The Samsung Odyssey G7 is a well-built monitor that has a VA panel that makes it a fantastic option for gaming in dimly lit spaces. However, its edge-lit local dimming feature is poor and there are several firsts with the Samsung Odyssey G7 in the world of gaming monitors.
The G7 is a monitor that offers a refresh rate of up to 240Hz, support for both Nvidia G-SYNC and AMD FreeSync Premium, and a QLED Quantum Dot panel that reproduces up to 95% of the DCI-P3 color gamut.
Design
The Odyssey G7 is a large monitor that has a diagonal measurement of 31.5 inches and the V-shaped stand is 30 cm deep. It’s also available as a 27-inch monitor with the same resolution and feature allocations if you need something smaller. Although there are larger monitors in this price range, such as the 34-inch Dell S3422DWG, the G7 has a curve that can be difficult to spot in the market. Samsung didn’t consider moving it into the 4K class despite its size. Even while many would have preferred 4K here, it’s still in many ways a comfort.
Additionally, you won’t need to invest a lot of money in a high-end graphics card to satisfy your desire for fast frame rates. The luxury of 4K gaming is available on high-end displays like the Asus ROG Swift PG32UQ (3840 x 2160), but they are significantly more expensive. Again, you’ll need a gaming computer that can push high frame rates on current games like Battlefield 1 and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, like the HP Omen 30L (Nvidia RTX 3090 GPU). There’s a gaming setup that’s fairly pricey. ..
The Samsung Odyssey G7 is a worthwhile investment, though, if you already own or are considering purchasing a midrange gaming PC with satisfying 1440p gameplay, such as the CyberPowerPC Gamer GXiVR8480A10 (GeForce RTX 3060) or the Skytech Shiva (RTX 3080). The LC32G75T has a wide range of connectivity options, as you might anticipate with gaming monitors. A two-port USB hub with fast charging, a 3.5mm headset jack, two DisplayPort 1.4 inputs, and one HDMI 2.0 input make up for the lack of a USB-C port. The RGB lighting that surrounds the ergonomic stand’s pivot at the back is another less appealing feature.
Samsung Odyssey G7 C32G75T review: Display
The new VA panels from Samsung are purported to achieve response times that are enough for 240Hz gaming. However, it was also important to test whether or not adaptive sync was active, which would disable overdrive controls. If adaptive sync is active, then overdrive controls are enabled. Testing becomes simpler as a result, but if the one overdrive choice isn’t great, problems may arise.
The Odyssey G7 is a great monitor for gaming that offers fast response times. This technology has been criticized for being slow, but with the G7, Samsung has improved upon it. This monitor is perfect for any gamer who wants a fast and responsive display.
240Hz is a great way to experience the best possible graphics quality. It has a very low response time, meaning that there is little or no ghosting or smearing of the graphics. Additionally, 240Hz allows for a much more intense dark level experience than traditional refresh rates.
This monitor has a 240Hz refresh rate, which eliminates ghosting for a lot of darker content.
Features
The Samsung OSD for gaming is designed to be user-friendly and easy to use. The Black Equalizer setting, response time (overdrive), refresh rate, Adaptive-Sync (G-Sync or FreeSync) status, and low input lag setting are all visible at the top. There are six sub-menus for each option. Game is suitably first up.
The Samsung Odyssey G7 C32G75T is a monitor that has low input lag, overdrive locked to its middle setting, and the refresh rate set to 240 Hz by default. Additionally, you can use the joystick to move one of the six different reticles that Virtual Aim Point displays on the screen.
If you’re using the Custom or sRGB modes, you don’t need to use the Picture menu’s image modifications. Both modes are very precise right out of the gate. To finish, simply adjust brightness to your preference. However, there are nine image presets in total, along with RGB sliders for color temperature and three gamma options, if you want to adjust. The PC versus AV signal threshold is determined by the Black Level field. While HDMI input defaults to video, which reduces dynamic range, DisplayPort is set to PC level by default. In order to use HDMI-connected sources, change it from Low to Normal. ..
In the System menu, Samsung obscures the settings for local dimming and dynamic contrast. Local dimming will only be applied to HDR signals if it is set to Auto. It remains active for all content after being turned on. In contrast to local dimming, which only selectively dims specific areas of the illumination, Dynamic Brightness adjusts the entire brightness. That is the alternative that works best and does so effectively. You can also change the lighting effects, power-off timing, and headphone volume in this menu. The USB ports can be configured to continue functioning to charge devices even when the power is turned off.
Samsung Odyssey G7 C32G75T review: Image Quality
Samsung’s new monitor, the QLED 85Q9F, is a quantum dot enhanced panel that supports the 95% DCI-P3 wide color gamut. It has a 350-nit maximum brightness and a static contrast ratio of 2,500:1. ..
A large LED-backlit monitor should ideally have over 1,000 dimming zones for the true HDR viewing experience. However, doing so would significantly raise the cost of the monitor.
The monitor has a great color gamut, high contrast ratio, and robust peak brightness that make it an excellent choice for HDR viewing. The brightness should be increased for the best HDR image quality to get the most out of the monitor.
The wide color gamut of the monitor can cause colors to appear a little oversaturated, especially reds and greens. Moving on, the pixel density of the Samsung C32G75T is 93 PPI, which is the same as a 24" 1080p monitor. So while the detail clarity isn’t the sharpest, it’s still very good. In fact, you won’t be able to tell the difference between individual pixels at merely 3 feet (1 metre) away from the screen. ..
Gaming
The Samsung Odyssey G7 is a great gaming monitor for those who want a large display that can fill their field of vision. Although it didn’t bother me much, we thought the extremely deep curve was particularly useful. If we had the option, we’d choose a shallower 1800R curve, but we’re not picky like that.
The increase to 32 inches is well worth it if you don’t mind the less sharp desktop work visuals that 1440p offers at 32 inches. However, we find that most games are fairly forgiving in this regard. (Especially given that, provided you have enough GPU power, you can supersample your games for a sharper image). However, if you want to come close to the extremely high 240Hz refresh rates this monitor offers, 1440p is more than adequate. ..
In fast-paced games like Overwatch, the extra frames make the motion feel just a little bit smoother. This is perfect for darting around the arena as you frantically blast your enemies. I’ve reviewed a number of 240Hz panels, and the difference between 144Hz and 240Hz is noticeable. However, the difference between 144Hz and 240Hz is significantly less than the difference between 60Hz and 144Hz, so while it’s nice to have, it’s not necessary for a satisfying gaming experience.
This is a great feature because it means that you can still hit the target framerate without having to worry about pushing your framerate to its maximum. The quick response time keeps the framerate perfectly maintained, and there were no bad ghosting or other motion artifacts.
Performance
The Samsung Odyssey G7 has a VA panel with a matte surface, which virtually avoids the worst glare and produces outstanding image quality in regular use even without the fancy HDR mode active. With HDR-compatible games and video content, the Samsung LC32G75T can achieve peak brightness ratings of 600cd/m2, one of its many remarkable features. That’s not as bright as the brightest HDR TVs, but up close where you usually view the monitor it’s comfortingly bright enough. ..
The extreme 1000R curve of the LC32G75T is a significant asset in this situation, not just for gaming but also for everyday use. Even though a 21:9 or 32:9 screen can cover more of a user’s peripheral vision, a 32-inch monitor’s sheer height really draws you in while giving you a comfortable shape for workday tasks. In a word processor, a full page can be viewed, as can all 60 rows of a spreadsheet, but on a 34-inch ultra-wide, these tasks are challenging.
The panel achieves a maximum brightness of 351cd/m2 and a contrast ratio of 1,862:1 with 99.5% coverage of the sRGB gamut when local dimming mode is off and sRGB mode is enabled on the displays. When Dynamic Brightness is enabled, the contrast soars to an astounding 2,393:1 (at the cost of color fidelity), but local dimming and Windows HDR mode limit the max brightness to 551cd/2.
The 240Hz refresh rate and 1ms GTG reaction time ensure that there is no smearing or blurring while gaming. Running at 240Hz with HDR through the DisplayPort input, both AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync compatibility perform admirably. For instance, Tomb Raider occasionally reached frame rates of 201 frames per second (fps), with sustained rates of about 180 fps. This produces motion and input lag that are free of artefacts or distractions when combined with a super-fast panel response.
Samsung Odyssey G7 C32G75T review: Price
Despite having a fantastic feature set, the Samsung G7 monitor isn’t incredibly expensive. The 32-in we’re reviewing has a list price under $800, and the 27-in (LC27G75TQSNXZA) is considerably less expensive. When compared to other HDR gaming monitors we’ve recently examined, that’s a reasonable price. Even though they are slightly more expensive than the Odyssey G7, the Asus TUF VG28UQL1A and Asus ROG Swift PG32UQ both have some less favorable features. The former has a 144Hz IPS panel and is rated at HDR400. A 175Hz IPS panel is present on the ROG Swift.
Conclusion
The Samsung Odyssey G7 is a great gaming monitor that supports FreeSync and NVIDIA’s G-SYNC. It has a native refresh rate of 240 Hz, and response time is exceptional at 60 Hz. This monitor also has a great color range, with deep colors and bright whites.
The bad news is that it displays deep blacks if you want to game in the dark, and its limited viewing angles make it less suitable for co-op gaming. When VRR is turned on, there have been reports of the backlight flickering, but we haven’t seen any flickering ourselves. Instead, the screen dims when a particular image is shown full-screen. ..
