Samsung’s latest addition to the Odyssey gaming monitor line is pretty bonkers – the Odyssey Arc (G97NB) has a curved 55” panel with 165Hz refresh rate. And wait until you see “cockpit mode”. The Arc is a 55” 4K monitor with 1000R curvature (meaning the same curvature as a circle with a radius of 1m/3.3ft). The resolution is 3,840 x 2,160px for a standard 16:9 aspect ratio.
The panel uses Quantum Mini LEDs for local
dimming (1,056 zones) combined with 14-bit processing. This gives it 16,384
black levels and a static contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1. It supports “Quantum
HDR 2000”, meaning a peak brightness of 2,000nits (with some Samsung marketing
thrown in). The display has a matte finish for reduced glare and reflections.
The display has a refresh rate of 165Hz (with FreeSync Premium Pro support) and
1ms gray-to-gray response time. If you’re playing older titles, the Neural
Quantum Processor Ultra can upscale them to 4K resolution.
The stand you get in the box lets you
adjust the height and tilt, plus there are three wall mount options (200x200,
300x300 and 400x400). As for cockpit mode, it lets you rotate the screen 90° in
a way that keeps the bottom part of the screen mostly vertical while the rest
of the screen hangs overhead. The Odyssey Arc has an impressive sound system
built in – there are four speakers (one in each corner) plus 2 woofers at the
bottom for a total output of 60W (and a frequency response that goes as low as
45Hz).
The monitor has several advanced features
that can be controlled with the included Ark Dial remote control. The Ark is as
large as four 22.5” monitors and you can use it as such for a borderless
multi-monitor setup (yes, there are four HDMI inputs). Or if you flip it in
Cockpit mode, you can have a vertical stack of three virtual monitors.
Additionally, with Flex Move Screen you can adjust the image size between 55”
and 27” and change the aspect ratio from 16:9 through 21:9 to 32:9. The Ark
Dial is solar powered like the remote controls of recent Samsung TVs.
The monitor has several helpful gaming
features. The Game Bar lets you quickly check that everything is in order –
that you’re getting the frame rate you think you are, that HDR and VRR are
enabled and so on. Samsung Gaming Hub comes pre-loaded, it will recommend games
from multiple streaming services, including Xbox, GeForce Now an Stadia.
The monitor runs Tizen for all its
advanced features. This also gives it Amazon Alexa and Samsung SmartThings
support. Pre-orders for the Samsung Odyssey Ark gaming monitor start later
today. We're about to tell you the price, but you may want to sit down first - US$ 3,500.
