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PROS:

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Overview & Aesthetics:

This monitor is among the most minimalist and sleek screens in existence. It’s bezel is the narrowest to date on a 21:9 screen at under 1cm. There are no logos or obtrusive branding present anywhere on the panel, save for a small, barely noticeable grey ‘Samsung’ logo on the front. The back is a glossy white, which is of no particular interest to me since my screen is up against the wall. The OSD is accessed with a single joystick behind the right side of the panel and is easily navigated. For me personally, this monitor is the most aesthetically pleasing ultrawide in existence, blowing away the competition’s tacky, ‘gamer’ aesthetics in favor of sharp, clean-cut minimalism.



Curve:

I personally found the curve to be immersive for my day to day usage. I sit approx. 2.5ft (0.76m) back from the screen. I will add that this is definitely the limit for me: should the curve become any sharper, it would begin to affect my overall experience negatively. At 1500R, the screen already begins to take a ‘concave lens’ like shape. Professionals who need accurate perspective for straight lines should avoid this screen: there is an ever so slight distortion of lines due to the rather sharp curvature of the monitor.



Color & Black Levels:

Samsung’s new Quantum Dot technology has been plastered on this monitor at every turn, and perhaps for a good reason. In my experience, the Quantum Dot filtration used makes a noticeable difference in color quality. Although colors are not as accurate and don’t pop as much as an IPS display, the wider gamut and increased detail is excellent for gaming and casual users. This screen may not meet the standards of professionals however, due to its lack of 10-bit color and overall color inaccuracy. For gamers and casual users, the trade-off of color accuracy for deeper blacks is a no-brainer. Deeper blacks provide an overall richer, more immersive image and allow for more clarity overall, including details in dark scenes which may go overlooked on most IPS monitors.



Backlight Bleed:

By comparison, the PG348Q from ASUS had a fairly sizeable amount of orange glow eating up the screen from its corners. In all, it consumed 20% or so of the entire monitor on the darkest backgrounds. The PB258Q, my 16:9 screen, has minor white IPS glow eating up the bottom left of the screen. The CF791 has no corner bleed and no glow. On black backgrounds, the screen is pitch black. Lower black levels contribute to this effect for an all-around, best-in-class experience for movie watching/dark room gameplay. AH-IPS screens simply do not match up to AMVA/SVA panels in this category.



Scanlines & Artifacts:

For comparison, Asus’s PG348Q had several artifacts of note. Both panels which I received, tested and ended up returning had scan lines due (in my case) to the G-Sync module. Both also had a grainy, screen-door effect which, when combined with IPS glow, detracted noticeably from overall image quality. The CF791 has no artifacts which is very impressive.



Input Lag & Ghosting:

Although VA panels are infamous for high response times and ghosting, I personally did not notice any significant ghosting on the CF791. Although Blur Buster’s ghosting tests revealed noticeable ghosting trails on medium shades of gray and some pointer/text ghosting was noticeable on dark gray backgrounds when looking hard enough (see pics), no ghosting was noticeable in-game or during videos or other usage. Input lag is slightly noticeable in an apples to apples comparison with a standard IPS/TN panel, but should be fine for the average user.



Response Time:

The response time is also very adequate although it doesn’t feel as snappy as a top of the line IPS or TN panel for FPS games. The overdrive setting to lower response time works best at ‘Faster’. ‘Fastest’ results in a small amount of overshoot and ‘Standard’ isn’t as effective as ‘Faster’.

Refresh rate was verified using Blur Buster’s frame skip test. This is a valid 100Hz screen (see images). This is quite a big deal as it’s the first mainstream native 100Hz ultrawide to hit the market: the X34 and PG348Q forced the consumer to overclock to reach the advertised 100Hz refresh rate. Everything feels smoother on 100Hz, both in game and on desktop.



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CONS:

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Warranty:

Like all of its TVs and monitors, Samsung offers a rather paltry 1-year warranty. Compared to its competitors in this field, Dell, Acer, AOC, and Asus, all of whom offer 3 years, Samsung and its sister-rival company, LG, fall drastically short. I’ve had more than one screen in the past develop a bad displayport/hdmi input 1-2 years into ownership. Considering this screen only has one usable input: you need to use the displayport for 100Hz/1440p, should anything go wrong after 1 year of use, the consumer is completely screwed. I understand that most credit card companies will extend Samsung’s warranty for an additional year but that’s beside the point. Samsung’s lesser warranty period demonstrates the level of faith they have in their product. If Samsung has no faith that their $1000 display will function properly past the 1-year mark, then why should the consumer?



Dead/Stuck Pixels:

My CF791 has one clear dead pixel in the upper right. (see pics) For a screen that costs $1000, this is something you'd expect to be able to avoid. Some odd occurrences of stuck pixels will also take place. When I press on the screen, they will disappear and begin working again. I’m worried about the overall build quality of this panel in the long run as other users have reported pixels dying/getting stuck over time.



Text Clarity:

The CF791 has merely passable text clarity. Sharpness must be reduced to get jagged edges to acceptable levels. My sharpness level needed to be pushed all the way down to 36. The text still has a very faint blur around the edges, although this will go unnoticed to all but the most discerning. IPS screens have superior text clarity out of the box.



Flickering:

A major con for this screen is flickering. With Freesync turned on in ultimate engine mode, the flicker is unbearable and renders the screen unusable in that capacity. Some have decided to buy and use their screens with Nvidia GPUs in order to avoid the freesync problems. I thought this problem was limited to a few panels but it appears to be a manufacturing flaw. Be aware that freesync is virtually unusable on this monitor except in the 80-100Hz range.



Color Shift:

The color shift on this screen is pretty bad. If you’re sitting 3ft from the screen and lean over a bit, the entire image washes out. If you use more than one monitor or have a corner desk or just have a need to move around in your work space, be aware than the viewing angles on this monitor are very limited.



Stand:

My CF791 came slightly crooked out of the box. After resetting the mounting screws, I was able to get it to an acceptable orientation. Since the monitor doesn’t rotate on its stand, there was no way to easily rectify the issue. The stand also feels cheap and looks tacky. It's made of a bright white plastic coupled with a 'fingerprint-magnet' glossy finish. The stand adjustments also make little sense. There’s no rotation or pivot and when you lower the monitor down, it automatically begins to face upwards for some reason. By the time the screen is at its minimum height it’s facing close to 30 degrees upwards. It’s unclear why Samsung did this, but overall, I find the stand to be flat out unacceptable for a $1000 screen.



VESA Mounting:

This monitor is not designed to be VESA mounted, unfortunately. Although Samsung includes an adapter, the resulting setup is clunky and may not be compatible with conventional monitor stands. Most monitor stands are rated to hold a certain amount of weight with the panel mounted flush on the provided VESA plate. The CF791 has a small arm protruding from it's back which mounts into the provided adapter which then mounts onto the monitor arm VESA plate. This results in the screen being projected on a lever arm 3+ inches out from the VESA plate (see pics), creating additional downward force above the rated specs of most standard desk mounts. As seen below in the provided picture, the adapter ends up facing downward, its bottom edge pressed against the desk mount. As a result I had to adjust the monitor to face upwards to compensate. I’m concerned with how this will affect the desk mount. Even though the mount is rated to hold 22lbs, almost 9lbs more than the CF791, it seems to be overwhelmed and I’m not sure whether I should keep it mounted or take it down. Also note that the added length of the adapter results in the monitor being projected outwards, towards the user. I have a fairly deep desk at 30" and I still feel like the screen is being pushed outwards into my face while eating up valuable desk space.



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CONCLUSION:

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Overall, the CF791 is a decent choice when it comes to the 21:9 format. The high native refresh rate, newer panel from Samsung, and rich detail provided by quantum dot filtration and deep blacks, all make for a top notch monitor with few compromises. As for me, between the shoddy VESA mounting, dead/stuck pixels, flickering, and weird, cheap-o stand, I’m torn between returning this screen for another vs putting up with its quirks.