Samsung has announced its second-generation Odyssey Ark monitor, a 55-inch 4K 165 Hz. This is a very large screen, but unfortunately very expensive; at $3,000, one would hope it would be something very special.

At first glance, nothing immediately stands out, especially when compared to the original Odyssey Ark that engulfed us last year. The screen size is 55 inches, with a resolution of 4K and a maximum refresh rate of 165 Hz. Samsung continues to use a VA panel with a curvature of 1000R, and the LCD is backlit by mini LEDs.

The remote controller, called the arc dial, is still included, allowing users to adjust all of the various settings without having to fiddle around under the panel. The screen is HDR10+ compatible and has a matte finish to reduce glare, and the multi-view feature remains its biggest selling point.

This is the ability to view four separate sources simultaneously, which is equivalent to having four 27.5-inch 1080p displays side by side. Alternatively, the whole thing can be rotated 90 degrees to enjoy the sensation of being confined to the monitor.

And if 55 inches of 4K in front of your face is a bit much, a quick touch of a button can shrink the display to 27 inches. Of course, it's not the actual panel, just the amount of pixels used on the screen.

So what has actually changed? While the original model had four HDMI 2.1 connections, the updated version has two HDMI 2.2, one HDMI 2.0, and one DisplayPort 1.4 port. At the very least, the flexibility of the devices that can be connected is slightly improved.

In addition, a built-in KVM switch allows one keyboard and mouse to control multiple devices.

As far as I know, that's it. In other words, unless you really wanted this particular monitor, but it had to have a DisplayPort connection, I don't see any reason to buy it when the previous model is, by all accounts, the same thing.

Especially when it is currently available on Newegg for $1,800.

Personally, it's not for me. If I could throw that kind of money at a new gaming monitor, I would buy the Asus ROG Swift PG42UQ. Sure, it's a lot smaller and there's always the risk of OLED burn-in, but it's less than half the price of the Odyssey Ark.