A Samsung monitor with these specs? This new model enhanced my desk setup in a major way

Samsung just released some new impressive gaming monitors, including the Odyssey OLED G8, the company’s first 27-inch 4K gaming monitor with a matte OLED display and 240Hz refresh rate. 

This is a monitor that hits all the right marks for a premium visual experience: high-contrast, vivid colors, and deep, inky blacks with 166 pixels per inch and a reported 0.03ms response time. The monitor’s physical form also exudes premium, with a surprisingly thin panel and RGB lighting on the back.

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I recently had a chance to test the monitor in my home office. I put it through the paces with some gaming, some work, and some entertainment, and it’s a gorgeous display for all three of those use cases. Here are the highlights.  

How does it look?

Do you need 4K resolution on a 27-inch monitor? It’s ultimately a matter of personal choice, but for gaming, it’s hard to argue with how good it looks. This isn’t the biggest display on the market, but the high pixel density here results in a gorgeous level of detail on a practical monitor size. 

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The 4K resolution with QD-OLED works well with the monitor’s anti-glare tech. The finish doesn’t look as matte as other monitors, but it does mitigate glare very well. I placed it on a desk directly across from a large window, and never ran into glare or reflection issues. 

This is paired nicely with the very high contrast color this monitor is able to achieve. Colors are vivid and bright, while blacks are inky dark, and everything is sharp and delineated. 

During a session playing “Cyberpunk 2077”, bright colors from neon lighting in the game resulted in very real light bloom around the neon emanating from the screen, without any bleed or washing out of darker areas of the game. 

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The 240Hz refresh rate ensures fluid movements and minimal blurring or tearing, even during high-intensity sessions with lots of camera rotation. Support for AMD FreeSync pushes it even further. When watching movies or streamed content, the same applies, and it also handles scenes with dark lighting exceedingly well. 

Sleek physical form 

The Odyssey OLED G8 also has a very sleek, well-designed physical form. Its 27-inch display is a practical size for the majority of desktops, and the screen is surprisingly thin. Paired with the ultra-thin bezels, it looks quite premium. 

It’s great to see monitor designers take notes on the designs consumers really want. The Odyssey OLED G8’s physical form takes up very little desk real estate thanks to its wide, flat base that measures just millimeters off the surface. 

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This means the entire area underneath the display is easily accessible for a keyboard, storage, or other tech items. The screen itself is also easily adjustable, raised or lowered with a single finger. In addition, it swivels, tilts, and can rotate from landscape orientation to portrait. 

This monitor also has a nice selection of ports, including two USB-A, two HDMI, a DisplayPort, a USB-B, and even a headphone jack. Notably, there are no speakers, which some users might be miffed about, but personally, I find it a relief as I prefer to use my own desktop sound system anyway. 

Some things to consider

This is a gorgeous monitor, but let’s address the elephant in the room here: with a starting price of $1,300, it might cost more than your laptop. All things considered, however, this is a fair price for a monitor of this caliber, especially with such a well-designed physical form factor. 

In my opinion, a 4K resolution on a 27-inch display is the sweet spot of usability and practicality. If you have limited space but want an absolute banger of a gaming monitor, this is one of the best choices out there, especially with its reduced footprint on the desk. 

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Keep in mind that OLED monitors tend to push the limits on image contrast, and this one is no exception. Darks appear very dark, while lighter colors can appear blindingly bright. In gaming, this can result in visual fatigue. 

Conversely, if you plan on using this monitor for purposes other than gaming or content creation, I would say it’s overkill. This monitor is designed for gamers and creators who want a gorgeous pixel density and silky-smooth refresh rate. In those areas, it excels.