Samsung recently announced its new Odyssey OLED G6 gaming monitor, and its 500Hz refresh rate immediately caught our eye. It feels like just the other day when we first heard about 500Hz panels. In reality, that was over three years ago — display technology has come a long way since then.
Samsung says this is the world’s first OLED monitor to support such a refresh rate, and after a quick search, we’re inclined to believe them. Asus also have a monitor that will do 500Hz, but that one isn’t an OLED, meaning Samsung wins by a technicality.
Unfortunately, if you’re eager to get your hands on one of these, you’ll have to wait. They’re only being made available to pre-order in Southeast Asian markets for now. But Samsung has said a wider rollout will follow later this year — we’re keeping our fingers crossed South Africa is included in that.
Approaching the speed of light
At the heart of the Odyssey OLED G6 lies its 27in QHD (2,560 x 1,440px) OLED panel. There are plenty of other 27in QHD monitors around, but none of them are this fast. Along with the blistering 500Hz refresh rate, the Odyssey OLED G6 also claims a 0.03ms grey-to-grey (GTG) response time. We have no trouble believing that; it’s yet another benefit that comes with OLED displays.
Of course, the trade-off with impressive performance numbers is the increased chance of burn-in, as with any OLED monitor. We know it, you know it, and Samsung knows it, so it’s included what it calls OLED Safeguard+, which is meant to help prevent burn-in “even during extended use”. Other bells and whistles include G-Sync and FreeSync Premium Pro support, and it’s certified with VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500 and Pantone validated, meaning it should take colour-accurate work in its stride.
The only issue with the Odyssey OLED G6, apart from its likely exorbitant price tag, is the power required to run games at frame rates that high. The most likely candidates are esports titles like Counter-Strike 2, Valorant, or League of Legends. But even then, you’d better be packing some serious PC power to hit that 500fps mark.
The Odyssey OLED G6 is listed for S$1,688, which is around R23,665 when converted to Rands, but we expect that to be much higher if it ever lands in South Africa.
