Editor’s Pick: ick: Revisiting the Samsung Neo G9
Is OLED the future of PC displays?
FOR AN ANSWER to the question posed above, you’ll have to wait for the next issue and our full review of the new Alienware AW3423DW QD-OLED panel, the first true OLED monitor for gamers.
But what I can say right now, however, is that Alienware has got me thinking. As I soaked up the incredible contrast, colors, and speed, the question was whether it made every gaming monitor that came before it redundant. Is it really that good? In some ways it is. But by other measures, it doesn’t get off the starting line.
In size and resolution terms, it’s an ordinary 34-inch monitor with a 3,440x 1,440 resolution. For pixel density, it is blown out of the water by any 4K gaming panel. Then there’s sheer scale, which is where the troubled Samsung Neo G9 comes in. Sure, the Neo G9 was buggy at launch. But doesn’t its preposterous 49inch girth and incredible wrap-around 1000R curvature count for something?
OK, the Neo G9 is more expensive than the Alienware at $1,999. But if you’re spending $1,299, you can probably afford $1,999. Plus, the original G9, which is identical save for slightly less advanced backlighting tech, can now be had for less than the Alienware OLED.
Anyway, what I’m getting at is that, currently, you can’t have everything. You can have OLED, but not with a ton of pixels or a huge curved panel. So, if you had to choose between the OLED delights of the new Alienware panel and the epic scale of the G9, which should it be?
We reviewed the Neo G9 here with some serious issues, including an inability to get near the claimed 2,000 nit brightness, faulty HDR tone mapping, scanlines, and more. The latest firmware update addresses most of those issues. The panel can now hit well over 2,000 nits and the HDR tone mapping is fixed. However, some issues involving local dimming and SDR content remain. The scanline problems haven’t been entirely fixed either.
All that makes it hard to recommend the Neo G9, but not impossible. Because, boy, when this thing is working right, it’s stunning. The way it wraps around and dominates your field of view is special. With HDR working, it’s also extraordinary in image quality terms. Bright light sources in HDR games, such as a shaft of sunlight in Cyberpunk2077, positively sizzle. In terms of absolute peak brightness, it’s got more game than the Alienware OLED monitor. As for speed, the Neo G9 is very good for an LCD panel. But without wanting to give too much away, it simply isn’t in the same zip code as OLED for pixel response.
So, which would I choose? That’s a tough question. For fundamentals like lighting, contrast, and viewing angles, a per-pixel emissive technology like OLED is simply superior. It’s faster than LCD, too. On the other hand, LCD tech is now incredibly good at compensating for its inherent disadvantages. And the sheer size and immersion provided by the Neo G9 make it very special indeed.
For me, the answer is that I don’t want either of them on account of both suffering pretty poor pixel density of below 110DPI. My daily driver is a 32-inch 4K panel with 140ppi and that’s barely enough to satiate my demand for sharp fonts and crispy image detail. But if I had to choose between the Samsung Neo G9 and the Alienware AW3423DW, it would be the G9 warts and all. In the end, size does matter. And 34 inches doesn’t do it for me.
$1,999, www.samsung.com