Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 49″

Pros: This product is honestly the greatest purchase I have made in a long time, like before GPUs were so dang expensive kind of great. I used a standard Ultrawide 1440p monitor at 100hz and it was quite immersive, or at least at the time. I studied this monitor ever since it was announced. Seems too good to be true with the specifications, but it meets every itch a gamer/multi-tasker/experiencer loves. Most modern games support the 32:9 aspect ratio, and though it may seem like too much, you are “IN” the game when you play. Despite the 1080p resolution, the 144hz, the 1ms response time and the less stress on my GPU (from the 1440p Ultrawide monitor) makes it for a full immersive experience. Cons: The only con you may experience is the regret you will have if you enjoy gaming or multi-tasking and you give this up. But in all honesty, after using this for over 6 months now, this has saved me money and a pain of buying a new tv just to be disappointed. You have “Two” screens at your disposal. Xbox and switch play on it flawlessly with minimal input lag compared to a television. Still input lag cause it is a console, but not as unresponsive. Overall Review: Some complain about how wide it is or how long the legs are on the stand, but honestly with the size you are dealing with, not including the amazing amount of height, tilt, swivel options there are, it fits fine. I know most people don’t have a lot of space on their desk, and with that being so, you probably aren’t that invested enough to purchase this monitor. If you game, multi-task, or like running two monitors on one monitor (AIO solution) constantly, then it is worth it. But if this is a casual monitor you use, then don’t get it. Not cause of price, but because you will think more negatively about it compared to someone who will “actually” constantly use it.

Pros: * Vibrant colors * Smooth motion * Easy-to-use GUI (you do have to read the manual the first time to get a handle on where everything is, but after the first time it’s super easy) * Bright panel that doesn’t crush dark/shadowy images (think the nighttime scenes in your favorite episode of Supernatural) * It ships with one of every cable (HDMI, DP, etc.) Cons: * If you want to do PBP mode, you have to switch it to single-input mode to adjust the color mode (cinema, dynamic, etc.), which it’ll keep when you go back to PBP mode; seems like it should be more straightforward than all that * It ONLY ships with one of each cable; it only came with one DisplayPort cable, but for people like me that need PBP mode I think Samsung should’ve included two (I had another one lying around but still) Overall Review: This replaced two AOC 21:9 monitors, and even though 32:9 isn’t quite 42:9, it’s still an improvement because there’s no bezel, everything is calibrated the same because it’s two screens on a single panel, and there’s a single power cable where I used to have two. I had some strong reservations about the fact that this was curved (I’ve steadfastly refused to buy anything curved up to this point, in this case it wasn’t a choice as much as a lack of options). The curved display DOES take some getting used to at first, but after a few days you don’t even notice it, and in some ways the curved surface actually seems better suited to the super-ultrawide aspect ratio. I wouldn’t want curved displays for everything (I have a laptop and a TV in the same room, both flat, and they work just fine even with a curved display in the mix), but for this 32:9 display it actually works very well. If you’ve been considering a curved monitor but have reservations, this is the advice I can offer: if you’re sitting very close to your monitor and/or it’s 21:9 or wider, make it a curved one; if you sit far away or just have a 16:9 display, I don’t think it would be worth investing just to have one. Pay attention to the usual specs about colors and brightness and refresh rates first, since those are what really count, but don’t be scared off if the only ones you can find are curved.

Pros: Size! Is definitely the right resolution for a monitor like this. Color and brightness are amazing. Light bleed on the edges is less than I expected. Don’t let the curve scare you, not as radical as you might expect after you start using it. Games that fully support the resolution look amazing! Multitasking is incredible! Replaced a 34″ 2560 x 1080 monitor – so much more desk top work space! I haven’t used a multi-monitor setup in years, and this one will keep me from ever considering one again! Cons: – Only 3 refresh rates are supported- 60, 120, 240. Cannot tune this setting currently. – Back lighting zones are large – most noticeable when screen is mostly black. – Required firmware update out of the box – fairly easy to accomplish. – Doesn’t always recognize video signal during computer restarts. Better since firmware update manual switching to another source and back fixes this. Currently there are known driver issues with AMD and nVidia graphics. Overall Review: I am currently driving with an ASUS Strix 5700XT. At 240Hz I have noticed some artifacting on occasion, mostly with games that push the card hard (RedDead2 was one of them). Right now, 120hz with Freesync on gives me the smoothest result. In my opinion, the higher resolution more that makes up for reduced graphic settings if you cannot currently upgrade your video card. I do expect driver bugs to be resolved rather quickly. This monitor is a first for size – speed.