ODYSSEY NEO G9 HANDS-ON

Matt Poskitt heads to Gamescom in Germany where he meets a very big monitor...

- Matt Poskitt

Sat among a bustling show floor in the heart of Cologne as part of Gamescom 2023, Samsung's open floor booth showcased the latest innovations in gaming monitors - most notably, the 57-inch Samsung Odyssey Neo G9.

Positioned as the 'world's first dual UHD monitor - meaning it can offer two 4K images next to one another - the model is a true behemoth to behold. With a pixel capability of 7,680 x 2,160 at a 32:9 aspect ratio, its near-8K power is another step closer to helping the technology reach the masses, though it's still quite a way off considering the two-grand-plus price tag.

While the fantasy MMROPG Black Desert Online was the only game I got to experience via the Neo G9 (it's developed by Korean developer Pearl Abyss so it's no surprise really), the vivid colours still shined through. As I charged into battle against a boss five times my side, the hack-and-slash combat coped amazingly well with the 240hz refresh rate, something that fans of shooters and battle royales will be pleased to hear. All of this is only enhanced further by the Quantum Mini-LED powering the Neo G9, providing 1000-nit peak brightness.

That said, to really take advantage of the Neo G9's full capabilities, you will need a mighty graphics card working in the background as well as one that is compatible with a DisplayPort 2.1 input. At the moment of writing, there actually aren't that many on the market either: AMD's Radeon 7900 range is one of the few current exceptions.