Mario Bautista
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas is where some of the largest names in tech gather to announce the technologies and products that will define next year’s product cycles. Against that backdrop, CES is also well-known for outrageous product releases not exactly aimed at the average consumer, and Samsung’s new Odyssey gaming monitors announced at CES 2025 are the perfect example.
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On Sunday night, I got to experience these new super-spec monitors firsthand, and while they are unquestionably impressive displays, I shudder to think of the price tag on a PC build that can make the most of them.
Odyssey OLED G6
A 27-inch 500Hz QHD OLED gaming monitor
The Odyssey OLED G6 was on display with a proud banner pointing out its status as “the world’s 1st 500Hz OLED gaming monitor.” I sat down in front of the new G6 and started running my character around his environment. It, of course, was buttery smooth, but you couldn’t pay me to pick this out of a lineup if it was side-by-side with a 240Hz display or even a 144Hz one, depending on the game. The image itself was gorgeous, though I was given little transparency on monitor settings, or in-game settings. This monitor will no doubt produce a glorious image with its VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400 (certification pending) and an anti-glare screen.
As I continued playing the demo, I couldn’t help but think about the frame rates I’m typically achieving on my own fairly substantial PC. I run an NVIDIA 3080 GPU and a Ryzen 5600X CPU, which is by no means top of the pile these days but is more than capable of cranking out frames, especially at 1440p. I tend to achieve a steady 250+ FPS in CS2, and it used to be 350+ FPS in CS:GO, while other, more graphically intense games typically stabilize around 150 FPS. So this monitor would do little to nothing for me.
It occurred to me, of course, that perhaps this monitor isn’t for us every-day gamers, but perhaps to eventually make waves in the world of esports, where it would fit in nicely with its 0.03 ms response time. That’s all well and good because Samsung hasn’t announced specific launch dates or pricing for this model and I can’t swing the likely $1,000+ price tag it will carry.
Odyssey OLED G8
A 27-inch 4K OLED 240Hz gaming monitor
Demonstrating a slightly wider appeal was the newest Odyssey OLED G8, demoed in its new 27-inch version. As with the G6, OLED makes for a breathtaking display, and the gameplay was incredibly smooth at 240Hz, though again, there was little transparency in game specs or settings.
What makes the new G8 impressive is its size. A 27-inch display affords the user increased pixel density over the previous G8’s 32-inch display, yielding crisper visuals. A smaller 4K OLED display also presents challenges for thermal management, which can be a factor in concerns around OLED burn-in. Here I have to point out that I held my hand up to the monitor, about 1 inch away, and it was noticeably hot. I’ve tested and owned quite a few gaming monitors, and this thing felt like a space heater up against my hand. Specific pricing and launch dates were not made available.
Likely pricey, but future-proof
Both of these newly updated models are likely to be priced at the very high end of gaming monitors, but one could argue they would last you many years and update cycles as your PC build slowly grows through updates to continue taking advantage of all these monitors have to offer. Or, you know, you could just drop five figures on a gaming PC build, pick up one of these monitors, a 50 series NVIDIA GPU, a high-powered CPU, and call it a day.
