- Table of Contents
- Intro
- Updates
- Comparison
- Best Monitors
- Conclusion
- Discussions
LG is a well-known brand in the world of electronics, and they make a wide range of products, including TVs, soundbars, phones, and home appliances, among many others. Their monitor lineup offers both gaming and office solutions, so you'll likely find what you need. LG makes more ultrawide monitors than most competitors, but they also make many 27 and 32 inch models. Their monitors are known for their outstanding response time and variable refresh rate support, but their stands lack good ergonomics.
Updates
- 05/09/2022 LG 32QN55T-B reviewed
- 09/30/2021 LG 32GN600-B reviewed
- 09/13/2021 LG 27GP950-B reviewed
- 08/23/2021 LG 34GP950G-B reviewed
- 07/21/2021 LG 27GL83A-B updated
Best LG Monitors
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Best LG Office Monitor
Office8.2Size27"Resolution3840x2160Pixel TypeIPSHDR10YesVariable Refresh RateYesMax Refresh Rate160HzThe best LG monitor for office use that we've tested is the LG 27GP950-B. Although LG mainly markets it for gaming, the high-resolution screen is great for office use, as it results in fantastic text clarity and a large amount of screen real estate, meaning you can work comfortably with multiple windows open at once. It also has wide viewing angles, so the image remains accurate from the sides, great if you often share your screen with someone else. Like most LG monitors, it has limited ergonomics, though, so you might want to consider VESA mounting it if you want a bit more flexibility in positioning it or if you're looking to create a multi-monitor setup.
Although this doesn't benefit office users directly, it's also the first LG monitor to support full LG bandwidth, allowing high-resolution, high-refresh-rate gaming from HDMI sources, including the Xbox Series X or PS5. It also has a built-in USB hub, so you can connect your input devices or controllers to the monitor, making it easier to swap them when needed. When you're not working, it has an excellent response time and low input lag, resulting in a smooth, responsive gaming experience from any source. Overall, it's an impressive monitor for most uses.
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Best LG Gaming Monitor
Gaming8.5Size32"Resolution2560x1440Pixel TypeIPSHDR10YesVariable Refresh RateYesMax Refresh Rate180HzThe best LG monitor for gaming that we've tested is the LG 32GP850-B. It's an excellent gaming monitor, with an outstanding response time at any supported refresh rate, resulting in crystal-clear motion with almost no noticeable blur behind fast-moving objects. It also has outstanding low input lag, resulting in a responsive gaming or desktop experience. There are a few extra gaming features, including FreeSync and G-SYNC Compatible support, which help reduce screen tearing if the frame rate of your game fluctuates. The 32 inch 1440p screen delivers an immersive gaming experience but results in just decent text clarity when you're not gaming.
It's great for bright rooms or co-op gaming, thanks to the high peak brightness, great reflection handling, and wide viewing angles. Games look great thanks to the monitor's excellent accuracy out of the box, and it even supports HDR. Sadly, it's not as good for a dark room, as blacks look gray in a dark room and lack a local dimming feature. It's also not the best choice for console gamers, as it doesn't support HDMI 2.1. Overall, it's an impressive monitor, and it delivers an excellent gaming experience that should please even the most demanding gamers. It's the best LG gaming monitor that we've tested.
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Best Ultrawide LG Gaming Monitor
Gaming8.3Size 34"Resolution 3440x1440Max Refresh Rate160 HzPixel TypeIPSVariable Refresh RateAdaptive SyncHDR10 YesThe best LG monitor with an ultrawide screen that we've tested is the LG 34GP83A-B. It's a 34 inch model with a 3440x1440 resolution and a 21:9 aspect ratio. It gives you roughly 30% more horizontal screen space than a typical 16:9 display, great for game immersion and multitasking. Its IPS panel has decent viewing angles, and the screen is also slightly curved to help with visibility on the sides. It gets bright enough to fight glare in most settings, but it might struggle with intense glare and bright reflections. The stand only allows for height and tilt adjustments, but it does support a 100 x 100 VESA mount if you need swivel adjustments. It has full sRGB coverage and supports a wide color gamut for HDR content. It can make some highlights stand out in HDR but don't expect a true cinematic HDR experience because it has a sub-par contrast ratio that makes blacks appear gray in the dark and no local dimming.
It delivers a very smooth and responsive gaming experience. It has a 144Hz refresh rate that you can overclock up to 160Hz and an exceptional response time, so fast motion looks clear with almost no visible ghosting. Also, screen tearing is minimal thanks to its native FreeSync support and G-SYNC compatibility. Its backlight is entirely flicker-free to eliminate image duplication and help reduce eye strain. Its USB hub consists of two USB 3.0s and a USB-B upstream port so that you can plug your peripherals directly into the monitor and have only a single cable leading to your PC. The overall build quality feels decent, although the cable management seems pretty cheap and flimsy. Nonetheless, it's a good monitor with great gaming performance and the best LG ultrawide monitor we've tested.
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Best Budget LG Monitor
Mixed Usage7.6Office7.5Gaming8.2Multimedia7.5Media Creation7.5HDR Gaming6.8Size 27"Resolution 1920x1080Max Refresh Rate144 HzPixel TypeIPSVariable Refresh RateAdaptive SyncHDR10 YesThe LG 27GN650-B is the best LG monitor in the budget category that we've tested. It's a good monitor for most uses, with a 27 inch, 1080p IPS screen. It has a fast refresh rate, making it a surprisingly great monitor for gaming, with exceptional response times, resulting in clear motion with little blur behind fast-moving objects at the max refresh rate. It supports FreeSync variable refresh rate technology, and it's certified to work with NVIDIA's G-SYNC compatible mode. Both technologies are designed to reduce screen tearing, improving the overall gaming experience. It also has exceptionally low input lag for a response gaming or desktop experience. It has good connectivity, but unlike more expensive LG models, there's no built-in USB hub.
The relatively low pixel density of this monitor results in just decent text clarity, but it's still a good monitor for office use or media creation. It has excellent gray uniformity, great accuracy out of the box, superb gradient handling, and an outstanding color gamut in SDR. It also supports HDR, but sadly, this doesn't add much, as it has low contrast, no local dimming feature, and it can't get bright enough in HDR for small highlights to stand out. Despite the budget price tag, this is a good monitor that should please most people.
Compared to other brands
- Ultrawide options. LG makes a good amount of 34 and 38 inch ultrawide models. If you find those too big and typical 27 inch models too small, they offer some 32 inch models as well.
- Great gaming features. Since LG mainly focuses on gaming, most of their monitors offer variable refresh rate (VRR) support and excellent motion handling.
- Wide viewing angles. LG mainly uses IPS panels with their monitors, which help provide wide viewing angles. This makes it easier to share your screen with others around you.
- Few issues. LG monitors are typically a safe bet. Whereas most high-end monitors from other brands have had issues lately, ranging from firmware problems to limited bandwidth ports and high input lag, LG monitors typically perform very well out of the box. They rarely require firmware updates to reach their peak performance.
- Limited ergonomics. LG isn't known to make good stands. Even their highest-end office monitors don't offer any swivel adjustments.
- Low contrast ratio. Since most of their models have IPS panels, they have a low contrast ratio, and blacks appear closer to gray when viewed in the dark.
- Just decent build quality. Even the best LG monitors only have decent build quality. They use a lot of plastic to keep prices down, and everything from their stands to the bezels around the display feel a bit cheap.
LG vs Dell
LG and Dell directly compete with each other as they make office and gaming monitors. Dell's models usually have much better ergonomics and make for smaller, more budget-friendly options. However, LG's monitors generally deliver a better HDR experience, and they make many more ultrawide options.
LG vs ASUS
For the most part, ASUS makes much better gaming monitors than LG with higher refresh rates, and they also generally have better ergonomics. However, LG's lineup includes larger options with a higher resolution.
LG vs Samsung
Samsung and LG target similar markets, with both brands offering high-end gaming monitors with advanced features. While LG mainly uses IPS panels with wide viewing angles, Samsung typically uses VA panels with high contrast but poor viewing angles. Samsung monitors usually have better build quality than LGs, but they're plagued with firmware issues, which is rare on LG monitors.
LG offers options with larger screens and higher resolutions than most of its competitors. However, its office monitors don't have as good ergonomics as Dell. Also, they still lag behind ASUS in gaming, as they're only starting to make high refresh rate models. Regardless, you'll likely find what you need with LG.
Lineup
LG offers three different monitor lineups: UltraGear for gaming, UltraWide, and UltraFine for office monitors. Their naming convention can be confusing at first, but once you learn, it's fairly easy to tell which lineup the monitor belongs to.
LG's monitors start with a number, which indicates the size, followed by the lineup letter:
- G: UltraGear lineup for gaming.
- W: UltraWide lineup, and as the name suggests, it has their ultrawide monitors.
- U: UltraFine lineup, their office lineup with mainly a 4k resolution.
The next letter is the year: N (2020), L (2019), or K (2018). The next set of numbers relates to the model's position in their lineup. The higher the number, the higher-end it is; 600 and 650 are the lowest-end models, while 950 is the premium model.
Some models have another letter following those sets of numbers, but not all of them have it. They usually represent a feature of the monitor, but it's not clear what some letters represent, like T in the LG 32GN50T-B.
- F: Native FreeSync support.
- G: Native G-SYNC support.
- C and U: Thunderbolt support.
Lastly, there's one final letter that simply represents what color the body is; W for white and B for black.
For example, the LG 27GN950-B is a premium 27 inch monitor in the UltraGear lineup, released in 2020, and the body is black. The LG 24GL600F is an entry-level 24 inch model from 2019 that has native FreeSync support. Lastly, the LG38WN95C-W is a premium ultrawide monitor that LG released in 2020, has a USB-C input with Thunderbolt 3 support, and the body is white.
Recent Updates
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Mar 31, 2022: Verified our picks for accuracy and refreshed the text.
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Dec 01, 2021: Restructured and rewrote the article with a focus on usage rather than the specific resolution of the display.
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Aug 06, 2021: Verified accuracy of picks. Replaced LG 34GN850-B with LG 34GP83A-B.
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Apr 09, 2021: Verified accuracy of picks with minor updates to text.
Conclusion
LG makes monitors for both office use and gaming, and they're available in a wide range of sizes. Their UltraGear models usually offer great gaming performance with outstanding motion handling. They also produce more 4k and ultrawide monitors than some competitors, but their 1440p lineup is fairly limited. LG's options have limited ergonomics and rarely offer swivel adjustments; if that isn't an issue for you, you should be happy with most of their monitors.
