Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat Value and features for a superwide
Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2017
Great value for a great monitor. First off, my review may be a bit skewed, because I'm coming from an older 26" IPS LCD monitor that had a resolution of 1920x1200 that I purchased maybe 10 years ago. For me, the best thing about that panel was the large view angles and better color reproduction than all of the TN-panel monitors that were available at the time. So when I was looking to upgrade, I wanted another IPS screen, but I also wanted 144 hz refresh rate for smoother gaming and less input lag.
After going back and forth on a few ultra wide-screen models, I picked this one because of the features and the price - I got a smoking deal when it dropped to $499 for 2 days. At that price, there isn't anything else out there that is even close to this. In a nutshell, here are the things that impressed me:
Size:
21:9 takes gaming to a whole new level. you get a much more immersive experience. Also, HUD elements are pushed out to the sides, and are not obstructing the view of the game. Photo and Video Editing takes on a whole new dimension. There is just so much more workspace. You can see the whole image on the screen and still have room for the tool bars on the sides without them getting in the way. Your video timeline is actually usable at decent zoom levels without having to turn off any other panels. For basic use, I usually have my browser taking up 2/3 of the screen and my audio player/chat/email/etc on the other 1/3rd of the screen.
Refresh Rate:
144 hz is the real deal. Even 120 hz feels amazing compared to 60hz. I was really surprised how smooth mouse movement feels on 120/144 hz. The difference between 60 and 120 is amazing. Stepping up from 120 to 144hz isn't nearly as dramatic, but it's still noticeable. Games feel so much better at the higher refresh rates, and everything else looks and feels much smoother than 60hz.
Color Reproduction
Coming from an IPS LED, I expected to have at least as good color reproduction on this. What I wasn't expecting was that moving from an old LCD panel with traditional backlighting to an LED backlit panel would make a huge difference in contrast levels and color brightness. My old IPS screen looks washed out compared to this. Blacks are super black and colors have more depth and saturation than what I was expecting. I was watching a youtube video in 16:9, so I had the black borders on the sides. At the end of the video, the film went entirely black except for the product logo in the center of the screen. I could not see where the 16:9 part of the video ended and the black bars on the sides began. everything was completely black, unlike the LCD panels I've had where pitch black comes out as dark gray.
Features and design
The monitor has a really clean design with a really thin frame. Only a small LG logo in the bottom center, and no annoying lights or visible buttons. The single control button also a 4 way joystick on the bottom of the panel. pressing it activates the OSD, and you use the joystick to navigate the menu system, which is very easy to figure out. You can also install LG's OnScreen Control software, which opens up more options for screen splitting and switching profiles that's faster and easier to use than the joystick and OSD.
The back of the panel has a standard 100x100mm VESA mount pattern, which I am using instead of the included stand.
The frame makes this monitor appear nearly bezel-less, but the actual part of the screen that lights up doesn't go all the way to the edge. there is maybe 10-12mm of space, but it still looks very nice.
Finally, I know some people are turned off by the 2560x1080 resolution. For me, it works great. Windows does a lousy job scaling, so if you have a super hi-rez screen, a lot of apps and UI elements have tiny text, and can be straining on people with older eyes, like me. Also, I run a single 1070, and I'm still able to get very good frame rates at this resolution (80+ in BF1 on ultra), which works for me. If I got a 1440p or 2160p screen, I'd need to spend at least $400 for another video card to be able to push that many pixels. But you'll need to make that decision for yourself.
