[Review] Samsung QLED 4K TV Q80R 65 Inch - A Match for the Gamers?

We recently had the chance to play with the Samsung QLED Q80R 65 Inch 4K TV and while its size is impressive enough, is Samsung's latest an essential purchase that redefines gaming or simply an expensively unnecessary upgrade?

Now the Samsung Q80R has a host of features that go beyond the gaming scope, however as someone who mainly uses screens like this to play their video games, I wanted to see how this would change my experience and if going back to previous set up would be a blessing or a pain. 

First off a 65 inch screen definitely changes the game (no pun intended) as I felt completely immersed into what I was viewing. I currently use a 55 inch 4K screen, however the use of QLED makes all the difference and it made me wonder why I haven't looked at these types of screens sooner.

As part of this review I was playing on both a base PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch to get an idea of how the TV handled varying resolutions, especially with some games on the Nintendo Switch not hitting a full 1080p and thanks to Samsung's 'Auto Game Detection', the TV immediately picked up what was connected and switched over to "Game Mode" where some processes are turned off and a low lag mode is established. The PlayStation 4 also had the advantage of HDR10 which allowed its games to push out a much higher quality with richer colours, brighter highlights and more details in the shadows.

Playing Breath of the wild on this screen made it look absolutely fantastic and this is most likely thanks to the AI up scaling which allowed the game to still retain its beautiful look while reducing the noise as much as possible. Even playing a racer such as Asphalt 7 Legends and moving at blistering speeds really took me away. One feature the TV has is a 'Scene Based Game Enhancer' which provides more colour and contrast to the picture without impacting lag time. This allowed the grassy hills and environment of Breath of the Wild to really pop and provide a quality we wouldn't have seen otherwise.

Playing the Nintendo Switch on the bigger screen was great, however the PlayStation 4 completely topped it due to a much high resolution and clearer picture. Through the use of HDR10, games such as Mortal Kombat 11 benefited from sharper textures and effects, which gave those X-Ray attacks more impact and made those fatalities even gorier. Another game I tested out was an early PlayStation 4 release called Resogun and it looked absolutely incredible with all the bright explosions and bold colours filling the screen.

What brought this all together was the low input lag as we all know that good gameplay requires for this to be a minimal as possible. Thankfully this was the case as the time between a button press and the action happening on the screen was practically instant. This is super important in games that require a strong reaction time such as beat-em-ups and shooters. I'm by no means a pro player  but at the very least it will reduce the amount of excuses as to why I lost.

Just to note as well, the TV was very easy to set up and has a whole host of features that go beyond the gaming scope for not just your favourite shows and films, but to also to make it presentable with the rest of the decor in your home. A lot of thought has gone into the Samsung TV to ensure that it fits perfectly in the living room or whichever room you would like to place it.

If there is anything I'm sad about, is the fact that I gave it back, but the Samsung QLED 4K TV Q80R is an incredible piece of tech that has a lot of gears running in the background to make sure you have the best experience possible and playing this all on a 65 inch screen just envelops your vision and brings you even closer to those worlds you enjoy.

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