by theygamesA new report has shown that OLED gaming monitors have taken off like a rocket this year – no chopsticks required – with sales data from Trendforce tallying with our own experience, which shows monitor manufacturers have massively ramped up production this year and buyers are making the change too. Leading the charge is Samsung, with its QD-OLED panel technology proving to be a hit. However, there are a host of other great options out there too.
This trend towards OLED is also reflected in our best gaming monitor guide, with around a quarter of our top picks being OLED displays, including models from MSI and Samsung. Concerns still exist about the fact that OLED has a finite life (details below) and LCDs remain the better option for many applications, but OLED is clearly a compelling choice for gamers.
The Trendforce report details how OLED monitor shipments are projected to reach 1.44 million units by the end of 2024, which works out as a 181% rise from 2023. This should hardly be surprising given we’ve seen a number of new manufacturers enter the OLED monitor space lately, with prices dropping rapidly compared to last year.
Despite this greater affordability, it’s Samsung’s huge 49-inch displays that have led the charge. The company is forecast to reach a 31% share of the market this year, with its superwide panels being among its most popular options. Sure enough, one of our long-running favorites is the Samsung Odyssey G9 G95SC, which was a $1,500 monitor last year but regularly dropped to around $1,000 this year – it has since sold out, with the G93 (LS49CG932SNXZA) being the new go-to option.
Next up is LG, which was the original biggest player in the OLED world, but its WOLED panel tech has been a trickier sell than Samsung’s QD-OLED tech. We found this to be the case in our LG 27GR95QE review, where this 240Hz, 1440p, 27-inch display had excellent gaming performance but low brightness and poor text sharpness. LG also doesn’t have the supply of tempting 49-inch superwide panels, so it has missed out on picking up customers for those panels. LG is projected to end the year with a 19% share of the market.
However, while LG has struggled in some areas, its 31.5-inch 4K displays have made a splash, particularly its models that offer the ability to switch from a 240Hz 4K mode to a 480Hz 1080p mode, such as the LG 32GS95UE (review coming very soon). Because a 4K resolution on a 32-inch screen makes for such a high pixel density, these setups largely overcome the problems with poor text clarity on lower-resolution LG displays.
Next up are Asus and Dell (including several popular Alienware models), with both companies offering a range of premium OLED options and securing a 14% share each of the market. The Asus PG27AQDM is a notable highlight from Asus, with its 27-inch size, 240Hz refresh rate, and reasonable $699 price – yes, that’s reasonable for an OLED.
However, it’s MSI that’s the really noticeable winner in these figures. It has recorded the highest growth rate and leaped to an 11% market share, having been largely a bit player in the monitor market previously. Its focus on aggressive pricing and simple, no-frills designs is what impressed us with both the 27-inch MSI MPG 271QRX and 49-inch MSI MPG 491CQP. MSI uses Samsung’s QD-OLED panels for its displays.
Gigabyte is another winner off the back of using Samsung QD-OLED panels repackaged into keenly-priced options. Displays such as its 27-inch Aorus FO27Q3 and 49-inch Aorus CO49DQ both offer fantastic value for the specs on offer.
As for the overall pros and cons of OLED gaming monitors, the biggest advantage for gaming is the essentially instant response time of OLED. Where LCD panels can take between 0.5ms and 15ms (depending on panel type and other factors) for a pixel to change color, OLED takes typically around 0.03ms, which is between 10x and 100x faster. That means you don’t get the ghostly trails behind moving images that can plague LCDs, making for a snappier-feeling, sharper-looking display.
The other key advantage is the ability for OLED pixels to completely turn off. Without having many thousands of individual backlights that turn off independently (these exist, but are rare), LCDs can’t achieve true blackness, so “black” on LCDs looks slightly gray. This results in relatively poor contrast ratios between 1,000:1 and 3,000:1, whereas OLEDs have effectively infinite contrast, often labeled as 1,500,000:1.
As for the downsides, the biggest one is that OLED panels don’t last forever. The organic part of the organic light-emitting diode breaks down with use, causing issues such as burn-in, which is where a permanent image starts to appear etched onto the screen. OLED tech has improved in recent years, with panels consistently lasting several years without much evidence of burn-in, but you’re unlikely to get ten years out of a panel (I own LCDs that are decades old and still work perfectly), especially if you use it every day for work as well as gaming.
The other problem is that the way OLED panels are made means text can look a bit fuzzy compared to the same pixel density (resolution/screen size) on an LCD. It’s worst on LG WOLED panels, but it does affect Samsung QD-OLED panels too. It’s bad enough that we flat out don’t recommend LG WOLED panels for work if they have a pixel density lower than 140ppi (4K on a 32-inch screen). QD-OLED panels are ok at 110ppi (1440p on a 27-inch display), but we would still choose an LCD at this density if the screen is to be used for work all day.
Regardless, it’s clear OLED is here to stay, and in fact dominate the market in years to come. We hope manufacturers manage to keep producing top-tier LCD panels too, as these remain great choices for work and play (it’s particularly alarming to see how the supply of 34-inch IPS gaming monitors has all but dried up). However, for gamers seeking the best in performance and stunning image quality, OLED is the choice right now.
If you’ve already succumbed to the temptation of an OLED monitor and found yourself needing a GPU upgrade to get the most from it, check out our best graphics card guide to find the best choice for your needs.