Samsung levels up its Odyssey gaming monitor lineup
Samsung is kicking off CES season with a seriously stacked lineup of new Odyssey gaming monitors. If you care about high refresh rates, crazy resolutions or the latest display tech, there is a lot to pay attention to.
The new range includes a 32 inch 6K panel with glasses free 3D, a 27 inch display that can hit a staggering 1,040 Hz refresh rate in a lower resolution mode, plus new 5K and QD OLED options. Samsung is also making a noticeable shift away from its usual VA panels in favor of IPS across its new LCD gaming models.
6K gaming and glasses free 3D with the Odyssey 3D G9 G90XH
The star of the announcement is the Samsung Odyssey 3D G9 G90XH. This is a 32 inch gaming monitor with a massive 6K resolution of 6,144 by 3,456 pixels. That puts it in the same class as high end creator focused 6K displays like LG’s UltraFine Evo 32U990A S, but with far better gaming credentials.
Where many 6K panels top out at 60 Hz, the Odyssey 3D G9 runs at:
- 165 Hz at native 6K resolution
- 330 Hz in a 3K mode
The 3K mode is an integer scale of the 6K resolution, so upscaling should look cleaner than a random non integer res drop. In short, you can choose between razor sharp 6K at 165 Hz or a still sharp but faster 330 Hz mode for competitive play.
Unlike many previous Samsung gaming monitors that use VA technology, this one is built around an IPS panel. Samsung quotes 1 ms gray to gray response time, which should help keep motion blur and ghosting under control even at those high refresh rates.
The headline extra is its glasses free 3D feature. The Odyssey 3D G9 uses eye tracking and a specialized panel design to create a 3D effect without needing special glasses. Similar tech has appeared before, like on Acer’s Predator SpatialLabs View 27. While it can look impressive in the right conditions, there are always questions about how much it compromises traditional 2D image quality, especially on a premium high resolution monitor where sharpness and clarity really matter.
For anyone who is worried about the potential trade offs of 3D, Samsung has an answer ready.
6K without 3D and a 1,040 Hz speed demon
If you like the idea of 6K and high refresh but do not care about 3D at all, Samsung is also launching the Odyssey G8 G80HS. This is effectively the same 32 inch 6K gaming monitor as the 3D G9, with the same 165 Hz 6K mode and 330 Hz 3K mode, just without the glasses free 3D hardware built in.
This makes the G80HS a more straightforward choice for gamers and creators who want a sharp high refresh panel without the potential quirks or image compromises that 3D layers can introduce.
On the other end of the spectrum there is the Odyssey G6 G60H, a 27 inch monitor focused almost entirely on raw speed. It has a native 1440p resolution and a 600 Hz refresh rate in its standard mode. That alone is already way beyond what most GPUs can realistically feed in modern games, but Samsung has pushed it further by adding an alternate mode that cranks the refresh up to 1,040 Hz.
This ultra high refresh mode uses what Samsung calls an HD resolution. The specifications are a bit vague but most likely this means 720p instead of 1080p. On a 1440p panel that allows clean integer scaling, but at a cost: image sharpness and detail will drop noticeably. In other words you gain absurdly fast motion clarity and responsiveness, but lose a lot of pixel density.
That makes the Odyssey G6 G60H the kind of monitor that will mainly appeal to extreme competitive players in fast shooters or esports titles where every millisecond counts and visual fidelity is less important. It is another IPS based panel, again signaling Samsung’s current preference for IPS in its LCD gaming range.
More IPS options and a new QD OLED Odyssey G8
Alongside those headliners, Samsung is rounding out the IPS based Odyssey range with another interesting model. The Odyssey G8 G80HF is a 27 inch 5K monitor. It combines:
- 5K resolution with a 180 Hz native refresh
- A 1440p mode that can run at 360 Hz
This gives you a nice middle ground for mixed use. You can enjoy super sharp 5K for desktop work, productivity and high fidelity single player games, then drop to 1440p for smoother high refresh multiplayer sessions.
All these LCD based models now using IPS instead of VA is notable for Samsung. The company has been winding down its own LCD manufacturing in favor of QD OLED, which is its flagship panel tech. It is very possible that many of these new IPS panels are sourced externally, likely from LG, though Samsung has not confirmed that.
Speaking of QD OLED, Samsung is also adding a new OLED gaming monitor to the Odyssey family. The Odyssey OLED G8 G80SH is a 32 inch 4K model that runs at 240 Hz. That is a strong spec mix for both visual quality and competitive gaming.
Samsung has not spelled out which generation of QD OLED panel this uses, but some specs point to a very recent design. It is rated for around 300 nits of full screen brightness and carries DisplayHDR TrueBlack 500 certification, which usually means extremely deep blacks and strong HDR contrast. For gamers who care more about perfect black levels, punchy colors and response time than about raw resolution beyond 4K, this G80SH could be the sweet spot in the lineup.
Pricing and exact release dates are still under wraps. With CES right around the corner, expect more details like regional availability, final specs and hands on impressions to land soon. What is clear already is that Samsung is pushing both ends of the gaming monitor spectrum, from extreme refresh rates and resolution to cutting edge QD OLED, giving PC gamers more high end choices than ever.
Original article and image: https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-monitors/samsung-outs-worlds-first-1-040-hz-and-6k-3d-gaming-monitors-ahead-of-ces/
