Samsung S39C S32C394EAN 32" Black 2023

A big, curvy screen that's easy on the eyes but rough on the pixels. Great for movie nights, rough for everything else.

The 75Hz refresh rate and FreeSync support are fine for casual gaming, but nothing to write home about. What surprised us is the feature set at this price point. You get 2 HDMI ports, a DisplayPort, and even built-in speakers, which puts it in the 91st percentile for features. That's genuinely impressive for a budget monitor. The VA panel gives you solid contrast for movies, but the 250 nits brightness means HDR is basically a checkbox, not an experience.

Against something like the LG UltraGear 27GX790A-B or the MSI MAG 271QPX QD-OLED E2, the Samsung gets absolutely smoked on resolution, refresh rate, and color. Those are gaming monitors built for speed and clarity. The S39C isn't playing that game. It's competing with budget 32-inch TVs and other cheap curved panels. The BenQ MA270U is a closer philosophical match for entertainment, but it's sharper and brighter. If you want the curve, the Samsung is one of the cheapest ways to get it. If you want a good monitor, look at the competition.

At $280 USD, this is a tough sell when 1440p 27-inch monitors hover around the same price. You're paying for the curve and the size, not the sharpness. If you want a big, immersive screen for movies and light gaming and you sit far enough back, it's fine. But for most people, a sharper 27-inch 1440p panel is the smarter buy.

The Samsung S39C is a 32-inch curved VA panel that's all about immersion on a budget. The 1000R curve is the headline here, wrapping around your field of view more aggressively than most monitors. But at 1080p on a 32-inch screen, you're trading sharpness for that wrap-around feel. It's a monitor that knows exactly what it is: a cheap, big, curved screen for casual entertainment. Just don't expect it to impress up close.

If you're looking for a sharp, fast gaming monitor, this isn't it. Go get a 27-inch 1440p 144Hz+ panel instead, like the MSI MAG 271QPX or the LG UltraGear 27GX790A-B. If you need VESA mounting or do a lot of text work, skip this too. The soft 1080p resolution will drive you nuts.

The Samsung S39C is a niche product. It's for people who specifically want a big, curved screen for movies and casual use and don't care about sharpness or speed. For everyone else, there are better monitors at this price. It's not a bad monitor, it's just a very specific one. Buy it for the curve, not the specs.