The Samsung Odyssey Neo G9/G95NC S57CG95 is a premium 57-inch super ultrawide monitor with a 1000R curve. With a 32:9 aspect ratio and 7680x2160 resolution, it's the equivalent of two 32-inch, 4k monitors side by side; it's one of the first displays of this size. It features a 240Hz refresh rate with VRR support for gaming, and it supports DisplayPort 2.1 bandwidth, which lets you achieve its high refresh rate and resolution with a DisplayPort 2.1 graphics card. Like the smaller Samsung Odyssey Neo G9/G95NA S49AG95, it includes Mini LED backlighting with 2,392 dimming zones. Besides these high-end features, it also includes some perks for productivity, like a KVM switch and a USB hub.
The Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 is great for PC gaming. It has a high 240Hz refresh rate, but because it has such a high 7680x2160 resolution, you need a high-end graphics card that supports DisplayPort 2.1 or HDMI 2.1 bandwidth to make full use of the monitor. It supports FreeSync and HDMI Forum VRR to reduce screen tearing but doesn't properly support G-SYNC with all sources. It also has low input lag and a fast response time for sharp motion handling. On top of that, it's a fantastic choice for dark room gaming thanks to its high contrast and okay local dimming feature, but there's some blooming around bright objects. On the downside, it has noticeable VRR flicker with changing frame rates, which is disappointing.
The Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 is excellent for console gaming. It has HDMI 2.1 bandwidth to take full advantage of the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, but because consoles don't support ultrawide gaming, you'll see black bars on the sides. That said, it has a high resolution to deliver sharp images, and it offers realistic images thanks to its high contrast, okay Mini LED local dimming, and vivid colors. It also has low input lag for a responsive feel, and motion looks sharp thanks to its fast response time at any refresh rate.
The Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 is excellent for office use. Its 57-inch screen and 7680x2160 resolution are the equivalent of placing two 32-inch, 4k screens side by side, so there's plenty of space to work with, and the text is very sharp. It also gets incredibly bright with fantastic reflection handling, so visibility isn't a problem in well-lit rooms. It even has some productivity features, like a KVM switch that makes it easy to work with different devices. There are some downsides, though, as it has an aggressive 1000R curve that may take time to get used to, and it has narrow viewing angles that make the image appear washed out from the sides.
The Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 is good for content creation. Its large screen and high resolution make it great for multitasking with different windows at once, and it also delivers sharp images. It has very good accuracy before calibration, too, but you need to calibrate it for the most accurate colors, and it displays a wide range of colors once you do. It also displays deep blacks against bright highlights, but there's blooming with the local dimming feature enabled. One big downside is that it has an aggressively curved screen, so your straight lines appear curved, and with narrow viewing angles, it's hard to share your screen with others.
The Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 has excellent brightness. It easily gets bright enough to fight glare in well-lit rooms, and highlights also pop in HDR.
The Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 has an excellent response time. Motion looks sharp, especially at high refresh rates, but there's a bit more blur with lower refresh rates.
The Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 has decent HDR picture quality. It has a high contrast ratio thanks to its local dimming feature that helps it display deep blacks, but there's blooming around bright objects in dark scenes.
The Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 has good SDR picture quality. It has a good native contrast ratio, but blacks still look gray. Luckily, it displays a wide range of colors in SDR.
The Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 has great color accuracy. Even though it doesn't have a true sRGB mode, colors are still accurate before calibration. That said, you still need to calibrate it for the most accurate colors.
We tested the 57-inch Samsung Odyssey Neo G9, which is part of the Odyssey gaming lineup that includes other G9 models like the Samsung Odyssey Neo G9/G95NA S49AG95 and the Samsung Odyssey OLED G9/G95SC S49CG95. It has a bigger screen and higher resolution than the others, and you can see the differences between them below, but the results are only valid for this review.
Size | Model Name | Short Model Code | Panel Type | Refresh Rate | Resolution | DisplayPort Type |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
57" | Odyssey Neo G9 | S57CG952NN | VA | 240Hz | 7680x2160 | 2.1 |
49" | Odyssey Neo G9 | S49AG952NN | VA | 240Hz | 5120x1440 | 1.4 |
49" | Odyssey OLED G9 | S49CG954SN | QD-OLED | 240Hz | 5120X1440 | 1.4 |
Our unit was manufactured in August 2023; you can see the label here.
The Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 is a unique super ultrawide monitor that has a large screen and high resolution, making it the equivalent of placing two 4k, 32-inch monitors side by side. While it doesn't have any competition, as there aren't any other monitors with the same size, it delivers great gaming performance and high-end picture quality, similar to most premium monitors. That said, it's an expensive monitor requiring a high-end graphics card to take full advantage of it. Besides its KVM switch, it doesn't provide a significant advantage over the smaller Samsung Odyssey Neo G9/G95NA S49AG95, and there are some bugs, too, like with its G-SYNC support.
See our recommendations for the best 34-49 inch monitors, the best ultrawide gaming monitors, and the best curved gaming monitors.
The Samsung Odyssey Neo G9/G95NC S57CG95 is a higher-end and better monitor than the Samsung C49RG9/CRG9. The G95NC has a bigger screen with a higher resolution for a more detailed and immersive gaming experience. The G95NC also has a much higher 240Hz refresh rate, and combined with its faster response time, gaming feels smoother. Lastly, the G95NC delivers better picture quality thanks to its Mini LED backlighting and superior local dimming, so it displays deeper blacks alongside bright highlights with less blooming.
The LG 49WL95C-W and the Samsung Odyssey Neo G9/G95NC S57CG95 are different types of super ultrawide displays. The LG is more focused on productivity as it has a USB hub that includes a USB-C port, so you can easily connect your laptop. On the other hand, the Samsung monitor delivers better picture quality thanks to its Mini LED backlighting, and it also provides sharper images with its higher resolution. Lastly, the Samsung model has many more gaming features since it has a higher 240Hz refresh rate, which is ideal for even PC gamers.
The Dell Alienware AW3423DW and the Samsung Odyssey Neo G9/G95NC S57CG95 are different types of ultrawide monitors. The Dell has a 34-inch screen with a QD-OLED panel, while the Samsung has a much larger 57-inch super ultrawide screen with Mini LED backlighting. The Dell has better picture quality thanks to its QD-OLED panel, resulting in deeper blacks and more vivid colors. The Dell also has better motion thanks to its near-instantaneous response time. On the other hand, the Samsung gets brighter, making it a better choice if you need something for a well-lit room, and it delivers much sharper images and text thanks to its higher resolution. However, the Samsung doesn't risk permanent burn-in, unlike the Dell.
The Samsung Odyssey Neo G9/G95NC S57CG95 and the Samsung Odyssey OLED G9/G95SC S49CG95 are different types of super ultrawide monitors. The OLED G9 uses an OLED panel that displays deeper blacks without any blooming and better motion handling, while the Neo G9 uses Mini LED backlighting that lets it get brighter. The OLED G9 also displays a wider range of colors in HDR with better color volume, so they also look more vivid. On the other hand, the Neo G9 has a higher resolution and much better text clarity, and because it has a KVM switch, it's the better choice for productivity.
The Samsung Odyssey Neo G9/G95NC S57CG95 is a newer monitor than the Samsung Odyssey Neo G9/G95NA S49AG95, and there are some differences. The G95NC has a larger 57-inch screen and higher resolution, so it also has better text clarity. The G95NC has better motion handling at the max refresh rate of 240Hz, but the G95NA has better motion handling at lower refresh rates. The G95NC has a few extra features, like DisplayPort 2.1 bandwidth and a KVM switch, but the G95NA performs better in some areas, like its local dimming feature that has less blooming.
The Samsung Odyssey G9 and the Samsung Odyssey Neo G9/G95NC S57CG95 are both super ultrawide monitors, but there are a few differences. The S57CG95 has a larger 57-inch screen with a 7680x2160 resolution, providing more screen space and sharper text clarity than the original G9, which has a 49-inch screen with a 5120x1440 resolution. The S57CG95 also delivers better picture quality thanks to its Mini LED backlighting and improved local dimming feature. The motion on it looks better due to its faster response time. While the S57CG95 has HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, it's important to know that you need a high-end graphics card to take full advantage of its high resolution and refresh rate.
The Samsung Odyssey Neo G9/G95NC S57CG95 and the Samsung Odyssey Neo G8 S32BG85 are different types of monitors. The Neo G9 has a super ultrawide 57-inch screen with a 7680x2160 resolution, and it's the equivalent of placing two Neo G8s side by side. They each have Mini LED backlighting, and while the Neo G9 gets brighter, the Neo G8 has better local dimming with less blooming. They perform similarly otherwise and have many of the same features, but the Neo G9 has a KVM switch, making it the better choice for productivity, as the Neo G8 doesn't have this feature.
The Samsung Odyssey Neo G9/G95NC S57CG95 and the LG 49GR85DC-B are super ultrawide monitors, but they're different. The Samsung has a larger 57-inch screen and higher resolution, so it produces sharper images. The Samsung monitor also uses Mini LED backlighting, which the LG doesn't have, providing higher peak brightness and improved local dimming, so it's the better choice for both dark and bright rooms. The Samsung also has better motion handling and a KVM switch, making it the better choice for productivity.
The Samsung Neo G9 has a large 57-inch screen with an aggressive 1000R curve that may take time to get used to, especially if you aren't used to curved displays. It has black feet and bezels, and the body is white plastic. There's also a ring of RGB lighting on the back where the stand attaches to the monitor.
The overall build quality is good. There aren't any obvious issues out of the box, and the stand holds the screen well enough for a display of its size. There's a lot of wobble, but that's normal for something so big. The biggest downside is that the monitor gets very hot after a long usage period, and it even got up to 50°C during testing. It feels hot to touch, especially the metal top portion of the monitor, and it can quickly warm your room if you use it for an extended time.
We experienced another issue where portions of the screen randomly displayed areas of solid color. There was no pattern as to when it happened, and it only occurred a few times during testing, as we couldn't replicate this issue when we tried. It only happened with an AMD graphics card, but it's unclear what caused the issue. You can see an example of it here. If you experience the same thing, let us know in the Comments.
The ergonomics are passable, especially for such a large monitor. Besides the fact that you obviously can't rotate it into portrait mode, it still offers most common adjustments to help you find an ideal position, but it feels stiff on the stand to make these adjustments. The back of the stand also features a clip for cable management.
The wide-set feet take up a lot of space, so you need a big table to place it on, but there's still enough space to put your keyboard and mouse between them. The thickness of the monitor is measured from the side of the monitor to the back of the stand, and the thickness from the center to the back of the stand is 10.7" (27.3 cm).
The thickness is measured from the side of the screen to the back of it, and the thickness from the center to the back is 3.8" (9.6 cm).
The Samsung Neo G9 has Mini LED backlighting with 2,392 zones, and the local dimming feature performs fairly well, but it could be better. There's blooming around bright objects, like around subtitles, or even when there are black bars on the sides. However, this blooming looks worse from the sides than when viewed in front. Whenever there are smaller bright objects on the screen, it crushes those highlights and dims them too much, so they lose details, and they're harder to see. Lastly, although the dimming zones are small, it's visible when they turn on and off, which can be distracting depending on the screen, but the algorithm keeps up with fast-moving objects well. Overall, while it's fine for a local dimming feature on a monitor, it isn't as good as other high-end monitors like the Samsung Odyssey Neo G9/G95NA S49AG95.
Settings
The Samsung G95NC has fantastic SDR brightness. It easily gets bright enough to fight glare, and while it maintains its brightness fairly consistently across different content, full-screen windows are dimmed a bit. The Real Scene result is with a 32:9 aspect ratio, and it gets a bit brighter with a 16:9 aspect ratio as it goes up to 826 cd/m².
Settings
The HDR brightness is great. Bright highlights pop, especially small objects that stand out against the rest of the image. These results are with a 32:9 aspect ratio, and it gets much brighter with a 16:9 aspect ratio as it reaches 815 cd/m² in the Real Scene test. The EOTF is okay, as it crushes blacks and overbrightens brighter scenes. Because of the sharp roll-off at the peak brightness, it lets highlights get the brightest they can. The EOTF performs better with Color Tone set to 'Standard,' as you can see here, but it doesn't get as bright as the 'Warm 1' setting.
The horizontal viewing angle is disappointing. The image quickly washes out from the sides, even if you're sitting slightly off-center. You have to sit at the center of the screen to see the most consistent image across the entire display.
The Samsung Neo G9 has a disappointing vertical viewing angle. The image is inconsistent if you stand up and look down at the monitor.
This monitor has very good accuracy before calibration. Most colors and the white balance are only slightly off, and the color temperature is nearly spot-on with the 6500K target. Gamma is a bit off, though, as most dark scenes are too dark. The monitor doesn't have a dedicated sRGB mode, but setting the Color Space Settings to 'Auto' locks colors to the sRGB color space, and you still have access to other settings. If you don't set it to 'Auto,' colors are oversaturated, which you can see here.
The accuracy after calibration is remarkable. There aren't any remaining noticeable inaccuracies.
The SDR color gamut is incredible. It has perfect coverage of the common sRGB color space besides saturated blues. It also has good coverage of the Adobe RGB color space used in photo publishing, but it oversaturates reds and blues and undersaturates greens and cyans.
The HDR color gamut is good. It has great coverage of the commonly used DCI-P3 color space, with fantastic tone mapping. It also displays a wide range of colors in the Rec. 2020 color space, but tone mapping is worse as most colors are off, and greens are undersaturated. These results are with Color Tone set to 'Warm 1,' and you can see the results with it set to 'Standard' below:
This monitor has a very good HDR color volume. It displays bright and dark colors well, but its incomplete color gamut limits it. These results are with Color Tone set to 'Warm 1,' and the color volume is slightly worse with it set to 'Standard.'
The reflection handling is remarkable. It has an aggressive matte coating that easily reduces glare from bright light sources. Combined with its high peak brightness, you won't have any issues using it in a bright room.
You can reach this monitor's max refresh rate over DisplayPort only if you have a DisplayPort 2.1 graphics card, as we used an AMD RADEON RX 7800 XT, and you need to either use the included DisplayPort cable or any DP 2.1-certified cable that's shorter than 1.5 m (5 ft).
However, connecting over HDMI isn't so straightforward. You need an HDMI 2.1 graphics card and need to connect to HDMI 2 or 3 as they support the full 48 Gbps bandwidth of HDMI 2.1, and HDMI 1 is limited to a max refresh rate of 120Hz at its native resolution. Although there aren't issues reaching the max refresh rate and resolution with 8-bit signals, not all sources support the 240Hz refresh rate with 10-bit signals. The max with an NVIDIA RTX 4080 graphics card is 120Hz, and that's only when setting the Refresh Rate in the monitor's OSD to '120Hz.' Setting it to '240Hz' strangely limits the 10-bit refresh rate to 60Hz, as you can see here. While using the RX 7800 XT graphics card, the max refresh rate with 10-bit was 240Hz though, as it uses Display Stream Compression.
NVIDIA | VRR Min | VRR Max |
DisplayPort | <20Hz | 120Hz |
HDMI | <20Hz | 120Hz |
AMD | VRR Min | VRR Max |
DisplayPort | <20Hz | 240Hz |
HDMI | <20Hz | 240Hz |
The refresh rate range is limited on NVIDIA graphics cards that don't support DisplayPort 2.1, and you need to set the Refresh Rate to '120Hz' to get the max possible refresh rate with its native resolution.
Refresh Rate | CAD Heatmap | RT Chart | Pursuit Photo |
239 | Heatmap | Chart | Photo |
165 | Heatmap | Chart | Photo |
144 | Heatmap | Chart | Photo |
120 | Heatmap | Chart | Photo |
100 | Heatmap | Chart | Photo |
80 | Heatmap | Chart | Photo |
60 | Heatmap | Chart | Photo |
The motion handling is excellent across the VRR range. Using VRR disables any of the overdrive settings, and motion is consistently fast across the refresh rate range, without much blur, but there's still some smearing.
The refresh rate compliance is excellent. It's better than most LED-backlit monitors, as its response time is fast enough to make near-full color transitions with 120Hz and 60Hz signals.
Overdrive Mode | CAD Heatmap | RT Chart | Pursuit Photo |
VRR | Heatmap | Chart | Photo |
Standard | Heatmap | Chart | Photo |
Faster | Heatmap | Chart | Photo |
Extreme | Heatmap | Chart | Photo |
The CAD at the max refresh rate of 240Hz is fantastic. Motion looks sharp, but it doesn't eliminate all smearing either. Using VRR disables the overdrive settings, but if you aren't going to use VRR, then the 'Standard' setting results in similar motion handling.
Overdrive Mode | CAD Heatmap | RT Chart | Pursuit Photo |
VRR | Heatmap | Chart | Photo |
Standard | Heatmap | Chart | Photo |
Faster | Heatmap | Chart | Photo |
Extreme | Heatmap | Chart | Photo |
The CAD at 120Hz is impressive. There's a bit of smearing, but for the most part, motion looks sharp with VRR enabled. Without VRR, the 'Standard' overdrive setting results in similar motion handling.
Overdrive Mode | CAD Heatmap | RT Chart | Pursuit Photo |
VRR | Heatmap | Chart | Photo |
Standard | Heatmap | Chart | Photo |
Faster | Heatmap | Chart | Photo |
Extreme | Heatmap | Chart | Photo |
The CAD at 60Hz impressive. There's more blur than at higher refresh rates, and once again the 'Standard' overdrive with VRR disabled performs similarly to enabling VRR.
The Samsung Neo G9 has an option in the Response Time setting called 'Extreme (MBR),' but it doesn't change the backlight flicker and doesn't seem to be working properly. This could get fixed with a firmware update, so we'll retest it if it does.
Unfortunately, this monitor has noticeable VRR flicker with changing frame rates that's most noticeable in dark scenes. Unlike other Samsung monitors, there's no setting for VRR Control, but changing the resolution to 3840x2160 triggers a feature similar to VRR Control as there's no flickering. That said, even with this signal, there's still no option in the OSD to enable or disable VRR Control.
The Samsung G95NC has low input lag for a responsive feel, and it doesn't increase with a lower refresh rate or even if you change the resolution.
This monitor works well with the PS5 if you have it connected to HDMI 1. However, because the console doesn't support ultrawide gaming, you'll get black bars on the screen, and the 16:9 image only takes up half the screen. Using HDMI 2 or 3 limits the refresh rate to 60Hz, and you can't use VRR.
The Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 Monitor works properly with the Xbox Series X|S, as long as you have it connected to HDMI 1, because HDMI 2 and 3 only support a max refresh rate of 60Hz with the console and without VRR. Besides that, there aren't any compatibility issues on HDMI 1, but because the console doesn't support ultrawide signals, you'll see black bars on the screen. Keep in mind that the console doesn't support HDR with 1440p or 1080p signals, so this isn't a limitation of the monitor.
Unlike HDMI 2 or 3, which support 48 Gbps of bandwidth, HDMI 1 is limited to 32 Gbps bandwidth, as you can see here.
The Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 has two USB-B ports, which you need for the KVM switch.
This monitor works well with macOS, but you must use an HDMI 2.1 device for the highest resolution. You can get the max resolution using a 2023 MacBook Pro, which uses HDMI 2.1, but the refresh rate is limited to 60Hz. That said, on older devices, the max resolution is 3840x1080. Using a USB-C to DisplayPort cable, this monitor supports the entire refresh rate range with VRR, but HDR looks bad as the color temperature is on the warm side, and we don't suggest using it. Over HDMI with an HDMI 2.0 device, it only supports a fixed 60Hz refresh rate with a 4k resolution.
The Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 has a few neat features, including a KVM switch that makes it easy to switch devices and use the same keyboard and mouse connected to the computer. To use it, you need to connect each USB-B port to your two computers and connect your keyboard and mouse to the monitor over USB-A. From there, you need to configure the USB Source Setup in the OSD to match the video input with the USB input. Once you change the video input, the KVM switch changes quickly, and there aren't any issues with it.
It also has a Picture-in-Picture and Picture-by-Picture mode that you can use to view images from two sources at once. You can customize the position of the two images.
Other than these productivity features, it has a few extra features, like:
Unlike the Samsung Odyssey OLED G9/G95SC S49CG95, this monitor doesn't support Tizen OS.