Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsYou Get What You Pay For
Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2019
and not a cent more or less. I've now tested five different monitors at different price points under $600. The conclusion I've come to is that with these "gaming" monitors, you get exactly what you pay for. First, reviewers and tech Youtubers will tell you that TN and VA panels are fine. They are not. Their color and sometimes brightness suck compared to IPS. We are gaming on these things, the picture is literally the most important part of our gaming rigs next to our CPU and GPU, right? Right. So don't settle for a cheap monitor. It's massively important to get a good monitor but there are soooo many options is quite confusing.
Don't settle for a VA or TN monitor. The only reason you should be using a TN is if you are a PvP min-maxer or competitive e-Sports player where every GtG response millisecond counts. For VA, well there is zero reason to settle for those washed out colors when plenty of "gaming" IPS panels are out there now. The colors on this cheap $150 LG IPS panel are better than the popular budget Viotek VA panel that costs $350 for example.
But here's the catch, not even all IPS panels are created equal. A cheap IPS panel like this $150 LG, isn't as bright and doesn't have nearly as vibrant of colors as the $400 Acer IPS I settled on after my tests. LG has better IPS panels like all of the other manufacturer's do, but they are priced accordingly. This monitor has no height adjustment and sits low on the desk, so you can instantly add $20-30 to your overall cost for a VESA mount adapter or monitor stand. After comparing 2K (1440P) resolution at 27" screen size vs. HD (1080p) the difference is definitely noticeable. If you didn't know any better, you may think a 27" HD resolution is fine for gaming. If you compared the two, you'd never want to return to HD on a 27". The extra pixels per square inch a 2K screen has make everything look better from text while typing to in-game graphics. Also, there is a reason that 144hz or higher is very popular lately for gaming monitors. Between this 75hz monitor, and a 144hz, while gaming, there is a very noticeable smoothness to the moving objects on the screen with the 144hz. The 75hz appears a tiny bit choppy. I've seen it referred to as micro stutters. I don't know if I'd call it that, but it gives you an idea of the smoothness you get with a high hz.
To sum it up:
Pros - low price, Freesync, IPS vivid color, LG quality
Cons - pixelated picture at 27" HD resolution, low budget IPS not as bright and vibrant as higher end IPS, no height adjustment, low hz (under 144hz), empty space between the edge of the screen and the bezel, looks like a defect but its by design.
