Help decide S27A750 or S27A950

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poj

Weaksauce
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Jan 11, 2011
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I need a new 120hz TN for 2D gaming, has to be 27".
So there are 4 options if I'm right:

- Acer Hn274
- Asus Vg278
- Samsung S27A750
- Samsung S27A950

I know that the Samsungs are the best quality displays (I've read about the VG278's backlight bleed issues, and that the Acer is a poor display in terms of input lag and image quality).

So right now, I decided that I get the A750, because I like the stand better (the A950 is too modern for me).
However the S27A750 only has DP and HDMI, and since HDMI doesnt carry 120hz @ 1920x1080 I would be using the DP port.

I heard about issues with displayport and I would like some input about this.

Issues I read about:
- someone said that his monitor doesnt show Post/Bios
- displayport connection issues, losing connection, etc..
- bad bundled cable couldnt carry 120hz

My question is: Do I need to worry about any of this? Or with updated drivers, firmwares will not have any problems? Because if DP is such a hassle, then I would rather pay more for an 'ugly' stand and proper DVI-D connection.

Thanks for reading this.
 
I am using three Dell U2410s. I have used them with DisplayPort and DVI-D depending on my video cards. I never had any problems with using the DisplayPorts at all. Just make sure you are using native DP cables and don't use any converters or adapters. That's where most people find problems.

DisplayPort is a superior technology to DVI-D, overall.
 
I have the S27A950 on the way... I have an nvidia without displayport for the meantime, but plan to go amd.
 
I´ve owned a S27A950D and two S23A750D. While these are probably the best TN panels around in terms of speed and color (for being a TN), there really seem to be some quality check issues on these models. So buy them from a place with a good return policy (like amazon). All my Samsung screens have horrible backlight bleeding problems, and I´m now considering sending my third screen back to service.
 
I have an S27A750D running off of a Sapphire 7950. Mine shows BIOS information just fine. I'm with you - I absolutely hate the way the 950 looks for some reason. I've never seen one in person, but the design of the 750 is still far more appealing to my eyes.

I have seen the "not optimal resolution" (it says something along those lines) message a few times, but I just switch inputs from HDMI back to Displayport and it resolves the issue. I think I've seen it maybe 3 times in the few weeks I've had it - no idea what causes it. I don't find it to be a huge deal though.

One thing that's annoying me at the moment is that my monitor won't wake up after my PC comes out of sleep mode. I upgraded video drivers recently and it started doing it - never had a problem before, so I'm going to assume it's driver related and hope it gets straightened out at some point.

I don't have any complaints other than those two issues. It's a fantastic display and I'm definitely enjoying it.
 
Good luck finding a S27A750D. I havent been able to find any. They are deactivated on newegg and tigerdirect. Not sure whats going on.
 
I can't even find a S27A750 instock any where. Been thinking on selling my 3007hc for one. i say go with S27A750 if you can find one.
 
Thanks for reading and replying everyone!

Rizen said:
I am using three Dell U2410s. I have used them with DisplayPort and DVI-D depending on my video cards. I never had any problems with using the DisplayPorts at all. Just make sure you are using native DP cables and don't use any converters or adapters. That's where most people find problems.

DisplayPort is a superior technology to DVI-D, overall.
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Yes, thats what I thought, too. Just had to ask.. to be sure.
I would love to see DisplayPort tech shine with a 120hz @ 2560 × 1440 display :)

MajorMullet said:
I have an S27A750D running off of a Sapphire 7950. Mine shows BIOS information just fine. I'm with you - I absolutely hate the way the 950 looks for some reason. I've never seen one in person, but the design of the 750 is still far more appealing to my eyes.
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I absolutely hate that design and dont understand why would someone design something like that.. It is a computer monitor, not a Tv for Gods sake! With the 950, you have the screen about 95mm above the table, with the 750 this is "just" 84mm. Also with this new monitors.. no adjustable stand?? and no vesa mount? My 2693HM is way better in this department.

MajorMullet said:
I have seen the "not optimal resolution" (it says something along those lines) message a few times, but I just switch inputs from HDMI back to Displayport and it resolves the issue. I think I've seen it maybe 3 times in the few weeks I've had it - no idea what causes it. I don't find it to be a huge deal though.
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Now this is worries me a little bit, but maybe theres a permanent fix for this. Anyone?

MajorMullet said:
One thing that's annoying me at the moment is that my monitor won't wake up after my PC comes out of sleep mode. I upgraded video drivers recently and it started doing it - never had a problem before, so I'm going to assume it's driver related and hope it gets straightened out at some point.
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This does not affect me fortunately, because I dont use sleep mode at all.

hammerforged said:
Good luck finding a S27A750D. I havent been able to find any. They are deactivated on newegg and tigerdirect. Not sure whats going on.
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This is why I want to get this monitor now.. Couple of stores have it in stock in my city (Budapest, Hungary)
I'm afraid they will discontinue any 120hz monitor from now on.. and produce only passive polarized 3d monitors.. then autostereoscopic ones...

But I need my 120hz smoothness :D
 
Go with the 750, use a short mini DP - DP adapter cable (3" or 6") and you will be fine. I've had no issues with mine and the experience is wonderful!
 
Ugh.. that is horrible indeed :(

I dont really have any choice, I hate the Acer (I have one in the office), and the other 3 displays have backlight issues.. I would get a good ips, but then whats the point?

Cant have both worlds.. (accuracy and speed) I hate it when I have to compromise.. but I cannot use my computer without a monitor.

I'm selling my 2693 HM 25" Samsung for about 250 USD.. in this country people would not pay 150 or more for this.. so its a good deal. The guy is making Eyefinity with 6 displays :D

The best choice for me is the S27A750, even with bleed issues..

There are more 23,6 " monitors, I think the best is the ASUS VG236.. but that is too small coming from a 25,5 ".
 
Why not look at the BenQ XL2420T? From what I read, it seems to be the most balanced display in the 120Hz segment.
 
That is a good monitor for gaming.. yes. However, it is 2 inch smaller then my current monitor, so I dont want that.
 
Don't they sell S27A700 in Europe? I know people in the US are still waiting. The difference is that it has a dual link DVI instead of the DP which is giving people problems, and the DL DVI has enough bandwidth to do 120hz. After reading through 11+ pages of the S27A750 thread since I was looking at this monitor too, it seems the DP issue was getting worse for some and the last few pages just seem to be a massive complaint thread.
 
The DP issue with the S27A750D, for most people, has to do with windows turning off the monitor. I'm surprised there weren't many people in the S27A750D thread that picked up on this...

Once you turn that default windows setting off, you shouldn't have an issue.
 
Lengradde said:
The DP issue with the S27A750D, for most people, has to do with windows turning off the monitor. I'm surprised there weren't many people in the S27A750D thread that picked up on this...

Once you turn that default windows setting off, you shouldn't have an issue.
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Thats reassuring, thank you!


FrostBite said:
Don't they sell S27A700 in Europe? I know people in the US are still waiting. The difference is that it has a dual link DVI instead of the DP which is giving people problems, and the DL DVI has enough bandwidth to do 120hz. After reading through 11+ pages of the S27A750 thread since I was looking at this monitor too, it seems the DP issue was getting worse for some and the last few pages just seem to be a massive complaint thread.
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No S27A700 in the EU. I waited for that too, but it seems they wont make it.
 
poj said:
Thats reassuring, thank you!
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I seem to have spoken too soon. It seems like there are two issues.

One says "DisplayPort Link Error", which is addressed by turning off that windows setting as I previously mentioned, to where the monitor is never put to sleep.

The other says "Optimum Mode 1920x1080", and just happened to me after coming back to my computer after a few hours of being away. I turned my screen on and that message was the only thing on screen. Turning the monitor off/back on cleared the message.

My guess is the S27A750D really doesn't like its 120hz signal being interrupted, and may have an issue syncing up with the computer when it is turned on. The "DisplayPort Link Error" was happening to me at least once a day before I turned the Windows setting off. It hasn't happened since, and that was a few weeks ago.

This was the first time for the "Optimum Mode 1920x1080" message to be on my screen. If/when it happens again, I'll be able to try pushing the source button like one of the people in the S27A750 thread mentioned.
 
The S27A750D is indeed a fantastic monitor for gaming and IMHO looks better than the A950 (they use the same panel anyways). Its important to keep in mind that the 3d/120Hz only works on the Displayport. I connected my decent gaming PC to displayport (had an ATI 6970 and BF3 was glorious on a 27" 120Hz screen) and my Xbox360 on the HDMI port. Worked great. I had to downsize though so sold my gaming desktop. This S27A750D is kind of wasted on me now so *shameless plug* I'm selling mine here if anyone is interested :)
 
Ericone said:
Get neither. They both have horrible backlight bleed issues and I´ve gone through 3 replacements of each one (27 and 23 inchers) same thing on every one.

This is what to expect from Samsung S27A950D or S23A750D

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/195/blb1.jpg/
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That's ridiculous. My 950D has ZERO bleed...neither does my mate who picked up three for eyefinity. NO bleed at all... and that's with the monitor being set to fairly bright settings. Don't put people off purchasing great products just because you have a bad experience.. for every one of you there are 500 people out there using the 750/950D and think it's the besdt LCD on the market, myself included

And in regards to your photo, what the hell did you set the brightness to .. looks like it's set to 1,000. I would imagine that any LCD panel is going to show backlight bleed if you max out the brightness. Maybe you should have spent some time calibrating the display ?

1000
 
1000 said:
That's ridiculous. My 950D has ZERO bleed...neither does my mate who picked up three for eyefinity. NO bleed at all... and that's with the monitor being set to fairly bright settings. Don't put people off purchasing great products just because you have a bad experience.. for every one of you there are 500 people out there using the 750/950D and think it's the besdt LCD on the market, myself included

And in regards to your photo, what the hell did you set the brightness to .. looks like it's set to 1,000. I would imagine that any LCD panel is going to show backlight bleed if you max out the brightness. Maybe you should have spent some time calibrating the display ?

1000
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Thanks for that. It's reassuring.

I'm going to try it out tomorrow if Fry's has one in stock that hasn't been molested. :D
 
1000:
No bleed @ all? That's awesome. The one I got has severe bleed on the lower right corner and a pretty even border the whole way around, lol. Also, the top right is much darker than the lower left. Overall, it definitely looks a bit "off" compared to the 2007WFP S-IPS. It's not quite as easy on the eyes either.

But WOW. I just played the first round of BF3 in months and felt like I had a cloak on or something. No one ever had a chance. By the time they would notice me, I had 1/2 a clip in them already. I think the 2007's severe AG coating combined w/ a smaller area made it pretty difficult to pick dudes out. This thing's so crazy fast w/ no smearing or blurring whatsoever. I don't notice any of the faults in games like I do in Windows. This is a crazy, crazy monitor.

I'm going to really give it a shot to try and get my eyes used to it, because gaming's just SOOOO much better on this than the 2007WFP. I probably won't play a game again til I get settled into a 120hz panel...this one or maybe something else on the way.

Oh yeah, where did you get yours from? My box had all kinds of dings, tears, and dents, haha.I can see the right corner sparkling blueish from the backlight bleed. :p
 
And in regards to your photo, what the hell did you set the brightness to .. looks like it's set to 1,000. I would imagine that any LCD panel is going to show backlight bleed if you max out the brightness. Maybe you should have spent some time calibrating the display ?
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I´ve tried two S27A950D:s and they bleed like that with the brightness set to anything higher than 10-15~ of 100. When brightness went lower, the bleed went from blue to more of a black variant, but still pretty distracting.

Maybe i´m just unlucky then, and even though I´ve tried 2x S27A950D, 3x S23A750D and they all had severe bleed, and after I´ve posted these screens in december when I got the screen, most posters here on hardforum who owned the display said they saw similar things on theirs, maybe I´m just jinxed and this is a great display anyway.

Joke aside, I don´t feel comfortably recommending a monitor where it looks like you have a small chance to get one without bleed. It should be the other way around: there should be a small RISK of getting a faulty unit.

Just doens´t feel right to recommend something like that. If you pay around 500 euros for a screen in 2012, why should anyone accept bleed like that which isn´t even present on my old 150 Euro TFT from 2002? (crappy for games due to smearing though).

I must give some cred to the reviewers, at least when it comes to the Samsung screens they mention the bleed in every review, as opposed to the dark stripe across the screen on all Hp zr2740w that no reviewer mentioned. Thank god for the distance laws in Sweden.

Well, don´t take my word for it, check out NCX:s review of the S27A950D.

http://wecravegamestoo.com/forums/gadgetry-electronics-discussion/8220-samsung-s27a950d-review.html

With all due respect, check out the pic of S27A950D in a dark room, and tell me with that a straight face that it´s reasonable for a 500 euro screen. If anyone feels this level of backlight bleed and lacking of screen uniformity is acceptable, that´s up to them. I don´t want to sound rude, but I think users who state there is no backlight bleed on these Samsungs are either not seeing it or are not bothered with it.

The Samsung S27A950D may be stellar at playing bright games like BF3 and CS:Source, but if I pay 500 Euro for a screen I want to be able to use it for dark games such as Doom 3 and Deus Ex as well. I don´t think that´s too much to ask for.

Bottom line: S27A950D / S23A750D suffer from backlight bleeding and screen uniformity issues. If it doesn´t bother you, good, but people should be aware of this before ordering the screen.
 
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1000 said:
That's ridiculous. My 950D has ZERO bleed...neither does my mate who picked up three for eyefinity. NO bleed at all... and that's with the monitor being set to fairly bright settings. Don't put people off purchasing great products just because you have a bad experience.. for every one of you there are 500 people out there using the 750/950D and think it's the besdt LCD on the market, myself included

And in regards to your photo, what the hell did you set the brightness to .. looks like it's set to 1,000. I would imagine that any LCD panel is going to show backlight bleed if you max out the brightness. Maybe you should have spent some time calibrating the display ?

1000
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Same here. My 950d is probably the most perfect monitor I have seen. Virtually no bleed at all, other than a tiny 1/2" area in the lower right corner. Screen uniformity is outstanding, to the edges of the screen, up down left and right. I've also hear of QC issues which worried me a bit, but happy it not only turned out well but exceeded my expectations.
 
Maybe they simply lie justifying their 500euro they spent on it... LIke lying to themselves first of all. I always thought that a 27" tn panel should look like junk. TN is TN and there is nothing you can do to make it have better viewing angles. And the bigger the size of it the more apparent the problem will be? Correct me if Im wrong though. I'd gladly be mistaken in my judgments.
 
Maybe they simply lie justifying their 500euro they spent on it... LIke lying to themselves first of all. I always thought that a 27" tn panel should look like junk. TN is TN and there is nothing you can do to make it have better viewing angles. And the bigger the size of it the more apparent the problem will be? Correct me if Im wrong though. I'd gladly be mistaken in my judgments.
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Well, i was thinking the same thing. No disrespect to anyone, but I think we may have different priorities and gaming habits. I play a lot of high contrast, pitch black games like Doom 3, Metro 2033, Deus Ex, Skyrim (in the caves) and in my experience with 5 different Samsung screens in the 750D & 950D series, the backlight bleeding is a problem and it´s distracting in the games I play. For Counter strike source, League of legends, HoN, Doom 1 & 2, these screens peform really well.

Perhaps TN/LED isn´t right for me. I play in a very dim enviroment with low levels of brightness (for example I use brightness set at 10 as I´m typing this on my S23A750D) and in those conditions i have these problems. Perhaps if I played with the lights on I wouldn´t see any backlight bleed, but it kinda kills the cinematic feeling I want to achieve :)

Anyhow. I think I´m gonna order an Eizo Foris FS2331 and sell my S23A750D (cheap).
 
Ericone said:
Well, i was thinking the same thing. No disrespect to anyone, but I think we may have different priorities and gaming habits. I play a lot of high contrast, pitch black games like Doom 3, Metro 2033, Deus Ex, Skyrim (in the caves) and in my experience with 5 different Samsung screens in the 750D & 950D series, the backlight bleeding is a problem and it´s distracting in the games I play. For Counter strike source, League of legends, HoN, Doom 1 & 2, these screens peform really well.

Perhaps TN/LED isn´t right for me. I play in a very dim enviroment with low levels of brightness (for example I use brightness set at 10 as I´m typing this on my S23A750D) and in those conditions i have these problems. Perhaps if I played with the lights on I wouldn´t see any backlight bleed, but it kinda kills the cinematic feeling I want to achieve :)

Anyhow. I think I´m gonna order an Eizo Foris FS2331 and sell my S23A750D (cheap).
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That's teh experience I would expect from using those tn monitors. Btw I will be selling my fs2331 when I get it all sorted out and I may let you know if you are interested?
 
I have a S27A750D and people were saying the backlights on these have better quality control than the 950 model, due to the way the latter's stand is attached. There are probably bigger differences between individual monitors than the two different models though.

Well, i was thinking the same thing. No disrespect to anyone, but I think we may have different priorities and gaming habits. I play a lot of high contrast, pitch black games like Doom 3, Metro 2033, Deus Ex, Skyrim (in the caves) and in my experience with 5 different Samsung screens in the 750D & 950D series, the backlight bleeding is a problem and it´s distracting in the games I play. For Counter strike source, League of legends, HoN, Doom 1 & 2, these screens peform really well.
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The black levels in a pitch dark room are quite poor, but I have yet to see any LCD that actually looks good in that situation. There is at least no bleeding on mine and the blacks are consistent across the screen, and are much better in a bright room due to the glossy coating. It also helps to turn down the brightness if the game is uniformly dark. I have it set to 0 for Windows usage anyway. For a few games that look really bad in a dark room (or blur too much), I just stick with my CRT.
 
There is very minimal backlight bleed on my S27A750D. Much less than on my 30" IPS.

I generally notice more complaints directed towards the 950D instead of the 750... regardless, these panels are amazing.

Now we just need 120Hz at higher resolutions!
 
I generally notice more complaints directed towards the 950D instead of the 750... regardless, these panels are amazing.
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I´ve tried both and you´re right :) 950D has more intrusive backlight bleeding, it´s like a huge patch in the lower right corner. 750D has more even backlight bleed and less intrusive, it´s like a frame of backlight bleeding with the same height as the windows sidebar that shows around the entire screen. I prefer that to a large patch lower right, but it´s still intrusive.

This is the first thread on any forum where I see people who have 950D / 750D without backlight bleeding. I wonder if you purchased them later than me and therefore got a new version with better backlight? I bought mine on dec 1:st last year.

Anyway, again I don´t mean to come off as rude, but I would very much appreichate a picture of a dark screen of a 750D or 950D in a dark room, because so far I´ve never seen a picture like that where the monitor hasn´t had intrustive backlight bleeding - even from people claiming their unit has none. Show me a picture like that with no noticable bleed and I´m sold on the monitor and will order a new unit, because these monitors have a lot of things that I like but the bleeding issues really killed it for me.
 
Ericone said:
Anyway, again I don´t mean to come off as rude, but I would very much appreichate a picture of a dark screen of a 750D or 950D in a dark room, because so far I´ve never seen a picture like that where the monitor hasn´t had intrustive backlight bleeding - even from people claiming their unit has none. Show me a picture like that with no noticable bleed and I´m sold on the monitor and will order a new unit, because these monitors have a lot of things that I like but the bleeding issues really killed it for me.
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This is the best I could do with my blinds closed in the middle of the day, I can retake another one at night, but I had to adjust the white settings to really show any bleeding (at the bottom only for me) and tbh it's so minute that I don't ever notice unless I'm really looking for it (full black screen from ms paint).

5qb87.jpg


Just an FYI, if you plan on watching any HDCP content on your monitor, like blurays, and you're using a windows machine, you'll have to switch to the HDMI input because displayport doesn't support HDCP content for some odd reason. :mad:
Also keep in mind if you're planning on buying a new unit, the a750 series has been discontinued and you're probably going to have a difficult time locating one that's completely brand new:(
 
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Well, I guess that if I ever decide it's a good idea to turn all the lights off and stare for 1 hour at a black screen with nothing on it I might notice some backlight bleeding. In the meantime I'll continue to enjoy my 950D.

1000
 
I have never turned all my lights off to stare at a black screen. However, should I want to game in dim lightning conditions and play games that take place in the dark (i don´t see any sense in turning up the light in my room if I game, especially with a glossy screen) the bleeding is going to show and be intrusive.

Perhaps I´m an idiot for wanting to be able to use a glossy 500 euro screen without having all my lights on to mask the backlight bleeding. With lights on= reflections on the screen. With lights off = backlight bleeding.

In the meantime, I´m gonna enjoy my old Samsong SW2333 something - bought it back in 2007 for 200 euros, zero backlight bleed, zero uniformity issues, zero reflections, better black detail 60 hz though :(. Or I can game on my 50" plasma which cost me just 100 euros more than the S950D, but is 50", zero uniformity issues, zero bleed, perfect blacks, perfect motion etc.

Bottom line is 950D is not worth it for the money. I think the reason everybody praises this screen is because they don´t want to feel bad about spending all that money on it. If it would cost 250 euros it could be worth it, but 500 euros for a screen that can´t be used with lights on because of glare, and will perform badly in dim lightning because of uniformity problems and backlight bleeding should not cost more than 250 euros.

I´ll try to get Samsung to replace my S23A750D for the 4th time and see if they get it right, otherwise I´m gonna make a video where I smash this thing with a hammer. Can´t sell this to anyone and have a good conscience :( What makes me hate this screen with a passion is the fact that for the high price, it has serious defects. You can say they are no problem for you, fine, but consumers who are about to make the same mistake as me should at least know what they´re getting into.
 
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I'm beginning to suspect one setting on the 750/950D that may 'cause' bleed is the HDMI normal setting. I hated it the moment I turned on my monitor, blacks looked dark grey and everything else as if gamma was turned up high. With HDMI on low everything became dramatically different, no hint of bleed whatsoever, blacks pitch black, colors more vibrant, greater contrast and overall very appealing. A friend with a U2711 was impressed with it, and so am I. I also noticed most of the "guides" or recommended settings others posted here or elsewhere used HDMI normal, and again I say, to me that is the single worse setting I have come across in this monitor. I think would have returned it myself if I was stuck with that setting and the resulting (to me) horrid appearance.
 
I pulled the trigger on the S27A750D, im picking it up later today! The price dropped from 649 usd to 500 usd in 2 weeks, so I jumped.
Cant wait! :D
 
OK, so I loaded up an all black screen with dead pixel buddy and can confirm no backlight bleeding. In the bottom left corner along the edge of the bezel there is a very, very slight shaft of light no wider than 0.5mm.. it's not bleed just the effect of the screen and it's edge-lit array. I took a photo but it was grainy and horrible and made the screen look bloomy when in reality it was perfect.

At 45 brightness (which is still semi-blinding some would say) it's still inky black in general use. Just pull the trigger gents, best LED display on the market.

1000
 
Mine has pretty severe bleed even at 0 brightness, so Ill try another. I'm very happy with it otherwise. I have the 27 950.
 
This monitor is awesome for gaming!!
It is far from a CRT, but still.. the joy of fluid motion in fps games...

Mine has a little bleed as well, but it doesnt bother me as much. It is surprising though... after a 4 year old Samsung 2693HM... that had less bleed! I guess LED backlight is sh*t. Thank you f*cktard manufacturers, really!

I wouldnt recommend this for anyone who does not play fps games and doesnt have a rig that can put out at least 100 fps in games. For movies, tv and work just play it safe and have a quality ips..
 
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