(Credit: Samsung)
We’ve seen 500Hz gaming monitors before. But now Samsung says it’s launching the first one to use an OLED panel, which promises top-notch visuals for PC gaming.
On Sunday, the company released the 27-inch Odyssey OLED G6, which it says "raises the bar" for today’s gaming displays.
The OLED G6 debuted at CES in January, but at the time, it had a refresh rate of 360Hz. The company has since cranked up the spec to an excessive, but impressive 500Hz, making it ideal for professional esports gamers looking for an edge in first-person shooters.
(Credit: Samsung)The monitor also uses a Samsung’s QD-OLED panel, which combines OLED technology with Samsung’s Quantum Dot material. This can produce more vibrant colors over traditional OLED panels while still offering true blacks for exceptional high color contrast. Customers can expect a peak brightness of 1,000 nits, similar to other monitors that use QD-OLED panels.
The OLED G6 also features a 2,560-by-1,440 resolution, a VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500 certification, along with a 0.03-millisecond response time. In addition, the monitor supports Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro. The entire package is designed to offer “fluid, sharp and responsive” gaming, according to Samsung.
(Credit: Samsung)
(Credit: Samsung)To prevent OLED burn-in, Samsung says it built a "heat pipe" system to better distribute heat and cool the monitor. The OLED G6 is also smart enough to reduce the brightness in certain parts of the screen to further reduce the heat.
The only problem is that the US won't be part of the initial rollout. Instead, Samsung will begin OLED G6 sales in Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia, “followed by a phased rollout to additional global markets later this year." In Singapore, the company is selling the OLED G6 at a temporary discount of $1,488 Singapore dollars, which translates to $1,140 US dollars.