Samsung has taken the wraps off two cutting edge new additions to its acclaimed Odyssey range of premium gaming monitors, both equipped with advanced features the likes of which we haven’t seen in the monitor world before.
The more premium model of the two, the S32G80SD, is a $1,299.99/£1,099.99 32-inch flat screen model built around a native 16:9-ratio 4K Quantum Dot OLED panel. Squeezing a native 4K resolution into such a compact OLED screen gets the S32G80SD off to a great start given both the incredibly small pixel pitch it will exhibit when showing native 4K images, and the way each pixel in an OLED screen creates its own light independently of all its neighbors.
The fact that it uses a Quantum Dot OLED panel rather than a more traditional OLED design is also potentially significant, given that QD OLED screens create their colours using a pure RGB system without the extra white element used to boost brightness in the older OLED approach.
What really sets the S32G80SD apart, though, is a trio of ground-breaking new features for the monitor world.
First, in the latest sign of the increased crossover between the gaming monitor and TV worlds, the S32G80SD carries an optimised version of the AI-rich NQ8 AI Gen 3 picture processor found on Samsung’s flagship 8K TVs. This ultra-powerful processor draws on the collective learning of a remarkable 512 neural networks to deliver better real-time results (and ‘real time’ really matters in the gaming world, of course) for everything from colour mapping to OLED pixel light control and, especially, motion reproduction and upscaling of sub-4K console/streamed games and video content to the monitor’s native 4K resolution.
The S32G80SD’s second big new feature is Pulsating Heat Pipe technology. Designed to tackle the OLED issue where the heat generated by bright static image elements can eventually lead to permanent image retention, the Pulsating Heat Pipe system controls screen temperature by evaporating and condensing a coolant running through a fine pipe system behind the screen. It’s not unheard of for monitors to use coolant systems, of course, but what’s clever about the S32G80SD’s approach is that it’s delivered in an ultra-thin screen design, and can work on an extremely local level, efficiently only impacting the parts of the screen Samsung’s processor identifies as being potential ‘hot spots’.
Third on S32G80SD’s list of key new attractions is its remarkable anti-reflection filter. Again, this isn’t a completely new concept. However, the filter on the S32G80SD uses the same new specialized hard-coating layer and surface coating pattern design used on Samsung’s flagship S95D OLED TVs – and having had the chance to see it in action, I can confirm that the extent to which it ‘rejects’ both ambient and direct light sources almost defies belief. This helps you appreciate the screen’s OLED-powered contrast better, and removes one of the most common gaming distractions.
While not specifically important to gamers, I’d argue the S32G80SD actually has a fourth unique string to its bow in the shape of its remarkably full-blooded support for video playback as well as gaming. The S32G80SD is equipped with the same Tizen-based smart system, for starters, that Samsung’s 2024 TVs get, complete with an expansive array of video streaming apps that includes really all of the major global streaming services (as well as many more niche and local services besides).
The NQ8 AI Gen 3 processor includes some talents that are particularly effective for video sources, too, including a ground-breaking motion compensation system that can actually predict the movement of small objects such as tennis or soccer balls so that they appear without flickering in and out of the image like they with typical motion processing systems.
The video-based picture presets the S32G80SD provides have also been tuned for video rather than games, allowing them to benefit as much as game graphics do from the innate contrast, resolution and pure RGB colour system advantages of its QD OLED panel.
There is also a further gaming benefit associated with the Tizen interface, though, in the shape of Samsung’s Game Hub. This brings together every game source available, from a wide variety of supported game streaming systems (including NVidia GeForce Now, Xbox and Utomik) through to any consoles or PCs you may have connected to the monitor.
Connections include two HDMI 2.1 ports and a DisplayPort, capable of supporting frame rates up to 240Hz.
Now we’re back onto the S32G80SD’s gaming capabilities, input lag on both the Odyssey G8 monitor and the new Odyssey G6 is quoted at just 0.03ms grey to grey.
This ultra-fast response time is far from the only feature the $899.99/£799.99 27G60SD shares with the S32G80SD. It also uses a 16:9-ratio, flat rather than curved OLED screen, for instance, and carries the same remarkably effective anti-reflection filter. It supports HDR, too, with a claimed typical brightness of 250 nits, and despite being £300 cheaper than the new G8, it retains the new Pulsating Heat Pump technology to help protect its screen from permanent image retention.
Also worth introducing here are a couple of shared features that I didn’t mention alongside the star turns of the G8: VRR support including the AMD FreeSync Premium Pro system, and the delivery via a circle of colourful LEDs on the screens’ rears of a Core Lighting system, designed to add more ambience to your gaming experiences.
The 27G60SD’s main differences from the G8 series are that its screen drops to 27 inches, and its native resolution reduces to QHD (2560×1440). It also, crucially for anyone looking for more of an all-round monitor than a dedicated gaming screen, loses both the Tizen smart system that works so well on the G8, and the stereo speaker system the G8 gets.
There is one spec area, though, where the 27G60SD actually improves on the G8 model: It supports refresh rates up to 360Hz rather than 240Hz.
The S32G80SD and 27G60SD are both available now in the US, while in the UK the Odyssey G8 and G6 models will ship from early July and June 18 respectively.
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