Samsung Odyssey OLED G8 UHD - Review

I have been on a monitor review binge this year with some Alienware displays, and some more attached to laptops, but Samsung is one brand that I have not reviewed or even used in a few years. Earlier this year Samsung announced their new Odyssey gaming screens and now they are here. Samsung were kind enough to send through the 32" Odyssey OLED G8 UHD Gaming Monitor for our use, so did it take us on an odyssey?

The first thing that I noticed when opening the box was that the screen was massive, which sure it’s a 32inch display, but that does not really prepare you for just how large it really is. What is crazy is that the last monitor review I did was also a 32inch, but that had a slight curve to the display, this was fully straight and when comparing the two, this one just feels bigger. The only things in the box were the screen, stand and cables, which I appreciate. The stand was actually a nice one for a change, as most stands require a coin or something to fix into position, this didn’t need that. The attaching the stand to the screen was just as simple as clicking it into place. Honestly, apart from that wow moment of seeing just how large it is, the setup was a breeze, or it would have been, if it were not for the power supply.

Yes, the bane of all my laptop reviews, the giant power brick has made its way to this screen and I can’t understand why. Please don’t misunderstand, I know that modern monitors will have power bricks, but the size of this one is far too big. The reason why I have issues with the size of this brick is just because it takes up far too much space on my desk. If you have a desk with a tray or some other hiding spot for you cables, this just won’t fit, it’s a bad design and I just don’t understand why it is as big as it is. While I am in my gripes section, let me tell you, I flashbanged myself when I plugged the power in. On the back of the monitor is a giant ring light and until you adjust it in the settings its always on. Now personally, I hate the addition of lights to everything, so turning it off was a must, but as it’s behind the screen, it was not such a big deal when in use. How I flashbanged myself was that I had my head behind the screen whilst plugging in the cables and the moment I inserted the power cable, on came that very bright light.

Speaking of in use, now is the time to talk about the quality of the display, because it is pretty amazing. Now the title alone has all the important buzzwords that you will want to hear, but those are not just marketing terms. The screen is an OLED panel, which means it is pretty accurate for its colours and as such things just look great. Size wise the screen sports a 4K resolution and if you have the content to take advantage of that, everything looks great. I was reviewing the unit whilst also reviewing Gear of War Reloaded on PC and the game looked pretty amazing on the display. If you don’t have any 4K content, then you won’t be completely out of luck, as Samsung have put their NQ8 AI Gen3 Processor into the display, which upscales the content. Now for most content that I watched, it was 4K, but the few that were only 1080p, they never looked bad on the display. Was this because of the AI upscale tech or just the OLED nature of the screen, I honestly couldn't say, but I also don’t really care as things looked great regardless.

Something that was an option on the screen, was that it would dim itself after a few minutes of inactivity and at first, I thought it was a pain, but soon came to like that addition. The setting can be tweaked via the screens options, which is controlled by the small little control nub on the back of the device. This is one of the worst spots I have seen for a stick, as you have to reach under the screen to use it. It is not in a truly horrible position, but where it is gives the vibe of trying to undo a nut and bolt, without being able to see it. A weird thing the monitor does, is it allows for users to have it switch between inputs if there is no signal, which is normal or users can opt for it not to do that, which is the weird part. Actually getting around the menu is a little tricky, partly due to the small control nub, but mostly because the menu is just clunky.

While on the subject of inputs the screen has the usual line up, there is a single version 1.4 Display Port, a pair of 2.1 HDMI ports, a USB-B input and two USB-A ports. As the screen can also do TV and other smart TV app things, there is also Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.2 built in as well, plus a pair of speakers. Now the speakers that are included are fine for general media content, but I found that in gaming they tended to be weak. In a move I can get behind the ports are all laid out nice and neat, in one single row between the power socket and the control nub and it is easy to insert your needed cables. And for a nice change of pace, the ports face straight out, instead of facing down. But the one thing I would have liked to have seen be done differently, was at least one of those USB-A ports moved to the front or side, so it was accessible. Everyone has that struggle of attempting to insert a USB-A stick or cable and having it be the wrong way twice, before you get it and that is when you can see the port. Take that problem and have the port hidden from normal view, it is a simple thing that would have made things much nicer.

I really can’t say to much bad about the Odyssey OLED G8 Gaming Monitor as there is nothing wrong with it. Yes, the giant light annoys me, but for someone else that might be why they want this display and yes, the power brick is way too large, however as its not meant to be carried around, it could be considered a non-issue. If the content you are using is 4K with HDR enabled, you will be able to take full advantage of the capabilities of the display, but even without the picture quality is pretty amazing. Samsung have often been one of the leaders in TV panels and this could easily be considered one of the best PC displays. It has great response time, a high refresh rate and a large range of colour support, making this one of the best displays I have laid my eyes upon.

The Score

9.5

Review code provided by Samsung

The Pros

Without adjusting any settings, the picture quality out of the box is just incredible, tweak those settings to your preferences and you will get even better results

Features like screen-dimming, are wonderful additions that should be standard on all displays…

The Cons

… but adjusting that option and others requires use of that control nub which is just in a bad spot

The giant ring light being on by default annoys me