Samsung U32D970Q review

DESIGN AND BUILD

In typical Samsung fashion, the U32D970Q is gorgeous. Similar to the consumer-focused 32in Samsung U32D850T we reviewed in 2014, the bezels are angled into the screen, which makes them appear smaller and gives the monitor a more svelte appearance. The quality of the material is excellent, too, with brushed metal-style silver and grey plastic making up the bulk of the stand and frame.

The stand is of a decent quality, too, with a clever ball and socket joint allowing for a huge amount of swivel and tilt adjustment. It’s not perfect, though: it doesn’t quite sit straight and can easily be rotated very slightly to the left, meaning it looks like a poorly-hung picture frame. You can rotate it 90 degrees in the other direction if you prefer to work in portrait mode, but we’re at a loss as to why we were able to rotate it in the wrong direction. If you’d rather attach it to your own equipment, Samsung provides a VESA mounting plate in the box. There’s no hood, though, which is something we’ve seen on cheaper professional monitors.

On the back of the monitor there are two USB3 ports. Instead of facing sideways, they face backwards, which makes them very difficult to reach. Samsung says it’s to make setting up multiple monitors easier, but we see no reason why the ports couldn’t have been placed closer to the edge just to make things slightly easier. There are two more USB3 ports facing downwards, sitting alongside the 3.5mm audio output, DVI, HDMI, and two DisplayPort connectors. You’ll want to use the monitor at a refresh rate of 60Hz rather than 30Hz, so your primary devices should be connected via DisplayPort and not HDMI or DVI; these ports can only support Ultra HD resolutions at 30Hz.

CONCLUSION

The U32D970Q has a superb 32in Ultra HD panel delivering incredibly accurate colours. For this alone it earns a huge amount of credit. However, imperfections with the way it handles custom colour profiles and the odd build quality issue means it doesn’t quite reach the high standards we expect from Samsung and, more importantly, the huge price. If you’re after accurate colours you can trust from an Ultra HD screen, this is a great choice. If you’re not in the market for something quite so extreme, the Asus PB279Q is a stunning (albeit smaller) Ultra HD monitor for half the price. If you’re only after a 32in screen and need Ultra HD, the Samsung S32D850T is a worthy choice, too: it has a 32in panel with a still-impressive 2,560×1,440 pixel resolution