Samsung launches Odyssey OLED G6 gaming monitor with 500Hz refresh rate

Yes, it's true: Samsung has launched the first-ever gaming monitor with a 500Hz refresh rate.

Announced at CES early this year, Samsung's groundbreaking Odyssey OLED G6 gaming monitor is now officially available to add to your cart starting Aug. 13. It comes in just one size, 27 inches, and retails for $999.99. If you're looking for a potential way to gain a winning edge strictly from device performance, it doesn't get any faster than 500Hz.

The Odyssey OLED G6 gaming monitor is the first of its kind. Previously, OLED gaming monitor technology hadn't reached the refresh rate performance heights of IPS monitors, making IPS the panel of choice for most gamers. But the Odyssey G6 is here to change that. With a borderline outrageous 500Hz refresh rate, it's built for those "who demand peak performance across long gaming sessions." Although, as our friends at PCMag (also owned by Ziff Davis) pointed out, most people probably won't notice a huge difference beyond the 240Hz mark (at least on a laptop).

Besides the inconceivably speedy refresh rate, it features a QHD resolution (2,560 x 1440) with a 16:9 aspect ratio, an ultra-fast 0.03ms response time, a peak brightness of 1,000 nits, two HDMI 2.1 ports and a single DisplayPort 1.4 port, and support for both AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and NVIDIA G-Sync. Its QD-OLED panel is also Pantone Validated and utilizes Samsung’s Glare Free technology to minimize reflections.

Aside from the Odyssey OLED G6, Samsung also launched the 37-inch Odyssey G7 and 40-inch Odyssey G7 monitors. The 37-inch monitor features a 4K curved 16:9 VA panel with a typical brightness of 350 nits and a 165Hz refresh rate, while the 40-inch model features an ultra-wide 21:9 aspect ratio with the same brightness, a 180Hz refresh rate, split screen capabilities for side-by-side gameplay, and content management capabilities. These models are available today at Samsung, Amazon, and Best Buy for $899.99 and $1,199.99, respectively.