Is getting OLED now worth the price or shall I wait?
Posted by mainaccnormal@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 47 comments
I’m currently using a Samsung 32” VA panel UWQHD gaming monitor and it’s been great for about 5 years with zero issues.
I’ve never actually seen an OLED gaming monitor in person and I probably won’t anytime soon since there aren’t any stores near me selling them. Still I’ve been thinking about upgrading to a 4K OLED (either 27” or 32”) because everyone seems to hype them up especially the colors and contrast.
The only thing holding me back is burn-in, lower expected lifespan and the text clarity/fringing.
I know OLED has improved over time, but I’m still unsure if it’s worth spending €600–€1000 on a monitor that might develop burn-in after like 2-3 years. That’s my main concern. My current monitor has lasted years without any problems, so I’m a bit cautious.
Are newer OLED monitors actually better when it comes to burn-in? Are there models that handle it well or have solid prevention features?
I’m also a bit worried about real world use like accidentally leaving something static on the screen or playing games where the UI stays in the same spot for hours. That seems like a realistic scenario for me.
I’ve looked at models from ASUS, MSI, Samsung, and LG, but they’re all pretty expensive, so I want to be sure before upgrading.
Would you say the jump to OLED is worth it right now or is it still a bit risky?
MagicCuboid@reddit
If you’re like me, prepare to never go back once you go OLED. I’m slowly replacing my screens with OLED’s since breaking the seal a couple years ago and I basically refuse to compromise again. The deep blacks and contrast of color is really pleasing to my eye - some people genuinely prefer the vibrancy of other screen types though so bear that in mind. Happy to answer any questions if you have them
mainaccnormal@reddit (OP)
What about the burn in? Have you found a good way to avoid it?
MagicCuboid@reddit
I haven't had my screens all that long, so take what I say with a grain of salt. My TV is about 2.5 years old and my computer monitor is only about 9 months old. But here are the things I've done based on web advice:
1) Animated desktop backgrounds. I use Wallpaper Engine on Steam and have the desktop background switch out every 5 minutes or so.
2) Hide the toolbar.
3) Dark mode on everything that allows it.
4) My ASUS monitor has pixel refresh and auto-shutoff based on (a lack of) motion detection, which is a nice backup. Otherwise I'd advise you to sleep/turn off the screen when you're not using it. If your monitor does do pixel cleaning the monitor usually needs to be on and in sleep mode for that to work.
5) If I'm web browsing etc. I try to move the windows around every so often so they're not static on the screen forever. For now, I also have an LED second monitor that I leave windows on long-term that I can be less careful about. Eventually I do want to upgrade that to an OLED as well though.
I think that's about it. Burn in isn't as bad as it used to be by all accounts, so other than those standard precautions I'm not too worried about it.
prank_mark@reddit
A few things:
Is OLED worth it right now? Definitely. It's priced competitively, got extremely low latency, looks beautiful, and burn in is neglible with proper handling (not running the same image at full brightness 12+ hours on end) and use of the protection features (pixel shift, image cleaning, etc.)
Would I get rid of a perfectly good high-end display to upgrade to OLED right now? No.
Would I ever go from UW back to 16:9? No, never. Unless it's for a huge screen with at least the same horizontal space and therefore way more vertical space.
Would I buy 4K right now? No. 4K is still hard to run on most GPUs and the extra sharpness is negligible in my eyes.
BTW you say you have a 32" UWQHD, but UW is usually 34" and 32" is just regular 16:9 QHD (sometime WQHD).
mainaccnormal@reddit (OP)
Thank you so much for your comment. This helped me a lot with my choices!
airinato@reddit
Don't, if you game the part 'not running the same image at full brightness' they are ignoring how games work. Want that center dot permanently in the screen? Buy OLED and spend a few hundred hours in your favorite game were you can't disable center dot.
The thing is people don't really start noticing it until later, then once you notice it you'll run though the solid color full screen tester and see the truth that its been there a lot you just didn't care to notice.
airinato@reddit
Don't listen to the people dismissing burn in. It is a major issue to this day, they likely just replace the monitor every 5 years when it really starts degrading.
MiniLED and high refresh is likely what you're after anyway. And the costs are more reasonable there.
WizardMoose@reddit
Don't worry about burn in. Just have your settings set to turn the display off after 5 or 10 minutes of inactivity.
Don't go with OLED if you have a brightly lit room. It will be distracting when those lights are on or if you have a window that will glare on the screen.
Check out Mini LED if OLED is out of your budget, or you're in a brightly lit room. I have 3 setups, one that has 2 OLED monitors, another with an OLED and Mini-lED, and a third with an IPS monitor. After comparing costs, I'll choose Mini-LED everytime.
chaples55@reddit
I got a refurbished AOC AG326UD for just $470 and it has been absolutely amazing for the past few months. Mint condition. Worth every penny. Specs are as follows:
31.5" 4K QD-OLED 3840x2160 165Hz 0.03ms G-SYNC HDR400
Symphonic7@reddit
If you ask Reddit for advice they will keep you waiting forever. Wait for this, wait for that. See what happened to people waiting for RAM and storage to keep going down. Prices bottomed out a year ago and now its unobtanium.
I bought a 240 Hz 27in 1440p OLED last year for about $450, and its the best purchase I have done for gaming in a long time. Right next to a mouse thats not absolute dogshit. Theres so much anti-burn in technology in the monitors now. Pixel shifting, pixel refresh cycles, taskbar dimming, etc.
quietlydesperate90@reddit
If you're worried get a Dell, 3 year burnin warranty.
mainaccnormal@reddit (OP)
I’ve heard that dell isn’t that good for gaming, like asus, Samsung and other brands.
quietlydesperate90@reddit
Not true at all, Alienware oled monitors are great and have the best warranty by far.
Temporary-Ad8539@reddit
Im on the same boat and im thinkin of upgrading aswell. I need a 2k oled monitor tho not a 4k monitor. But im taking a look around and i see 2k oled at 400 500 euros at max. About 4k i dont know the proces tho.
Due-Gases@reddit
I switched to OLED recently and ngl it's hard to go back, everything just looks way better. Burn-in protection has improved a lot (pixel shifting, dimming, etc), so unless you're abusing it, you should be fine for a few years.
coolsam254@reddit
I don't own an OLED because they are currently out of my budget but I don't think it's a risky purchase at all if you can afford one. Search up youtube videos for OLED burn in tests and watch a bunch of them if that's your main concern.
Impressive_Gas_2419@reddit
Honestly, OLED is 100% worth it IF you mostly game/watch stuff and you’re ok paying a bit extra for image quality. Burn-in is way less scary on newer panels with the built-in protections, but yeah, if you leave static stuff up a lot or use it heavily for desktop work, I’d maybe wait one more gen tbh.
If your VA still feels good, no rush — but if you want that “wow” upgrade in contrast/HDR, OLED really is kinda next level.
mainaccnormal@reddit (OP)
How long would you recommend waiting?
Impressive_Gas_2419@reddit
Probably one more year, OLED is already really good, but prices should get better and the panels will likely be a bit more refined too.
ReadyAimTranspire@reddit
I was considering an OLED also, thanks for this info I'll wait!
mainaccnormal@reddit (OP)
Alright thank you!
EarnSomeRespect@reddit
To add to this, think about what else you’ll be doing with the OLED. I work in Excel all day so I use an IPS panel because I know an OLED would have burn in. My OLED TV is for gaming.
quietlydesperate90@reddit
I use my OLED for work, lots of static content, no burn-in. I just turn the brightness way down on my work input, helps with eye strain while working too.
miscman127@reddit
IPS gaming panels have come a long way too.
Between IPS and OLED I'd say the best improvement is lighting transitions, but similar color vibrancy (LG).
AffectionateBee9123@reddit
the absolute biggest difference to me is the blacks, i have my old ips next to my oled and displaying a black image on them both is quite literally a night and day difference. It makes movies and games look so mych better
Fun_Corner_2954@reddit
Get the ASUS version. Its about \~950-$1k now but when I was looking at it last 1-2 years ago it was like $1300-$1600+ USD. I ended up getting the HP Transcend version and it has its flaws and wish I went with ASUS. The HP was cheaper at the time, but prices now across the manufactuerers are pretty close.
deeznutz133769@reddit
You should take the trip and go find a place that DOES show them.
IMO they're easily worth, and getting one was a bigger upgrade than getting a new GPU. The colors / contrast / pure blacks were incredible and the lack of backlight glow from an IPS was huge as well.
I went all the way recently and got an LG G5 (previous tv was LG c4) and it's super nice.
Onionsteak@reddit
I switched and cannot imagine going back. However my jump was pretty significant since I was upgrading from a bog standard 27 inch 1080p 60hz basic IPS monitor, it was actually a pretty decent monitor too at the time. The color, motion clairty, inky dark black, it is just so good.
makinenxd@reddit
I'd go straight 32" 240hz, the price difference aint big between 165 and 240, but the extra refresh rate is always nice. I've had no problems with my monitors after a year.
Also your phone most likely has a OLED screen and that doesnt have burn in most likely or are people complaining about burn in on phones.
mainaccnormal@reddit (OP)
Thought 165hz and 240hz would be a big jump in price.
makinenxd@reddit
And actually if you live in countries where ProShop operates, they have the Samsung G80SD, 4k240hz on sale for 750€. I have that model and its extremely good.
New_Mix_2215@reddit
I paid 495 euro for my 32 165, so it varies a lot.
RJsRX7@reddit
Not if you're already paying OLED premiums.
makinenxd@reddit
They're extremely close, on a quick google I even saw some 165hz monitors cost more.
blacksantron@reddit
Mine is OLED and definitely has burn in I can see the keyboard letters on the screen... I used to change the keyboard layout occasionally to prevent it but I forgot to until now... And especially on a white image I see the while keyboard. I use Reddit so much the little alien is burnt into the top right of the screen
mainaccnormal@reddit (OP)
Oh dang…
Xarizma94@reddit
Compared to 2 years ago prices have plumeted. I bought my g80sd Samsung Odyssey for around 850-900 euro roughly 1 year ago. Original price was 1400 euro, same monitor is 650 now and it's new version is 850
Jindouz@reddit
Wait for 5th‑Gen QD‑OLED. They were scheduled for release on Q1 2026 when they were announced at CES on January so probably within the next month or two hopefully.
mainaccnormal@reddit (OP)
Alright thank you! 🙏🏻
Hungry_Freaks_Daddy@reddit
I found a corsair OLED 1440p 240hz at a pawn shop for $350. That was a couple years ago. I pretty much only play rocket league on it. Several thousand hours by now. None of the hud elements have burned in. I mean nothing at all has burned in lol. It’s great.
Jenkinswarlock@reddit
I use a 49 inch Samsung oled and I play idle games constantly on it, I haven’t got any burn in after 3-4 years and I’m not kidding when I say I play 12-16 hours a day, so burn in shouldn’t be as big of a worry as it used to be, I do personally not have a image as my background but just a pure black background so the oled panel turns off in the areas not being used, don’t expect the quantity jump to be insane but it is far prettier than my previous monitors!
Glass-Candy5532@reddit
You could get mini led??
Cradenz@reddit
why? so you can get the halo effect on any bright scene?
Unless you do productivity work theres no reason to not go for a new oled.
fresh_fisher_fred@reddit
Wait just a bit longer. The price keeps dropping but yes it's worth it. One thing a lot of people forget about aside from HDR and contrast is the MPRT. OLED pixels can change so fast that the motion clarity is unmatched. Especially coming from VA you will be impressed.
nobody2u_@reddit
I haven’t seen an OLED monitor myself, so my opinion isn’t worth much- but I have a bit of an issue paying top dollar for a product that is ultimately compromised.
S10_Ivanov@reddit
Oled has never been cheaper so go for it
New_Mix_2215@reddit
Ive gotten minor burns on one monitor myself. Honestly, it just depends how you value your money, Look for sales, you can sometimes get good OLEDs for less then 500 euros these days. I also appropriate minileds a lot still, but its going down in popularity.