In this 4K heyday, this 34-inch ultrawide 1440p gaming monitor is one of our firm favorites. Samsung's Odyssey G5 34-inch ultrawide gaming monitor offers all of that and just got a handsome price cut, available for $399.99 from Best Buy. (Open in new tab)

It nails some of the sweet spots on the gaming panel. In addition to a 3440 x 1440 pixel resolution for the ideal balance of image detail and frame rate, these include a 165 Hz refresh, 1 ms response time, and an immersive 1000R curve.

What's the Catch?" Most obviously, Samsung only claims a peak brightness of 250 nits. Certainly, this panel supports HDR10 signal processing. However, this level of brightness is far from a true HDR display.

It is also based on VA panel technology, not IPS. VA usually has a negative impact on pixel response. However, Samsung is a master of VA panels and manufactures its own panels rather than purchasing them. They are the only company that has succeeded in making VA technology comparable to IPS in pixel response.

As for connectivity, there are DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI, but the latter is only an HDMI 2.0 specification, so it is unclear if full 165 Hz refresh is possible with HDMI; it may only be possible with the DisplayPort interface.

Of course, it would be unreasonable to expect USB Type-C power delivery at this price point. As one might expect, it is not on board. And definitely not important from a gaming perspective.

It is worth noting that there are a billion different models of Samsung Odyssey G5 monitors, including some that are completely different in size and resolution from this 34-inch model. Therefore, if you are sourcing from a source other than the link provided, be careful to select the correct panel.

Overall, it is a lot of monitor for the money, and if you are okay with limited brightness, this could be a great buy.