Samsung - Odyssey OLED G8

[2 main ones are the AW3423DWF and the G85SB.](https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapcmonitor/comments/1h2h5uf/dell_alienware_aw3423dwf_vs_samsung_odyssey_oled/) I agree that the Alienware has better software and overall build quality from my experience. There is a newer gen that just got announced, but the AW3423DWF is like $650 now and super worth it.

I went from an odyssey g8 to a C4 a while ago. Its not as bright as my odyssey and going from curved to straight needed an adjustment period but now having a tv take up my entire peripheral vision and things just being larger in general is so much better in my opinion

Thought this was r/ultrawidemasterrace and was wondering why everyone was commenting on just the screen size. 😂 Glad it’s supported. I play on a G8 so I have more support than you in general but sometimes devs make terrible decisions. (Looking at you, square enix)

I’ve shared my feedback on other posts but will reiterate here given there aren’t many reviews or real world experience users out there to share. For context, I’ve spent the last couple of years on OLED, first the Alienware 3423dw, then the MSI mpg321urx and a Samsung G80sd. I’ve also tried (and returned) the MSI and Samsung 49 inch super ultra wides. I “downgraded” to the g75f 40 and it’s been a pleasant surprise for me. I like it way more than I thought I would and giving up perfect blacks was a lot easier to do. Part of that may be because I don’t play a lot of really dark games, but I think part of it is this monitor has really good contrast. Colors seem great and calibrating with my Calbrite went well. My use case is 80% productivity and 20% gaming, maybe 90/10 or 100/0 on really busy weeks. I can’t understate how much easier it is on my eyes after a 10 or 12 hour day of spreadsheets and legal memos. Not having to set low brightness to avoid burn in helps with that I’m sure. Not having to hide taskbars, keep a bland black background are pluses for general usability/ enjoyment. The 5k2k and 40 inch form factor feels best for productivity, and while the Dell or LG IPS monitors have more productivity features, most of their convenience is covered by my work issued thunderbolt dock. Viewing angles aren’t nearly as good comparing to OLED but in practical use I’ve not had any issues. On occasion at the farthest edge of the screen I can see slight brightness / gamma shift. But otherwise, I sit in front of my monitor and haven’t found it problematic. Overall, seems to strike the right balance of productivity, gaming, and peace of mind for my admittedly very fringe use case/needs. At $676 all in with Samsung EPP through my work, I feel like I get good value out of it. Not worth it at retail or really anything above $850 in my opinion. I know the “OLED or die” crowd will pan it as poor value and for the gaming enthusiasts/ priority buyer, I’m sure it is bad value. But if you fall in a similar use case as me, I’d recommend giving it a shot if you get it on sale, you might be surprised. Worst thing that can happen is you don’t like it and return it.

I’ve got a Samsung 34” unltrawide and I run both an intlem Mac Pro 2019 and an M1 MBP on it and they both look fantastic, nice and sharp & no issues.

I'm happy with my Samsung G85SD, matte panel coating, but "only" 175hz. AW3425DW (240hz) should be the best out there if you find it cheap, from [dell.com](http://dell.com) you should get -10% using DELL320 code. But OLEDs are not future proof as pixels get slowly dimmer in time...

Both gen 1 and gen 3 versions are amazing monitors. I have the Gen 1 G8 and to me it's no big deal using the micro ports for HDMI 2.1 but I could see why some people complain about it. Gen 1 G8 HDR performance is still bright and good enough for any games. If you're buying new get the Gen 3 no questions asked it's just the better panel and full connectors for HDMI 2.1 and Display Ports. Also the Gen 3 panels have all the improvements for text clarity and the improvements for HDR so it's all win win there. Actually now doing some research not really sure if it has the Gen 3 panel lol. Since those are the 240hz and yeah the panel coating differences. All I can say is the glossy on the gen 1 is damn beautiful for any content way better than LG's nasty matte coating. Haven't tried the new panel on the refresh on the G8 so i cannot really comment on that.

Both gen 1 and gen 3 versions are amazing monitors. I have the Gen 1 G8 and to me it's no big deal using the micro ports for HDMI 2.1 but I could see why some people complain about it. Gen 1 G8 HDR performance is still bright and good enough for any games. If you're buying new get the Gen 3 no questions asked it's just the better panel and full connectors for HDMI 2.1 and Display Ports. Also the Gen 3 panels have all the improvements for text clarity and the improvements for HDR so it's all win win there. Actually now doing some research not really sure if it has the Gen 3 panel lol. Since those are the 240hz and yeah the panel coating differences. All I can say is the glossy on the gen 1 is damn beautiful for any content way better than LG's nasty matte coating. Haven't tried the new panel on the refresh on the G8 so i cannot really comment on that.

UPDATE: I ended up buying the Samsung G8 34inch OLED and I gotta say that it was definitely the right choice! The immersion in games is massively increased with the ultrawide and I don't know how I would go back to normal screens now. Thanks for the comments :)

Just got the AW3425DW for 768€, and it's fantastic, I'd recommend this monitor. I also had the G85SB before, this monitor is basically the same, with a second gen panel, and a higher refresh rate. And you don't have to go into the service menu to fix this monitor, unlike the G85SB. There is one little issue though. You can't use power law 2.2 gamma (actual 2.2 gamma) with the Alienware. The workaround is to use an ICC profile which converts Windows's SRGB emulation into 2.2 gamma. You can download it from GitHub. Then for SDR content you just enable the profile to have proper 2.2 gamma.

LG. Don’t waste your time with any of the Samsung qd oleds, they are all junk. Just make sure you get a GS model, like the LG 34gs95qe-b. Over the span of 3 weeks I tried the Samsung g85sb, g60sd, and g80sd. The fringing on the 1st Gen qdoled panels is so bad that using the g85sb for any more than 30 minutes resulted in a migraine that lasted the rest of the day which is something I had never experienced before. Despite what reviews say, the gen 3 panels yielded little to no improvement over the gen 1 as far as fringing goes. 2 more blaring issues that are prominent on all QD OLED displays are 1. Elevated blacks and 2. A very slight purple/pink tint to everything. Both issues play off of eachother and even in a pitch black room with only the screen on, the screen will pick up its own light and boost blacks and glow ever so slightly pinkish as a result. The LG 34GS95QE-B on the other hand looks very close to my 55” C4 and has the perfect blacks that you expect when buying an OLED. Don’t be fooled by the glossy diehards either. On a TV, sure glossy can be much nicer. But on a PC monitor I’ve found the matte to be the way to go.

800r curve is great, Takes 5 mins to get used to. I had a sammy g85sb (1800r) for a week before I returned it. That monitor may as well have been flat with how weak the curve was, and I actually preferred using my flat 55” c4 in 3440x1440 over the Sammy monitor. Different story when comparing my 34gs95qe-b to the c4 though.

Well put, I agree it is more of a semigloss. Prior to ordering this LG I spent a week with each of the Samsung odyssey OLEDS; the first gen glossy 160hz(?) 34”, the matte 360hz 27” and the 32” 4k. The combination of the reflections from the gloss in addition to the unavoidable purple glow that plagues QDOLEDS was giving me migraines with the 34” and I couldn’t stand using it. The 27” and 32” versions have a matte/semigloss coating like the LG’s and I found them to be MUCH better in terms of being able to actually use them for more than 20 minutes at a time before feeling like my head and eyeballs are going to explode. The purple glow problem is still real though, and I would argue that it is worse with matte/semigloss on QDOLED. They cannot/would not display deep inky blacks like the LG WOLEDs do and definitely don’t get as bright on large windows. The ABL on Samsung monitors is also EXTREMELY agressive and causes a severe dimming/flashing effect that completely takes away from the OLED and HDR experience during busy scenes with lots of bright moving objects. If you haven’t already, download colorcontrol off of GitHub and set up a couple of HDR profiles using the monitors native colourspace, peak brightness in nits, and I would create one for gamma 2.2, 2.4 and 2.6. This really brought my LG to life. An added bonus, if you’re running an AMD card make sure to open adrenaline and navigate to global display settings. You’ll need to turn on custom colour and DISABLE colour temperature control.