Computer Shopper - UK (2019-08)

ISSUE 378|COMPUTER SHOPPER|AUGUST 2019 37

INTHEBADold days before LCD screens
became affordable,your monitor used to be
the biggest thing on your desk. It was two
feet deep and weighed as much as asack of
potatoes. By comparison, most modern LCD
monitors are positively skinny,but even these
can still have space-hogging stands. That’s
where the Samsung Space Monitor comes in.
It’s amonitor forpeople who hateclutter,
with an arm that minimises the amount of
space the screen takes up on your desk. It’s
not the first time amanufacturer has done
this –Dell’s U2717DAisone of afew examples
to have come and gone over the years –but
the Samsung looks the most elegant so far.

LITTLEAND LARGE

The SpaceMonitorcomes in two sizes.
There’s a27in model with a144Hz, 2,560x1,440
panel and alarger,32in model with a60Hz,
3,840x2,160 panel, which we tested. Both use
vertical alignment (VA) tech, and have the
same aesthetics and space-saving design.
Unlike traditional monitors, which sit on
the surface of your desk, you mount the
Space Monitor using aclamp that attaches to
the rear of your desk. This clamp occupies a
small, semi-circular area of desk space,but it’s
minimal compared with anormal monitor.
Better still, the hinged arm that links the
screen with the clamp offers ahuge amount
of flexibility.Ifyour desk is backed up against
awall, the design of the arm is such that it will
sit flush when it’s not in use,taking on the
appearance of asmall, wall-mounted TV,with
all cables tucked neatly awaywithin the arm.
When you need it, it can be effortlessly
pulled towards you and, despitethe unusual
design, you still get between -5° and 20° of
tilt and 184.7mm of height adjustment.
Throughout the monitor’s design, it’s
refreshing to see Samsung has retained
minimalism as an ethos. The three-sided
bezel-less frame minimises the monitor’s
silhouette, while its textured rear panel and
frame ensure it looks great from any angle.
There are some limitations here,however.
Youcan’t, forinstance,havethe monitor
sitting at its peak height when it’s fully
extended, nor can you pivot or rotatethe
display. It’s also worth checking whether your
desk is compatible.While the clamp will fit
desks up to 90mm thick, it will only work if
there are no impediments to the clamp
underneath, which some designs can have.

SAMSUNG

SpaceMonitor

★★★★★

£450•From http://www.overclockers.co.uk

VERDICT

Samsung͙sǧleverdesignminimisesǧlutterȂ
ǔutimagë́ualityisǔelow̟ar

4K MONITOR

Also worth noting is that there are only

two ports: mini DisplayPort and HDMI 2.0.

The lack of full-sized DisplayPort or multiple

HDMI ports might be aconcern forthose

using multiple sources, but it at least ensures

cable mess is kept to aminimum. Indeed,

Samsung is positively encouraging cable

minimalism by including acombined HDMI

and DC power cable in the box.

STRIKEAN IMBALANCE

Assuming your desk plays nicely with it, and

you’re happywith the limited connectivity,it’s

an easy design to live with. It’s pretty simple to

operate, too. Although there are no controls

at the front, the clickable joystick at the rear

means accessing and navigating the monitor’s

onscreen display(OSD) is an absolutedoddle.

Considering how much effort Samsung

has put intothe design of the Space Monitor,

we’d expect the same attention to detail and

care to have been taken over image quality.

Unfortunately,Samsung doesn’t factory-

calibratethe Space Monitor,and colour

accuracy suffers as aresult.

Out of the box, achieving an average

delta-E of 2.55 and apeak of 4inNormal

mode (tested against sRGB) isn’t disastrous,

but you can do better forthe money. To our

eyes, the Space Monitor also looks washed

out, and it took fiddling with the gamma

settings to sort it out. This tweak, however,

makes colour accuracy even worse,forcing the

average delta-E to 4.19 and the peak to 7.08

(again tested against sRGB). And, while the

monitor’s sRGB gamut coverage sits at 99.2%,

the gamut volume misses the mark at 126.9%.

By comparison, both the Samsung VA-based

C24FG70 and BenQ’s HDR-enabled PD2700U

offer farmore colour-accuratepicture quality.

Apeak brightness of 340cd/m2 isn’t overly

impressive,and neither is brightness

uniformity,with adeviance of around 18% in

each corner,sopictures won’t appear as

accuratenear the edges as theywould at the

centre of the monitor.And with the refresh

ratecapped at 60Hz, no low-input-lag mode or

FreeSync/G-Sync options, the Space Monitor

is also unsuitable forkeen gamers.

STYLEOVER SUBSTANCE

Samsung’sattempt to rekindle interest in

footprint-minimising monitors is

commendable,and the Space Monitor

excels at that particular task. Design-wise,

it’s the best-looking solution forthose

wanting to declutter their desks.

Even so,the Space Monitor doesn’t

entirely convince.Image quality leaves much

to be desired, which is ashame given the

obvious designer-leanings of the monitor’s

appearance.That’s not to saythe Samsung

Space Monitor fails entirely,just that it’s

aimed at alimited group of individuals: not

those seeking the best image quality,nor

the fastest gaming panel, but those whose

sole desire is elegant minimalism.

ChristopherMinasians

SCREENSIZE32in•RESOLUTION3,840x2,160•

SCREENTECHNOLOGYVA•REjRESHRATE60Hz•

ŚIDEOINPUTSHDMI,miniDisplayPort•WARRANTY

TwoyearsRTB•DETAILSwww.samsung.com•

PARTCODELS32R750UEUXEN

SPECIFICATIONS

CONNECTION PORTS

HDMI MiniDis̟layPort