Samsung Debuts Odyssey Neo G7 43-inch Mini LED 144Hz 4K Gaming Monitor

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Samsung brings Mini-LED to the 43-inch gaming monitor category.

Samsung Odyssey Neo G7
(Image credit: Samsung)

Samsung announced several new gaming monitors at CES 2023, including the 57-inch Odyssey Neo G9 and the 49-inch Odyssey OLED G9. However, the company held one additional release close to the vest until now: the 43-inch Odyssey Neo G7 (G70NC), which could be a good candidate to land on our best 4K gaming monitor list.

The standout feature of the Odyssey Neo G7 is its use of a 43-inch Quantum Mini-LED panel, which is the first of its kind from Samsung. Samsung boasts of "ultra-fine and precise control" of the Mini LEDs and the richer black resulting from this technology. We've seen a surge in panels equipped with Mini LED and OLED technology, and we welcome these advancements as the prices have declined. In addition, to help minimize reflections, Samsung uses a matte finish on the panel.

Regarding specs, this is a run-of-the-mill 4K (3840 x 2160) gaming monitor with a 144 Hz refresh rate, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro support, a 1ms MPRT, 400 nits (typical) brightness, and VESA HDR 600 certification. As for connectivity, Samsung has you covered whether you want to pair the monitor with a high-end gaming rig or current-generation console like the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X. You'll find two HDMI 2.1 ports and a single DisplayPort 1.4 port. You'll also find two USB 3.0 ports along with dual 20-watt speakers.

Samsung Odyssey Neo G7

(Image credit: Samsung)

The inclusion of Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi 5, and an Ethernet port is even more interesting. The inclusion of networking enables the Odyssey Neo G7's Samsung Smart Hub and Samsung Gaming Hub. The Samsung Smart Hub allows the monitor to serve as a streaming entertainment hub with direct access to services like Netflix, YouTube, and Prime Video. The Samsung Gaming Hub, on the other hand, allows for standalone gaming without a PC or game console. You can enjoy streaming services like Xbox xCloud Gaming and Nvidia GeForce Now. You can hook up a wireless controller using the Bluetooth mentioned above wireless radio or plug your controller into one of the USB 3.0 ports.

Samsung says that the Odyssey Neo G7 will launch in North America during the first quarter; however, it hasn't quite nailed down pricing yet. 

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Brandon Hill
Brandon Hill

Brandon Hill is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware. He has written about PC and Mac tech since the late 1990s with bylines at AnandTech, DailyTech, and Hot Hardware. When he is not consuming copious amounts of tech news, he can be found enjoying the NC mountains or the beach with his wife and two sons.

7 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Blacksad999
    Hmm. It's a VA panel, so black smearing would likely be present. They also don't say how many lighting zones there are, which would lead me to believe it's likely not all that many. Likely around 500. If it were some high amount, they'd be shouting it from the rooftops.
    Reply
  • ibowhunt
    Blacksad999 said:
    Hmm. It's a VA panel, so black smearing would likely be present. They also don't say how many lighting zones there are, which would lead me to believe it's likely not all that many. Likely around 500. If it were some high amount, they'd be shouting it from the rooftops.

    Black smearing can be a problem with VA monitors, but higher end panels have greatly eliminated this problem, older and cheaper VA panels for sure had lag time between grey, black and white transitions. Not saying these would not have it, I be surprised if it did, noticeably. And wait for reviews.

    Also, I mean isn't the whole deal with mini leds is to act like OLED in that each point is its own dimming zone, while you may not have the millions that OLED does, it will still be in the thousands that mini tech is.
    Reply
  • Blacksad999
    ibowhunt said:
    Black smearing can be a problem with VA monitors, but higher end panels have greatly eliminated this problem, older and cheaper VA panels for sure had lag time between grey, black and white transitions. Not saying these would not have it, I be surprised if it did, noticeably. And wait for reviews.

    Also, I mean isn't the whole deal with mini leds is to act like OLED in that each point is its own dimming zone, while you may not have the millions that OLED does, it will still be in the thousands that mini tech is.
    There have been higher end new VA panels in the past few years with smearing issues as well. It varies of course, but it's not been totally eliminated, even in the high end.
    Mini LEDs do "sort of" behave like OLED, but they're not on an individual pixel level like that. They use very small backlighting LEDs still. The Asus PG32UQX is a good example with 1152 lighting zones. However, the updated PG32UQXE that was shown at CES only has a bit over 500 lighting zones. I would think if this Samsung panel had a pretty high amount, they would advertise it as a selling point, but even on their own webpage for the monitor I can't seem to find that information. That's kind of a bad sign to me, because you would want the highest number possible.
    Reply
  • cknobman
    I fully expect Samsung to expect $1800+ for this thing.
    Anything over $1k and why bother as I can just go get an OLED.
    Reply
  • bit_user
    Last generation, Samsung seemed to get really carried away with the amount of curvature. That's one of the things that put me off their 27". But this is flat @ 43"? They got it backwards.

    BTW, the DPI of 4k @ 43" is about the same as 1440p @ 27". So, if you like the size of small fonts at that resolution but simply want more screen realestate, then 43" is the perfect size 4k monitor for you.
    Reply
  • Blacksad999
    bit_user said:
    Last generation, Samsung seemed to get really carried away with the amount of curvature. That's one of the things that put me off their 27". But this is flat @ 43"? They got it backwards.

    BTW, the DPI of 4k @ 43" is about the same as 1440p @ 27". So, if you like the size of small fonts at that resolution but simply want more screen realestate, then 43" is the perfect size 4k monitor for you.

    It's the exact same size as the PG42UQ and LG C2 42, and neither of those have a curvature either. It's not really necessary on a non-Ultrawide panel, especially a larger one such as this.
    Reply
  • bit_user
    Blacksad999 said:
    It's the exact same size as the PG42UQ and LG C2 42, and neither of those have a curvature either. It's not really necessary on a non-Ultrawide panel, especially a larger one such as this.
    Depends on how far you sit from it. I have a flat 32" 4k monitor and I can discern my eyes having to refocus as I sweep them from corner to center or vice versa. Since I'm not a gamer, it's not such a big deal. But, when gaming, it could be fatiguing and even affect reaction time.

    Then again, if you sit like 5 feet away, it's a non-issue. But then you don't really need 4k, either. At that distance 1440p would be just as good. So, I don't really "get" this product.
    Reply