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 idea of using a television as a computer monitor is nothing new. Many users do this today and enjoy the benefits of a large screen along with streamed movies and TV shows. But not everyone wants to sit three feet away from a 55-inch panel. And if you want high refresh rates and Adaptive-Sync for PCs with DisplayPort, a dedicated gaming screen is the only way to go. Samsung has managed to pack a TV and a high-performance gaming monitor into the OLED G8.

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Physically, it’s a gaming monitor with its 34-inch curved screen and WQHD resolution. The 175 Hz refresh rate is fast enough for perfect motion resolution and input lag is low enough to qualify for competition. Adaptive-Sync works equally well for AMD and Nvidia platforms and there’s no need for tricks like overdrive or strobing. It, like every OLED I’ve reviewed, delivers a next-level gaming experience.

The best part about the OLED G8 is image quality. With a huge color gamut, perfect accuracy out of the box and infinite contrast, the picture is just stunning. It makes gaming addictive and it’s great for watching movies and TV shows; which you can do easily thanks to the Smart TV feature built right in and the handy remote control. The OLED G8 is a great all-in-one desktop entertainment solution.

I have few complaints. There’s no option for external sound through either audio output connections or HDMI ARC. That is something that any display calling itself a TV should have. And the user interface is needlessly complex with disparate menus that have overlapping functions. You get a different experience from the remote versus the OSD joystick, versus the Smart TV menu. A little more massaging to make the experience more cohesive would be welcome.

That aside, I reveled in the Samsung OLED G8’s gorgeous picture and addictive gaming feel. It’s a premium display for sure but if you have the budget for a high-end monitor, you should definitely check it out.

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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