Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 put to the test: the ultimate gaming monitor just got even better
Samsung has relaunched the high-end G9 gaming monitor and bejewelled it with thousands of mini LEDs for its backlight. This enables the Neo G9 to deliver a stark contrast of 1,000,000:1 and practically immaculate black.
With the Neo G9, Samsung demonstrates what mini LEDs are capable of producing: almost perfect black. The South Korean manufacturer has installed a whopping 2,048 dimming zones in the monitor. By contrast, the G9 without mini-LED technology has a mere ten dimming zones.
Allow me to explain: the liquid crystals that create the image on an LCD panel can’t shine by themselves. They need to be illuminated by LEDs. If you want black to be displayed, the corresponding LEDs must be switched off. The more LEDs illuminate the crystals, the more dimming zones are possible. In turn, this improves contrasts. This also allows more colours to be displayed. My work mate Luca Fontana explains this process very well in the following post (in German).
Bye-bye backlight bleeding?
And how does the Neo G9 fair in that department? I take a trip to Zeffo. Not for real, of course, but in «Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order». After the Stinger Mantis lands, I run into a dark cave and draw my lightsaber. Wow, the dark passageway looks mind-blowing! Now that’s what I call a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. It’s rendered very nicely, and backlight bleeding isn’t noticeable during gaming. Backlight bleeding, which is sometimes called blooming, occurs when the light illuminating a small object also illuminates the surrounding dark areas.
I tried to capture the scene on video with a camera. Unfortunately, the result wasn’t satisfactory. That’s why I took several pictures instead. Personally, I don’t see any backlight bleeding on these.
It goes without saying that I’m playing «Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order» in HDR. Blooming is more common with HDR because the background LEDs have to shine much brighter to produce higher contrasts – hence the term HDR, or High Dynamic Range. In SDR, on the other hand, blooming should play even less of a role because the LEDs shine less brightly. This proved true in practice. No backlight bleeding. The difference compared to the same scene in HDR? Cal Kestist is surrounded by more darkness. Thanks to HDR, contrast can be reproduced better. I used the same camera settings for both shots.
All in all, the Neo G9 almost completely eliminates the greatest weakness of the G9 without mini LEDs. Blooming was a common problem for the latter. The black produced by the Neo G9 is finally worthy of a gaming monitor.
Immersion is imperative
And what about other aspects of gaming? Like the G9 without mini LEDs, the Neo G9 offers a very immersive gaming experience. I can lose myself for hours in the rhythm game «Thumper». The strong curvature of 1000R and the extra-wide 32:9 format fully draw me into the game, which was actually developed for VR. Unfortunately, far from every game supports the 32:9 format, so I can’t enjoy the experience with all games.
Thanks to G-Sync compatibility and Freesync Premium Pro, there’s no screen tearing in «CS:GO» – neither with an Nvidia nor AMD graphics card. Ghosting or streaking is also not an issue, regardless of whether I set 60, 120 or 240 Hz refresh rates via the on-screen display on the monitor.
Samsung specifies a response time of 1 millisecond for grey to grey. I use my Leo Bodnar video signal input lag tester to measure this. It sends a signal to the monitor via the HDMI cable and measures how long it takes for the monitor to send it back. As we’re not testing grey to grey, a higher value than 1 millisecond is to be expected. In fact, I measure a response time of 8.4 milliseconds (ms).
Since I haven't been doing the tests for long, I only have one comparison value, namely from an office monitor. The input lag there was 8.6 ms. However, a look at the test of the G9 without mini-LED at rtings.com reveals: with 8.4 ms, the Neo G9 is only 0.2 ms slower than the G9 without mini LEDs. This means the value is within the normal range of a gaming monitor.
Overall, gaming on the Neo G9 is a pleasure. Due to the excellent black levels, even blooming can’t spoil my gaming experience.
What else is the VA panel good at?
Apart from almost perfect black and its suitability for gaming, the Neo G9’s panel is also capable of shining very brightly. For a fraction of a second, up to 2,000 nits should be possible with HDR. Unfortunately, I can’t measure that with my i1Display Pro Plus, which I use to measure the colour and brightness values. But what I can measure is the typical brightness without HDR control. This is supposed to be 420 nits. I measure the following values:
With these results, my sample monitor even exceeds the promised values. What’s more, the panel is very evenly illuminated. The maximum difference in the nine measured zones is just under 5 per cent or 21 nits. There’s no difference visible to the naked eye. Although the G9 without mini LEDs shone brighter with an average of 605 nits in the test, the difference was sometimes over 100 nits. In other words, the new panel of the Neo G9 is more evenly illuminated.
Unfortunately, I was unable to measure the contrast. I usually measure the black point and divide it by the brightest point on the same part of the monitor. But as the black is so black, the i1Display Pro Plus shows 0.000 nits. I’m not allowed to divide by zero and therefore have no result. However, the stated contrast should be correct, since the 0.000 nits correspond to perfect black.
And what about colour space coverage? Thanks to the 12 bits for each colour channel, the Neo G9 is pretty much on par with the G9 without mini LEDs:
| Colour space coverage Neo G9 | Colour space coverage G9 |
|---|---|
| 99.4 per cent sRGB | 99.7 per cent sRGB |
| 87.0 per cent Adobe RGB | 87.9 per cent Adobe RGB |
| 89.4 per cent DCI P3 | 90.8 per cent DCI P3 |
Although the values are slightly lower than those of the G9 without mini LEDs, they’re good. In my opinion, the small differences are negligible. If you edit videos or photos in addition to gaming, it will serve you well. You can only get higher values with special panels for graphic design tasks.
Further features
Apart from gaming and image editing, the 49-inch monitor also cuts a fine figure for office work. I like to work with two monitors. With the Neo G9, I just arrange the windows next to each other. This works really well and it doesn’t take me long to adapt my workflow.
If I want to connect additional devices, I also have the option to do so with Picture by Picture or Picture in Picture. Thanks to the USB upstream port, I have two 3.0 USB-A ports at my disposal on the back of the monitor.
There are also two HDMI 2.1 ports, a DisplayPort 1.4 and a headphone jack. HDMI 2.1 has features like VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) as well as a data rate of up to 48 Gbps in theory. Thanks to the high data rate, the 240 Hz can be displayed at full resolution. VRR dynamically predefines the screen refresh rates for the graphics card.
The monitor doesn’t feature built-in speakers. Personally, I’m not too bothered about this. After all, integrated speakers usually produce bad quality sound due to the lack of space in the monitor housing. If you’ve spent that much money on a Neo G9, then you’ll also want decent sound and are likely to own an adequate sound setup or headset. By the way, Samsung integrated a handy headset holder into the stand. The stand itself also lets you run cables through it, so you can tuck them away.
Infinity Core lighting is also back. Centred at the back of the G9, it’s likely to particularly get Iron Man fans excited. After all, it’s reminiscent of the Arc Reactor. Thanks to the 52 hues and five effects you can choose from, the lighting is fully customisable. The newest addition is CoreSync – a kind of Ambilight, where the lighting on the back of the monitor automatically adjusts to the colours of the displayed content.
Ergonomics and use
In spite of the 49-inch screen diagonal, the monitor is easy to adjust. It can be adjusted in height, turned to both sides and tilted to the front and back. The settings are easy to navigate. However, if your table wobbles, the Neo G9 will wobble too. If you tend to blow your top when your gaming session isn’t going well, it will also take your monitor a few minutes to calm down.
As with all other Odyssey models, Samsung has gone for the five-way operating joystick at the bottom of the screen. The menu offers the most necessary settings such as gaming, picture and PIP/PBP. And the setting options are manageable. Some features, like an FPS counter, are missing. But for most users, the options are likely to be sufficient.
Verdict: improved where it matters
I wish I didn’t have to give the Geo G9 back. Already the G9 without mini LEDs had me taken with its design, functions and image quality. And now the Neo G9 has raised the image quality bar with its almost-perfect black. Thanks to the great gaming experience of a 32:9 aspect ratio and extreme curvature, the Neo G9 is my new ultimate gaming monitor.
Having said that, the 32:9 aspect ratio is not everybody’s cup of tea. Unless you’re into games that support this format, steer clear from this monitor. You’ll also need the appropriate hardware to get the most out of the monitor. But if you’re willing to spend CHF 2,400 on a monitor, my guess is you probably have the setup to match. If you’ve got the spare cash, I can highly recommend the Neo G9.
The Neo G9 is now available for order. The first monitors should be coming in from 9 August 2021 and are exclusively available at digitec for the time being.
Kevin Hofer
Senior Editor
kevin.hofer@digitecgalaxus.chFrom big data to big brother, Cyborgs to Sci-Fi. All aspects of technology and society fascinate me.
