Samsung Odyssey G7 32-inch 1000R Curved Monitor Review: Extreme in Every Way

As curvy as it gets

Reviews
By Christian Eberle
last updated
Samsung Odyssey G7
Editor's Choice
(Image: © Samsung)

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Uncalibrated – Maximum Backlight Level

In addition to the Odyssey G7, we have two other 32-inch VA displays in our database: the Gigabyte G32QC and Dell S3220DGF. Samsung also brings speedy operation with its 27-Inch CRG5 240 Hz monitor. We also threw in our two most recently reviewed speed demons, the 360 Hz Asus ROG Swift PG259QN and 280 Hz Asus TUF VG259QM.

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(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Samsung rates the 32” Odyssey G7 as hitting 320 nits brightness for SDR signals, but our sample was comfortably over 380 nits. That much light from such a large screen is enough to illuminate a small room. Bigger screens don’t need to exceed 400 nits in SDR mode to provide enough output for a good picture.

The four VA panels have less than half the black level luminance of the two IPS monitors from Asus. The C32G75T has the highest black level of that four, but it’s still lower than any IPS or TN display can muster. Resulting contrast is a little low for a VA monitor, 2220.8:1. That figure rises to around 4,000:1 if you turn the local dimming on for SDR signals. There is no downside to this option, so we recommend using it.

After Calibration to 200 nits

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(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Our calibrated black level and contrast measurements are taken with local dimming turned off to show the panel’s native response. The top three VA monitors still beat the Odyssey G7 by a smidge, but the Samsung still delivers a deep and dimensional image with saturated color and true blacks.

ANSI contrast is a respectable 1,921.4:1. Although other VA monitors can do better, this is not a deal-breaker. The 32” Odyssey G7 has many other virtues which make this a non-issue.

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.

23 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Zescion
    Those are all premium specs, but I wonder how many will benefit of that leap to justify more than double the price of the Gigabyte G32QC
    Reply
  • nofanneeded
    At least make two models , Flat and Curved of PC Monitors Samsung . you already do that for TVs
    Reply
  • wr3zzz
    HDMI 2.0 is not very Xtreme.
    Reply
  • Loadedaxe
    Nope! too much for a 2560x1440 Monitor, I don't care how good it is. Maybe 2 years ago, but not today.
    4k gaming is on stage now and you can get a decent 4k monitor for ~ the same price. If I am spending $700 on a new gpu from Nvidia or AMD, I ain't wasting it on this.

    If it was ~$500, maybe. the Benq EX3203R is 144 Hz, very nice and is on par with this. It is $599 currently on Amazon.
    Reply
  • Arbie
    What is the cord length of power brick to monitor? On my Nixeus it's too short too reach the floor, so the brick and all the cord they did give me are on the desktop! Idiotic and I don't want that again. A detail rarely mentioned in reviews.
    Reply
  • TechWizardDK
    Admin said:
    The Samsung Odyssey G7 C32G75T 32-inch gaming monitor has an extreme 1000R curve and other premium specs to match, resulting in competition-level gaming performance with low input lag.

    Samsung Odyssey G7 32-inch 1000R Curved Monitor Review: Extreme in Every Way : Read more
    Hello Christian Eberle, and thanks for doing a review of this interesting monitor model from Samsung! :)

    As I'm personally interested in static contrast fluctuations on the VA panel used in this particular model and would like to compare results between diff. monitor reviewers using display sensors in their reviews. Could you perhaps be asked to be so kind, and provide a new contrast reading, but this time done using the "industri standard" luminance of 120 nits......instead of the 200 nits used as reference in the review? Pretty please.....would make it so much easier to compare measurements results! ;-)

    As I'm new to reading monitor reviews on TomsHardware, I don't know how "neerdy" you guys are......but this model from Samsung also has some raised concearns from other users, about image flickering when having VRR functionality activated(freesync and G-sync). And since you didn't mention this in the review, it could also be usefull to know, what firmware version your review monitor was using? :) But if you were not aware of this issue at all and perhaps was "Lucky" to get a sample with less visible flickering, you may not have paid enough attention to this issue, to be able to discover this during the time doing the review.....but purely speculation on my part! :)

    You can read about the VRR flickering issue, from other PC monitor review sites, like forexample TFTCentral (Link = Scroll down a little undtill you see the grey text message box titled "VRR FLickering issues?" ). But if this indeed is fixed on your review sample, this would be a good thing......and interesting to know, if it has anything to do with the firmware version used by the monitor! ;-)

    Otherwise great review Christian, I like monitor reviews that include actual measurements, and not just the "other ones" that relies solely on subjective observations by the reviewer! :)
    Reply
  • Slatts216
    There's talk of a possible class-action lawsuit regarding the flickering these monitors suffer from while using G-Sync, and this article not only fails to mention that but goes so far as to call its G-Sync performance "flawless". Why is that? Could you clarify the build date by listing the number following the letter 'n' in your particular model? Is it possible that the issue reported by ~99% of Odyssey G7 owners has been rectified by Samsung?
    Reply
  • TechWizardDK
    Loadedaxe said:
    Nope! too much for a 2560x1440 Monitor, I don't care how good it is. Maybe 2 years ago, but not today.
    4k gaming is on stage now and you can get a decent 4k monitor for ~ the same price. If I am spending $700 on a new gpu from Nvidia or AMD, I ain't wasting it on this.

    If it was ~$500, maybe. the Benq EX3203R is 144 Hz, very nice and is on par with this. It is $599 currently on Amazon.
    Uhh, the same? 144Hz vs 240Hz?? And since Samsung is "fameus" for making market leading VA panels......I sincerly doubt that particular BenQ monitor features a VA panel that can keep up with this latest VA panel from Samsung, that currently wears "the crown", when it comes to pixel respons times in monitors of this size. So in other words....you would get a lot more trailing/black smearing on that BenQ monitor........this, together with g-sync. support, is what you pay extra for in the Samsung monitor! And yes, you of course also automatically get less fps in graphics heavy sceenes in a future video game, because of the 4k resolution! And your gaming rig is thus less "future proof", in regards to be able to keep on cranking the gfx settings to the max in games and still enjoy playable frame rates in the future! Now! Don't know if I accidentally made myself look a bit stupid, trying to "cut out" my points! But hope my points was clear! :p
    Reply
  • watzupken
    Personally, I feel the curve is too aggressive. Moreover, I feel the price is fairly high. Not sure if it is worth the perfect 5 stars.
    Reply
  • samopa
    When will 32" Curved 4K GSYNC certified Gaming Monitor (>120Hz) reviewed here ?
    My old LG 32" 4K Monitor is no curved and only capable of 60Hz. I'm looking forward to upgrade it ;)
    Reply