HDR Gaming Monitor: Samsung's MASSIVE C49HG90 FreeSync 2 display TESTED - Daily Star

HDR Gaming Monitor: Samsung's MASSIVE C49HG90 FreeSync 2 display TESTED

ROLLING in cash like Scrooge McDuck and looking for the very best PC gaming monitor money can buy? The Samsung C49HG90 FreeSync 2 display might be the best we've ever used, but HDR is still woefully underused by most AAA gaming titles.

HDR Gaming Monitor: Samsung's MASSIVE C49HG90 FreeSync 2 display TESTED SAMSUNG

HDR Gaming Monitor: Samsung's MASSIVE C49HG90 FreeSync 2 display TESTED

PC Gaming has long been lauded by a select few as the only true way to play, thanks to the much beefier tech you can pack inside your own custom built gaming hub.

Now with 4K/HDR gaming the new benchmark for the industry and with the likes of Sony and Microsoft trying to catch up with the PS4 PRO and Xbox One respectively, we thought it was time to dip our toes into the PC gaming world and see what a custom built PC and a new monitor had to offer.

While the big names are pushing it, HDR Gaming is still fairly new.

Not everyone's jumped onto the bandwagon with new TVs and gaming monitors, which usually means the tech behind it takes some time to reach its inevitable peak and issues are still in play.

Do current monitors offer a truly ‘next-gen’ experience? To know for sure we wanted to test one of the new FreeSync compatible monitors. 

FreeSync. It might sound like a low fat treat, but it's actually an AMD produced system which essentially allows your gaming monitor to keep up with your gaming rig.

It aims to eliminate pesky display issues such as screen tearing and offer the most crisp, colourful and in-depth imagery you’re likely to have experienced before, in 3 key areas high dynamic range, low frame-rate compensation, and low latency.

Supported by a whole host of gaming monitors, including over 20 from Samsung, it’s an easily accessible feature and one which we couldn’t wait to have a test drive of.

Running from a PC boasting the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X and Radeon Vega56, We hooked that power house up to the Samsung C49HG90, an absolute beast of a gaming monitor.

We meant that literally as well. So enormous was the screen that we abandoned all plans to test this in our standard gaming room - because it took up a literal living room's worth of space.

Still, we got there and put it through it’s paces while not going blind in the process.


The ultra-wide monitor can be used as a gaming monitor, completely filling the screen with action, or if you fancy a little bit of both worlds, it can display two full 16:9 screens simultaneously.

Great for a bit of Business and pleasure multi-tasking or perhaps running two consoles at once for those who want to game together on the same monitor. It’s definitely a unique experience.

It’s a sleek, minimalist design that Samsung owners have long come to expect with a curve that looks like it’s ready to swallow your head whole, adding some peripheral views to your gaming experience.

Coming in at a total resolution of 3840 X 1080 and Display HDR 600, this is a monitor which packs a lot of punch and brightness.

Throw in the 144Hz refresh rate, and it beats a lot of the competition.

Price may be somewhat of a sticking point for many, coming in well over £1200 And while the size is really impressive, it may just not be something the average person could fit in, on or around their average desk space.


We ran a handful of titles through the ringer, almost all of which looked absolutely breathtaking.

Running the likes of Far Cry 5 or Battlefield 1 at full screen on the highest settings was a sight to behold.

Screen tearing wasn’t an issue with most games we tested running as smooth as we’ve ever seen.

Sadly, however, we only found a handful of titles that seemed to fully support HDR in any meaningful way.

While most games offer HDR settings, Tone Mapping can seem somewhat off and the results range from hugely impressive to not a huge amount of difference when you go from game to game.

Battlefield 1, for example, is just a better experience in standard definition as HDR tends to wash it out somewhat.

The most impressive however was Far Cry 5, which filled the screen with bright, beautiful mountain views and rich deep colours. 


As smooth as butter, it ran like an absolute dream and we have to admit was the first time we’ve had our jaws dropped in quite some time, almost to the point we were ready to bin our current setup and trade it all in for something like this dream rig.

As we mentioned before, if you’re looking to do a bit more than just gaming, then the Samsung C49HG90 offers you a lot of screen space to play around with and after spending so many hours playing around with it, we can see how it might be difficult to adjust to life with a ‘normal sized’ monitor again.

FreeSync 2 works wonders on keeping your gaming experience running smoothly at the highest settings possible which is an absolute god send, it’s HDR settings however still seem to be woefully underused by a lot of titles so in that department there’s definitely space for more work to be done.

As this however seems to be more of a developer side issue, you could do a lot worse than future proofing your set-up with a monster like the C49HG90.

So if you’ve been saving for an upgrade or got a spare grand laying about, this is definitely a worthwhile investment.