JEREMY LAIRD, CONTRIBUTOR

Too much of a good thing

Gaming monitors are getting dangerously big

CAN YOU HAVE TOO much of a good thing? Turns out the answer is yes. I was putting the hot new Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 G95NC through its paces for a sister title to Maximum PC, and had a bit of an accident.

The G95NC, you see, is the new 57-inch monster with that ridiculous 32:9 aspect ratio and outrageous 1000R curve. We’ve seen similar displays from Samsung before, but only up to 49 inches. Now, you might think that’s just a case of massive and, er, massiver. 49 inches is huge, right?

Yes, it is. But somehow, this new 57inch model feels even more dramatic than the step from 49 inches to 57 implies. It also happens to create logistical issues. Repackaged TVs aside, this is the most physically cumbersome gaming monitor I’ve ever wrestled with, partly thanks to it being a LCD panel with a mini-LED backlight.

While moving it to another room, the panel cracked. Portability obviously isn’t a selling point, but this fragility does imply a technology being pushed to its limits.