The LG 27GL83A-B is a very good monitor with a 27 inch, 1440p IPS screen. It delivers a great gaming experience with extremely low input lag, an outstanding response time, and a few great gaming features. It supports AMD's FreeSync variable refresh rate technology (VRR), but it's also certified by NVIDIA to support VRR from recent NVIDIA graphics cards. It has wide viewing angles, good reflection handling, and very good peak brightness, so glare shouldn't be an issue. As a more budget-oriented model, it has a pretty basic stand, with limited ergonomics and no RGB lighting. Although it supports HDR, this doesn't really add much, as it can't get bright enough to deliver a true HDR experience and has a low contrast ratio.
Our Verdict
The LG 27GL83A-B is a very good monitor for almost any use. It has remarkable motion handling and outstanding low input lag, which is great for gaming. It performs well in an office environment with its wide viewing angles and great peak brightness. Finally, its large size and high resolution make it a great choice for those who are looking for a monitor with good performance in media creation and multimedia.
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Wide viewing angles.
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Excellent gray uniformity.
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Incredible response time.
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Outstanding low input lag.
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Low contrast ratio.
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Limited ergonomics with no swivel.
The LG 27GL83A-B is a good monitor for office use. The 27 inch, 1440p screen is great for multitasking. The viewing angles are excellent, so you don't have to worry about the sides of the screen fading if you sit too close. Unfortunately, it isn't the easiest monitor to place comfortably due to its disappointing ergonomics, but on the upside, you can place it in a bright office without issue due to its good reflection handling and very good peak brightness.
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Good reflection handling.
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Wide viewing angles.
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Excellent gray uniformity.
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Limited ergonomics with no swivel.
The LG 27GL83A-B is a great monitor for gaming. It has an extremely low input lag and an outstanding response time, resulting in clear motion with little blur behind fast-moving objects. It supports FreeSync variable refresh rate technology (VRR), but it's also certified by NVIDIA to support VRR from recent NVIDIA cards. On the downside, it may be difficult to place it comfortably due to its lack of swivel and limited ergonomics.
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Good reflection handling.
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Incredible response time.
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Outstanding low input lag.
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Versatile variable refresh rate feature works with most graphics cards.
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Low contrast ratio.
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Limited ergonomics with no swivel.
The LG 27GL83A-B is a good monitor for watching videos. It has a great resolution and size, delivering a more immersive movie-watching experience. The input lag is very low, and the monitor feels very responsive. The wide viewing angles are great for watching a movie together with a friend, although you might have a hard time positioning the monitor comfortably. It's not as good in a dark room, though, as it has low contrast and bad black uniformity.
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Good reflection handling.
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Wide viewing angles.
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Excellent gray uniformity.
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Low contrast ratio.
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Limited ergonomics with no swivel.
The LG 27GL83A-B is a very good monitor for media creation. The high resolution and large size make it easier to see more of your project at once. Unfortunately, it might be difficult to position the monitor to your ideal position viewing position, but once you do, you should enjoy a very responsive experience thanks to the very low input lag. Also, the image remains accurate at the sides even when you sit up close to examine the details of your work.
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Good reflection handling.
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Wide viewing angles.
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Excellent gray uniformity.
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Low contrast ratio.
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Limited ergonomics with no swivel.
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Low contrast ratio.
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Limited ergonomics with no swivel.
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No local dimming feature.
- 7.6 Mixed Usage
- 7.7 Office
- 8.3 Gaming
- 7.2 Media Consumption
- 7.7 Media Creation
- 6.3 HDR
- Updated Jan 04, 2023: We tested this monitor with the PS5's 1440p resolution support. It works, but you have to disable Adaptive Sync on the monitor.
- Updated May 02, 2022: We tested the monitor with the PS5's new variable refresh rate feature and confirmed that it's not compatible, since the PS5 only supports HDMI Forum VRR.
- Updated Apr 08, 2022: Updated to Test Bench 1.2, resulting in changes to the results and scores with the Response Time and Input Lag. Added tests for Console Compatibility and macOS compatibility and made minor changes to other tests, which you can see in our Changelog.
- Updated Jul 21, 2021: Updated review for accuracy and clarity.
- Updated Jan 20, 2021: For consistency, we've changed the swivel adjustment from N/A to 'No'. The score remains unchanged.
- Updated Aug 31, 2020: We rechecked our color gamut results, as they seemed strange, but we arrived at the same results as before.
- Updated Jun 04, 2020: We retested FreeSync over HDMI, and updated our results below.
- Updated Feb 17, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
- Updated Nov 14, 2019: Review published.
- Updated Nov 12, 2019: Early access published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 27 inch 27GL83A-B, which is the only size available. It's been replaced in 2021 by the LG 27GP83B-B, which is very similar overall but has a higher refresh rate. There are other models in LG's UltraGear lineup, some of which are listed in the table below.
If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their 27GL83A-B doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we'll update the review. Note that some tests, like gray uniformity, may vary between individual units.
| Model | Size | Resolution | Refresh Rate | Notes |
| 27GK750F-B | 27" | 1080p | 240Hz | FreeSync |
| 27GL83A-B | 27" | 1440p | 144Hz | FreeSync, NVIDIA certified |
| 27GL850-B | 27" | 1440p | 144Hz | FreeSync, NVIDIA certified |
| 27GP83B-B | 27" | 1440p | 165Hz | FreeSync, NVIDIA certified |
| 32GK850F-B | 32" | 1440p | 144Hz | FreeSync |
| 32GK850G-B | 32" | 1440p | 144Hz | G-SYNC |
The LG 27GL83A-B we tested was manufactured in September 2019.
Compared To Other Monitors
The LG 27GL83A-B is a great gaming monitor with remarkable motion handling. It has worse ergonomics than most comparable models, but if this isn't an issue, it's a great choice. See also our reviews for the best gaming monitors, the best 144Hz monitors, and the best 27 inch monitors.
The Gigabyte M27Q and the LG 27GL83A-B are quite similar as they're both 27 inch IPS gaming monitors with a 1440p resolution. In terms of gaming performance, the main difference is that the Gigabyte has a higher refresh rate of 170Hz compared to the LG's 144Hz, but it has a slightly slower response time. The Gigabyte is better for content creation because it has a much better SDR and HDR color gamut, as well as better accuracy out of the box. It also has more features, like a Picture-in-Picture and Picture-by-Picture mode, and a USB-C port that supports DisplayPort Alt Mode. However, the LG has wider viewing angles if you need to share your screen often, and it can rotate to portrait mode, which the Gigabyte can't.
The Acer Nitro XV272U KVbmiiprzx is better than the LG 27GL83A-B for most uses. They both use an IPS panel with a 1440p resolution, but the Acer has a higher refresh rate of 170Hz versus the LG's 144Hz. The Acer also has better response times at max refresh rate and 60Hz. It offers more ergonomic adjustments and has four USB 3.0 ports, while the LG has none.
The LG 27GN800-B and the LG 27GL83A-B perform fairly similarly overall. However, the 27GN800-B has a slight edge if you can overlook the stand's terrible ergonomics. Both are 1440p 144Hz monitors, but the 27GN800-B has a faster response time at both 60Hz and the max refresh rate. It also has a wider color gamut, and its better reflection handling makes it a little more suited to bright lighting conditions.
The ASUS TUF VG27AQ is better than the LG 27GL83A for mixed usage. Though they both have an IPS panel, the ASUS has a much better contrast ratio and black uniformity. Ergonomics are also significantly better on the ASUS, but the LG has a faster response time and better color accuracy out of the box.
Although the LG 27GL83A-B and the Gigabyte G27Q score similarly for gaming, the LG comes out ahead because it has a better response time, particularly at 60Hz. The Gigabyte has a black frame insertion feature to improve motion clarity, which the LG lacks, but it isn't usable while VRR is active, and some people might be bothered by the flickering. That said, the Gigabyte is a better choice if you want to game in HDR because it has a wider color gamut and gets much brighter.
The Dell S2721DGF is a bit better than the LG 27GL83A-B for most uses. The Dell has much better ergonomics, making it easier to place in an ideal viewing position, and it's better built. The Dell also has much better reflection handling. On the other hand, the LG is more accurate out of the box.
The LG 27GL83A-B is slightly better than the Acer Predator XB271HU Bmiprz. The LG has a significantly better color accuracy and gradient performance, and it supports HDR, while the Acer has much better ergonomics and has a black frame insertion feature to reduce motion blur. The Acer also has a better contrast ratio, but it can't get as bright as the LG.
The LG 27GL850-B and the LG 27GL83A-B have very similar overall performance and any differences can be attributed to panel variance. The 27GL850-B has better inputs as it incorporates two USB 3.0 ports, while the 27GL83A-B has no USB ports.
Gaming-wise, the LG 27GP850-B is better than the LG 27GL83A-B because it has a higher refresh rate and slightly better response time. It also has a black frame insertion feature to further improve motion clarity, which the 27GL83A-B lacks. The 27GP850-B delivers a better HDR experience because it has a much wider color gamut and gets brighter.
The LG 27GP83B-B is the updated version of the LG 27GL83A-B, and it's a bit better than the older version. The 27GP83B has a faster refresh rate, slightly faster response time, and it's a bit brighter in HDR. The 27GP83B we tested also has better black uniformity, but this can vary between units.
The LG 27GN850-B and the LG 27GL83A-B are two very good monitors with great gaming performance. The 27GL83A-B is a better choice for use in well-lit rooms because it gets brighter and has a bit better reflection handling. Motion also looks smoother on the 27GL83A-B as it has a slightly quicker response time. However, the 27GN850-B is better for content creators because it displays a wider SDR color gamut.
The LG 27GN880-B and the LG 27GL83A-B are nearly identical. The only differences are that the 27GN880-B has slightly better response times, and it comes with a much better stand that takes up less desk space and offers more ergonomic adjustments. It also has a much better color gamut in both SDR and HDR, but like the 27GL83A-B, it doesn't get bright enough to deliver a true HDR experience.
The LG 27GL83A-B and the Pixio PX7 Prime are very similar overall. The Pixio has a slightly faster refresh rate and slightly better ergonomics. The LG has a faster response time, resulting in slightly clearer motion, but most people won't notice much difference.
The Acer Nitro VG271UP Pbmiipx and the LG 27GL83A-B are nearly identical in terms of performance and features. However, the Acer has significantly worse black uniformity and its response time is slower, resulting in more motion blur. Also, the LG has better ergonomics, but the Acer can get brighter in HDR mode.
The LG 27GL83A-B and the ASUS VG279Q have very similar performance overall but have also significant differences. The LG has a higher resolution screen, and it supports HDR, while the ASUS has much better ergonomics and an optional black frame insertion feature to help with the appearance of motion. The LG has a faster response time and delivers extremely clear motion, with almost no blur behind fast-moving objects.
The ASUS ROG Swift PG279Q is slightly better than the LG 27GL83A-B. The ASUS has much better ergonomics, supports G-SYNC, and has a black frame insertion feature that can help improve the appearance of motion. The LG, on the other hand, supports HDR, supports FreeSync, and has a 10-bit panel and better gradient.
The LG 27GL83A-B is much better than the Dell S2719DGF. Since the LG uses an IPS panel, it offers much better viewing angles. Black uniformity is also significantly better on the LG, and it supports HDR, while the Dell doesn't. However, ergonomics and reflection handling are much better on the Dell, and they both perform similarly in terms of motion handling.
The LG 27GL83A-B is marginally better than the BenQ EX2780Q in most uses. They're both very similar in terms of performance, but the LG has much better motion handling and it has a better HDR color gamut. Out-of-the-box color accuracy is also better on the LG, but its black uniformity is significantly worse than the BenQ.
The LG 27GL83A-B is better than the ViewSonic VX2758-2KP-MHD. The LG has a much better stand, with a decent height adjustment range and the ability to rotate to portrait orientation. The LG supports HDR, although this doesn't add much. The ViewSonic, on the other hand, has an optional black frame insertion feature for clearer motion, and the unit we tested has better black uniformity.
The HP OMEN 27i and the LG 27GL83A-B are extremely similar overall. The HP has much better build quality, as well as an RGB bias-lighting feature. On the other hand, the LG supports HDR, and it's much more accurate out of the box. Other than that, there's really not much difference between these two monitors.
The Gigabyte AORUS AD27QD is marginally better than the LG 27GL850. The Gigabyte has better ergonomics so you can easily place it comfortably, an optional black frame insertion feature, and many additional gaming features. The LG, on the other hand, has slightly faster response time and displays crisper motion.
Overall, the Lenovo Legion Y27q-20 is a bit better than the LG 27GL83A-B. The Lenovo has significantly better ergonomics, a slightly higher refresh rate, and better response time. It also has a better color SDR color gamut and color volume. The LG's viewing angles are a bit wider, and it gets brighter in HDR.
Video
Test Results
The LG 27GL83A-B looks like every other monitor in LG's UltraGear lineup. It's mainly black with a red circle on the back, and the stand has wide-set feet. It's designed as a gaming monitor but fits nicely into any office environment.
This monitor seems to have decent overall build quality. It's mostly made of plastic but there are no gaps or loose ends. It feels very similar to the other LG UltraGear monitors we've tested.
Unfortunately, the LG 27GL83A-B has disappointing ergonomics, so it might be difficult to place it in an ideal viewing position. It has a decent height adjustment, but just an okay tilt range, and it can't swivel. The back of the monitor has a red circle like other UltraGear monitors. There's a quick release button and cable management is done through a clip in the stand.
The stand supports the LG 27GL83A-B well, with only minimal wobble. It has a wide footprint and you can place small objects in front of the monitor.
You can control the menu of this monitor using the joystick-style button found on the underside, right under the LG logo.
- Disc manual
- Warranty info
- HDMI cable
- DisplayPort cable
- Power adapter and cable
The LG 27GL83A-B has a disappointing contrast ratio, resulting in blacks that look gray in a dark room. If you want a monitor with a higher contrast ratio, check out the Gigabyte G32QC.
This monitor doesn't have a local dimming feature. The video is for reference only, so you can see how backlight on this display performs and compare it to a similar product with local dimming.
The LG 27GL83A-B has very good peak brightness in SDR. It's bright enough to overcome glare in moderately-lit rooms, and there's no variation in brightness with different content.
These measurements were taken after calibration, in the 'Gamer 1' Picture Mode, with the brightness at the highest setting. The peak brightness can change depending on which mode you're using.
The LG 27GL83A-B has just okay peak brightness in HDR. There's a bit more variation in brightness with different content, and it's not bright enough to deliver a true cinematic HDR experience.
These measurements are taken before calibration, in the 'Gamer 1' Picture Mode, with the backlight at max and HDR enabled. The peak brightness can change depending on which mode you're using.
The LG 27GL83A-B has excellent horizontal viewing angles, which is expected from an IPS panel. You won't lose image accuracy when viewing from the side, which is great if you need to share your screen with a coworker or for co-op gaming.
The LG 27GL83A-B has an okay vertical viewing angle. If you sit up close, the edges of the screen might appear darker, but this shouldn't be a problem for most people.
The LG 27GL83A-B has excellent gray uniformity. The sides of the screen are a bit darker, but this isn't noticeable with most content. This is great for content with large areas of uniform color, like a web page or document.
The LG 27GL83A-B has poor black uniformity. There's visible clouding throughout and very noticeable backlight bleed near the top left corner. This may be distracting when watching dark scenes. The replacement model, the LG 27GP83B-B, has better black uniformity, but this varies between units.
The LG 27GL83A-B has good out-of-the-box color accuracy, but this can vary between units. Most colors are fairly accurate, and the color temperature is extremely close to our 6500K target. Unfortunately, the gamma curve doesn't follow the sRGB target curve well, so dark scenes are darker than they should, and bright scenes are brighter.
This monitor has excellent post-calibration color accuracy. Any remaining errors can only be observed with the aid of a colorimeter and aren't noticeable in normal content. Gamma follows the target curve almost perfectly, and the color temperature is almost spot on the 6500K target.
This monitor has a fantastic SDR color gamut. It covers nearly all of the sRGB color space used in most content and has good coverage of the Adobe RGB color space used in photo editing.
This monitor has excellent SDR color volume. In sRGB it's limited only by its low contrast level, as it can't display saturated colors at low luminance levels. In Adobe RGB it's limited by the incomplete color gamut, and again it can't display dark colors.
The LG 27GL83A-B has a good HDR color gamut. It has great coverage of the DCI P3 color space used in most current HDR content. The coverage of the wider Rec. 2020 color space is only decent, so it's not as future-proof.
This monitor has decent HDR color volume. It's limited by its low contrast ratio, as it can't display saturated colors at low luminance levels, and it can't fill out the entire color gamut.
The LG 27GL83A-B has good reflection handling overall. The matte finish diffuses reflections well, reducing their intensity. Glare might still be an issue in a very bright room, but most people shouldn't have any issues with it.
Text clarity on this monitor is decent. It can be improved by using ClearType (top photo), which makes the diagonal lines on the letters R and N clearer.
The LG 27GL83A-B has outstanding gradient handling. There's some very minor banding in darker shades, but this shouldn't be at all noticeable in normal content.
The LG 27GL83A-B has a fast 144Hz refresh rate. It supports AMD's FreeSync variable refresh rate, and it's certified by NVIDIA as G-SYNC compatible, but G-SYNC only works over DisplayPort. You shouldn't have any issues using it with a recent NVIDIA graphics card.
Over HDMI, the 27GL83A-B only supports FreeSync up to 100Hz, but with VRR disabled 144Hz @ 1440p is supported over HDMI.
| Overdrive Setting | Response Time Chart | Response Time Tables | Motion Blur Photo |
| Off | Chart | Table | Photo |
| Normal | Chart | Table | Photo |
| Fast | Chart | Table | Photo |
| Faster | Chart | Table | Photo |
The LG 27GL83A-B has an outstanding response time, similar to the LG 27GL850. Our recommended Response Time setting is 'Fast' as it delivers the best overall performance with the least amount of overshoot. There's a tiny bit of overshoot with the 'Fast' setting, but this isn't really noticeable. The 'Faster' setting has one of the fastest rise/fall times we've ever seen, with many transitions coming in under 1ms, but it also has significant overshoot, resulting in a long trail of inverse ghosting behind fast-moving objects. The replacement model, the LG 27GP83B-B has a higher maximum refresh rate, and a slightly faster response time.
| Overdrive Setting | Response Time Chart | Response Time Tables | Motion Blur Photo |
| Off | Chart | Table | Photo |
| Normal | Chart | Table | Photo |
| Fast | Chart | Table | Photo |
| Faster | Chart | Table | Photo |
The LG 27GL83A-B has an amazing response time at 60Hz, which is great for console gaming. Unlike at its max refresh rate, the recommended Response Time setting is 'Normal', so you might have to change your setting while gaming. This setting has less overshoot and motion blur than the 'Fast' setting, but both perform very similarly.
The LG 27GL83A-B doesn't have a black frame insertion feature.
The monitor uses a completely flicker-free backlight at all brightness levels.
The monitor has an outstanding low input lag. The 60Hz input lag, although still low, is slightly higher than most monitors, which isn't ideal for console gaming.
The 27 inch screen and the 1440p resolution is great for multitasking and delivers a more detailed gaming experience than 1080p displays.
The LG 27GL83A-B has decent compatibility with the PS5. To choose a 1440p resolution, you have to disable Adaptive Sync on the monitor.
Unfortunately, there are some serious issues when using this monitor with recent Macs, including M1 MacBook Pros. It flickers constantly if VRR is disabled or if it's enabled and running at 144Hz. Disabling Adaptive Sync from the monitor's OSD also resolved the issue. In games, it flickers if the frame rate drops below about 75fps or if it's around 120fps. Setting a framerate cap to 120fps in MacOS fixes the flicker.
The monitor has just a few additional features that can come in handy in games.
- Virtual crosshair: There are four virtual crosshairs to choose from. Unlike software virtual crosshairs, these can't be detected by your games.
- Black stabilizer: Adjusts gamma in dark scenes to make it easier to spot other players/enemies hiding in shadows.
