Samsung S8 ViewFinity S80D monitor review

Samsung’s ViewFinity S80D is the South Korean firm’s latest refresh to its ViewFinity S8 lineup aimed at creatives and professionals. Alongside S80UD, the S80D offers a rich 4K HDR10 VA panel that provides consistent performance and satisfying build quality but lacks some of the connectivity options of its more premium counterpart.

Samsung S8 ViewFinity S80D monitor: Design

The S80D comes in a sleek, all-black design that avoids any gaudy gloss or silver. Overall, it makes for an understated package that we’re big fans of. The display has no bezels around the top and sides. However there is a slightly chunkier chin along the bottom that has a notch featuring the Samsung branding which we found slightly detracts from the monitor’s overall sleekness, breaking what would otherwise be a pretty uniform silhouette. It would be nice if Samsung gave users the option to remove this distraction, as even after using the monitor over the series of two weeks we still found our eyes were drawn to it.

As with other displays that opt for the chunky chin design, using the S80D in portrait mode gives the monitor a slightly lop-sided, asymmetrical look that is only exacerbated by the little notch. As such, users who are looking for a monitor to use in a vertical orientation may want to look elsewhere.

The other aspects of the S80D’s design were impressive, such as its hefty, all-metal stand that feels premium and sturdy. The front of the stand sports a ribbed design that helps break up what could become a monotonous mass of smooth black metal. The stand is also offset by a fair distance behind the actual display which creates the effect of the panel almost floating mid-air which we like.

The base itself is very thin, and doesn’t take up too much room on your desk, though it is large enough to prevent any noticeable wobble or instability.

Overall we think the S80D is one of the better-looking monitors on the market right now with the only drawback being the slightly thicker bottom chin and gratuitous Samsung notch on the bottom. We know this approach is relatively common from manufacturers but we prefer the uniform bezel arrangement found on the Dell UltraSharp U2724DE.

In terms of functionality, the S80D really excels. It was set up in just two steps and the mechanism attaching the panel to the stand feels very secure. As mentioned previously the screen can be pivoted into a portrait orientation, if you can put up with its lop-sided look. But the S80D also covers the full range of mobility with 30˚/-30˚ of left-to-right swivel, 25˚/-2˚ of up-down tilt, and height adjustment of 120 mm.

The mechanisms for all of these were nice and smooth and the tilt and swivel functions can be easily operated with one hand thanks to its sturdy design. The height adjustment did require two hands, however.

The S80D supports two different video connectors: DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI 2.0. It also a headphone jack and USB-B port that enables the monitor to act as a USB hub with its three USB 3.0 ports. Samsung provides all of these cables and it also includes a soft rubber loop for routing the cables to keep your workspace tidy. Unlike its more pricey stablemate the S80UD, however, there is no USB-C or ethernet on the S80D but perhaps this is a sacrifice some users might be willing to make for a saving on upfront cost.

Navigating through the on-screen menus is easy enough with the four-way joystick on the rear of the monitor, which is where you will also find the S80D’s eye-saver mode.

Samsung S8 ViewFinity S80D monitor: Display

The ViewFinity S8 S80D has a 4K (3,820 x 2160) VA LCD panel with HDR10 that promises to deliver 1.07 billion colors with a 3,000:1 contrast ratio, 99% sRGB coverage, and a typical brightness of 350cd/m2.

In our testing, the S80D performed solidly with an impressive contrast ratio of 2,923:1 and 100% coverage of sRGB, although its coverage of other color standards like DCI-P3 and Adobe wasn’t quite as good with 84.1% and 77.7% coverage in these areas respectively. The color accuracy of the S80D was something of a letdown with a Delta E average of 1.8 and a maximum of 5.1, which means the S80D falls behind other monitors we’ve tested.

The 5.1 maximum appears to have been skewed by poor ability with reds and darker grays. We should note that we couldn’t notice any glaring discoloration in our daily use but this could be a deal-breaker for more graphically-oriented professionals.

On a more positive note, the peak brightness on the S80D was impressive measuring 408cd/m2 and the backlight was consistent across a number of testing points. The viewing angles on the VA LCD panel were also very impressive with Samsung’s claimed 178˚ standing up to our in-house testing.

The S80D features a fairly standard 5ms response time, though nothing like that found on a decent gaming monitor but it is acceptable, nonetheless. Its 60Hz refresh rate does feel somewhat sluggish, however, when moving from panels with 90Hz and 120Hz refresh rates, some of which are available at a similar price point.

Using the S80D in our daily workflow was an enjoyable experience, it performed consistently well in a wide range of light and we couldn’t notice its imperfect color reproduction with the naked eye.

The S80D feels particularly expansive given its high resolution and pixel density – you can really make the most of its 32in size and maximize your desktop real estate.

Samsung S8 ViewFinity S80D monitor: Is it worth it?

We were impressed with the S80D’s solid all-round performance and well-thought-out design. Set up is a breeze along with a handy although not exhaustive array of ports and the adjustment mechanisms are up there with the best we’ve used on a monitor of that size.

Overall, the monitor would not be out of place on any desk, unless you plan on using it in its vertical orientation that is, and is not going to let you down on any core features. The display itself was rich, detailed, and easily bright enough to consistently access a range of lighting settings. Using the S80D day-to-day was a pleasure and watching any high-quality video really shows off the panel’s gorgeous detail.

The only area where the S80D fell down was its color reproduction when tested under the microscope, and this was mainly limited to its handling of reds in particular. As such unless you need market-leading color accuracy then you will not be disappointed here.

Samsung S8 ViewFinity S80D monitor specifications