Samsung Odyssey G6 OLED gaming monitor, tested and reviewed

As far as I understand there are two types PC gamers. Those who care about graphics and those who care about performance. Gaming monitors Under the grand scheme they usually do only one or the other. They render 4K graphics or provide smooth images with unlimited frame rates, but rarely do both.

For me, performance is always critical. Here’s a reason to play on PC via console. I’ve played most of the games in my life on consoles, so I would know. When it comes to a high-performance gaming monitor, there’s nothing better under $900 than the Samsung Odyssey G6 OLED.

This is a stunning 27-inch 1440p monitor – the perfect size for professional gamers or those who work within the confines of an apartment. No matter how powerful your CPU And GPU Yes, the G6 can handle this by supporting variable refresh rates up to 360Hz. Your games will look good and play so smoothly that you won’t even notice that they’re not. games in 4K.

Embark on a gaming odyssey

From the very beginning of my use of the Odyssey G6, I saw that the OLED screen made it special in many ways. The image is bright and clear, and if you’re not used to it, it’s annoying. You download a game from your Steam library and realize that games have never looked so good.

Games. That’s what the screen is for. If you want to use it for work, you can do so, but your work machine needs an HDMI output. (Sorry, Mac users, you’re not a gamer and never will be.) But spreadsheets won’t let you appreciate this screen. Playing Cyberpunk without glare as the sun sets through the south-facing windows directly behind you? That’s when you’ll truly appreciate this OLED screen.

It is noteworthy that in addition to OLED, the Odyssey G6 has a maximum resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels, that is, 144op, that is, QHD. Consider it much better than 1080p, but not quite the same as 4K. That’s the only compromise this monitor makes. The contrasty OLED makes up for this in most cases, and I was so impressed with the HDR settings that it didn’t matter. If you disagree and you have an OLED monitor, do me a favor. Boot up Mining craft and turn on ray tracing to see how much difference good lighting makes compared to a few extra pixels.

The refresh rate is so high that we can’t even test it

What the monitor lacks in resolution, it more than makes up for in refresh rate. Refresh rate (measured in Hertz) is directly related to frame rate and is a measure of how many times an image is refreshed per second. Essentially it is a measure of smoothness. If you’re here, I’m probably preaching to the choir, but let me do this. Most console games would be happy to hit 60fps. PCs can surpass this to the point that 144Hz has become the standard for monitors, delivering frame rates of 120fps and higher.

By comparison, the Odyssey G6 has a refresh rate of up to 360Hz. This is an exorbitant number of frames. When it came to testing, we couldn’t even push the car hard enough to reach half of its maximum power. Variable refresh rate allowed our PC games to run without lag no matter what frame rate they were running at. In layman’s terms, this monitor makes input lag unnoticeable.

Unleash the power of your console

You need a powerful (read: expensive) computer to get the most out of this monitor. These are just facts. But if you also have a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X, you can get the most performance benefits. TVs I don’t support it. I tested on PS5, but both current-gen consoles support refresh rates up to 120Hz.

As a display, OLED was a fantastic upgrade from the QLED TVs I’ve been playing on. Even the need to sit much closer does not betray loyalty. On PS5, not every game can run at 120fps, but I tested a few of them and they gave me an idea of ​​the potential future of console gaming. Games that rely on a sense of speed benefit the most from increased frame rates. Walk around the city in Spider-Man 2 or rounding a corner Gran Turismo 7 I’ve never looked so good or felt so smooth. If you’re looking for a gaming monitor, I’d rate all others on this one.

Other Samsung gaming monitors we’ve tried

There are other great gaming monitors in the Samsung Odyssey line. They happen to be on sale and I tried them. So, speaking from experience, here’s what these other monitors have to offer.

32-inch Odyssey OLED G8 ($15299.99 $999.99 at Samsung): If you don’t want to compromise at all, this is the monitor for you. It has a 240Hz refresh rate and, yes, it supports 4K. That’s true. 4K resolution and high refresh rate. Plus, it’s currently two-thirds the original price if you buy directly from Samsung, making it almost equal in price to the G6.

Odyssey G9 49″ Curved OLED Display ($1799.99 $1,199.99 at Samsung): Single-player gamers be warned: once you’ve experienced total immersion in this curved monitor, it’ll be nearly impossible to go back. The dimensions may seem strange to you, but once you realize that it’s just two Odyssey G6 1440p monitors connected together and curved, it starts to click. Same OLED screen as the G6, same 240Hz refresh rate as the G8, twice the screen size.

Final verdict

If you’re looking for a new PC gaming monitor, the Samsung Odyssey probably has something for you. The G6 OLED is a bright, glare-free option that’s ideal for single-player games, but designed primarily to get you through fast-paced multiplayer sessions without lag. If you have a powerful enough computer to take advantage of the 360Hz refresh rate, this is one of the few monitors that is actually up to the task.

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At Esquire, we’ve been testing and reviewing the latest and greatest products for decades. When it comes to technology, hands-on testing with everyone gadget and a piece mechanism we verify is our number one priority. From headphones To smart watchWe’ve made every effort to make sure our readers know exactly what they’re buying before they buy it.

I spent about six weeks testing the Odyssey OLED G6, playing it using both PS5 and PC. Instead of doing tests and benchmarks, I simply used the product in a way that I thought readers of this story would use. This included hours-long gaming sessions and constant use of both the HDMI ports and the headphone jack. Not once did I encounter any technical issues or input detection issues to mention.