Samsung’s first Quantum Dot OLED gaming monitor is now available for pre-order in several countries, but not in the US. Not to be confused with the Odyssey Neo G8, the new Samsung Odyssey OLED G8 (G85SB) uses a super slim 34-inch panel with a 21:9 aspect ratio.

Samsung claims that the combination of OLED technology with Quantum Dots allows for a very bright display while maintaining true black, all without a dedicated backlight or color filter. This allows the screen to be just 3.9mm thick at its narrowest point. Anything that helps a screen lose weight at this size is welcome.

It features a 3440 x 1440 resolution and an excellent 175Hz refresh rate. It’s not the fastest refresh rate for resolution – the Neo G8 offers 240Hz at 3840 x 2160 – but the OLED technology helps pixels to change incredibly quickly. This translates to a response time of just 0.1ms, which should eliminate any apparent ghosting. This is joined by AMD FreeSync Premium for a very responsive gaming experience. For all intents and purposes, it’s the same panel as Alienware’s 34-inch curved gaming monitor, but with a slightly faster refresh rate.

The Odyssey OLED G8 isn’t just about speed. Its color reproduction is also impressive with 100% color volume for HDR content and 99.3% coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut. It also carries VESA DisplayHDR 400 True Black certification, which enables black levels of just 0.0005 cd/m3 for excellent contrast and dynamic range.

The display uses an 1800R curve to aid in-game immersion and to help with screen width. We find 1800R to be about right for a screen of this size, but it may depend on the user’s preferred working distance. A height-adjustable stand and tilt functionality round out the screen’s ergonomic layout, but no rotation.

Technically, the Odyssey OLED G8 can be used on its own without a connected PC, game console or media player. It incorporates Samsung’s Smart Hub which allows users to access streaming services like Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, YouTube and others. Combined with Gaming Hub, users can also play games through cloud services such as Xbox, NVIDIA GeForce NOW, Amazon Luna, and the ill-fated Google Stadia until its service shuts down for good.

Of course, the best experience will come from pairing it with a high-end gaming PC. The Odyssey OLED G8 offers micro-HDMI 2.1, mini-DisplayPort 1.4 and USB-C connectivity options. While we’d like to see DisplayPort 2.0/2.1, that’s just not necessary for the capabilities of this display. The monitor also includes 5W stereo speakers for those times when you don’t feel like donning headphones.

The Odyssey OLED G8 is available to pre-order now from Samsung’s UK website with a list price of £1,299.00 with other countries and regions. There’s still no sign of it on the US page, but we expect to see it appear soon, either in the days or weeks to come.