Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 49-inch Curved Mega-Wide Gaming Monitor Review

[Barefooter]

This monitor has been out for a short while already, but this review from Tom's Hardware is from today.

 

I've actually had my eye on this monitor.  I currently game on a LG 38" wide screen with 3840 x 1600 resolution and just love it!  It is about an inch taller than a standard 27" monitor and when I purchased it I did not think the extra height would make much difference, but it actually really does.

 

I currently have a 55" LG C2 TV in my living room. For my next PC monitor upgrade I wanted to wait until I could get an OLED monitor.  So I'm kind of torn between going with this "Mega-Wide" Samsung 49" OLED and losing the one inch of height or going with a 48" LG C3.

 

If you have any input to help me make a decision please comment below.

 

Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 49-inch Curved Mega-Wide Gaming Monitor Review: Three Displays In One Giant Screen

Quote

Is it a gaming monitor or a TV? I’ve asked that question once before in my review of the Samsung OLED G8, and I’m asking it again as I unpack the OLED G9. Like the G8, it’s a curved wide screen, 49 inches in the 32:9 aspect ratio here. It incorporates Samsung’s TV Plus and Game Hub platforms for seamless access to various streamed content libraries. It delivers shows, movies and games from powerful apps with expansion capability.

 

Of course, the screen is what I’m really interested in here. OLED is an emerging category in desktop monitors, and I couldn’t be happier. OLED’s super low black levels and infinite contrast mean the image has a depth and vibrance that even the best Mini LED panels cannot match. OLED is also a standout for its lack of motion blur for gaming. Where LCDs need a well-engineered overdrive or backlight strobe to maintain motion resolution, OLED does this naturally with no trickery required.

 

The Samsung OLED G9 is a 49-inch 32:9 screen with DQHD (Double QHD, 5120x1440 pixels) resolution, a 240 Hz refresh rate, Adaptive-Sync, HDR10 and HDR10+, wide gamut color and a ton of features to enhance every form of entertainment. Let’s take a look.

 

[EHW Ai]

If you're looking to pick up an OLED monitor, try to do so via a vendor that offers some sort of guaranty against burn-in. I think that's currently only Dell and Best Buy, but there might be more. 

 

Additionally, make sure to check customer reviews at any vendor you might go with. Read through the lower ratings, it's not all that difficult to separate the chaff from the wheat. Some issues will stand out more than others.

 

Good luck hunting...!

[Snakecharmed]

Here's a personal rule I have: Never trade resolution in either dimension for physically larger dimensions. In this case, you'd be losing physical height as well, and that kills immersion for me. I went from a 34" 3440x1440 ultrawide to a 38" 3840x1600 and the difference in immersion is massive. That was the difference between "The ultrawide FOV is nice," and "Oh, I'm really in the game!"

 

As for some other thoughts, whenever I see a gaming monitor, I make myself consider all the non-gaming uses that will still occur.

 

5120x1440 would be great for gaming in games that support it, and not very fun to deal with otherwise. What I like about my 38" LG UltraGear 38GN950-B is that the 3840 pixel width perfectly matches up with my 55" 4K Samsung QN85A so moving windows between screens is easier to manage and I don't have to readjust window sizes as much. 5120 is really ugly to work with in terms of window splitting. 2160 for half-screen width is too wide, but you also can't evenly split the screen into thirds. It's manageable with apps like PowerToys, but still a nuisance. Each third would also be less than 1920 pixels wide, which is of course a frequently utilized window width.

 

As for OLED technology, in the TV world currently, LG's WOLED technology does better against burn-in than Samsung's QD-OLED. I've decided to completely skip OLED for any PC use and wait out MicroLED, but LG is significantly better in this regard if you look at the comparison of the two OLED technologies on Rtings. Last I read earlier this year, all the OLED PC monitors coming out now are QD-OLED, so that's less than ideal.

 

I leave static images on screen a lot of the time because I also work from home. I'm not willing to make the behavioral changes to mitigate burn-in and I doubt that's realistically feasible for work use anyway.

 

All that being said, I would go with an LG C3 before I would even entertain the Samsung Odyssey G9. It has too many practical compromises for my liking, whereas LG WOLED technology is very mature and capable of handling almost anything you can throw at it.

Edited November 17, 2023 by Snakecharmed

[Kaz]

Gigabytes 32" 3840x2160 is a good monitor, but I returned them for the 27" version.  At my viewing distance the image quality is noticeable.  I can't imagine wanting to go bigger for anything less in terms of resolution.  I deeply regretted buying 32" 1440p monitors.  I'm holding out on OLED, burn in is a concern to me and I recently found out LG's OLED doesn't play well with text.

 

Glossy glass monitors look a lot better than plastic matte finishes. I wish I could still buy glossy IPS screens.  I'd pay extra for that. 

[Slaughtahouse]

Ultrawide monitors remind us there’s still much to learn about OLED burn-in

ARSTECHNICA.COM

---

Can playing 16:9 content on a 21:9 screen impact burn-in risk? Apparently.

 

Worth a read if you’re about to dip your toes into UW OLED.

[bwalker36]

I have never used an ultrawide, but I did buy a 48" lg oled and love it.  I went that route becuase I knew it would beused for my ps5 and regular tv as well.  It was also on sale and a complete impulse purchase lol

 

[pio]

Mine's not OLED, but still a 49" 5120x1440 / 120 Ultrawide.  Do not recommend unless you're ONLY gaming on it (and games that support it).  Productivity, multiple monitors is still king.  OLED..........honestly, probably better suited for film I'd think?  Yeah, OLED is amazing for gaming (I've seen some of the screenshots you OLED users have put out).  I just really don't see THIS particular monitor as being a good buy though.

[Barefooter]

On 15/11/2023 at 17:26, iamjanco said:

If you're looking to pick up an OLED monitor, try to do so via a vendor that offers some sort of guaranty against burn-in. I think that's currently only Dell and Best Buy, but there might be more. 

 

Additionally, make sure to check customer reviews at any vendor you might go with. Read through the lower ratings, it's not all that difficult to separate the chaff from the wheat. Some issues will stand out more than others.

 

Good luck hunting...!

Yes I always check out the one star reviews too.  Thanks for getting me my "X"... another couple of years I'll get the "T"

 

 

On 17/11/2023 at 06:45, Snakecharmed said:

Here's a personal rule I have: Never trade resolution in either dimension for physically larger dimensions. In this case, you'd be losing physical height as well, and that kills immersion for me. I went from a 34" 3440x1440 ultrawide to a 38" 3840x1600 and the difference in immersion is massive. That was the difference between "The ultrawide FOV is nice," and "Oh, I'm really in the game!"

 

As for some other thoughts, whenever I see a gaming monitor, I make myself consider all the non-gaming uses that will still occur.

 

5120x1440 would be great for gaming in games that support it, and not very fun to deal with otherwise. What I like about my 38" LG UltraGear 38GN950-B is that the 3840 pixel width perfectly matches up with my 55" 4K Samsung QN85A so moving windows between screens is easier to manage and I don't have to readjust window sizes as much. 5120 is really ugly to work with in terms of window splitting. 2160 for half-screen width is too wide, but you also can't evenly split the screen into thirds. It's manageable with apps like PowerToys, but still a nuisance. Each third would also be less than 1920 pixels wide, which is of course a frequently utilized window width.

 

As for OLED technology, in the TV world currently, LG's WOLED technology does better against burn-in than Samsung's QD-OLED. I've decided to completely skip OLED for any PC use and wait out MicroLED, but LG is significantly better in this regard if you look at the comparison of the two OLED technologies on Rtings. Last I read earlier this year, all the OLED PC monitors coming out now are QD-OLED, so that's less than ideal.

 

I leave static images on screen a lot of the time because I also work from home. I'm not willing to make the behavioral changes to mitigate burn-in and I doubt that's realistically feasible for work use anyway.

 

All that being said, I would go with an LG C3 before I would even entertain the Samsung Odyssey G9. It has too many practical compromises for my liking, whereas LG WOLED technology is very mature and capable of handling almost anything you can throw at it.

I'm most leery of giving up the height that I have now.  Also I did not consider slitting the screen in three would be an issue.  You made some great points thank you! 

 

 

On 21/11/2023 at 17:59, Slaughtahouse said:

 

Ultrawide monitors remind us there’s still much to learn about OLED burn-in

ARSTECHNICA.COM

---

Can playing 16:9 content on a 21:9 screen impact burn-in risk? Apparently.

 

Worth a read if you’re about to dip your toes into UW OLED.

I saw that article.  I never thought about that, and I would certainly have 16:9 content displayed at times.  That happened after only 700 hours of gaming too!

 

 

21 hours ago, pioneerisloud said:

Mine's not OLED, but still a 49" 5120x1440 / 120 Ultrawide.  Do not recommend unless you're ONLY gaming on it (and games that support it).  Productivity, multiple monitors is still king.  OLED..........honestly, probably better suited for film I'd think?  Yeah, OLED is amazing for gaming (I've seen some of the screenshots you OLED users have put out).  I just really don't see THIS particular monitor as being a good buy though.

Yeah at this point I'm probably going to go with the 48" 16:9 OLED Panel.  That will give me plenty of height and I can still play at 21:9 resolution if I want too.  Plus I can still fit two 27" aux monitors vertically to the left of it.  With the 49" mega wide Samsung I would not be able to do that with my desk set-up.

 

For now I'm going to hold out until after CES and see what comes out there.

 

 

Edited November 24, 2023 by Barefooter