Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 Review: I Want To Buy It

Samsung's current lineup of QD-OLED displays are some of the best gaming monitors you can buy, so it's no surprise that the Odyssey OLED G9 is a great gaming monitor. What I didn't expect in this review is that I intend to use the unique 32:9 aspect ratio that I've been writing about for years.

With a diagonal of 49 inches and room for two 27-inch displays, the Odyssey OLED G9 seemed too bulky to use and I was sure it would be difficult to recommend alongside the best displays. However, after spending some time with it, it's clear that the controller delivers unparalleled performance and is one of the most immersive gaming experiences money can buy. Even going back to a standard ultralinear monitor won't be easy.

Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 specifications

It's still surprising

The Odyssey OLED G9 is fantastic. As I'll talk about later, the screen looks glossy, but the overall design of the monitor is impressive. I'm a big fan of the design of this year's Samsung Odyssey, which combines a shiny silver frame just enough to let you know it's a gaming monitor.

It has a universal design with a thin silver frame. This is a big improvement over the previous version of this Samsung display, which had thick plastic that made the screen feel too big. It's still a fairly large screen, but the thinner bezels and slimmer 1800R curve make it more comfortable on the desk than the previous version.

One thing Samsung carried over from the previous version is the CoreSync ring. Around the interface between the stand and the monitor is a layer of plastic that houses the RGB backlight. You can set it as a static color, but you can synchronize it with what is displayed on the screen. When I was playing Alan Wake 2 in a dark room, the extra lighting made a huge difference to my gameplay. However, the CoreSync ring is too dark, so the effect is not visible in bright parts.

Samsung includes a durable metal stand that won't take up much space on your desk. The stand looks good, but surprisingly doesn't offer many customization options. You get a narrow window for height adjustment and a tilt angle of about 15 degrees, but that's it. Luckily, Samsung includes a VESA adapter in the box to mount the monitor for greater positioning flexibility.

Death at the miniport

After reviewing the Odyssey OLED G8, which relied solely on HDMI and DisplayPort mini-cable connections, I was a little worried about the Odyssey OLED G9. That is not the case here. There are full-size HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4 ports, as well as a micro HDMI 2.1 port. All are located on the back, making cable management easier.

The same cannot be said for the integrated USB hub. You get three USB ports, but they're all USB-C. Most devices don't use USB-C cables yet, so a single USB-A port makes a big difference here. It's certainly better than the OLED G8's micro HDMI and mini DisplayPort connections, but it's still worth mentioning.

Image quality

After reviewing the Samsung Odyssey OLED G8 earlier this year, I wasn't surprised to learn that the Odyssey OLED G9 offers excellent picture quality. It's one of the best QD-OLED displays you can buy, with an impressive color gamut, excellent color accuracy, deep contrast, and the inky blacks that OLED panels are known for.

Let's look at some numbers. In SDR, the display covered 100% sRGB, 98% DCI-P3, and 95% AdobeRGB. For those unfamiliar with color spaces, these are some of the highest values ​​we've ever recorded, showing excellent coverage. The color error was slightly higher than the Odyssey OLED G8 we reviewed earlier this year, which was 1.36. It is very suitable for working with paint, although for more difficult jobs you will have to adjust the control.

Contrast is almost limitless as OLED delivers perfect black levels, but as we've seen with displays like the LG UltraGear OLED 27, the trade-off is high brightness. At a 10% window, the Odyssey OLED G9 peaked at 237 nits, which is slightly lower than what we've seen on displays like the Alienware 34 QD-OLED. Fortunately, I was able to achieve 283 nits in HDR with a 5% smaller window.

Color accuracy drops suddenly when switching to HDR, with an average error above 4. It's not the worst HDR color quality we've ever seen, but there's no doubt that HDR is meant for multimedia consumption and not multimedia creation. . Contrast was again good, although peak brightness reached 200 nits at 10% of the screen window.

Productivity monster

The Odyssey OLED G9's picture quality is impressive, but you can get by with 16:9 displays like the Asus ROG Swift PG27AQDM. Its unique aspect ratio is where the Odyssey OLED G9 really shines. It is a productive machine that gives you a large screen for multitasking.

I prefer to work in the 21:9 format, I can insert two windows side by side, but the Odyssey OLED G9 takes this idea to the extreme. Basically you have two 27-inch screens with a 16:9 aspect ratio. These are two monitors with no problem setting up multiple monitors.

You can go even further by placing the windows horizontally to get a wide view of three or four at a time. The Odyssey OLED G9 is indeed a big screen, but it saves much less space compared to a traditional multi-monitor setup and still has the same level of screen real estate for productivity.

High Play (when working)

I've never had a more immersive gaming experience than the Odyssey OLED G9. The wide 32:9 format captures your peripheral vision and doesn't let it go. Even from a respectable viewing distance, you have no choice but to immerse yourself in the game world you inhabit. One of the first games I opened recently was Alan Walker 2, which was so terrible in that format that I had to turn it off after half an hour.

It's not that far from virtual reality, but it gives the same feeling of immersion. The Odyssey OLED G9 appeals to your senses, immersing you in games in a way that even 21:9 monitors can't do. I spent an hour walking around Cyberpunk 2077's nighttime city, ignoring all my intentions to feel like I was living in this dense, futuristic world.

The aspect ratio is the most important thing, but otherwise the Odyssey OLED G9 has a lot of gaming noise. The 240Hz display delivers incredible visual clarity with ultra-low OLED response times, making games like Doom Eternal mercilessly responsive. FreeCreek Premium Pro is also available, giving you variable refresh rates regardless of your graphics card.

We must not forget how desirable this formula is. The monitor has a resolution of 5120 x 1440, and if you do the math, that's not far from 4K. It has 7.3 million pixels, while 4K has 8.3 million. For reference, a 21:9 aspect ratio display with a resolution of 3440 x 1440 has only 5 million, while a 1440p display has around 3.6 million. If you're planning to buy the Odyssey OLED G9, you'll need a computer equipped for 4K gaming.

When the Odyssey OLED G9 is in its base form, it looks like nothing. The problem is often not apparent at first glance. The unique aspect ratio creates immersive situations, clearly showing how ridiculous it is to play on a 32:9 screen. Playing Alan Wake 2 while I was playing was terrifying, but the moment the cutscene started and the edge of the screen turned into a big black void, I came back to earth.

It's not just a recording. Every time I open the menu for Marvel's Spider-Man, the screen seems cluttered as the UI quickly adjusts to the usual 16:9 aspect ratio. There are also many games that simply don't support the 32:9 aspect ratio. Indie games like Tunica are always locked to 16:9, forcing you to run the game in windowed mode or sacrifice half the screen with a black bar. This can also happen in larger games like Overwatch 2 , where 32:9 resolution is not supported.

A wide field of view can also hinder gameplay. Again, it's not VR, but the Odyssey OLED G9 can give you motion sickness depending on the game. This is especially noticeable in games with very blurry images and heavy visuals, where long Gaming sessions may cause some discomfort. This is something I've never experienced with this screen.

For gaming, the Odyssey OLED G9 is the experience display. Spend a few hours with it and you will appreciate its immersion and quality. However, long gaming sessions are more difficult to manage. Black bars in non-32:9 games are more distracting than on a 21:9 screen, so you'll often have to play in windowed mode.

The worst picture quality you'll get on the Odyssey OLED G9 is what you'll get on a 16:9 screen, and the best picture quality you'll get on a standard screen. And, as I'll explain later, there are plenty of ways to use the extra screen.

When does the 32:9 ratio work?

I've spent a lot of time writing that 32:9 isn't good for gaming, but with a little effort it can be a huge advantage. Most of them are related to Samsung Multi View, which allows you to split the screen to view different sources. This works great on the Odyssey OLED G9 and is a feature you'll want to use often.

The main advantage here is above all streaming. Especially if you connect your console to a single monitor, you can view your game on half the screen, while your computer takes up half, stream data, capture map data, and much more. Plus, you don't have to worry about crashing the game. These are two different sources.

Even if you're not streaming, you can plug your console into half-screen while your computer is busy with Discord, video, or Spotify (or whatever else you want to run on your computer at the same time). . The only downside is that Samsung doesn't support many native OS apps for multi-display. You are mainly limited to YouTube and Samsung TV Plus. Fortunately, you can add the built-in web browser as a multi-view source, which will open any app you want.

The biggest problem with this setup is finding something that takes up the rest of the screen. When you can't fill the full 32:9 aspect ratio, you need something else to fill the rest of the screen and you may not have a second source (like consoles and PCs). Luckily, Samsung lets you mirror your phone or laptop screen (Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows are supported), giving you more options for taking advantage of the giant screen.

Smart TV on your screen

The Odyssey OLED G9 is more than just a screen. Like Netflix and Hulu, Samsung Game Hub includes Samsung's Tizen OS TV operating system, which gives you streaming access to Xbox Game Pass and GeForce Now, and even Multiple Live TV with Samsung TV Plus.

You probably don't use built-in apps very often. This is a high-end gaming monitor that you can connect to a high-end gaming PC, but the operating system opens Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections. Updating your monitor won't work. is just a menu item, not a tedious process involving a USB stick. And Bluetooth lets you connect a controller or keyboard and mouse if you want to control the operating system without the included remote.

This opens up a variety of display options. You can quickly access features like Samsung MultiView with the remote's quick access menu and navigate through picture settings not normally available on the on-screen display (OSD). Although features such as color calibration are not available on supported smartphones, controlling the monitor in this way is way ahead of using the traditional OSD menu.

Samsung developed the hardware for this experiment. The built-in speakers are surprisingly loud and do a good job of pumping out sound in games with surround sound. You'll still need dedicated speakers or headphones for better sound quality, but speakers sound good compared to what you typically find on gaming monitors (which have speakers).

Price problem

The Odyssey OLED G9 isn't for everyone. It's designed for hardcore PC gamers who demand the most immersive gaming experience, with plenty of space to work and a feature set you won't find anywhere else. The Odyssey OLED G9 delivers on all fronts, producing some of the best images you'll find on a gaming monitor.

Those looking for PC-like experiences know that there are often unpredictable issues, and the Odyssey OLED G9 is no exception. As mentioned, the 32:9 aspect ratio is not suitable for all games and the deep immersion is quickly lost when playing this version. However, if the basic experience is the same as a 16:9 monitor and the Odyssey OLED G9 can be upscaled further, it's still an impressive display.

Samsung is asking $1,800 for the screen, but I wouldn't buy that much. The fact is that it is not very expensive, there is no other controller like it, but you often see it on sale. At the time of publishing, it's available for $1,400, making it one of the best 21:9 QD-OLED displays we've ever seen. At this price, it's a real treat for high-end PC gamers.

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