Samsung Odyssey OLED G8 Gaming Monitor Review: High-Performance Gaming With Smart TV

A 34-inch Ultra-Wide OLED WQHD curved gaming monitor with 175 Hz, Adaptive-Sync, HDR, wide gamut color and Smart TV streaming.

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Samsung Odyssey OLED G8
Editor's Choice
(Image: © Tom's Hardware)

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The comparison group is all OLED with two panels from Alienware, the AW3423DW and AW3423DWF; Philips’ 34M2C8600 and 42M2N89; and Corsair’s Xeneon Flex. They are all premium displays with similar specs. 

Pixel Response and Input Lag

Click here to read up on our pixel response and input lag testing procedures.

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Samsung Odyssey OLED G8
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

If these were LCD panels, I would say that you could see a difference in motion resolution between the bottom Philips and the Corsair. But OLEDs refresh differently which means panel response doesn’t tell the whole tale. The Flex’s 240 Hz will net you lower input lag but no smoother motion rendering. The OLED G8 is right there in the mix with 27ms of total lag. All the screens have very high motion resolution and can make more of a given frame rate than an LCD monitor.

Test Takeaway: The differences between OLED panels running at different refresh rates is smaller than what you’ll find with a group of LCDs. OLED technology manages to keep motion resolution high without the need for overdrive or strobing. The OLED G8 delivers the same gaming feel as the other panels with the Xeneon Flex and 42M2N89 having a slight edge in overall control response. 

Viewing Angles

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Off axis image quality doesn’t get much better than the OLED G8, or any OLED for that matter. There is no appreciable light falloff at 45 degrees to the sides and no visible change in gamma. A slight red shift is visible which is typical of OLEDs in general. The top view is also bright and well detailed with the same red shift observed. The OLED G8 is a great panel for sharing by two users.

Screen Uniformity

To learn how we measure screen uniformity, click here.

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

OLED panels in general have excellent screen uniformity with no visible issues in any of the panels here. The OLED G8 is one of the best monitors I’ve measured in this test with just 3.4% deviation from the center zone. It doesn’t get much better than that. Those concerned about “cloudy whites” needn’t be. It is something not seen in modern OLED panels.

MORE: Best Gaming Monitors

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MORE: How to Choose the Best HDR Monitor

Christian Eberle
Christian Eberle
Contributing Editor

Christian Eberle is a Contributing Editor for Tom's Hardware US. He's a veteran reviewer of A/V equipment, specializing in monitors. Christian began his obsession with tech when he built his first PC in 1991, a 286 running DOS 3.0 at a blazing 12MHz. In 2006, he undertook training from the Imaging Science Foundation in video calibration and testing and thus started a passion for precise imaging that persists to this day. He is also a professional musician with a degree from the New England Conservatory as a classical bassoonist which he used to good effect as a performer with the West Point Army Band from 1987 to 2013. He enjoys watching movies and listening to high-end audio in his custom-built home theater and can be seen riding trails near his home on a race-ready ICE VTX recumbent trike. Christian enjoys the endless summer in Florida where he lives with his wife and Chihuahua and plays with orchestras around the state.

11 Comments Comment from the forums
  • johnnobts
    Actually you made a mistake, it uses an HDMI MICRO Input so you need an HDMI micro cable or adapter. Not mini. You should correct that.
    Reply
  • Amdlova
    for that price and samsung Is a BIG NO!
    Reply
  • MoxNix
    Pretty low refresh rate for such an expensive "gaming" monitor. Should be at least 240 Hz and even then it'd be expensive.
    Reply
  • Unolocogringo
    Nothing new.
    I have a 20" Syncmaster monitor in the bedroom of the RV . Nice monitor with a TV tuner and speakers.
    Reply
  • kiniku
    Wow. This review is so way off. I've owned this monitor for several months and it has problems that Samsung has or is still working on to correct.
    1) Putting the monitor into "movie mode", actually called "entertain" mode disables its "game mode" which in turn disables HDR, "adaptive sync", and lowers the max FPS to a maximum of 120.
    2) This monitor also has some compatibility issues with GPU's ports. Both HDMI and DP. The problem is when you power down your PC and the monitor goes into standby mode, it has to be powered up manually with its remote each time you power up your PC.

    This monitor shines on being a standalone entertainment streaming device. But it has some issues trying to act like a simple PC monitor. I'd get the Alienware versions.

    Maybe the reviewer has an updated firmware version I don't...yet. But I check daily.

    By the way, when it is configured correctly this OLED monitor is amazing in gaming. And for the record, none of the above holds a candle to its color depth and image quality in gaming. You'll see HDR as it is meant to be. You can verify that by searching for and reading other reviews on this monitor. This panel, Alienware, Samsung, MSI is in a league of its own.
    Reply
  • Oli Baba
    Hm... nothing about the sub-pixel layout? Has it got the same color fringing issues with text as the Alienware displays?
    Reply
  • RobboSayThisIsComplicated
    The fact this has no audio out is pretty rubbish. I've got a 2013 TV with a headphone/AUX out that I use with a couple of good flat studio monitors & a sub via miniDSP, so a TV without any audio out capabilities is a bit rubbish in 2023, but I guess the picture's good!
    Reply
  • hasten
    I hate these combo platter all in one devices for $1k+. One of the biggest mistakes Ive recently made is get 2 x G70B IPS with a variation of this horrific OS underlying. The monitors are great, designer wife uses them as flanking monitors. But... If you want updates consent to screen scrapes. Any other samsung controller around? They seem to all work on these, especially when you dont want it. Convoluted menus are terrible using the on display controls.

    You may ask why not use the controller? Well with two monitors that respond to any samsung remote command... better hope the actual panels are identical when calibrating or you're using on display controls... no turning remotes off as far as I can tell. It seems to me that these one product for everything devices are better suited for entry-mid level monitors. People that may not be able to afford multiple devices or want to spend the money on a highend monitor seem like the target demo. It just feels like a TV with some monitor functionality built in.

    Sorry, rant over - I honestly was working on her setup and wanted to destory both of the G70B's moments before I saw this.
    Reply
  • wbfox
    Unless you are able to personally inspect and purchase ocean front property in Arizona, never, ever, ever, buy anything from Samsung that is dependent upon whatever new and totally unique slapped together and soon neglected software that gets haphazardly shoved up their display products. They may make good hardware, but they do not put any effort into the software side. Except for the parts that report back your tv usage. Not sure I want to know what they report back when it comes to something specifically designed to be hooked up to your computer.
    Reply
  • dontoro
    MoxNix said:
    Pretty low refresh rate for such an expensive "gaming" monitor. Should be at least 240 Hz and even then it'd be expensive.
    In my opinion, 175 Hz is enough for a gaming monitor. Keep in mind that to get 3D rendering that can handle 240 Hz requires a very expensive video card, and it is not a given that you will get the highest quality with some games.
    So 240 Hz is wasted if you want to aim for rendering quality unless you practice esports where response/latency is important, and not visual quality.
    People who buy this monitor I think want to have better visual quality.
    Reply