Samsung LS27D390GANXZA 27" Black

The Samsung LS27D390GANXZA is a 27-inch curved VA gaming monitor with 100Hz and FreeSync at a budget-friendly CAD 140. It's a huge upgrade from 60Hz for casual gamers, with deep blacks and an immersive curve. The trade-offs are weak brightness, limited connectivity, and mediocre color accuracy. If you're a competitive gamer or need accurate colors, look elsewhere, but for budget gaming, this is a steal.

Let's talk about what 100Hz actually means in practice. Compared to a standard 60Hz office monitor, you're getting 67% more frames per second, which translates to visibly smoother motion in games and even when scrolling through documents. FreeSync support means the monitor syncs its refresh rate with your GPU, eliminating screen tearing without the input lag penalty of traditional V-Sync. For a budget gaming setup, this is the sweet spot.

The 4ms response time is where things get honest. That's a gray-to-gray measurement, and on a VA panel, you're likely to see some ghosting in fast-paced scenes. Dark transitions are the classic VA weakness, and while Samsung has improved their overdrive tuning over the years, this isn't going to feel as crisp as a 1ms IPS or TN panel. Our performance score lands at 58th percentile, which is solidly middle of the pack. Fine for RPGs, racing games, and strategy titles. Not ideal if you're grinding ranked matches in a competitive shooter.

Brightness tops out at 250 nits, which is adequate for a typical indoor setup but nothing to write home about. If your desk sits near a window with direct sunlight, you might find yourself squinting. The VA panel's contrast ratio helps compensate somewhat, but this is not a monitor for bright rooms.

Stacked against the LG UltraGear 27G810A-B, the Samsung gives up a lot of performance. The LG offers a higher refresh rate, better response times, and superior color accuracy, but you'll pay significantly more for it. The Samsung's appeal is purely about getting a curved, high-refresh experience at a price that feels almost too good to be true.

The ASUS TUF Gaming VG34VQL1B is a different beast entirely, an ultrawide with a much higher resolution and refresh rate. It's also several times the price. If you're building a budget gaming rig and need to allocate more money to the GPU, the Samsung makes a lot of sense. The Dell S2725QC and Acer Nitro XV272U are both stronger all-around displays with better color and connectivity, but again, they cost more and don't offer the curved panel that some people genuinely prefer for immersion.

HP's OMEN 27qs G2 is probably the closest philosophical competitor, a gaming-focused 27-inch display, but it targets a higher performance tier. The Samsung wins on price and curve, loses on nearly everything else. That's the trade-off, and for a lot of budget buyers, it's a perfectly reasonable one.

At CAD 140, this monitor is hard to argue with. You're getting a 27-inch curved display from Samsung, a brand that actually knows how to make panels, for less than what many budget 24-inch flat monitors cost. The 100Hz refresh rate alone puts it ahead of most office monitors in this price bracket, and the FreeSync support means it'll pair nicely with both AMD and recent Nvidia GPUs.

But the low price comes with compromises. The connectivity situation is rough, sitting at 7th percentile in our database. You're likely getting just HDMI and maybe a headphone jack, which limits multi-device setups. The color performance is also weak, ranking in the bottom fifth of monitors we've tested. If you do any photo editing or color-sensitive work, this panel will frustrate you. For gaming and general use, though, the value is genuinely impressive.

The Samsung LS27D390GANXZA is one of those monitors that makes you wonder why you ever put up with a flat screen. It's a 27-inch curved VA panel running at 1080p, and the 1800R curve is subtle enough for daily work but noticeable enough to make games feel a bit more wrapped around you. At 100Hz with FreeSync, it's clearly aimed at budget-conscious gamers who want smoother motion without spending a fortune.

Samsung is pitching this as an immersive gaming display, and for the price it's often listed at, that's a fair claim. The 100Hz refresh rate is a real step up from the 60Hz panels most people are still using, and VA tech means you get deep blacks that IPS panels in this price range just can't match. The 4ms response time isn't going to impress esports players, but for single-player games and casual multiplayer, it's perfectly fine.

Where this monitor gets interesting is the value proposition. We're seeing it listed around CAD 140 in Canada, which is aggressively cheap for a 27-inch curved display from a major brand. The customer rating sits at 4.8 out of 5 across 30 reviews, which is strong social proof for a budget panel. But our database tells a more nuanced story, and there are some real trade-offs hiding behind that curve.

Competitive esports players should skip this one. The 4ms response time and VA panel's tendency to ghost in dark scenes will put you at a disadvantage in fast-paced shooters. You'd be better served by a 144Hz or higher IPS panel with a 1ms response time, even if it costs more. The LG UltraGear line is a good place to start.

Photo editors, video colorists, and anyone doing color-critical work should also look elsewhere. The color performance ranks in the bottom fifth of monitors we track, and 250 nits of brightness won't give you the headroom needed for accurate work. A Dell UltraSharp or ASUS ProArt display would serve you far better, though at a higher price. And if you're planning to use this in a bright, sunlit room, the limited brightness will be a constant annoyance. Look for something with at least 350 nits.

If you're a casual gamer on a tight budget who wants a bigger, curved screen with smooth motion, this Samsung is an easy recommendation. The 100Hz refresh rate and FreeSync support genuinely improve the gaming experience over a standard 60Hz panel, and the VA contrast makes games look richer than you'd expect at this price. Pair it with a budget GPU and you've got a solid entry-level gaming setup.

For office work, it's more of a mixed bag. The 1080p resolution at 27 inches means text isn't as sharp as it would be on a 24-inch 1080p or 27-inch 1440p display. The curve is mild enough not to be distracting, but the limited brightness and weak color accuracy make it less than ideal for long document sessions or any visual work. If your primary use is spreadsheets and email, you might be happier with a flat IPS panel at the same price.

Competitive gamers should look elsewhere. The 4ms response time and VA ghosting will hold you back in fast-paced shooters. But for everyone else, especially at CAD 140, this monitor delivers a lot of experience for very little money.