The Samsung Odyssey OLED G8 is the fourth QD-OLED ultrawide we have checked out up to now, after the 2 Alienware fashions and the newly launched variant from MSI, so loads of attention-grabbing comparability information to get to on this assessment – plus just a few uncommon findings.
The Odyssey OLED G8 makes use of the identical panel because the aforementioned 34-inch 3440 x 1440 QD-OLEDs we have reviewed up to now, so do not count on drastic variations in specs. The G8 presents the identical 175 Hz most refresh fee because the Alienware and MSI, in addition to different high specs like a rated 0.03ms response time, 99% DCI-P3 protection and adaptive sync assist.
Samsung does not declare a 1,000 nit peak brightness ranking, although it is a recognized efficiency attribute of this QD-OLED panel, so we’ll see how shiny the G8 will get later.
This Samsung variant can be the most costly of the QD-OLED ultrawides launched up to now, priced at $1,500. That’s $200 greater than Alienware’s AW3423DW and $400 greater than the DWF and MSI variants, so Samsung would need to have some killer options and efficiency to justify this price ticket.
Features and Design
The Odyssey OLED G8 will get off to a terrific begin when assessing the design, one thing I lately criticized on the somewhat ugly MSI 342C. This monitor is the exact opposite: it is the smallest, thinnest and sleekest trying QD-OLED but.
The panel is built-in properly into the entrance with a small backside bezel strip, and the stand – which makes use of a mixture of steel and plastic – seems nice, may be very sturdy and does not take up a ton of desk house.
What impressed me probably the most was the minimalistic design and slim building. While I just like the design of the Alienwares, the OLED G8 seems extra trendy and actually harnesses the thinness of the OLED panel.
The rear makes use of a mixture of silver steel and plastic, which match up moderately effectively regardless of being completely different supplies. It’s additionally the quietest of those screens but, that includes no fan or a fan so silent it is irrelevant.
There are a few downsides to this design although. One is that the underside bezel seems prefer it has some kind of protecting movie utilized, like how loads of shiny elements include a detachable plastic movie to guard it throughout transport. However once I tried to take away it, it grew to become obvious that it in all probability should not be eliminated. Don’t make the identical mistake I did there!
The stand additionally solely helps top and tilt assist, with no swivel adjustment, though VESA mounting is supported.
Port selection poses a problem, too. For some motive, somewhat than utilizing normal full sized ports that we have turn into accustomed to throughout many screens, Samsung have opted for mini variations.
So this monitor consists of one mini-DisplayPort and one micro-HDMI port plus two USB-C ports, one among which may additionally act as a show enter. The HDMI port is 2.1, which is nice to see.
For lots of people this in all probability will not be a giant deal, you will simply use the included 1.5m lengthy mini-DisplayPort to full-sized DisplayPort cable and plug it straight into your GPU. My challenge is that discovering prime quality mini-DP or micro-HDMI cables is more durable and/or dearer than for regular cables, particularly should you want an extended cable like 3 or 5 meters.
It additionally implies that should you’ve already purchased a high quality DisplayPort cable, you’ll be able to’t use it with the G8 except you get an adapter (which can be of questionable high quality). And that is for no good motive, because the Odyssey OLED G8 is giant sufficient to suit regular sized ports.
Sure, embrace the small variations, too, if you wish to give consumers the choice of a modern, skinny cable look, however for a PC monitor, full sized ports are the first approach to go.
An attention-grabbing and distinctive facet of this monitor is that it options full sensible performance, much like a sensible TV. Unlike the overwhelming majority of gaming screens that simply act like a dumb show with inputs, the OLED G8 is internet-connected, and might run varied apps like Netflix, YouTube and Disney+, and helps different options enabled by the chip’s processing capabilities.
This is uncommon to see as the first use case for a show like that is gaming, particularly PC gaming, the place the enter machine itself (like a PC or sport console) can run these kinds of apps completely high-quality and infrequently with quicker, simpler enter entry than the included distant.
I do not suppose it is a dangerous factor to have built-in app assist, although, however I believe a big chunk of consumers will not discover this handy.
What might need made app assist extra helpful is that if it enabled superior HDR format playback like Dolby Vision, which is not accessible by way of PC, however the G8 does not assist Dolby Vision. However, the advantages of a extra superior OSD is that there is a rather more intensive vary of settings with fewer restrictions, it helps firmware updates over the web, it helps Bluetooth performance like Bluetooth audio system, and it is easy to make use of.
Certainly the extent of software program options is way forward of its rivals and should you particularly wished issues like native app assist, there isn’t any different QD-OLED ultrawide that gives this.
Screen Coating, Subpixel Layout, Burn In
As the Odyssey OLED G8 OLED makes use of the identical panel as different 34-inch QD-OLEDs, people who have learn different evaluations might be very conversant in a few of the points surrounding the coating and subpixel construction of this QD-OLED panel.
If you have been hoping that the Samsung variant would higher deal with reflections or reduce down a bit on ambient gentle reflectivity, this isn’t the case, it seems essentially equivalent to the Alienware and MSI fashions.
If you are not conversant in coating, here’s a fast abstract: The QD-OLED panel’s coating is shiny and lacks a polarizer so it could possibly mirror fairly a little bit of ambient gentle, relying on the circumstances.
In a normal indoor viewing setting with synthetic gentle, or in a sunlit room, blacks can seem gray or raised as a result of a few of this gentle being mirrored off the panel. This is not like a shiny LG OLED which seems a lot blacker even with ambient gentle within the room.
This ambient reflectivity is exacerbated when there’s extra gentle in entrance of the panel, however is not as problematic when lighting is simply behind the show, and it is a non challenge in dimly lit or darkish rooms. This can hamper the deep wealthy OLED expertise in some viewing circumstances: OLEDs are well-known for his or her black ranges, however with the 342C you will have to have an optimized setup to get probably the most out of it.
It’s actually onerous to say whether or not this might be a problem for you as it may be a case by case foundation. Personally I do discover it annoying and one of many bigger points with these first technology QD-OLED panels, however should you primarily sport at evening it is not anyplace close to as a lot of a priority. At the very least it is one thing to pay attention to.
As for the subpixel construction, it is not perfect for desktop productiveness use. The QD-OLED panel makes use of a triangle RGB format as an alternative of the normal RGB stripe, which may trigger fringing on some excessive distinction edges reminiscent of textual content. This isn’t simply fixable with software program corrections.
Some individuals do not discover this challenge, however others together with myself discovered it moderately apparent, particularly subsequent to a standard LCD. This reduces the crispness and readability of textual content in some conditions, however is a whole non challenge for content material consumption, like gaming or watching movies.
OLEDs usually aren’t nice screens for desktop utilization, productiveness apps, and net shopping anyway as a result of they’re prone to everlasting burn in – so the subpixel challenge will not be of big concern in case you are utilizing this monitor as meant for content material consumption. But should you do plan on utilizing it for productiveness work, you will not solely need to issue within the danger of burn in into your shopping for choice, however the suboptimal subpixel format as effectively.
As for burn in guarantee, Samsung don’t make any particular claims about burn in protection, and their guarantee coverage varies between international locations. This is a major weak spot as their fundamental rivals provide 3 yr warranties that embrace burn-in protection. This is fairly disappointing given the OLED G8 can be the most costly of those shows launched up to now, you’d suppose that at a premium value of $1,500 you would be getting premium guarantee assist, however that is not the case.
Display Performance
In phrases of response time efficiency, it is no shock to see this QD-OLED panel providing lightning quick speeds, much like different QD-OLEDs we have examined. At its most 175Hz refresh fee, we’re seeing a 0.3ms common response which is extraordinarily quick and that results in very clear movement for this kind of refresh fee.
With no noticeable inverse ghosting, the OLED G8 is pretty much as good because the AW3423DW for movement readability, and much superior to any LCD on the identical refresh fee. Cumulative deviation is astonishingly low at simply 44.
The finest a part of how OLEDs operate is that efficiency is mainly equivalent in any respect refresh charges. This means whether or not we’re testing at 175Hz or 60Hz, we’re nonetheless seeing a few 0.3ms response time common.
LCDs usually get slower because the refresh fee decreases however this is not the case right here, so the G8 OLED presents a single overdrive mode expertise – with none overdrive settings in fact, as they are not required for an OLED.
There is not any distinction in response time efficiency between the OLED G8 and different OLED screens. The solely distinction for movement readability on the most refresh fee is the max refresh itself.
The OLED G8 has a great 175Hz refresh fee, so it will likely be clearer than one thing just like the LG C2 at 120Hz, nevertheless it’s solely a negligible distinction versus the AW3423DWF at 165Hz. However the 240Hz screens on this chart, such because the Corsair Xeneon Flex and LG 27GR95QE, do have superior readability as there’s much less pattern and maintain movement blur at a better refresh fee like 240Hz.
Where the massive distinction lies is between OLED and LCD. The OLED G8 is way quicker than the quickest LCD I’ve examined, permitting a 175Hz OLED to ship the same expertise to a 240Hz LCD by way of general movement readability.
This is a giant win for OLED, and it solely will get higher when taking a look at common efficiency. While LCDs do get a bit slower at decrease refresh charges, OLEDs do not, so the hole between OLED and LCD grows. Here the G8 is round 10x quicker than a few of the highest finish LCDs in the marketplace at this time.
It’s additionally good to substantiate wonderful cumulative deviation outcomes, although no completely different from most different OLEDs. As anticipated this actually is identical panel that delivers the identical movement efficiency as different QD-OLED ultrawides.
Input lag is superb. The three non-G-Sync QD-OLEDs I’ve examined all have roughly the identical enter lag at 175Hz, which means that even with a unique and extra highly effective processor that does extra issues, the OLED G8 is simply as responsive to make use of within the sport mode because the Alienware DWF and MSI 342C fashions.
The G8 is a very quick product to make use of, whereas the one monitor that lags behind is the Alienware DW mannequin. There’s additionally no distinction between SDR and HDR enter latency.
Power consumption is much like different QD-OLEDs that I’ve examined, coming in round 100W for a full display white 200 nit picture. However it is a worst case state of affairs for OLEDs, so whereas energy consumption can high out round 125W for HDR content material, typical utilization is so much decrease. For instance, watching a video at 200 nits full display used round 50W of energy.
Color Performance
For coloration efficiency, the OLED G8 is a large gamut monitor with fairly excessive coloration house protection. We get 99.4% protection of DCI-P3, plus 97.1% protection of Adobe RGB which is nice – although this is not actually a product appropriate for coloration crucial productiveness work.
Color Space: Samsung Odyssey OLED G8 – D65-P3
In whole we get 80.6% protection of Rec.2020 which is among the many widest gamuts I’ve examined, although much like different QD-OLEDs. This supplies a pleasant vary colours that can be utilized whereas HDR gaming.
Default Color Performance
The G8 is the very best of the 4 QD-OLEDs by way of coloration accuracy and coloration efficiency capabilities. From the manufacturing unit my unit had nice grayscale efficiency, above common for a gaming monitor with a deltaE ITP of simply 3.6 and wonderful white steadiness. The monitor does ship and not using a gamut clamp enabled by default, so SDR content material like YouTube movies might be oversaturated should you do not alter any settings, resulting in poor delta Es.
When in comparison with different screens the OLED G8 is a category chief for manufacturing unit greyscale calibration. ColorChecker is much less stable, although much like different QD-OLEDs and plenty of extensive gamut gaming shows.
sRGB Mode Color Performance
What separates the OLED G8 from the pack is its wide selection of coloration controls with few restrictions. There’s not likely an sRGB mode for instance, however you’ll be able to change the colour house of the monitor by way of a setting – switching this to Auto for the SDR mode clamps the gamut to sRGB.
With solely altering this one setting, we get wonderful efficiency for SDR sRGB content material. Greyscale efficiency continues to be nice, however now the colour gamut sticks to sRGB, we get no oversaturation and delta Es are excellent at under 5.0 for deltaE ITP in ColorChecker. This result’s pretty much as good as what we see from the Alienware AW3423DWF’s sRGB mode, and higher than the opposite choices.
OSD Tweaked Color Performance
But the G8 has an additional trick up its sleeve which is that not one of the different coloration settings are restricted when the Color Space is about to Auto. This means we will alter white steadiness utilizing the 2-point white steadiness controls, and use all the opposite settings.
A couple of small tweaks can additional enhance efficiency and mainly negate the necessity for a software program calibration, and it is simply really easy to modify between the sRGB and extensive gamut modes. People who need a coloration correct expertise will love this – and it even helps Samsung’s telephone app based mostly calibration methodology.
Calibrated Color Performance
The solely motive you’d need to calibrate the show additional is for extensive gamut work, delta Es cannot actually be improved for sRGB by way of Calman, however for P3 I obtained a small enchancment. It’s in all probability not price doing, I’d simply stick to a couple OSD changes and name it a day.
Maximum brightness within the SDR mode is equivalent to different QD-OLEDs. There is not any computerized brightness limiter or ABL enabled, so brightness on this mode is not going to change relying on window dimension, which results in a terrific, constant expertise for desktop apps. However peak brightness is under common at simply 243 nits, not as dangerous as WOLED panels, nevertheless it hardly will get very shiny. With that mentioned I discover 200 nits enough for indoor desktop use, it is solely in brighter environments the place this might not be sufficient.
Also I ought to be aware there’s a setting within the OSD referred to as Peak Brightness. In the SDR mode I’d suggest conserving this off, which is the default expertise and results in 240 nits of brightness. If you set it to the High setting, you will acquire an additional 15 nits or so, nevertheless it completely destroys gamma efficiency, which is not price it for such a small acquire to brightness. However for HDR utilization, I’d suggest setting it to High.
Minimum brightness was weaker than anticipated at 68 nits, a little bit of a shock contemplating the opposite choices can push right down to under 30 nits. Contrast is excellent although, as like with different OLEDs this monitor is able to switching off pixels to indicate black, resulting in zero black ranges and an successfully infinite distinction ratio.
Viewing angles are excellent from QD-OLED panels, so you will not have any points with coloration shifting or tint when seen from off angles.
The solely concern can be the curve lowering the visibility of all the display, although 1800R is nice for gaming at this kind of dimension and facet ratio. Uniformity was nice as effectively, persevering with a pattern of those QD-OLED panels delivering a pleasant and constant expertise.
HDR Performance
A key promoting level to getting an OLED show is for its HDR efficiency, which is leagues forward of nearly all of LCD screens that publicize HDR performance.
Unlike these LCDs, OLEDs have true HDR {hardware} capabilities, which results in an evening and day distinction by way of actual world HDR picture high quality. Seriously the distinction is so huge between an OLED for HDR, and a DisplayHDR 400 LCD monitor for HDR, that you simply’d suppose the LCD monitor was fully damaged.
The fundamental benefit OLEDs have is they’re self-lit. This means every pixel can individually illuminate itself for excellent HDR picture high quality. LCDs need to depend on a backlight to operate, and most true HDR LCDs then use dimming zones to realize the excessive ranges of distinction required for HDR. Even good full array regionally dimmed LCDs with 2000+ zones do not look as gorgeous because the efficient 5 million zones the OLED G8 supplies.
The benefit this has for picture high quality does range relying on the content material, however OLEDs merely don’t undergo from blooming or haloing round shiny objects, which you’ll expertise on a mini-LED LCD, particularly if the zone depend is inadequate. Now, there are good HDR LCDs on the market, however even the very best battle with high-quality HDR particulars like starfields or Christmas lights, and the worst panels with just a few zones look downright horrible. No such points with an OLED panel like this, which seems sensible in all circumstances.
OLEDs even have a giant benefit over LCDs for black ranges and distinction basically. In probably the most troublesome eventualities a great LCD could high out with a distinction ratio round 20,000:1 which is unquestionably excellent, however the OLED has a simple one up with an successfully infinite distinction ratio and true zero-level blacks. The huge power of OLED is subsequently in darker scenes with a number of shadow element, the place OLEDs can get astonishingly darkish when seen in a dimly lit room.
The trade-off, as at all times, is brightness. The OLED G8 has successfully equivalent brightness to different QD-OLED screens, however this is not particularly shiny. Full display brightness tops out at simply 250 nits, roughly the identical because the SDR mode, whereas 10% window brightness is simply 450 nits or so, decrease than most different show applied sciences.
It’s actually just for smaller parts that this QD-OLED panel is able to hitting excessive ranges of brightness, for instance we get 750 nits at a 5% dimension and 970 nits at a 2% dimension. This undoubtedly provides the G8 the capabilities to indicate dazzling shiny highlights, but when giant parts of the display are shiny then this monitor is not particularly shiny relative to others.
It’s no shock then to see combined actual world scene brightness outcomes. When viewing our YouTube video pattern, the G8 was very weak at simply 316 nits which was round 100 nits decrease than the very best QD-OLED I’ve examined. However, in our film pattern, the G8 was nice, hitting 848 nits, the brightest consequence recorded but and much like the AW3423DW. For gaming I used to be additionally in a position to hit round 1000 nits, confirming that this display is able to 1000 nits whereas gaming.
However, and it is a large caveat to this monitor, all the testing seen up to now is simply legitimate for these gaming on an Nvidia GPU – an enter machine that does not use the FreeSync Premium Pro pipeline. If you noticed our latest video on the AW3423DWF’s firmware replace, I found that monitor had completely different HDR efficiency whether or not you have been utilizing it on an AMD or Nvidia GPU. This can be the case for the OLED G8, to a extra substantial diploma.
Nvidia GPU
On an Nvidia GPU, utilizing the Advanced HDR10+ Gaming setting, and setting Peak Brightness to High, I used to be routinely in a position to hit 1000 nits for small window sizes like 2%. Accuracy was good, although as we moved to bigger window sizes, particularly 25%, the roll-off traits obtained worse and fewer correct. Still, on an Nvidia GPU, 1000 nits is achievable and EOTF accuracy is nice, pretty much as good because the AW3423DW.
AMD GPU
On an AMD GPU, utilizing the very same settings (and certainly any setting mixture I attempted), absolutely the most brightness I might obtain was round 450 nits, even at a 2% window dimension. There should not be any distinction, however there’s.
On AMD GPUs the “Game HDR” setting is greyed out, whereas on Nvidia that choice is accessible, however when truly testing Nvidia efficiency I didn’t allow that setting and located it to cut back accuracy. Clearly this show is tuned in a different way relying on what kind of HDR pipeline is getting used, and for no matter motive 1,000 nit efficiency is restricted on AMD GPUs – weird given this isn’t a G-Sync product, it is truly solely branded as AMD FreeSync.
AMD house owners do have a bonus in that HDR accuracy is so much higher at bigger window sizes like 25%, however with out 1,000 nit capabilities it is very onerous to suggest – when you’ve got an AMD GPU, one of many different QD-OLEDs might be a more sensible choice.
What is not tremendous correct on both model is HDR coloration accuracy, basically this monitor is oversaturated within the HDR mode, regardless of having a large coloration gamut. This could be corrected although, by switching coloration house to auto, and lowering the “color” setting to round 18. On my unit this considerably improved HDR coloration accuracy and for Nvidia GPU house owners this was a very nice expertise.
HUB Essentials Checklist
Samsung sails by way of the primary two sections of our Essentials Checklist with no points, together with an sRGB mode with no limitations, and correct manufacturing unit calibration. They do promote 0.03ms response instances which is not correct for this product and inflates the distinction between the very best LCDs and OLEDs, however movement efficiency is nice so this is not a major challenge.
The OLED G8 additionally does assist backlight strobing, nevertheless it is solely restricted to 60Hz and at a 16:9 facet ratio so it is virtually unusable and never price mentioning.
This is a real HDR product with no points in its HDR efficiency. However, it does use a triangle RGB subpixel format, it’s liable to everlasting burn in, and has bizarre efficiency with AMD GPUs. Luckily firmware updates are supported, so there’s some hope the AMD efficiency issues could be resolved.
What We Learned
The Samsung Odyssey OLED G8 is probably the most attention-grabbing of the QD-OLED releases we have seen after the launch of the Alienware AW3423DW. Samsung have made a transparent effort to make the Odyssey OLED G8 stand out from the gang, together with distinctive options which can be solely discovered on this monitor. The general efficiency may be very enticing, giving us the identical improbable HDR gaming expertise we have seen from its rivals.
Like different QD-OLEDs, the massive strengths lie with movement efficiency and HDR. At 175Hz and with response instances within the 0.3ms vary, it is a quick, clear show for gaming with few if any artifacts. The pace on provide is equal to a 240Hz LCD, proving as soon as once more that OLED is the higher expertise in the marketplace at this time for movement. It’s not the quickest OLED we’ve, however I feel most individuals might be delighted with how the OLED G8 video games.
HDR efficiency is stable when run in the appropriate circumstances, delivering equal efficiency to different QD-OLEDs. This means deep zero-level blacks, per pixel native dimming which results in no blooming or haloing, wonderful shadow high quality, and respectable peak brightness within the 1,000 nit vary.
Brightness is not an enormous power of this monitor, particularly for desktop SDR utilization, nevertheless it’s enough for HDR and companions effectively with its wonderful black ranges. HDR accuracy can be fairly good and it could possibly obtain 1000 nits with out sacrificing mid-tones.
I used to be additionally impressed with the manufacturing unit calibration of the OLED G8 and its coloration settings. There’s few limitations, there’s a terrific sRGB mode and little must be tweaked out of the field.
This is probably the most correct QD-OLED ultrawide but and the simplest to configure. However it is not particularly effectively suited to productiveness work, as a result of its non-standard subpixel format which impacts textual content readability, and its danger of everlasting burn in with no burn in guarantee.
The most unusual function to this monitor is its sensible TV performance, which may be helpful to some, however I do not suppose is very compelling for PC players. Dolby Vision assist actually would have added to the package deal, however I do not suppose sensible features are a destructive both, because it allows the wonderful coloration options and helps firmware updates over the web.
I used to be additionally fairly impressed with the design, it is modern and slim which seems nice, plus it is silent throughout operation.
The largest disadvantage to the OLED G8 is that it is not a great monitor for AMD GPU house owners, as 1,000 nits isn’t achievable by way of that HDR pipeline for no matter motive. This is a non-issue when you’ve got an Nvidia GPU, nevertheless it’s regarding to see just a few screens now the place efficiency and settings don’t behave the identical on completely different GPUs. This is by no means what consumers would count on, so it actually must be tightened up such that each one HDR enter units get to entry the complete brightness capabilities precisely.
Aside from this, there are the same old issues over the poor display coating with this QD-OLED panel, plus the annoyance of solely utilizing mini variations of all of the show inputs.
The huge query mark in spite of everything this testing and evaluation is whether or not this monitor is price $1,500 – $200 greater than the Alienware AW3423DW and $400 greater than the AW3423DWF and MSI 342C. That’s a hefty premium – particularly when Samsung does not even give a agency assure that burn in is roofed underneath guarantee.
The huge premium is difficult to justify, as the basic facets to its efficiency are much like different QD-OLEDs, it is the identical panel in spite of everything. But I undoubtedly really feel {that a} smaller premium could possibly be justified, as this Samsung monitor has distinctive options and class-leading efficiency in some areas, like its wonderful accuracy, sensible TV stuff, superior design, low enter lag and silent operation.
Depending on what you are after, various these options could also be price paying additional for – personally the accuracy, firmware updates and no fan noise make this extremely interesting over the AW3423DW in a face to face battle. It typically occurs that Samsung and different show makers low cost their new fashions just a few months post-launch. If that occurs, it is a actually stable QD-OLED providing.
Shopping Shortcuts:
- Samsung Odyssey OLED G8 on Amazon
- Alienware AW3423DW 34″ QD-OLED on Amazon
- LG C2 42″ OLED TV on Amazon
- Corsair Xeneon Flex on Amazon
- Asus ROG Swift PG42UQ on Amazon
- Alienware AW3423DWF 34″ QD-OLED on Dell
