Skip to main content

Samsung’s new OLED gaming monitor might have a problem

Samsung's Odyssey OLED gaming monitors for CES 2024.
Samsung
The CES 2025 logo.
Read and watch our complete CES coverage here

Samsung has a slate of new OLED gaming monitors, too. Two weeks after LG revealed the first 480Hz OLED gaming monitor, Samsung is bringing three displays of its own to the conversation, all of which we’ll see on display at CES 2024. Samsung might be entering the fight with LG at a disadvantage, though.

I’m talking about the new Odyssey OLED G8, or the OLED G80SD. Unlike 2023’s Odyssey OLED G8, this one is a 32-inch, 4K display, the first flat 32-inch OLED gaming monitor that Samsung created. The critical spec here is the refresh rate. Samsung says the display can reach 240Hz, which is great, but it’s not on par with what LG boasts.

Recommended Videos

Samsung has championed the 240Hz refresh rate for a couple of years, starting with the 4K Neo G8 in 2021. The new OLED G80SD delivers what gamers have wanted — a 4K OLED gaming display with a high refresh rate — but it definitely takes a backseat to LG’s 480Hz offering we heard about just a couple of weeks ago.

The back of Samsung's Odyssey OLED G8 gaming monitor for 2024.
Samsung

It’s not too far behind, though. LG’s latest offering boasts a 480Hz refresh rate, but only at 1080p. It, too, is a 32-inch, 4K, 240Hz display, but LG offers its new dual refresh rate feature that allows you to bump down to 1080p for a higher refresh rate.

It doesn’t seem like Samsung’s new gaming monitor will have that option, though it has some other goodies to make up for it. Like last year’s Samsung OLED monitors, this new batch includes the Neo Quantum processor inside, as well as Samsung’s Tizen operating system. That gives you access to a slew of smart TV apps, Samsung Game Hub, and features like Samsung Multi View for picture-in-picture and picture-by-picture modes.

For the OLED G80SD in particular, Samsung says the display is “extremely thin,” clocking in at just 3.9 millimeters. It also comes with a metal height-adjustable stand, Samsung’s CoreLighting+, and a peak brightness of 450 nits.

Samsung's Odyssey OLED G6 gaming monitor.
Samsung

As for the other monitors, the OLED G60SD is Samsung’s take on 1440p. It’s a 27-inch display with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 and a blistering 360Hz refresh rate. It, too, comes with CoreLighting+ and a metal stand, and of course, it uses an OLED panel. Notably, this is the first time Samsung is releasing a 1440p OLED display. Last year, we saw a crop of them like the LG UltraGear OLED 27, though with a lower refresh rate.

Finally, Samsung is updating its Odyssey OLED G9 with the G95SD. Like last year’s design, this monitor features a 49-inch, 32:9 display with a resolution of 5120 x 1440 and a 240Hz refresh rate. We don’t know too many details about this display yet, but it appears similar to last year’s model, just with an updated design for 2024.

Samsung's Odyssey OLED G9 monitor for 2024.
Samsung

All three of the displays are debuting Samsung’s OLED Glare-Free tech, which “minimizes daylight and ambient light reflection so you can use it at any time of day.” In addition, the displays are certified with DisplayHDR True Black 400 and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro.

That’s about all we know about the displays for now, though. Samsung hasn’t announced pricing or a release date, both of which will be critical factors compared to the LG competition. We expect to see the displays at CES, so it shouldn’t be long before we have more details.

Jacob Roach
Lead Reporter, PC Hardware
Jacob Roach is the lead reporter for PC hardware at Digital Trends. In addition to covering the latest PC components, from…
Nvidia’s new GPUs are already running into problems
Nvidia Blackwell chips.

Nvidia's latest Blackwell GPUs are running into problems in the data center, reports The Information. According to the report, Nvidia's customers are worried about how well the AI accelerators will hold up, as overheating issues have caused delays in server racks being deployed for AI training.

The Blackwell architecture is at the heart of both Nvidia's next-gen AI accelerators and its upcoming RTX 50-series graphics cards. In the data center, the architecture was previously delayed due to "design flaws," pushing the deployment of the B100 and B200 GPUs back. That's despite big orders with AI players like Meta, Microsoft, and Google.

Read more
PS5 vs. PC: Which is the better buy for gaming in 2024?
A PS5 standing on a table, with purple lights around it.

The PlayStation 5 has been around for several years now, and it's easier to find in stock than ever before. It's also built up an incredible roster of games, including Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Horizon Forbidden West, God of War: Ragnarök, and hundreds of cross-platform games. Toss in the fact that it's backward compatible with PS4 titles, and you'll have access to thousands of hours of gaming goodness on the new-gen console.

The same could also be said of PC, which is home to thousands of games and can easily be upgraded by installing new hardware instead of buying a whole new console. But if you're interested in gaming, should you buy a PS5 or PC in 2024? We already compared the PS5 to the Xbox Series X, so now we need to see how PC fits into the mix.

Read more
OLED monitors are about to get a ‘comprehensive breakthrough’ in image quality
A color splash on the LG UltraGear Dual Mode OLED.

TCL is best known for making TVs, but the company is eyeing a slot among the best gaming monitors with its new OLED tech. During the Omdia Korea Display Conference, the company highlighted "comprehensive breakthroughs in image quality, power consumption, and lifespan" for OLED monitors and laptops utilizing its new inkjet-printed OLED displays, as reported by FlatPanelsHD.

Inkjet-printed OLED, or IJP OLED, sounds a little ridiculous, but it's tech we've known about for close to a year. Current OLED production is problematic, according to OLED-Info, with deposits of the organic commands used for OLED displays introducing contaminants into the panel. This reduces the yield, but according to TCL, its new IJP OLED process can lead to not only higher yields, but also improvements in image quality.

Read more