This 32-inch ultrawide Samsung gaming monitor is the cheapest it's ever been

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Samsung Odyssey G5 | 34-inch | 1440p | VA | 165Hz | $549.99 (opens in new tab)

Samsung Odyssey G5 | 34-inch | 1440p | VA | 165Hz | $549.99 $399.99 at Amazon (save $150) (opens in new tab)
A 34-inch ultrawide monster with a 165Hz refresh rate. It's not a fancy model with a mini-LED backlight, but it's a good screen for the price if you want to declare to the world: "I probably play Forza."

Choosing a gaming monitor is hard. You can spend days weighing the variables and considering all the tradeoffs. Eventually, though, you just have to make a decision: Are you going to plonk an enormous curved Samsung Odyssey G5 (on sale for $400 (opens in new tab)) on your desk and play some Forza or are you not?

You wouldn't be making a terrible choice if you did. You could spend less on a higher quality display, such as a 27-inch Dell monitor for $269.99 (opens in new tab), which gets you a better IPS panel and higher pixel density. But you'd be sacrificing the size, curvedness, and ultrawideness of this 34-inch ultrawide Samsung, which also has a slightly higher refresh rate. Decisions, decisions.

Dell S2721DGF| 27-inch | 1440p | IPS | 144Hz |  $329.99 (opens in new tab)

Dell S2721DGF| 27-inch | 1440p | IPS | 144Hz | $329.99 $269.99 at Dell (save $60) (opens in new tab)
One of the most popular 27-inch gaming monitors thanks to a great IPS panel, G-Sync compatibility, and 144Hz refresh. It's about as good as it gets in this price range.

Personally, I'd go with the Dell, but that's because I play competitive shooters and prefer screens that don't extend that far into my periphery. When I play Starfield next year, however, I might wish I could sit back and enjoy a bigger spectacle, and the oversized Samsung wouldn't be so bad.

The Samsung Odyssey G5 deal is also available from Samsung's site (opens in new tab), which lists the correct specs. (The Amazon page says it has an IPS panel for some reason, but it's a VA panel.) 

This year's deals season has turned out to be a pretty good time to buy a monitor. Or, maybe more accurately, it has made the past few years look like a bad time to buy a monitor. Amazon was trying to sell this Samsung Odyssey for $630 back in January, so waiting until now to go monitor shopping was the right choice. We've collected more deals like these in our Cyber Monday gaming monitor deals page.

Tyler Wilde
Executive Editor

Tyler grew up in Silicon Valley during the rise of personal computers, playing games like Zork and Arkanoid on the early PCs his parents brought home. He was later captivated by Myst, SimCity, Civilization, Command & Conquer, Bushido Blade (yeah, he had Bleem!), and all the shooters they call "boomer shooters" now. In 2006, Tyler wrote his first professional review of a videogame: Super Dragon Ball Z for the PS2. He thought it was OK. In 2011, he joined PC Gamer, and today he's focused on the site's news coverage. His hobbies include amateur boxing and adding to his 1,200-plus hours in Rocket League.