Look, I know I said you should avoid this monitor if you valued your sanity. But I also said that underneath it all, the Samsung Odyssey G8 OLED G80SD is a fantastic monitor. And now you can have it for $999 from Newegg, fully $300 off its $1,299 launch price.
In my original review of this 32-inch, 240 Hz, 4K beauty, I had two main issues. One was the utterly infuriating user interface, which prioritised SmartTV functionality at every turn and then compounded the frustration with a plethora of separate but overlapping OSD menus.
Well, it is absolutely, mind-numbingly frustrating. But once you've got your head around the interface and set the thing up, well, you don't have to touch the interface much or use the SmartTV gubbins at all if you don't want.
I still don't think it makes sense to have a PC monitor that forces you to set itself up as a Smart TV before you can use it as a PC monitor. But it's a one-time annoyance and after that what you're left with, then, is what I thought might well be, "the punchiest example of a 4K QD-OLED monitor yet, perhaps thanks to what Samsung calls its Dynamic Cooling System, which incorporates pulsating heat pipes'. It's basically a phase-change heat pipe system built into the rear of the panel. Samsung says it's five times better than the graphite sheets competing brands are using."
Anyway, it's great to see this Samsung already receiving a significant haircut and at this new far lower price, I'd suck up that silly interface in return for one, if not the, finest 4K QD-OLED experience out there.
Incidentally, it's also on offer on Amazon for the same price. So, if it sells out at Newegg, head over to Amazon.
