Don't cheap out and buy the $250 Viotek IPS like I did. Spend the extra money and buy this monitor. It's free of backlight strobing, it has very minimal IPS glow, it has FreeSync and supports G-Sync, and the picture is fantastic. It's a near perfect monitor, but there were a few things I had to do first when setting this
up:
BUY NOW1. Go to LG's site and download the drivers. It uses the same drivers as the 27GL850.
2. Calibrate! Despite the note in the box that says it's been calibrated, it has not. I found some calibration settings for this monitor on reddit and I will post them below.
LG sets the bar for 1440P 144Hz Gaming + Calibration Settings! 4.5/5
Let me start off my saying I currently own a 240Hz BenQ XL2546 monitor, but I've also owned the comparable Asus 1440P IPS PG279Q (formerly the best 1440p IPS panel), 240Hz Alienware AW2518H (one of the fastest panels in the world), Viewsonic XG2402 (highest rated 144hz 1080p TN panel), Samsung 144Hz VGA (nice colors and blacks, but blurring slow response times), and a 55" LG OLED 4K TV @ 120Hz I occasionally use for the ultimate viewing experience.
IN SHORT: It's hands down one my favorite gaming monitors for 2019. BUT, if you're a competitive gamer stick with a TN 240Hz panel.
After spending years reading critical reviews, comparing performance measurements, and outright buying various panels trying to find the perfect balance of performance and picture quality, I wasn't impressed. But right now I can finally say this monitor checks enough boxes to be considered the best all around gaming panel I've ever owned.
These are the metrics I used to calculate my review:
Contrast: Below Average (At 770, it sits below average for most IPS panels between 1000-1200)
Colors: Excellent (98% DCI-P3, average is about 90%, a bigger difference in reality than on paper)
Resolution: Excellent (no screen door effect, can't see pixels even with larger 27" screen)
Response Time: Great (compared to a TN its average-fast, for an IPS its blazing)
Input Lag: Excellent (4.3 ms, one of the fastest 144Hz panels on the market)
Refresh Rate: Good (144Hz, wish it were at least 165 Hz)
Though 4k 120Hz panels have better picture quality, all have terribly slow response times and some with unacceptable input lag (looking at you Predator X27). Then there's the ultrafast 240Hz panels which don't have the resolution or the colors to truly make content on your screen exciting.
The fact is most panels come with significant sacrifices in performance or overall picture. But, I can say the LG gives you near top tier grades in all of metrics and will leave but the most competitive buyers satisfied with their multimedia and gaming experience. That's why it's currently the best 144 Hz overall gaming panel on the market, especially at $500.
Overall 4.5/5 Stars. 1/2 star off for the mediocre contrast levels and lack of features at this price range.
Pros:
Incredibly Low Input Lag (feels as fast as my 240Hz BenQ monitor)
Crispy 1440P Resolution (easier to read text, see details in games and movies, and add a professional look to everything)
Fastest 144Hz IPS Panel in the world (faster than many gaming TV panels, much smoother than the Asus PG279Q)
Incredibly Vivid & Wide Color Gamut (best I've seen on any gaming panel under $1000)
Low Back light Bleed (Only very small bleed on the bottom corners. Great for an IPS but will vary from panel to panel)
Minimalist Height Adjustable Stand (Doesn't swivel but that's not an issue for me, love the design and slim profile)
Modern OSD + Nipple Joystick (Makes navigating the menu easy and intuitive with plenty of options)
Solid Connectivity Options (Dual HDMI, Display Port, Headphone Out, and dual USB 3.0 Ports)
Cons:
Adaptive-Sync Adds Noticeable Stutter using nvidia GPU (never had this issue with any G-sync compatible panel in the past)
Only 1 out of the 8 picture modes has full picture controls
Mediocre Contrast Levels (typical of LG IPS Panels, not horrendous, but blacks can appear a bit washed in dark scenes)
Average Input Lag for Console Gaming (Disappointing if you plan to use this monitor for console gaming)
Stand Doesn't Swivel and May Not Adjust Low Enough for Some Users
Wishes (not cons):
BLUE LIGHT Filter (important eye health feature for extended viewing sessions)
165Hz Overclock (like Asus PG279Q)
RGB Sphere Lighting
Headphone Stand (BenQ has one, its a clean way to hold the headphones when not in use)
Built-In Speakers (Nice to have built-in speakers when needed as desk space is valuable)
Bottom line: If you want the best gaming performance, stick with a 240Hz panel. But if you're willing to make a small sacrifice in performance for a large jump in picture quality, there's nothing on the market this good.
Calibration Settings (help from Rtings.com):
Game Mode: Gamer 1 (Desktop and Movie Use)
Adaptive Sync: Off
Black Stabilizer: 50
Response Time: Fast
Brightness: 15- 23 in the Day / 3-10 at Night (depends on your preference)
Contrast: 68
Sharpness: 50
Gamma: Mode 2
Color Temp: Custom
R/G/B: 50-50-50
DFC: Off
Smart Energy Saving: Off
Power LED: Off (your preference)
Automatic Standby: 4H
Display Port 1.4: Enable (make sure to use a display port cable to reach 144Hz 1440p)
OSD Lock: Off
Game Mode: Gamer 2 (Gaming Use) (slightly brighter blacks and brightness help me spot and track enemies)
Adaptive Sync: Off
Black Stabilizer: 55
Response Time: Fast
Brightness: 23-33 in the Day / 10-20 at Night
Contrast: 68
PC build ( I appreciate my PC much more after using it with this monitor, I see why Apple is so big on having the best displays for their devices):
i7-9700K
HYPERX 32GB 3600MHz RAM
Z390 Maximus Hero XI
STRIX GTX 1080Ti
970 EVO 500GB SSD
Overall a great monitor
Edit: Got one that has minimal BLB compared to this one. Now I don't struggle by looking at left corner of the monitor while watching movies or anything. IPS glow exists but BLB is minimal compared to the last one. Will update the picture later on. Colors are beautiful, response time is great, g-sync works out of the box flawlessly, gaming experience got much better with this monitor! Highly recommended (assuming you get a good model!)
Cons: Seems I lost the "panel lottery" as I noticed the BLB when playing dark themed games or watching movies. Build quality is OK.
Pros: Pretty much everything else, it is a great monitor.
BLB was so bad I had to return it. Doesn't feel good as I waited more than a month for this monitor to arrive. I'll be waiting for amazon to restock and order again, will give better ratings then.
Phenominal screen and no dead pixels!
Just set the screen up with my new 2080 Super. Checked for dead pixels (none!). Verified 144Hz. Verified adaptive sync on. Verified no PWM back-light strobing. Fired up Hell Let Loose. PROCEEDED TO LOSE MY MIND.
This monitor was worth the wait. Even the out-of-the-box color settings are superb. I'm so so impressed. I've gamed at 144+Hz before but never on a screen that looks this good. Worth every penny.
Great gaming monitor. Very fast response times for an IPS panel.
What I liked:
+ Great response times: I don't think anyone is going to miss their 144hz TN panel after using this.
+ Near perfect gamma 2.2 tracking on default gamma 2 mode
+ Average Delta-E around 1.5: not bad
+ Amazing color gradient handling when set to 10bit mode
+ No BLB or dead pixels
What I disliked:
- Default whitepoint is too cool (measured 7200K) and none of the provided modes gave an actual 6500K. Luckily, with a colorimeter in-hand (Colormunki Display) I was able to calibrate to 6500K with minimal loss of contrast by adjusting the RGB gains.
- IPS glow isn't any better than my old IPS monitors. You'd think now that tablet and laptop IPS panels have mostly resolved this issue that monitor panels would do that too.
Other notes
- Contrast measured at 870:1, a bit low for an IPS panel although I cannot subjectively notice a difference in black levels compared to my other IPS monitor that measured 1150:1. If you're looking for deeper blacks you're better off with a 3000:1 VA.
- Gamma mode 2 is the only gamma mode that was calibrated at the factory. Changing the gamma mode to modes 1,3, or 4 resulted in a white point of 6300K, contrast ratio increased to 1060:1, however the gamma tracking is really bad on these modes.
- Gamma mode 1 results in an approx gamma of 2.0, mode 3 is approx gamma 2.5, mode 4 is approx gamma 2.3, but again the gamma curves on these modes are messed up and do not conform closely to these numbers so I ended up using gamma mode 2 and just correcting the white point.
Solid mid range ultrawide with great specs
Pros:
-144hz native
-HDR 400 certified
-Gsync compatible (48-144hz)
-external power brick (might be a con depending on how you feel)
-IPS 1ms response
Cons:
-included cables are a bit short
Overall this is a solid display, but I'll be honest I was very nervous when I bought this because there were no reviews of this monitor on Amazon or anywhere on the internet that I could find. I guess it's because this is a new model that LG just introduced at CES 2020.
Anyway, it's 2020 and the reality of the panel lottery is still with us. I did lose some sleep the night before because I was very nervous of getting a bad panel or having the display damaged in transit or at the factory. When It arrived I was pleasantly surprised that the monitor box came inside another, larger box from amazon that included additional packing material to prevent the monitor from shock damage. When I opened the monitor the packing was firm and tight, and the first thing tat I did was to assemble the stand (very easy to do) and plug the monitor in with the included, but short, displayport cable and check for dead/stuck pixels or severe back light bleed. To my absolute amazement, I saw no dead pixels and back light bleed was nonexistent. IPS glow is there, but minimal and comes with the technology. I'm not sure if I just got lucky or if LG's QC process is just that good with these new monitors. This is my first LG monitor but I'm definitely going with them from now on. While most probably don't like the external power brick as it adds additional cable management, I actually like the modular approach in case it is faulty in the future or needs to be replaced. The displayport port is 1.4, so if you need some more reach you can do what I did and purchase a longer cable to suit your specific needs. HDR 400 is fine, but isn't as robust or clear as HDR 1000, but if you wanted that, you'll be paying more than twice the cost of this. The native 144hz works fine, as does the 165hz overclock, but I didn't use it since freesync/gsync works from 48-144hz. The panel is also 10 bit, which is a nice touch as well. Coming from a 27 inch 144hz TN panel I was expecting more blur from the lower response time of the pixels. I was wrong. I may not be a pro gamer or anything, but I do play a lot of fast paced games and I was amazed in the response time. There is merit to LG's claims of fast response, although I'm not sure if it is exactly 1ms. G sync works fine, as I have a GTX 1080TI, and haven't experienced any of the common problems that may happen with lower end freesync panels. This panel is certified with Nvidia as Gsync compatible, so I guess no problems should be expected there.
For its price, I couldn't find a monitor that checked as many boxes as this one did. Sure, there are ultrawides with HDR1000 and such, but come with other tradeoffs like running hot and annoying fans that are loud. There are also less featured ultrawides if you don't need HDR or 10 bit color, but at $1000 USD this monitor is priced right, and is a solid buy if you are entering the world of ultrawides for the first time like me. I do recommend buying it from Amazon if possible, as their return policy tends to be a bit more generous than others with regards to dead pixels/etc.
Should you buy the LG 34GN850-B ?
The LG34GN850-B is a refresh of the LG 34GK950F-B. While it does not make any monumental leaps above it predecessor, it does improve in several places that make it a worthwhile buy if you are trying to decide between the two. I don't want to write a lengthy 5 paragraph review that no one will read so let me just point out the differences.
Improvements:
- 160Hz overclock vs 144hz
- Higher peak brightness by about 15% (Better HDR performance)
- Faster response time (Professional measured at 5.8ms vs 9.7ms on the 34gk950f-b)
- Improved black uniformity
- Better reflection handling (better screen coating)
It's important to note the advertised "response time" is never accurate. Not even the fastest TN panels can do an actual 1ms Gray to Gray when properly measured with a high speed camera. I really wish LG and almost every other company would stop this flat out dishonest marketing but, I digress.. The 850's real world measured response time is still an impressive 5.8ms. This is a noticeable improvement over the 950 model at 9.7ms. Most people will have a hard time noticing this. But if you play a lot of fast paced games you may. The LG 34GN850-B lacks black frame insertion, it would only be used with Freesnyc turned off. I believe that is why LG decided to not include it on this model. Its a feature most Gamers would ignore because the benefits of Freesnyc far outweigh BFI. The 850 also has a new stand. This is neither a pro or con. Its is just as stable as it predecessor and offer the same adjustments. Note that it is deeper. So you will need a couple more inches of desk depth.
I have owned both of these models now and can say with certainty that the LG 34GN850-B is definitely the best gaming experience I have ever had. I would highly recommend it if you are willing to stomach the cost. However if you are the proud owner of the LG 34GK950F-B, and happy with it there probably isn't quite enough to upgrade. Deciding between the two models is a no brainer though. Even with the newer model being slightly more expensive its worth it. You can actually get a decent HDR gaming experience now and the response time is a definite improvement if nothing else. After trying several 34" Ultrawide monitors over the past couple months including the flagships from DELL (Alienware), ASUS, ACER and LG, this is the one I kept. Nuff said.
Solid upgrade from a 1080p 144hz TN panel monitor
I've been using an Asus VG278Q 27 inch monitor for a few years now which is 1080p, 144hz, and has a TN panel.
The LG monitor has been a solid upgrade in the areas that count:
- Resolution upgrade from 1080p to 1440p
- Panel upgrade from TN to IPS
- Retained 144hz refresh rate
- Retained low input lag
By replacing the old Asus monitor with this LG, I've been able to keep the great gaming capability of a high refresh rate + low input lag TN panel monitor and receive an upgrade to a higher resolution and an IPS panel.
I have a feeling a big target audience for this monitor will be folks with the same monitor I had or very similar...a 1080p 144hz TN panel monitor. If you have a similar monitor and are considering upgrading I don't think you will regret it, however the only downside so far is the monitor brightness is not its strong point. I turned mine up to about 90% and have been happy with that so far.
It's great but know that you're buying an IPS panel at 2K
Disclaimer for fair context here:
This is my first true 144hz, 1440p, IPS panel experience. Up until now, I've only ever had descriptions and seen photos (on less than ideal monitors) of what to expect. So my review here may almost certainly be biased in terms of extremes for both pros and cons.
With that out of the way, let me just say.. wow, being my first experience with an IPS, I was absolutely blown away with just how much the colors explode off the screen compared to a TN panel. You get used to it very quickly but you definitely have those moments where you're just like "Damn, that looks really good."
The exact same can be said about the refresh rate. If you're coming from 60hz, the difference is absolutely staggering. It's noticeable the moment you slide the cursor across the screen. It'll give you goosebumps at first. And again, it's something you'll get used to very quickly but will repeatedly be reminded of how smooth any and all motion appears at the most seemingly benign places. Especially with Windows 10 and it's very quick but subtle flow to almost any menu and interaction. Simply opening up the start menu or action center will just appear to glide in as though it was never on the screen but just floating above it.
And finally the jump from 1080p to 1440p was much nicer than I had anticipated. My mind knew it was a half way mark between 1080 and 4K but my expectations were more inline with something more subtle. Nope. You're getting a massive upgrade in pixels here. The best thing about 1440p is that it truly is a half way sweet spot between 1080p performance and 4K sharpness when talking about gaming. The amount of extra power needed isn't insignificant, you will notice a loss in performance, however if you're rocking an RTX 2070 or equivalent GPU, it's safe to say that while you might not always get the best out of its 144hz refresh rate, you'll almost certainly exceed the 60hz you're probably accustomed to and it really does make a huge difference. 60fps just doesn't feel like a good performance anymore. It feels like what 30fps felt like on a 60hz monitor.
Of course it's also worth mentioning a few "buts" now.
The G-Sync on this thing is incredible. I can finally turn off vsync and not get those incredibly distracting screen tears which I'm unlucky enough to be very sensitive to. However it's worth noting that this is NOT a G-Sync monitor. It does not have the proper hardware to support G-Sync at its best. It's G-Sync compatible. Which is to say, it was built for FreeSync but after Nvidias driver update opened G-Sync to FreeSync monitors, this monitor was able to pass the certification process and be sold as being compatible with G-Sync with no real issues. The problem with this might seem nuance but it's worth mentioning. G-Sync will NOT work at framerates lower than 40fps. Once you drop below that, you'll start noticing screen tearing as the monitor doesn't have the hardware to stay in sync with the GPU at lower refresh rates. Not a deal breaker but just something to keep in mind. If you're still rocking older hardware, you might be lowering settings to accommodate the higher resolution at G-Sync speeds or resorting to turning vsync back on.
Finally there's the IPS glow. It's there. It's absolutely there. It's both not as bad and worse than I expected but it's well within tolerance as I quickly get sucked into what I'm doing and stop noticing it. Unlike backlight bleed, IPS glow shifts around the screen based on your relative position and angle. It's easy to adjust the monitor in such a way that it's a minimal issue but due to the size of the display, it's impossible to sit at any position or angle and not see some IPS glow somewhere. Usually in the top corners as tilting the monitor up seems to offer the least about of glow.
How much this bothers you it's going to heavily depend on what kind of content you'll be playing. Darker colors show IPS glow much more than brighter scenes. So brighter games like Spyro will hide it almost entirely, but darker games like Control can be real hit or miss and if you're not used to it yet, probably annoying. But it's a small price to pay for the kind of color you get over TN monitors.
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