up going with the perfect pixel Catleap.

Read their pixel return guarantee. It's not all that inspiring, especially not at $500 for the Nixeus. I'm still really miffed at the DisplayPort connector, putting crap in backwards doesn't inspire confidence. Gives me that warm fuzzy feeling that the designers really put thought and care into assembly ;)

The Pixel Perfect Catleap seems like a far better proposition at that price. I rolled the dice with Auria because it was $100 cheaper than Nixeus, AND I could return it locally (BIG REASON). Not sure i'd risk $500 on the Nixeus instead of $700 on the Asus (3 year warranty, 0 Dead Pixel Guarantee!) or $799 on this Samsung. For me the Nixeus looks like one of the worst picks at the price. $500 and I need 3 dead pixels before they'll take it back?!? WITH?!?!

Here's their policy:
http://www.nixeus.com/limited-war...ixeus-vue/. I wouldn't roll the dice at $500 on that! The Asus is only $200 more (PVA, different panel), with ZERO dead-pixel warranty, and a THREE year warrantee from a reputable company. Why anyone whould buy the Nixeus is beyond me.

I'd strongly consider a perfect Catleap at $500 KNOWING there were no dead pixels or issues.

Arreo, is the Catleap made in Korea? The Auria was made in China (and i'm guessing the Nixeus too). I'll keep pounding on it, selling monitors with backwards facing connectors just tells you how much care/thought was done. My guess is Nixeus does nothing more than buy it from the Chinese factory (likely the same as Auria) who probably builds these as cheaply as possible using leftover panels.

I actually agree with you. As I've been saying it comes down to what you need the monitor to do for you.

If you do serious color-calibrated graphics work then you need to buy a serious business monitor that is meant for that.

You sacrifice a number of things if you get a Catleap, but you still get a great monitor. It comes down to your individual situation.

Yeap, the Catleap/Achieva 27"s are made in Korea. Mine shipped from Pusan and everything was in Korean and I got a Korean power plug for it :)

cool thxs for the heads up. i'm starting to lean towards this samsung at 799. going to continue researching for the rest of the day.

Thanks for the response! I'd feel much better going that route, knowing it's a perfect panel!

Keep in mind that most of the reviews are going to knock Samsung based on the original $1199 price, where I suppose the reviewers expected more.

Ok, I'll add to the threadjacking... LOL

For those like myself who are on a budget, if you have a Microcenter nearby you could get the Auria EQ276W .
30 day in store returns. It has a DisplayPort. etc etc etc.
If you get a bad panel, just go back to your local MC and either return it or exchange.


Just *my* .02c

Yes, very true. Just figured I'd toss it there as a pretty decent IPS monitor for the money! :)

I just got back from Microcenter and got one...they didn't even have one on display but I bought one anyways. 15 day return policy and no restocking fee.

Just got it out of the box...looks amazing!

Where are you located?

Long Island...they had 1 left and now the site says out of stock...lol

pictures!

That's a gorgeous monitor! I love the glossy look! It would be nice, but I still can't justify spending that much money.

I've been reading about all these Korean monitors for days, but I'm not going to risk it. Some of the sellers on Ebay have questionable feedback when doing a search on the negative/neutral site. I see comments about bait and switch that scare me, in addition to pixel perfect models not being pixel perfect.

Right now it's between the Asus and Dell for me. They all seem to have problems, which is inexcusable at this price range. Dell has much better customer service than Asus, but the Asus is better for gaming. I guess it all comes down to the next best deal. Dell in Australia had a 30% off sale on the U2713HM for $559 Australian shipped. I'm hoping Dell USA does something similar soon. :drool:

Microcenter has it for 799 USD again. Amazon is pricing at 999 at the moment. Everyone should submit to Amazon for price match !!!!!!

Amazon price match? Are u sure? Really? How?

Read the wiki on the 1st page on how to submit for Amazon PM. Amazon will PM if its being sold at a major retailer with shipping option available (ie no in store pick up only).

just grab one. too bad amazon does not price match.

Pricematch anywhere?

I tried ordering from Microcenter's website and I got a confirmation email but they were not even shipping it for 7 days and it warned that low inventory items might be sold out and the order could be cancelled so I called and they said all 3 warehouses are sold out. Some local stores still have them but I am not near any.

I read http://www.jr.com/ would price match microcenter but when I called they only offered to reduce the price from $1,000 to $900. J&R's policy has a lot of loopholes for them to not pricematch so I wasn't surprised.

I tried price matching with bestbuy.com but they said the nearest micro center was 110miles from me and they only price match within 25 miles... so that will work for some of you but not me.

I tried pricematching at the local best buy and they offered to lower the price from $1,000 to $900. When I said that wasnt their policy they said its an item they don't stock and special orders aren't covered by the policy they were only offering to be nice.

I emailed Amazon and clicked the link on the product page and notified them of a better price but lets get real, Amazon's price policy says they only match TVs.

I would have to pay sales tax at best buy thus making the deal a bit worse anyway. Any other ideas where I could try?

That isn't true. The Samsung has nothing in common with those Koren monitors and is better in every way including a better panel that they make themselves unlike Apple buying the panel you have from LG. The "Korean" panel is the same at the Apple except that Apple rejected all of those panels because they had dead pixels, dust in them, LED bleed around the edges, or some other reason, and that is why they get re-branded on the generic market. Not to mention everything else about the monitor except the panel is different than the Apple (that means worse).

MOST IMPORTANTLY their perfect pixel guarantee for $60 extra is not a real guarantee. They simply refund you the $60 if the pixels are not perfect. People are reporting getting messed up pixels at the same rate with the "pixel perfect guarantee" ones as the normal ones so basically if you lcuk into a pixel perfect one they get to keep your extra $60. They do not inspect them in anyway.


This is the absolute best mainstream monitor Samsung currently sells. Its probably targeted at picky people.


The Samsung is more likely to show some motion blur in a VERY fast paced first person shooter game than a 120mhz monitor. Other than that all of my research indicates this is the best monitor for... EVERYTHING!