The Samsung Odyssey G5 C27G55T is a budget-friendly 1440p gaming monitor. It sits below the Samsung Odyssey G7 C32G75T in Samsung's 2020 lineup, and it's since been replaced by the Samsung Odyssey G5/G55A S27AG55. It has the basic gaming features most gaming monitors have, like a 144Hz refresh rate, native FreeSync variable refresh rate (VRR) support, and G-SYNC compatibility. It's available in various sizes, as there are 27 and 32-inch models with a 16:9 aspect ratio and an ultrawide 34-inch model. All of them feature a curved screen with an aggressive 1000R curve.
Our Verdict
The Samsung Odyssey G5 is okay overall. It's decent for gaming as it has VRR support to reduce screen tearing and low input lag for a responsive feel, but it has a bad response time that results in black smearing. It's decent for media consumption because it has a high contrast that displays deep blacks in dark rooms, but if you're watching HDR content, it fails to display a wide range of colors and make them bright. It isn't bad for the office because it has a 27-inch screen with decent text clarity, but it has limited ergonomics, so it's hard to adjust.
- Available in different sizes.
- Decent text clarity.
- Decent for well-lit rooms.
- Limited ergonomics.
- Narrow viewing angles.
- Terrible motion handling.
The Samsung Odyssey G5 is mediocre for office use. Its screen is big enough for multitasking with two windows side-by-side, and it has decent text clarity thanks to its 1440p resolution. It has good reflection handling, but it isn't bright enough to overcome direct sunlight. Unfortunately, its ergonomics are terrible because it only allows for tilt adjustment, and the narrow viewing angles aren't ideal for sharing work with coworkers.
- Available in different sizes.
- Decent text clarity.
- Decent for well-lit rooms.
- Limited ergonomics.
- Narrow viewing angles.
- Lack of office-oriented features like a USB hub.
The Samsung Odyssey G5 is a decent gaming monitor. The 27-inch screen is big enough for an immersive experience, and the 1440p resolution results in decent image clarity. It also has VRR support to reduce screen tearing, and gaming feels responsive thanks to its low input lag. However, motion looks bad as it has a slow response time, and there's noticeable black smearing. It has a high contrast if you want to use it for dark room gaming, but it doesn't have a local dimming feature to further improve the contrast.
- FreeSync VRR and G-SYNC compatibility.
- Low input lag.
- High native contrast.
- Terrible motion handling.
- Lack of local dimming feature.
The Samsung Odyssey G5 is decent for watching videos. It displays deep blacks if you want to watch content in dark rooms, but there's noticeable backlight bleed, and it doesn't have a local dimming feature to improve the uniformity. Sadly, it's bad for sharing content on the screen with others due to its narrow viewing angles and terrible ergonomics, meaning the screen is hard to adjust, and the image looks washed out unless you're sitting directly in front of it.
- Available in different sizes.
- High native contrast.
- Limited ergonomics.
- Narrow viewing angles.
- Lack of local dimming feature.
The Samsung Odyssey G5 is okay for media creation. It has a large screen and high resolution, allowing you to work with two windows opened side-by-side. It has a good SDR color gamut with great coverage of the sRGB color space, but it has limited coverage of the Adobe RGB color space. Unfortunately, it has terrible ergonomics and narrow viewing angles, which isn't ideal for sharing your screen with others.
- Available in different sizes.
- Decent text clarity.
- Decent for well-lit rooms.
- Limited ergonomics.
- Narrow viewing angles.
- Can't display a wide range of colors.
The Samsung Odyssey G5 is disappointing for HDR. While it displays deep blacks for dark room usage, it has disappointing uniformity because there's backlight bleed, and it doesn't have a local dimming feature to improve it. Unfortunately, highlights don't pop, and colors aren't vivid because it has low HDR peak brightness and doesn't display a wide range of colors.
- High native contrast.
- Lack of local dimming feature.
- Disappointing HDR peak brightness.
- Can't display a wide range of colors.
Changelog
- Updated Aug 10, 2023: Added that the Samsung Odyssey G5/G51C S27CG51 is a similar monitor with a faster Response Time at its max refresh rate.
- Updated Dec 16, 2022: Changed the name to the Samsung Odyssey G5 C27G55T to be more consistent with other Samsung monitors.
- Updated Nov 23, 2022: Updated text for accuracy and clarity to align with results of Test Bench 1.2. Also fixed test results in the SDR Color Gamut and PS5 Compatibility boxes.
- Updated May 02, 2022: We tested the monitor with the PS5's new variable refresh rate feature and confirmed that it's not compatible, since the PS5 only supports HDMI Forum VRR.
Check Price
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 27-inch Samsung Odyssey G5, and the results are also valid for the 32-inch model. There's also an ultrawide 34-inch variant available, but it performs differently because it has a higher refresh rate and different resolution, and you can see the differences between them below. This monitor is part of Samsung's 2020 Odyssey lineup, and it has since been replaced by the Samsung Odyssey G5/G55A S27AG55.
| Size | North America | Europe | Aspect Ratio | Resolution | Max. Refresh Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27" | LC27G55TQWNXZA | LC27G55TQWUXEN | 16:9 | 2560 x 1440 | 144Hz |
| 32" | LC32G55TQWNXZA | LC32G55TQWUXEN | 16:9 | 2560 x 1440 | 144Hz |
| 34" | LC34G55TWWNXZA | LC34G55TWWUXEN | 21:9 | 3440 x 1440 | 165Hz |
Our unit of the G5 Odyssey was manufactured in July 2020; you can see the label here.
Popular Monitor Comparisons
The Samsung G5 is a decent budget gaming monitor. However, it doesn't perform as well as other similar monitors in its price range, like the ViewSonic VX2758-2KP-MHD. The ViewSonic has a faster response time, much wider viewing angles, and gets a lot brighter.
For more options, check out our recommendations for the best 1440p 144Hz monitors, the best curved gaming monitors, and the best gaming monitors.
The Samsung Odyssey G55T C34G55T is a larger variant of the Samsung Odyssey G55T C27G55T with a 34-inch screen and 21:9 aspect ratio. The 27-inch version is also available in a 32-inch size, and they each have a 16:9 aspect ratio. Each variant has mainly the same features and design, but the 34-inch variant has a DisplayPort 1.4 input, allowing it to produce a higher 165Hz refresh rate. We encountered a lot of bugs with VRR and input lag on the 34-inch model that we didn't see on the 27-inch model, but your experience may vary.
The Samsung Odyssey G50A S27AG50 is a newer monitor than the Samsung Odyssey G55T C27G55T, but they're different monitors. The S27AG50 has an IPS panel with wider viewing angles and a flat screen, while the C27G55T has a VA panel with better contrast, and the screen is curved. The S27AG50 has much better motion handling because it has a quicker response time, and there's no black smearing like on the C27G55T. It also has a slightly higher max refresh rate. On the other hand, the C27G55T's BFI feature works at a much wider range, and it has built-in speakers, which the S27AG50 doesn't.
The ViewSonic VX2758-2KP-MHD is much better than the Samsung Odyssey G55T C27G55T. The ViewSonic has a much faster response time, higher peak brightness, and its IPS panel provides much wider viewing angles. However, the Samsung is better suited for dark rooms due to its good contrast ratio, and it's available in two sizes, 27 and 32 inches.
The Gigabyte G27Q is better than the Samsung Odyssey G55T C27G55T because it has a better response time that results in a clearer image with a shorter blur trail behind fast-moving objects. It also has wider viewing angles that make it easier to share content and gets significantly brighter to combat glare. The Gigabyte can display a wide color gamut for HDR, but the Samsung has a much better contrast ratio to produce deeper blacks.
We buy and test more than 30 monitors each year, all of which we purchase ourselves, without cherry-picked units or samples. We put a lot into each unbiased, straight-to-the-point review, and there's a whole process from purchasing to publishing, involving multiple teams and people. We do more than just use the monitor for a week; we use specialized, custom tools to measure various aspects and deliver objective, data-driven results. We also consider multiple factors before making any recommendations, including the monitor's cost, its performance compared to the competition, and whether it's easy to find.
Test Results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for videos & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for videos & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
