Samsung UD590

Most 4K monitors are still very expensive, but efforts by manufacturers to bring down prices means that they are now able to put out models catering to different use cases, striking a balance between features and quality in a bid to bring the technology to wider adoption.



Samsung's 28-inch UD590 makes compromises in just the right areas. Relatively affordably priced at £429 ($679), it is being aimed at gamers, media consumers and productivity-conscious users thanks to its 3,840 x 2,160 pixel resolution, which is four times that of a regular 1080p monitor.

Design and setup:

Samsung kept things simple in just about every area - from design to setup and calibration. The black bezel that surrounds the panel is thin , with the only decoration being a silver Samsung logo along the bottom.

The stand is made of a aluminium construction and is both light and durable. It also allows the UD590 to be set up quickly and easily as it's the only other partthat you'll find in the box.

Menu controls are operated using a five-way joystick found on the bottom-left hand corner on the display's rear panel. We've seen similar menu control methods employed on monitors such as LG's UM3495 to good effect, and it works well once again here, providing the dual benefit of ease of use while remaining tucked out of sight.

Pushing it up, down, left and right will take you to other menus, while depressing it is used to make selections. I find this a much preferable option to fiddly touch-sensitive controls that can fail to register presses on some monitors, but those who frequently switch inputs or change aspects such as brightness and volume may still prefer physical front-facing buttons.