Trusted Reviews is supported by its audience. If you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission. Learn more.

Samsung S24D590PL Review

Sections

Verdict

rating-star rating-star rating-star rating-star rating-star

Pros

  • Outstandingly low input lag
  • Good contrast and dark detail
  • Two HDMI connections
  • Decent calibration out of the box
  • Top-notch viewing angles
  • Anti-glare finish

Cons

  • Design an acquired taste
  • Need to switch off HDMI Black Level
  • No VESA mount

Key Specifications

  • Review Price: £180.00
  • 23.6-inch
  • 1920 x 1080
  • 2x HDMI
  • 1x D-SUB
  • 5ms response time
  • PLS panel

What is the Samsung S24D590PL?

This is Samsung’s attempt at an affordable, all-round monitor with a little style. The S24D590PL costs £180 in this 24-inch guise (there’s a 27-inch version for £250) and has an unusual stand design that’s meant to catch the eye.

It isn’t super cheap like the rather decent BenQ GL2450, but the S24D590PL has two HDMI inputs and uses one of Samsung’s PLS panels that ought to deliver superior image quality. In most regards it does, too, but the thing that really swings things in the Samsung’s favour is its excellent, low input lag that makes it ideal for gaming.

READ MORE: Monitor Reviews
Samsung S24D590PL 8Samsung S24D590PL monitor on a white background.

Samsung S24D590PL: Design and Features

Let’s start with that design… we’re severely split by it. That stand is certainly eye-catching and in some respects quite cool to look at, but every time we do we can’t help feeling we should pick it up and scrape ice off a car with it. We don’t love it, but we don’t hate it either: it’s just different.

If anything our true concern is practicalities. The top the T-shape design is wider than typical monitor stands, which could be troublesome for people short on space. We don’t imagine this will affect many people, but it might affect you. Likewise, the lack of VESA mounting is a small bugbear for a minority.

SEE ALSO: Best Monitors Round-up

Samsung S24D590PL 10Rear view of a Samsung S24D590PL monitor showing ports.

But in most respects this is an attractive, classy design. It’s all plastic, despite faux metal effects, but it’s classy and nice to look at. The build quality isn’t all that great, but it’s not something that should bother you overly – you’ll only notice the flexing panels at the rear if you go looking for them, and why would you do that?

On the connectivity side of things, we like the fact there are two HDMI ports. We prefer this to legacy ports like DVI as it means you can have a laptop/PC and a games console plugged in at once without faffing about with adapters. There’s a D-SUB (VGA) port for older computers, too, and an audio jack for connecting headphones or speakers.

The other noteworthy feature of the Samsung S24D590PL is a dedicated Game Mode. The idea, it seems, is to enhance contrast and ‘dark areas’ to make them clearer with the result of giving you a competitive advantage. People can’t hide in the shadows if there aren’t any, right? We’ll be looking into this a little later in the review.

SEE ALSO: Best Windows 8 Laptops and Tablets

Samsung S24D590PLSamsung S24D590PL monitor connection ports and label.

Samsung S24D590PL: Setup

Setting up and using the S24D590PL is a breeze. Given there’s only a limited, but sufficient, amount of tilt adjustment available, the stand is very simple and easy to assemble.

We also really like the on-screen menus and controls. Instead of the usual assortment of buttons, Samsung employs a four-way control that’s tucked away at the rear, bottom right corner. It makes navigating the various menus very easy, and you can quickly adjust things like volume, brightness, contrast and inputs without entering the full menu as well.

Samsung S24D590PL 1Samsung S24D590PL monitor's power button close-up.

Delve a little deeper and you’ll find the usual assortment of options, although a great many of them are of dubious providence. Under the MagicBright presets section, for example, are Custom, Standard, Cinema and Dynamic Contrast modes.

Custom lets you tweak things as you like; Standard provides a good basic setup that isn’t too bright; Cinema mode is a horrid, over-sharpened mess best avoided; and Dynamic Contrast, in common with most such modes, is punctuated by irritating brightness shifts that make it unusable. All of this doesn’t really matter, though. Leave the Samsung S24D590PL in Standard or Custom mode and it already looks pretty good before you do any tweaking.

Why trust our journalism?

Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.

Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.

author icon

Editorial independence

Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.

author icon

Professional conduct

We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.

Trusted Reviews Logo

Sign up to our newsletter

Get the best of Trusted Reviews delivered right to your inbox.

This is a test error message with some extra words