Being a technology journalist has some advantages, and one of the biggest is that, with few exceptions, I can work effectively from anywhere with an internet connection. Working from home during the pandemic was a relatively smooth transition, but there was one thing I didn’t expect: the utter destruction of any work-life balance.
One thing about previous jobs I’ve had where I punched a clock and walked out into the world is that I could leave work behind, but that’s a very difficult thing to do in an environment media around the clock. Working from home didn’t make things any better, especially during the pandemic, when there was no outside world to really step into.
Working on my dedicated gaming PC, it quickly turned into a workstation where I edited photos for work, planned content for work, answered emails for work, and more. The line between my gaming PC and my job has become irreparably blurred, so now when I sit at my desk I don’t know if I’m working or getting ready to play, or watching something from different streaming services which I have subs for but also take a back seat to work.
I’ve tried using my TV in my studio “living room”, but it’s several years old at this point, and to be honest, it’s far from the best gaming monitor in the world, so I inevitably come back at my desk where I had been working all day trying to do something other than work.
I knew this was a problem for a long time now, but there didn’t seem to be a way around it until I realized my old TV was really what was holding me back. So after looking at Black Friday deals left, right and center for the past two weeks, I finally did what I should have done over a year ago: I took advantage one of the best Black Friday TV deals and bought a new Samsung TV to shake up my unhealthy routines.
Why the Samsung QN90A Neo QLED might just be the answer to my prayers
The TV I ended up going with (after a brief discussion with our Home Entertainment Editor, Al Griffin), was Amazon’s 50-inch Samsung QN9DA Neo QLED for $639.20. (opens in a new tab), down from its list price of $799. It’s by no means the cheapest TV, but if there’s one thing I’ve hardly used, it’s a cheap TV.
Still, 20% off the list price isn’t a bad deal at all, and given that I already have a great gaming PC and a PS5, it makes sense to pull my gaming PC off my desk and to move it to my entertainment center on the other side of my studio. I use a controller for most of the games I play anyway, so treating my gaming PC like another console makes a lot of sense.
I have a work laptop that has everything I need to do my job, so pulling it off the shelf and plugging it into my monitor at my desk physically creates a work-game divide that I can’t manage psychologically. And since I couldn’t install a PC game on this laptop even though I needed to for work (believe me, I tried, but it can’t budge), I have no reason to sit at my desk if I’m not working, that’s exactly how it should be.
What I liked about the Samsung QN9DA, sight unseen
It’s always hard to make a big purchase without seeing the device, but luckily my friend and former colleague Nick Pino reviewed the Samsung QN90A Neo QLED for TechRadar earlier this year, and Al wrote a how-to article for the Samsung QN90B, both of which speak well of the technology of the TV I purchased, although mine is a slightly different model of those TVs.
More than anything, I need a TV that can play games at high frame rates, which has always been a drag on the TV I currently own, which is capped at 50Hz. With a 120Hz native refresh rate, the QN9DA is already more than twice as fast as my current TV, which means my PC and PS5 games will have a lot more PC gaming feel than before, which is exactly what which i need to get me out of my gaming chair and onto my couch.
I also already have a soundbar so I’m not too worried about the sound from the speakers but I have a mischievous cat who will no doubt get behind the TV and maybe do some shenanigans he so will have to secure it for the wall (which I should do with any TV, really. Thanks Katya!).
Beyond that though, picture quality gets top marks, which is really what I need the TV for, and although there’s only one HDMI 2.1 port (so either my PS5 can be plugged in, or my PC can get 120hz gameplay, not both), I’m not concerned about getting up and changing cables. I grew up in a time when TVs had buttons, RF inputs, and rabbit ear antennae, so I can get up and swap one or the other.
You can’t put a price on being able to get away from work
While I love my job and wouldn’t do anything else in the world if I had the chance (though astronaut still sounds like a cool gig), it’s also not the most stable in the world, so I was really looking forward to dropping $650 on a new TV.
It’s always worth taking this chance because everyone should be lucky enough to have a work-life balance. And for a longtime PC gamer like me, that means getting my gaming PC back for gaming and leaving work stuff for my work laptop.
If it requires physical separation, so be it, but I already feel relieved to have a place where I don’t have to be reminded of work every time I sit down to participate in a few rounds of matches Crucible in Destiny 2.
More US Black Friday Deals
- Amazon: 50% off TVs, AirPods, clothes and toys (opens in a new tab)
- Apple AirPods Pro 2: up to $199 on Amazon (opens in a new tab)
- Best buy: up to $700 off TVs, laptops and iPads (opens in a new tab)
- Cheap TVs: Smart TVs at $79.99 from Best Buy (opens in a new tab)
- Christmas trees: price from $38.99 (opens in a new tab)
- Dell: laptops starting at $299.99 (opens in a new tab)
- Dyson vacuum cleaners: $150 Off Cordless Vacuums (opens in a new tab)
- Gift ideas : 40% off Christmas gifts from Amazon (opens in a new tab)
- Home deposit: 50% off tools and appliances (opens in a new tab)
- Lowes: $750 off appliances, decor and tools (opens in a new tab)
- Macy: coats, sweaters and boots from $10 (opens in a new tab)
- Overstock: 70% off decoration and furniture (opens in a new tab)
- Nectar: up to $500 off mattresses + free gifts (opens in a new tab)
- Nordstrom: 50% off UGG, Nike and North Face (opens in a new tab)
- Samsung: $2,500 off televisions and appliances (opens in a new tab)
- Sephora: 50% off makeup, perfumes and gifts (opens in a new tab)
- Target: 45% off toys, TVs, Keurig and more (opens in a new tab)
- Toys: 50% off best-selling toys at Walmart (opens in a new tab)
- Ultra: up to 50% off makeup, hair and perfume (opens in a new tab)
- Verizon: get iPhone 14 Pro for free (opens in a new tab)
- Walmart: 60% off Toys, TVs, Vacuums and Laptops (opens in a new tab)
- Wayfair: up to 80% off Sitewide, + Free Shipping (opens in a new tab)