Bottom Line
The Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 is one of the best gaming monitors available thanks to its super-ultrawide 240Hz QD-OLED panel that ensures responsive gameplay and incredible immersive SDR and HDR viewing experience.
The Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 was the first 32:9 OLED display available!
It’s now available as G95SC with built-in Smart features and as G93SC without Smart features for (usually) ~$100 less.
Image Quality
If you’re a fan of super-ultrawide monitors and enjoy HDR content, but weren’t impressed by the Samsung Neo G9 with a 2048-zone FALD mini LED backlight, the new Samsung G95SC might be just for you!
Thanks to its QD-OLED panel, the Samsung S49CG95 has an infinite contrast ratio since each pixel can individually turn off for true blacks. This also means there’s no backlight bleeding, FALD blooming, IPS/VA glow, or similar visual artifacts!
When it comes to brightness, the Samsung OLED G9 has a similar performance to Samsung’s first-gen QD-OLED panels. You get a 250-nit peak brightness for full-field white under both SDR and HDR. For HDR highlights, it goes up to around 500-nits for a 10% white window and up to 1000-nits for small 3% and smaller white windows.
Sadly, just like with their OLED G8 model, the brightness is limited to ~450-nits with AMD GPUs unless FreeSync Premium Pro is disabled.
*PC Mode, Game Optimizer enabled
**Uniform Brightness enabled
In comparison, the Neo G9 can get a lot brighter (600-nits for 100% and 1000-nits for ≤ 25% white windows), but you don’t get as high contrast ratio due to the blooming.
Moving on, the Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 has an exceptional color gamut with 99% DCI-P3 color space coverage (sRGB mode is available too) for a vibrant image quality. Make sure you disable the Contrast Enhancer feature in order to get a more accurate picture.
It also offers true 10-bit color depth for smooth gradients and no banding, as well as impeccable 178° wide viewing angles, which ensure that the image remains flawless regardless of the angle you’re looking at the screen.
Unlike LG’s W-OLED panels, QD-OLED panels don’t require a white subpixel for brightness, but use a quantum dot color conversion layer that allows for a higher color volume, that is, brighter and more vivid colors.
The Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 has VESA’s DisplayHDR 400 True Black certification and it also supports the HDR10+ Gaming format (though there aren’t any games that support it yet).
Next, the 5120×1440 resolution suits the 49″ sized screen of the Samsung S49CG95 monitor very well as you get a decent pixel density of 109 PPI (pixels per inch). As a result, you get plenty of screen space with sharp details and text, while the resolution is still a bit less demanding (~11%) on the GPU than 4K UHD.
The 32:9 ultrawide aspect ratio further increases the viewing immersion as it captures your peripheral vision. The OLED G9 is basically two 27″ 2560×1440 displays side by side without the bezels in between them.
Just like the first-gen QD-OLED panels, the Samsung S49CG95 has a triangular RGB subpixel layout, but with a bit more square shape, which results in less text fringing.
The fringing on small text and fine details is less noticeable than it is on first-gen QD-OLED panels, which already had better clarity than LG’s W-OLED panels with RWBG subpixel layout.
Overall, unless you are particularly sensitive to text fringing and work with a lot of text, this won’t be an issue. It’s not noticeable in games and videos, and it’s negligible during everyday use.
Another thing to keep in mind is the risk of image burn-in. If you leave the same image on the monitor for too long, bright static elements can permanently burn-in.
However, as long as you’re using the monitor sensibly and taking advantage of Samsung’s Panel Care features (Pixel Refresh, Pixel Shift and Adjust Logo Brightness), it shouldn’t be an issue. Sadly, it appears that Samsung’s warranty doesn’t cover burn-in (at least not in the US).
Performance
Just like all OLED panels, the Samsung Odyssey G95SC has instantaneous pixel response time speed, resulting in buttery-smooth motion clarity without any ghosting or overshoot artifacts regardless of the refresh rate!
It also supports variable refresh rate via AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, HDMI 2.1 VRR and G-SYNC Compatible. Although the monitor is not officially certified by NVIDIA as G-SYNC Compatible, VRR works with GeForce GPUs without issues.
The supported VRR range is 48-240Hz over both DisplayPort and HDMI inputs for tear-free gameplay up to 240FPS, though some near-black VRR flicker can be observed in games with unsteady frame rates, as expected from an OLED panel.
Input lag is low (~3ms), so there’s no perceptible delay between your actions and the result on the screen.
Finally, the monitor is flicker-free and there’s an integrated low-blue light filter.
Features
The Samsung S49CG95 is a smart monitor with Tizen OS.
You get plenty of features and applications, such as Air Play 2, SmartThings, Microsoft 365, DeX, Google Meet, Spotify, Bixby, Alexa, Samsung TV Plus, Xbox Cloud Gaming, GeForce Now, Netflix, etc.
Keep in mind that most of these apps don’t support the monitor’s native 32:9 aspect ratio.
Other features include Black Equalizer (improves visibility in dark scenes), crosshair overlays, a refresh rate tracker, Picture by Picture and various picture presets.
At the rear of the monitor, there’s the CoreSync RGB lighting that can synchronize with on-screen content and reflect off of the wall.
Design & Connectivity
The overall design of the monitor is very slim, but the stand is sturdy and offers height adjustment up to 120mm, -2°/15° tilt and 100x100mm VESA mount compatibility.
Connectivity options include DisplayPort 1.4 with DSC, HDMI 2.1, micro-HDMI 2.1, dual 5W integrated speakers, a headphone jack, WiFi, Bluetooth, one upstream USB-C port and two downstream USB-C ports.
You also get a remote controller for OSD (On-Screen Display) navigation, or you can use the directional joystick at the back.
Unlike the previous Samsung G9 and Neo G9 models with a steep 1000R screen curvature, the OLED G9 has a more moderate 1800R curvature, which is still enough for an immersive viewing experience. Users upgrading from the 1000R models will have to give it a week or two before they get used to it though.
Further, the monitor has a glossy screen surface with an anti-reflective treatment. In comparison to displays with matte coatings, the image is more vivid, but it’s also more reflective under direct lighting, so dim the lights for the optimal viewing experience.
Price & Similar Monitors
Both the G95SC (with built-in smart features) and the Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 G93SC S49CG93 (without smart features) can be found for as low as $1,100, which is excellent value for money.
MSI offers a 49″ 5120×1440 QD-OLED super-ultrawide monitor with a lower 144Hz refresh rate for ~$950. The MSI MPG 491CQP has a USB-C port with DP Alt Mode and 90W PD, a built-in KVM switch and a 3-year warranty that covers burn-in.
Gigabyte’s model, the Aorus CO49DQ, is the same, though with a lower 18W Power Delivery over USB-C for ~$900.
You might also be interested in the 57″ 7680×2160 240Hz Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 G95NC with a mini LED panel and the older G95NA with a 49″ 5120×1440 240Hz mini LED panel.
Conclusion
The Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 is one of the best gaming monitors currently available. It delivers both responsive gameplay and an immersive HDR viewing experience.
Specifications
Screen Size | 49-inch |
Screen Curvature | 1800R |
Resolution | 5120×1440 (DQHD) |
Panel Type | OLED |
Aspect Ratio | 32:9 (Super-UltraWide) |
Refresh Rate | 240Hz |
Response Time | 0.03ms (GtG) |
Speakers | 2x5W |
Adaptive-Sync | FreeSync Premium Pro, HDMI 2.1 VRR (48-240Hz) |
Ports | DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.1, Micro-HDMI 2.1 |
Other Ports | Headphone Jack, 3x USB-C |
Brightness (1 – 3% White Window) | 1000 cd/m² |
Brightness (10% White Window) | 500 cd/m² |
Brightness (100% White Window) | 250 cd/m² |
Contrast Ratio | Infinite |
Colors | 1.07 billion (true 10-bit) 99% DCI-P3 |
HDR | VESA DisplayHDR 400 True Black, HDR10+ Gaming |
VESA | Yes (100x100mm) |
The Pros:
- Instantaneous response time, low input lag, VRR up to 240Hz
- Infinite contrast ratio, wide color gamut, high peak brightness
- Plenty of useful features
- Built-in Tizen OS
- Ergonomic design
The Cons:
- Risk of burn-in (not covered by warranty)
- HDR brightness is limited on AMD GPUs unless VRR is disabled
- Minor text clarity issues due to the uncommon subpixel layout (negligible for most users)