LG's latest 27-inch OLED monitor hits that gaming sweet spot

LG is following up its outlandish 45-inch curved UltraGear monitor with a (slightly) more humble 27-inch flat-screen model. Despite lacking any curvature, the new display shares many of the same features as its big brother.

It’s still an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) display which translates to deeper blacks and brighter whites. Looking at the specs sheet, HDR10 support is present, which allows the monitor to cover 98.5 percent of DCI-P3 (Digital Cinema Initiatives – Protocol 3) gamut and display a wide variety of colors. The resolution took a small hit as it's now 2560x1440 (still 2K resolution) pixels with an aspect ratio of 16:9 due to the model’s smaller size. One of the biggest benefits of having the 45-inch is the added level of immersion and increased peripheral vision. 27 inches is still a decent size, but you may not catch that sneak attack coming in from your right.

Same features as before

Apart from the size difference, everything found on the 45-inch display is also on the smaller model.

You still get that lightning-fast .03ms response time and 240Hz refresh rate for a crystal clear picture. 240Hz on an OLED is particularly noteworthy because it makes the UltraGear series one of the first monitor lines to have this technology. The surface of the display has been treated with anti-glare protection to protect against light reflecting off the monitor to keep the image sharp. Plus both NVIDIA G-Sync and AMD FreeSync are present to add that extra performance boost for their respective GPU.

Like with other OLED monitors, the 27-inch model is fairly expensive at $1,000 but still cheaper than the 45-inch display. Pre-orders are currently open with the shipping set for January 2. And if you do decide to pre-order, you get a free UltraGear Gaming Pad; normally $200 on its own. Good thing you get it for free because it’s hard to imagine shelling out so much money for a mouse pad when there are tons of cheaper and just as good options out there.

Better than 4K

Now comes the main question: is this worth buying this monitor or saving for a 4K one? If you’re a big gamer, the 27-inch UltraGear display is arguably the better choice.

The thing about 4K gaming monitors is that it’s hard to get the most out of them. Sure, screenshots of a 4K resolution game look really nice on IGN, but in reality, it comes at the cost of performance. Most games can’t output such high quality without caveats (although some do get pretty close). The hardware just isn’t there right now even with all the advancements happening around us. 4K monitors are better used for content creation or the entertainment industry where video quality isn’t split with gameplay. It’s much better to get a 2K monitor that still looks good and can consistently maintain good performance. 

Be sure to check out our recently updated best gaming monitors list for 2022 if you’re in the market for one. LG’s UltraGear line makes an appearance on there.

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