My Samsung Odyssey G81SF review is publishing a bit later than most of the other reviews that have been out for a bit now. But that’s due to a miscommunication on delivery of my review unit. Thankfully, it was cleared up, and I ended up getting the Odyssey G81SF in my office to test. Better late than never, I say. Though, I would have liked a bit more time with it, I had to really move this review along due to my upcoming vacation with my family.
Estimated reading time: 14 minutes
That all being said, I will say, I knew what to expect as I had already seen the Samsung Odyssey G81SF at CES 2025. I had also already reviewed last year’s G80SD, an outstanding monitor in its own right, last year and this is the replacement for that monitor from last year. So let’s get into this review.
The Quick Take
Having already reviewed the remarkable 32″ Samsung G80SD last year. I have some experience with Samsung’s OLED gaming monitors. The G80SD was an astonishing experience and the new Samsung Odyssey G81SF is not an exception and ups the experience even further. The quick take is, the G81SF is not going to come to you cheaply, but it is worth the money if you have it to spend.
Score and Bottom Line
Samsung Odyssey G81SF
$1,299.99
Nailed it
- Clean and minimal design
- Easy to setup, no tools needed
- Super colorful and bright OLED panel with Quantum Dots
- Very crisp 4K resolution
- Samsung OLED Safeguard+ is great
- Excellent performance
Needs work
- Pretty expensive and some might not like that
- Needs a Thunderbolt 5 port or two
The QD-OLED 4K 166 PPI display on the Samsung Odyssey G81SF features Glare Free technology, TrueBlack 400, 240Hz performance, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and a Dynamic Cooling System. It’s also super slim and lightweight while being made of high metals. The visuals on this monitor are stunning, to say the least. I would have preferred a 32″ display, but that’s just me being me.
The older G80SD is 32″ but it doesn’t have the pixel density or performance of the G81SF. I think, for gamers, this will be a treat of a monitor to use. Everything is crisp, bright, clear, and the refresh rate is fantastic. One thing Samsung did, that other reviewers didn’t like, that I did like. They ditched the smart aspect for this monitor. So there is no smart interface and I think that’s just fine, it isn’t needed for a gaming monitor, IMO.
The Samsung Odyssey G81SF is a masterclass in gaming monitor build quality and performance. I highly recommend gamers put this on their top three gaming monitors to consider for 2025.
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Samsung Odyssey OLED G8 (G81SF) Specifications
- Display:
- Screen Size (Class): 27″
- Flat / Curved: Flat
- Active Display Size (HxV) (mm): 589.97 x 332.9 mm / 23.2 x 13.1 in.
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Panel Type: OLED
- Brightness (Typical): 250 cd/m2
- Brightness (Min): 200 cd/m2
- Contrast Ratio (Static): 1,000,000:1
- HDR (High Dynamic Range): VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400
- HDR10+: HDR10+ Gaming
- Resolution: 4K (3,840 x 2,160)
- Response Time (ms): 0.03ms (GTG)
- Viewing Angle (H/V): 178˚/178˚
- Color Support: Max 1B
- Color Gamut (DCI Coverage): 99% (CIE1976)
- Frame Rate: Max 240Hz
- General Feature:
- Energy Saving Solution: Yes
- Eye Saver Mode: Yes
- Flicker Free: Yes
- Picture-In-Picture: Yes
- Quantum Dot Color: Yes
- Image Size: Yes
- Windows Certification: Windows11
- FreeSync: FreeSync Premium Pro
- G-Sync: G-Sync Compatible
- Off Timer Plus: Yes
- Black Equalizer: Yes
- Virtual AIM Point: Yes
- Core Sync: Yes
- Super Arena Gaming UX: Yes
- Auto Source Switch: Auto Source Switch+
- Ultrawide GameView: Yes
- Smart Type: No
- Interface:
- 1, Display Port, Version 1.4, HDCP Version (DP) 2.2
- 2, HDMI, HDMI Version 2.1, HDCP Version (HDMI) 2.2
- 1, Headphone Jack
- 1, USB-B Upstream Port
- 2, USB Ports, USB Hub Version 3.2 Gen1, USB Type-A Downstream Port
- Audio:
- Operation Conditions:
- Temperature: 10–40 ℃
- Humidity: 10~80, non-condensing %
- Calibration:
- Factory Tuning: Yes
- Factory Calibration Report: Yes
- Design:
- Front Color: Silver
- Rear Color: Silver
- Stand Color: Silver
- Stand Type: HAS PIVOT
- HAS (Height Adjustable Stand): 120mm (±5.0mm)
- Tilt: -2.0º(± 2°) ~ 25.0º(± 2°)
- Swivel: -30.0º(± 3°) ~ 30.0º(± 3°)
- Pivot: -92.0º(± 2°) ~ 92.0º(± 2°)
- Wall Mount: 100 x 100
- Power:
- Power Supply: AC100-240V
- Power Consumption (Max): 140 W
- Type: External Adaptor
- Dimension:
- Set Dimension with Stand (WxHxD): 611.7 x 554.2 x 263.5 mm / 24.1 x 21.8 x 10.4 in.
- Set Dimension without Stand (WxHxD): 611.7 x 353.8 x 49.2 mm / 24.1 x 13.9 x 1.9 in.
- Package Dimension (WxHxD): 684 x 200 x 464 mm / 26.9 x 7.9 x 18.3 in.
- Weight:
- Set Weight with stand: 6.9 kg / 15.2 Lbs.
- Set Weight without stand: 3.8 kg / 8.4 Lbs.
- Shipping Weight: 9.5 kg / 20.9 Lbs.
What’s In The Box
- Samsung Odyssey G81SF
- Stand
- HDMI Cable
- DisplayPort Cable
- Power Brick
- Power Cable
Design
The Samsung Odyssey G81SF does not stray from the Odyssey design language and actually looks a lot like its older and bigger brother, the G80SD. You could use this at a work office, and turn off the RGB, and no one would know it was that special. Even the Odyssey logo is subtle and unassuming.
The front of the Odyssey G81SF is fairly plain, the bezels are thin but not invisible, they look good. The Samsung logo is tiny and centered at the bottom of the front panel. The overall color is silver with black accents and there is a venting rail at the bottom of the monitor.
The back of the Odyssey G81SF has a little more going on, with the majority of its silver coloring with black accents here. The Odyssey logo is on the back, and it is subtle and unassuming. There are a few accent lines and a vent here as well. Then there is the I/O, power button, and joystick. Then there is the RGB ring in the center that lights up and can be controlled through the interface, cool looking indeed! But you can opt to turn off the Core Lighting and not have to worry about distracting others with it.
Finally, on the back are the input and outputs, which are listed above in the specifications section. But here’s what you get:
- 1, Display Port, Version 1.4, HDCP Version (DP) 2.2
- 2, HDMI, HDMI Version 2.1, HDCP Version (HDMI) 2.2
- 1, Headphone Jack
- 1, USB-B Upstream Port
- 2, USB Ports, USB Hub Version 3.1 Gen1, USB Type-A Downstream Port
I wish they would have included a USB-C/Thunderbolt port on the back as well for creators to use external USB-C/Thunderbolt drives without having to get a USB-A dongle out. But this is a gaming monitor, not a specifically a creator monitor.
The stand is fairly simple, more on setting it up in the next section. But the stand articulates and has a cable management strap on the back. In does a good job of holding cables, but it’s pretty simple. The monitor swivels, and you can rotate it in portrait mode to. I think there’s a good amount of flexibility with this panel.
Overall, the design of the Samsung Odyssey G81SF is pretty simple and minimal. There’s nothing hugely crazy about it, and it doesn’t even look like a gaming monitor, except for the RGB ring on the back. I like this design, simple, effective, straightforward, and accessible.
Setup/Assembly
Assembling the stand is simple. It comes in two parts, the base and the arm. The base has a different design than previous monitors. The bottom of the arm lines up with the base, and then you twist it on and a button pops in place. To remove the arm, push the button and twist the arm off. It’s actually pretty nice to not have any tools needed. Then you simply slip the arm into the back of the monitor where the RGB ring is, and it locks in place. Easy as pie. Once setup, getting it going is easy to.
Setting up the Samsung Odyssey G81SF for first use is also easy. Choose your port, plug in your PC, and then scroll through the menus and set your preferred look. There’s nothing to this at all, and it is basically plug and play. I love the simplicity and ease of use here.
Display
So here we are at the display, what can I say about this thing? It’s a Samsung display, and we all know how damn good these things are!
The Samsung Odyssey G81SF OLED panel is vibrant and colorful with Quantum Dot backlighting. QD backlighting is Samsung’s answer to getting the brightness levels up on OLED displays, and boy does it work! Usually OLED displays are not super bright, but this one is wonderfully bright and from what I can tell, even slightly brighter than the G80SD. While still not at QLED brightness levels, it is brighter than older OLEDs and brighter than many other OLEDs on the market.
I’m not going to say much more about how great this panel looks, it is common knowledge how good Samsung panels are. It is colorful, vibrant, crisp, deep blacks, clean whites, and with Quantum Dot backlighting, makes it nice and bright. I think what we need to address is OLED burn in. Samsung is addressing this with what it calls OLED Safeguard+, here’s a simple explanation.
The main feature of Samsung’s OLED Safeguard+, the company’s proprietary Dynamic Cooling System, effectively cools down the screen temperature to prevent burn-in by applying the “Pulsating Heat Pipe.” Samsung’s OLED Safeguard+ probably needs a long-term test to really get an idea if it works well. So we didn’t have that long for testing. But hopefully, users can report back as to how well this new tech works.
Overall, this display is fantastic for creating videos and editing photos, but where it works brilliantly well, is for gaming. With its high refresh rate and super colorful and bright display this is a brilliant and fantastic display experience.
Performance
The Samsung Odyssey G81SF gaming monitor offers up ridiculously amazing 4K detail with a 166 PPI OLED screen. Samsung’s Glare Free technology eliminates reflections, and I have seen some reviewers who don’t like Glare Free. I, on the other hand, think that Glare Free is one of Samsung;’s greatest recent innovations, and it is very effective in eliminating harsh glare and reflection.
The Samsung Odyssey G81SF also features VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400, which is supposed to enhance contrast and color with deep blacks. As mentioned in the display section, the colors on this monitor are off the chart. Playing Borderlands was an outstanding experience as the colors just popped off the display and the blacks were amazing, which further helps those colors pop.
The Safeguard+ Dynamic Cooling System reduces heat 5x faster than graphite, preventing burn-ins. Thermal Modulation controls brightness to prevent overheating, and Logo and Taskbar Detection dims static images. OLED burn-in is a known issue for OLED, but with these new technologies, Samsung is hoping that this is going to help mitigate and reduce that dreaded burn-in issue that seems to plague OLED.
It’s too early to say if this will work, and I won’t have this monitor for very long. But it will be interesting to hear back from users a year from now and find out. Personally, I haven’t experienced burn-in on some of my older Samsung OLED monitors, but that’s mostly because I don’t game for hours and most of my content is constantly moving and not static in one place. Such as an in game map or stats bar.
The Samsung Odyssey G81SF has a 240Hz refresh rate and 0.03ms response time, gameplay is ultra-smooth. AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and VRR reduce screen lag and tearing. There aren’t many games or systems that support 240Hz, but it is nice to have, and it is nice to know you can get the max refresh rate your system and games will support.
All the games I played on this monitor worked seamlessly, and I saw no lag or dropped frames. Some of the games I played are listed below, and I used Steam and the Xbox app on my PC.
- Borderlands 3
- Hogwarts Legacy
- Sniper Elite Series
- Forza Series
- Destiny
- UFC Series
- Star Wars various titles
Overall, the performance is on point and this monitor is made for gamers without any fluff or extras, aside from what gaming requires.
Software/Interface
The G80SD was rolled out as a gaming and a smart monitor. So the monitor came with Samsung’s interface that allowed you to play Xbox games and even watch streaming services. That was all well and good, and it had its place and users. But Samsung went back to basics with the Samsung Odyssey G81SF and stripped those features out and opted for the traditional menu-based interface.
This is controlled by the joystick/button combo on the back of the monitor. It’s not changed much from the past years. Here you can choose all the monitor settings as well as control the lighting effects on the back of the monitor. It’s straightforward and simple, which I think is that gamers want so they can get to their gaming. Overall, I think Samsung made the right choice by sticking with simplicity and not over complicating the software and interface.
Price/Value
Clocking in at over twelve-hundred dollars, the Samsung Odyssey G81SF isn’t going to come cheap. But the value is most certainly here, as the Samsung Odyssey G81SF is one of the best gaming monitors you can get your hands on right now. I dare say that it may even be the best gaming monitor in the 27″ size because it’s that good.
Wrap Up
The QD-OLED 4K 166 PPI display on the Samsung Odyssey G81SF features Glare Free technology, TrueBlack 400, 240Hz performance, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and a Dynamic Cooling System. It’s also super slim and lightweight while being made of high metals. The visuals on this monitor are stunning, to say the least. I would have preferred a 32″ display, but that’s just me being me.
The older G80SD is 32″ but it doesn’t have the pixel density or performance of the G81SF. I think, for gamers, this will be a treat of a monitor to use. Everything is crisp, bright, clear, and the refresh rate is fantastic. One thing Samsung did, that other reviewers didn’t like, that I did like. They ditched the smart aspect for this monitor. So there is no smart interface and I think that’s just fine, it isn’t needed for a gaming monitor, IMO.
The Samsung Odyssey G81SF is a masterclass in gaming monitor build quality and performance. I highly recommend gamers put this on their top three gaming monitors to consider for 2025.
