The G5 is a budget friendly curved gaming monitor released by Samsung in 2020. So, is this display any good for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and other game consoles?
You can find out in this Seeking Tech guide.
Quick Summary
The Samsung G5 Odyssey is a good gaming monitor if you want to play the new Sony and Microsoft consoles at 120 frames per second. The screen supports 120fps at 1080p with the PS5 as well as 120fps at 1080p and 1440p with the Xbox Series X and S.
The product also supports variable refresh rate and 4K downscaling to 1440p.
When it comes to HDR, however, the G5 is not ideal for the new gaming systems as it lacks support for Dolby Vision and a wide color gamut. Last but not least, this TV’s brightness levels are also too low to really bring out the colors of HDR.
Screen Sizes
The Samsung G5 Odyssey Gaming Monitor comes in two screen size options as you can pick between 27 inches or 32 inches.
You can take a look at the model number for each version below:
- 27-inch: LC27G55TQWNXZA
- 32-Inch: LC32G55TQWNXZA
Does the Samsung Odyssey G5 comes with any HDMI 2.1 ports?
The Odyssey G5 does not come with any HDMI 2.1 ports. Instead, the monitor includes a single HDMI 2.0 port.
Native Refresh Rate
The Samsung monitor has a native refresh rate of 144 Hz, which means that it can play games at up to 144 frames per second.
The maximum frame rate is 120 frames per second for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S games.
Maximum Resolution
The G5 has a maximum resolution of 1440p.
Supported Resolutions for PS5, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S
Currently, the PlayStation 5 does not support 1440p although Sony could add compatibility via a future firmware update. As we mentioned above, the G5 is not a 4K monitor; not to mention that it also won’t downscale a 4K video to 1440p. As a result, you are limited to playing PS5 games in 1080p.
With the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, you can play games in 1080p and 1440p.
FreeSync, G-Sync and Variable Refresh Rate Support
The Samsung Odyssey G5 supports FreeSync, G-Sync and Variable Refresh Rate. These features will smooth out frame rates and reduce screen tears.
Variable Refresh Rate, or VRR, is currently supported by the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S while Sony will be adding compatibility to the PlayStation 5 in a future firmware update.
Samsung Odyssey G5’s Input Lag
According to RTINGS, the Odyssey G5 Curved Monitor has extremely low input lag at 1440p, with variable refresh rate enabled and with black frame insertion.
The latency is more noticeable at 1440p/60Hz and with 10-bit HDR. With that said, the lag still falls below our recommended upper limit of 30 ms for a responsive gaming experience.
You can find the G5 input lag tests results below (via RTINGS):
- 1440p: 4.2 ms
- 1440p and 60Hz: 23.5 ms
- Variable Refresh Rate: 4.6 ms
- Variable Refresh Rate and 60Hz: 9.7 ms
- 10-Bit HDR: 24.2 ms
- Black Frame Insertion: 4.4 ms
Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDR10+ and Wide Color Gamut Support
While the Samsung G5 Odyssey Curved Gaming Monitor supports HDR10, it does not support HDR10+, Dolby Vision or Wide Color Gamut.
The PS5, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S utilizes HDR10. The new Xbox Series consoles will also utilize Dolby Vision in a future firmware update.
Samsung Odyssey G5’s HDR Capabilities
According to RTINGS, the Odyssey G5 has low HDR brightness levels as it can only reach 298 cd/m² at HDR Real Scene Peak Brightness in addition to 297 cd/m² at both HDR Peak 100% Window: 297 cd/m² and HDR Sustained 100% Window: 297 cd/m².
To really highlight HDR, you need a television set that can display at least 500 cd/m². The G5 falls way below that recommended brightness level.
You can take a look at the HDR bright levels for the gaming monitor below (via RTINGS):
- HDR Real Scene Peak Brightness: 298 cd/m²
- HDR Peak 2% Window: 159 cd/m²
- HDR Peak 10% Window: 297 cd/m²
- HDR Peak 25% Window: 297 cd/m²
- HDR Peak 50% Window: 297 cd/m²
- HDR Peak 100% Window: 297 cd/m²
- HDR Sustained 2% Window: 158 cd/m²
- HDR Sustained 10% Window: 296 cd/m²
- HDR Sustained 25% Window: 297 cd/m²
- HDR Sustained 50% Window: 297 cd/m²
- HDR Sustained 100% Window: 297 cd/m²
- HDR ABL: 0.043
Is the Samsung Odyssey G5 good for PS5, Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X?
The Samsung Odyssey G5 is a pretty good curved gaming monitor if you want to play PlayStation 5 games at 120 frames per second in 1080p as well as Xbox Series X and S games at 120 frames per second in 1080p/1440p.
The screen also supports variable refresh rate and has low input lag.
The Odyssey G5 does struggle with HDR, however, as it does not support Dolby Vision and lack a wide color gamut. The HDR brightness levels are also very poor.
The maximum resolution for the G5 is 1440p although you can downscale 4K video signals to 1440p for better image quality.
So, for gaming on HDR, you are better off looking for another gaming monitor.
Is the Samsung Odyssey G5 good for Switch, PS4, and Xbox One?
Thanks to the low input lag, the Samsung Odyssey G5 is a great monitor for older HDMI consoles like the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Wii U, Nintendo Switch, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
As we stated above, this isn’t a great HDR monitor. So, it struggles at displaying games that support this display feature on consoles such as the PS4, PS4 Pro, Xbox One S and Xbox One X.