I consider myself a person with simple needs. I use my Asus ROG for work, the Realme XT Pro I use every day. I don’t usually like spending too much on gadgets unless I feel it’s a good value for money. Then I see my wallet breaker the Samsung Odyssey G9 gaming monitor, and all I want to do is open my wallet as wide as its panel and throw my credit card at it.
If you like curved and ultrawide gaming monitors then the Odyssey lineup is certainly worth considering. Samsung is offering a QLED panel in what the company claims is the “first ever to possess a high-performance 1000R curvature.” Whether you opt for the G9 or G7 models depends on your budget and the space available on your desk.
And this is a wide panel—49 inches of pure 1000R curvature bliss with a 32:9 aspect ratio, to be exact. The gaming monitor’s resolution reaches 5,120 x 1,440, with the refresh rate topping out at 240Hz. It’s unlikely you’ll play recent triple-A releases at their highest graphics settings and at 240Hz. However, competitive e-sports players specializing in older titles will feel right at home. The high refresh rate translates to super-smooth gameplay, possibly giving a competitive advantage to some. That said, you can knock down the Odyssey G9’s refresh rate if you primarily play newer, more demanding titles.
The gaming features don’t stop there, as the Odyssey G9 supports AMD FreeSync 2 and Nvidia G-Sync. Both technologies prevent screen tearing, which is when one part of the screen seems to lag behind other parts of the screen. The technologies also minimize input lag and display stutter. The Odyssey G9 also supports HDR1000 for improved contrast and a 1ms response time.
Samsung has done a good job on the design front. The build quality is excellent, befitting of a high-end flagship product. While most of the outer surface is plastic, including the wide-pronged stand, it’s a nice high quality plastic with a solid matte finish.
The rear of the monitor features this unique pattern that draws attention to the center circle where the display is mounted to the stand. Here’s where you find Samsung’s “Infinity Core” lighting, which is just a fancy name for RGB LEDs that illuminate this area. There are also two small lighting zones on the front — single RGB zones here, too — honestly we could give or take the RGB elements, but at least they’re integrated well into the design.
You can’t ignore the Odyssey G9’s looks, which match the extreme nature of the monitor. The back of the monitor is reminiscent of Iron Man’s arc reactor or a robotic eye. The glowing blue orb doesn’t have to be blue, by the way—you can customize the lighting with 56 different colors and six different lighting effects. In general, this looks like something straight out of a sci-fi movie.
Given the high-end specs and design, you can expect the Odyssey G9 to cost a pretty penny once it’s made available later in 2020.