The Samsung Odyssey G9 is the company’s top-of-the-line gaming display, and it’s a big one. With a brilliant, colorful picture that will please most gamers. This 49-inch 1440p curved screen can wrap around your sightlines and then some. It’s expensive at $1,429.99, but its size and gaming-specific performance help justify the cost for dedicated flight simulators and racing players who prefer one massive, engulfing widescreen panel to a bank of many with seams between them.
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Two-minute review
The Samsung Odyssey G9 is one of the most premium gaming monitors available. The gigantic 49-inch display had a whopping 5,120 x 1,440 resolution, a 240Hz refresh rate, a 1000R curved screen, and an HDR 1000 rating to back it up. But 2021 is a new year, and we now have the Samsung Odyssey Neo G9, which takes everything the Odyssey G9 did and amps it up to 11.
The Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 is one of the most advanced gaming monitors we’ve ever seen. Thanks to improved lighting, HDR 2000 rating, and the switch to Mini-LED technology. However, not only will you require one of the top gaming PCs. At a minimum, the RTX 3080 – but the Neo G9 is also more expensive than last year. With a 49-inch screen and 32:9 aspect ratio, the Samsung Odyssey G9 is a super ultrawide gaming monitor.
However, if you can afford it, the extra cost is well worth it. The display is without a doubt the best we’ve ever seen, with incredible color and black levels that you won’t find on most other gaming monitors. Playing games on this machine is truly a wonderful experience, which helps to justify the enormously high price tag.
Samsung Odyssey G9 Pricing and Availability
The Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 costs $2,499 (£1,749, AU$2,999) and is available now.
This is by far one of the most costly gaming monitors available. But still, it offers features that other gaming monitors simply cannot beat. To our knowledge, this is the only gaming monitor with an HDR 2000 rating, meaning it surpasses even the Asus ROG Swift PG27UQ in terms of HDR. It offers the best HDR we’ve ever seen, including TVs.
While the price has risen significantly from last year’s $1,479 (£1,289, AU$2,799) model. It makes sense when you consider all of the new features Samsung has included. The Odyssey G9 was already the king of ultrawide gaming monitors. But the Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 takes things to a new level. That’s ideal for gamers that expect nothing less than the best experience money can buy.
It’s a case of “if the price tag gives you sticker shock, it’s probably not for you”. It’s not something we’d pay money for, but we’ve had a lot of fun with it and aren’t looking forward to returning it to Samsung.
Consider the Odyssey G7 if you want something a little less spectacular.
Design
Only a little bezel on the bottom edge, decorated with the Samsung emblem in the middle, surrounds the Odyssey G9’s screen. This is bordered by a very thin black band flush with the display. On the underside of the monitor, near the right third of the screen, is a four-direction control stick and a power switch.
The monitor’s back is white, which is an unusual design choice that we’ve also seen in Alienware’s gaming monitors. It’s attached to a V-necked stand with a wide, V-shaped base that’s quite thin but strong. The stand allows for height adjustment, but no tilt is possible due to the monitor’s size.
There is ring of RGB lights that resembles a turbine, with 52 colors and five lighting effects that may be accessed via the monitor’s on-screen display (OSD).
On the backside of the monitor, on the left, facing down is the power connector. A snap-off shield hides an HDMI port, two DisplayPorts, a USB hub input, and two USB ports on the right side of the monitor’s back.
Performance
It’s difficult to overestimate how much this monitor will impress you the first time you use it. In the Samsung Odyssey Neo G9, Samsung managed to double the peak brightness from 1,000 nits in last year’s model to 2,000 nits. This earns it an HDR 2000 rating, the best HDR available outside of playing PC games on a high-end OLED TV.
That would be amazing enough on its own, but it also contains Samsung’s new Quantum Mini LED technology, which is used in the company’s latest QLED TVs. So the Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 boasts 2,048 local dimming zones, which is a huge improvement over last year’s model’s modest10 dimming zones. The 49-inch DQHD gaming monitor brings you, dual QHD PC monitors.
The monitor is incredibly amazing in games like Destiny 2. HDR is a luxury feature, but once you get it, you’ll never want to go back and jump from the HDR 400 displays. An HDR 2000 display like this is a whole different universe of brightness and color.
Samsung Odyssey G9 Brightness levels
The Odyssey G9 has a one-year limited guarantee, so if that patch of light appears, Samsung will replace the monitor.
The Odyssey G9 has exceptional contrast for a monitor, with a peak brightness of 193 candelas per square meter (cd/m2, or nits) and a black level of 0.052 nits in the monitor’s default Custom mode, resulting in a contrast ratio of 3,742:1.
When the panel is switched to Full Bright mode, the peak brightness increases significantly, reaching 716 nits with a full field. That mode has a contrast ratio of 6,079:1 with a black level of 0.118 nits.
Samsung Odyssey G9 Gaming
The monitor’s adaptive sync, which is Nvidia G-Sync Compatible, looks to perform effectively, keeping up with frame rates that are higher than the monitor’s natural refresh rate.
Everything appears to be fresh, tidy, and bright.
On the G9, the Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition benchmark looks great as well. The colors are bright and vibrant, and the movement appears to be fluid. Even in the dark campfire scene near the end of the benchmark, fine details in the black garments can be seen. Skin tones, as well as the greens of grass and trees in both bright and rainy scenarios, appear natural.
Samsung Odyssey G9 Video Content
On the G9, video content appears amazing, especially in Cinema picture mode. The details pears bright and lively in streaming 4K footage, with colors that shine without being cartoonish. Subtle details appear crisp, thanks to the monitor’s high contrast, which reveals fine textures in both shadows and direct sunlight. Although there aren’t many videos that fill the entire screen, all ultrawide monitors are capable of doing so.
Conclusion
The Samsung Odyssey NEO G9 Gaming Monitor is costly. But because of its class-leading brightness and contrast, as well as its great color performance. It provides an incredible (and large) picture. It handles quick action with ease. This input lag is slightly higher than we prefer in a high-end gaming monitor, it’s still manageable for most gamers. The G9 is worth considering if you’re searching for a large curved gaming monitor that can easily replace three screens and wrap you up in its image. Simply be aware of the remote possibility of screen issues, and purchase from a supplier that allows for easy returns if necessary.
The 35-inch Asus ROG Swift PG35VQ is much brighter and has half the input lag (2.2ms). But it costs substantially more than the 49-inch Odyssey G9. If you don’t want to commit to a single ultrawide monitor. You can go for numerous smaller panels, such as the ViewSonic XG270QG, a 27-inch 1440p monitor with great performance. Plus, at $600, the ViewSonic panel is inexpensive enough that you could buy two and save money over a single 49-inch screen.
