{"id":332729,"date":"2025-12-07T12:22:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T12:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/332729\/"},"modified":"2025-12-07T12:22:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-07T12:22:10","slug":"this-40-inch-gaming-monitor-is-big-on-immersion-and-trade-offs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/332729\/","title":{"rendered":"This 40-Inch Gaming Monitor Is Big on Immersion and Trade-Offs"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are some monitors that force you to involuntarily pucker your lips and utter a silent \u201cooh.\u201d That normally happens long after you fit the base and arm into the display and turn it on for the first time. When unboxing the 40-inch 4K Samsung Odyssey G7<\/a>, I found I was much more excited by the promise of its fine black exterior and RGB ring light, not to mention its massive frame and sweeping 1,000R curve. But actually looking at it with the lights on shocked me with a sense of disappointment. Disappointment turns into acceptance, and acceptance inevitably becomes boredom.<\/p>\n

I first laid eyes on the Odyssey G75F (model number LS40FG75DENXZA) earlier this year. It was an odd middle child between the 27-inch OLED Odyssey G6 with its blistering 360Hz refresh rate<\/a> and the 27-inch OLED Odyssey G8 with its 4K, 240Hz panel (2025 was filled to the brim<\/a> with this type of monitor). The Odyssey G7 offers something much different: a 40-inch curved screen with a fast 180Hz refresh rate (a rarity for ultrawide monitors). The only thing is, it doesn\u2019t come with OLED but with a VA panel. Compared to organic light-emitting diode\u2014a screen type that uses self-emissive colors to generate better contrast and deeper blacks\u2014VA is closer to traditional LCD. The acronym stands for vertical alignment, which relates to the crystals inside the liquid crystal display. This type of display offers better contrast than other forms of LCD. This monitor is also solid with its 140 ppi (pixels per inch) density, meaning it can offer a relatively crisp image despite its size.<\/p>\n

Samsung Odyssey G7<\/p>\n

While it may lack the prestine picture of OLED, Samsung’s Odyssey G7 is still a big and engrossing 40-inch gaming monitor. Just don’t use it near any open windows.<\/p>\n

Easy to set up Good picture quality in the right conditions Wide swivel and tilt range for 40-inches Good for multitasking Fun RGB ring lighting Screen quality dips near light Low brightness Annoying cable management Limited HDMI ports <\/p>\n

There are some consumers who prefer LCD technology to OLED. I\u2019m not here to debate the merits of higher-brightness LCDs versus typically lower-brightness, more energy-dependent OLED. However, you\u2019re better off determining whether the contrast is worth it for the price. The Odyssey G7 retails for $1,200. However, Samsung routinely discounts it to around $750 (and sometimes Amazon has it for even less). Samsung\u2019s Odyssey monitors\u2014and its TVs for that matter\u2014are usually more expensive than most other brands with the same technology. For any price, there are still trade-offs aplenty.<\/p>\n

Large and in charge \"SamsungThe 40-inch Samsung Odyssey G7 is the kind of monitor that will consume smaller desks. \u00a9 Raymond Wong \/ Gizmodo <\/p>\n

You\u2019re mainly looking at this monitor for its size. A 40-inch screen is nothing to laugh at. On our office gaming desk we set up for testing PCs, its wingspan manages to nearly consume the table from port to starboard. Its 1,000R curve is far more dramatic than other, smaller 1800R curved monitors. A 34-inch Philips Evnia QD-OLED and the 32-inch Alienware AW3225QF won\u2019t feel nearly as immersive as the Odyssey G7. None of these monitors reach the scale of the utterly massive 57-inch Odyssey Neo G9<\/a>, but what does?<\/p>\n

The curve nearly captures your eyes in its embrace. For gamers, it\u2019s a truly different experience than if you\u2019re used to flatter displays. The 4K monitor actually reaches a wider 5,120 x 2,160 resolution (sometimes called WUHD) than the typical 4K size of 3,840 x 2,160 (UHD). The Odyssey G7 sports a 21:9 aspect ratio supported by some, but not all games. It\u2019s a similar story for streaming content as well. Some movies and shows on your favored streaming platform may support the ultrawide aspect ratio, but others won\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\"SamsungTwo HDMI isn\u2019t that much considering the size of this monitor. \u00a9 Raymond Wong \/ Gizmodo <\/p>\n

As much as choosing your content may be confusing, setting up the Odyssey G7 is a straightforward affair. You stick the flat base into the monitor stand, screw it in, then shove the monitor arm into the awaiting socket. And voila, you\u2019re ready to play. The monitor only comes with two HDMI 2.1 and a single DisplayPort 1.4 input. There are an additional two USB-A 3.2 ports and a headphone jack. Still, I\u2019d hardly call that port-rich for the size of this monitor.<\/p>\n

For some odd reason, Samsung doesn\u2019t make managing your cables too easy. There\u2019s a single rubber strap across the back of the monitor stand that Samsung expects to contain all your miscellaneous cables. I would have preferred some more permanent loop that could hold fmore cables without straining. If you\u2019re keen to keep a tidy desk, you\u2019ll have to think of some inventive cable management to keep the snakes in their cage.<\/p>\n

Despite my hangups with the Odyssey G7\u2019s port selection and cable management, the monitor itself is a looker. That fun, circular light strip on the monitor\u2019s rear panel can be programmed with a few preset patterns, but it\u2019s mainly there to offer some background glow to the wall behind it. That little bit of attention to detail is consistent with Odyssey monitors, though I would have still enjoyed some speakers on the G7. The sound quality on a monitor likely won\u2019t shiver my spine with bass, but I enjoy speakers being there in a pinch.<\/p>\n

The Odyssey G7 is certified VESA DisplayHDR 600, though it only claims a 90% color range with a 3,000:1 contrast ratio. The one issue you\u2019ll run into with compatibility is Samsung\u2019s screens don\u2019t support Dolby Vision. They instead use Samsung\u2019s own HDR10+ gaming standard. Some noteworthy games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Cyberpunk 2077 will use HDR10+. Everything else will stick with the bog-standard HDR10.<\/p>\n

I hope you don\u2019t mind glare \"SamsungYou\u2019ll find some streaming content supports the 21:9 aspect ratio, and it will look glorious. \u00a9 Raymond Wong \/ Gizmodo <\/p>\n

The VA panel Samsung chose for the Odyssey G7 isn\u2019t the prettiest you can get, nor is it the brightest. Its stated typical brightness sits at around 350 nits. With the sunlight beaming in from a nearby window, the picture quality on Samsung\u2019s monitor took a hit. In a dark, dank gamer basement with the blinds closed and the only light being soft RGB, the Odyssey G7 will hit its stride. In other environments, the monitor may look a little cheap despite its size.<\/p>\n

I kept staring at the screen, wondering if what I was looking at is the kind of quality I really want from a big, expensive monitor. Like most LCD displays, the Odyssey G7 has a 1ms response time, dictating how fast a screen can change a pixel from one color to another. OLED normally has a faster response time, though it will be a little more dim depending on the quality of the display. The G7\u2019s panel offers the worst of both worlds.<\/p>\n

\"SamsungA single four-way rocker accounts for all the monitor\u2019s controls. \u00a9 Raymond Wong \/ Gizmodo <\/p>\n

What actually matters is what the content eventually looks like, and in that regard it\u2019s a much better experience. In peak conditions, the black levels avoid the problems on other monitors that make dark tones look gray. A game like Hollow Knight: Silksong supports the 21:9 aspect ratio and looks very nice once you can see so much of your surroundings. The contrast may not be as strong as some may wish, but it certainly doesn\u2019t look bad either.<\/p>\n

Depending on your game, you may need to do some adjustments to make it playable. A title like Total War: Warhammer III supports the WUHD resolution, but it requires you to manually scale the UI and text size so it\u2019s manageable. Cyberpunk 2077 looks extra immersive in this 40-inch size. You just need to make sure your PC is beefy enough to play games at this size. Also, you need to remember that consoles like the PlayStation 5 don\u2019t naturally support ultrawide aspect ratios. They merely stretch a 4K image to fit the screen.<\/p>\n

\"SamsungA more dramatic curve helps enable better immersion in games. \u00a9 Raymond Wong \/ Gizmodo <\/p>\n

The big issue with the screen is the fact that it is prone to glare. It\u2019s not so much reflective, as any ambient light tends to diffuse over the surface and mar any of those clear visuals you were hoping for. With the shades drawn down and the lights turned low, games finally looked their best.<\/p>\n

More ways to multitask \"SamsungPicture-in-picture mode will let you display up to two inputs at once. \u00a9 Raymond Wong \/ Gizmodo <\/p>\n

Sure, having a 40-inch display will naturally let you shove as many apps on it at once. That\u2019s the benefit of a large screen, although I find the problem with excess is how quickly it may fill up. I have a tendency to leave a lot of tabs open, and even when I push those to the background, I suddenly find I\u2019m still in need of another screen, whether it\u2019s a laptop display or another monitor I can stack vertically next to my device.<\/p>\n

The Odyssey G7 does allow swivel and tilt to a surprising degree. You can push the monitor up from -5 to 20 degrees and swing it around another 20 degrees to the left and right. No, sorry, you\u2019re not going to twist this display vertically unless you create a creative mount for your wall. The screen is relatively versatile, and that\u2019s important since you really want to sit in the center of any curved display to maximize the effect.<\/p>\n

\"SamsungIt may seem like a multitasker\u2019s dream, but you\u2019ll find you can quickly run out of space. \u00a9 Raymond Wong \/ Gizmodo <\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking for even more multitasking, the Samsung Odyssey G7 also allows for a picture-in-picture mode that will allows input from two separate devices. I tried this out with a PlayStation 5 and PC at once. You can either have each image squished side by side, though I much preferred the option to stick one screen in the corner and leave the rest to the other connected device. If, for some reason, you want to have your PC\u2019s Discord chat up on the same screen as your game, this is an option. I would still much rather keep a laptop or tablet handy nearby, but I don\u2019t mind having options.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s left is a monitor that will certainly work well for some gamers and creators who prefer to live in the dark. In the right environment, the picture quality is good enough that I wasn\u2019t always pining for something more. But as soon as a little light hit the screen, I could sense a feeling of annoyance twitching behind my eye. I have been spoiled by the number of OLED displays from this year, as the screen technology has become much more prevalent\u2014and cheaper\u2014in recent years. This is a monitor for people who prefer the screen shape and the screen type. If you can nab the Odyssey G7 for a cheaper price\u2014maybe half what a 45-inch LG 5K2K Ultragear would cost you\u2014then you\u2019ll have a great time being absolutely consumed by your monitor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There are some monitors that force you to involuntarily pucker your lips and utter a silent \u201cooh.\u201d That…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":332730,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[64,63,1853,47386,229,1047,105],"class_list":["post-332729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-gaming","tag-monitors","tag-reviews","tag-samsung","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332729","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=332729"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332729\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/332730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=332729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=332729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=332729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}