The LG 32GP850-B is an excellent gaming monitor and part of LG's UltraGear gaming monitor lineup. The fast refresh rate delivers an outstanding response time, even when gaming on consoles at 60Hz, and it has outstanding low input lag. It natively supports AMD's FreeSync variable refresh rate technology (VRR), but it's also certified by NVIDIA to work with G-SYNC on recent NVIDIA graphics cards. When you're not gaming, the wide viewing angles, high peak brightness, and great reflection handling make it a great choice for office work or multimedia in a brighter room. The impressive color gamut and fantastic gradient handling make it a great choice for media creation as well. Unfortunately, the IPS panel isn't the best for dark room use, and some people might find the pixel density a bit too low for office work.
Our Verdict
The LG UltraGear 32GP850-B is an impressive monitor all-around. It's an excellent gaming monitor with low input lag, a fast response time, and variable refresh rate (VRR) support. It has wide viewing angles, great reflection handling, and high peak brightness, making it a very good choice for office work, especially in a brighter room. It has an impressive wide color gamut, making it a great choice for media creation or multimedia.
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Image remains accurate at an angle.
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Excellent gray uniformity.
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Low contrast.
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Disappointing ergonomics.
The LG 32GP850-B is a very good office monitor. It has great reflection handling and high peak brightness, so glare shouldn't be an issue in most rooms. It has wide viewing angles, great for sharing your screen with colleagues or clients. The large screen is great for multitasking, but the relatively low pixel density isn't the best for text clarity. Unfortunately, it has limited ergonomics, so it might be hard to place it in an ideal viewing position.
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Great reflection handling.
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Image remains accurate at an angle.
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Excellent gray uniformity.
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Disappointing ergonomics.
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Relatively low pixel density.
The LG 32GP850-B is an excellent gaming monitor. It has a fast refresh rate, outstanding low input lag, and an exceptional response time, resulting in clear motion with little blur. It supports FreeSync variable refresh rate technology (VRR), and it's certified to work with recent NVIDIA's G-SYNC VRR technology. It has high peak brightness in SDR and great reflection handling, so glare shouldn't be an issue in a brighter room. On the other hand, it's not the best for dark room gaming, as it has a low contrast ratio, so blacks look gray.
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Great reflection handling.
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Outstanding response time.
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Superb low input lag.
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High refresh rate.
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Low contrast.
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Disappointing ergonomics.
The LG UltraGear 32GP850 is great for multimedia. The large screen delivers a more immersive movie-watching experience, and it has wide viewing angles, great for watching your favorite streamers with a few friends. It looks best in a brighter setting, and with a high peak brightness and great reflection handling, glare shouldn't be an issue. It's not the best for a dark room due to the low contrast ratio and mediocre black uniformity.
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Great reflection handling.
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Image remains accurate at an angle.
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Excellent gray uniformity.
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Great HDR color gamut.
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Low contrast.
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Disappointing ergonomics.
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Peak brightness in HDR is just okay.
The LG 32GP850-B is a great choice for media creation. The large screen makes it easier to see more of your project at once, and the wide viewing angles are important if you share your screen with colleagues or clients. It also has outstanding gradient handling and excellent gray uniformity, so you don't have to worry about banding or dirty-screen effect when touching up photos. Unfortunately, it has limited ergonomics, so it might be hard to place in an ideal viewing position.
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Great reflection handling.
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Image remains accurate at an angle.
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Excellent gray uniformity.
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Great HDR color gamut.
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Low contrast.
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Disappointing ergonomics.
The LG 32GP850-B is okay for HDR. It displays the wide range of colors needed for most HDR content, but it doesn't get bright enough to make highlights pop. Its low contrast ratio makes blacks look gray in the dark too, and it doesn't have a local dimming feature to further improve it, either.
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Great HDR color gamut.
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Low contrast.
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Disappointing ergonomics.
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No local dimming feature.
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Peak brightness in HDR is just okay.
- 7.9 Mixed Usage
- 7.7 Office
- 8.5 Gaming
- 7.6 Media Consumption
- 8.0 Media Creation
- 6.7 HDR
- Updated Apr 18, 2023: Tested the monitor's compatibility with 1440p on the PS5, but it doesn't work.
- Updated Mar 24, 2023: Clarified text throughout as part of Test Bench 1.2, including adding text to the Console Compatibility boxes.
- 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 13, 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 Jun 29, 2021: Review published.
- Updated Jun 23, 2021: Early access published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 32 inch LG 32GP850-B. It's also available in a 27 inch size, the LG 27GP850-B, and they perform nearly identically. There are other monitors in LG's 2021 UltraGear lineup, some of which are listed below, but we don't expect our review to be valid for those models.
| Model | Size | Native Resolution | Max Refresh rate | Panel Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34GP83A-B | 34" | 3440x1440 | 160Hz | IPS |
| 32GP850-B | 32" | 2560x1440 | 180Hz | IPS |
| 27GP950-B | 27" | 3840x1440 | 160Hz | IPS |
| 27GP850-B | 27" | 2560x1440 | 180Hz | IPS |
| 27GP83B-B | 27" | 2560x1440 | 165Hz | IPS |
If you come across a different type of panel or your LG UltraGear 32GP850 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.
Our unit was manufactured in April 2021; you can see the label here.
Compared To Other Monitors
The LG 32GP850-B is an excellent gaming monitor with a few impressive features, but the low pixel density might be a deal-breaker for some.
For more options, check out our recommendations for the best 32-inch monitors, the best gaming monitors, and the best 1440p monitors.
The LG 32GP850-B and the LG 27GP850-B are nearly identical. The 32 inch model is more accurate out of the box, and the 27 inch model has better text clarity due to the higher pixel density. Other than that, the differences between these models can almost entirely be attributed to panel variance.
The Samsung Odyssey G7 C32G75T and the LG 32GP850-B use different panel technologies, so the best one overall depends on your usage. The LG uses an IPS panel, and it has much better viewing angles and a slightly better response time. The VA panel on the Samsung is a better choice for a dark room, with better contrast and better black uniformity. Finally, the 1000R curve on the Samsung can provide a more immersive gaming experience than the flat screen of the LG, but curved screens aren't ideal for some use cases.
The Gigabyte M32Q and the LG 32GP850-B are nearly identical, with only a few minor differences. The Gigabyte has better vertical viewing angles, but the LG has better horizontal viewing angles. The Gigabyte has a slightly better stand, and it has a unique KVM feature that allows you to work with two sources at once with a single keyboard and mouse.
The LG 32GP850-B is slightly better than the Gigabyte M27Q. The LG has a slightly faster refresh rate, which translates to a slightly better response time as well. The LG also has better reflection handling, and the stand can rotate to a portrait orientation. The LG has a larger screen, but the same resolution as the Gigabyte, so it has slightly worse text clarity, as the pixel density is a bit lower.
The LG 32GP850-B and the LG 32GN650-B use different panel technologies, each with strengths and disadvantages, but the 32GP850-B is better for most people. The newer 32GP850 uses an IPS panel, and it has better viewing angles, better reflection handling, higher peak brightness, and a much better response time. The 32GN650 uses a VA panel, and it has better contrast, making it a better choice for a dark room.
The Samsung Odyssey G6 S32BG65 and the LG 32GP850-B are both excellent 1440p gaming monitors, but they differ in some regards. Aside from using different panel types, the LG has a better response time and lower input lag, which is important if you play fast-paced video games. The LG also offers better viewing angles so you can share the screen while the image keeps its consistency. The Samsung monitor offers a deeper contrast, resulting in better blacks benefiting darker scenes in movies and video games. It also performs better in HDR and has Tizen OS built-in, allowing you to stream content directly from the monitor.
The MSI Optix MAG274QRF-QD and the LG 32GP850-B are similar overall, and the differences between them are minor. The MSI has better ergonomics; if that doesn't matter to you, the LG has better reflection handling and a larger screen. The LG also has better accuracy out of the box and better gray uniformity, but these could vary between units.
The LG 27GP83B-B and the LG 32GP850-B are very similar overall, but the 32GP850-B has a larger screen. The 32" model has a slightly faster refresh rate, and it has an optional black frame insertion feature, but other than that, there are no significant differences between these models.
The LG 32GP850-B is a bit better than the LG 27GL850-B. The 32GP850 has a faster refresh rate, a faster response time, and the unit we tested has better black uniformity. The 32GP850 also offers an optional Black Frame Insertion feature, but this isn't supported if the variable refresh rate feature is enabled, so most people won't use it when gaming. Although the 32GP850-B has a larger screen, it has the same native resolution as the 27GL850-B, so text clarity is a bit worse.
The LG 32GP850-B and the LG 32GN600-B use different panel technologies, each with strengths and weaknesses, but overall, the 32GP850-B is better for most people. The 32GP850 has better ergonomics, much better viewing angles, and a much faster response time. The 32GN600-B, on the other hand, has much better contrast and better black uniformity, so it's a better choice for a dark room.
The LG 32GP850-B is a higher-end monitor than the LG 32GN63T-B, and it's much better for gaming. The 32GP850-B has much better motion handling, and its wider viewing angles make it a better choice for co-op gaming. The 32GP850-B is also better to use in well-lit rooms because it gets brighter and has better reflection handling, but the 32GN63T-B is better for dark rooms thanks to its higher contrast.
The LG 32GP850-B and the ASUS ROG Strix XG27AQ are very similar overall. the ASUS has better ergonomics, with a wider tilt range, better height adjustment, and it can swivel. On the other hand, the LG has higher peak brightness, better reflection handling, and a slightly faster refresh rate.
The Gigabyte AORUS FI32U is slightly better overall than the LG 32GP850-B. The Gigabyte has a higher resolution screen, better ergonomics, a more versatile black frame insertion feature, and it supports HDMI 2.1, making it a better choice for next-gen console gamers. The LG, on the other hand, has a slightly faster refresh rate, better reflection handling, and lower input lag at 60Hz.
The LG 32GP850-B is a bit better than the LG 27GN850-B. The 32GP850 has a slightly faster refresh rate, better reflection handling, and it has an optional black frame insertion feature to reduce persistence blur. The 32GP850 also has a larger screen and a built-in USB hub.
The LG 32GP850-B is slightly better than the Dell S2721DGF, but the main differences are minor and could be due to panel variance. The LG has more screen real estate, a faster refresh rate, better black uniformity, and it's more accurate out of the box. The LG, on the other hand, has better ergonomics and seems to be better built.
The LG 32GP850-B and the Corsair XENEON 32QHD165 offer nearly identical performance in most ways. The Corsair has a wider color gamut, so it's a bit better for content creators, and it has a USB-C port, great if you work with a MacBook or other compact laptop. On the other hand, the LG has slightly better reflection handling, so it offers better visibility in bright conditions.
The LG 32GP850-B and the Dell Alienware AW2721D are very similar overall, but the LG is better for gaming. The LG has an optional black frame insertion feature, better reflection handling, and a better response time. On the other hand, the Dell has better ergonomics, a slightly faster refresh rate, and better vertical viewing angles. Another factor to consider is the supported variable refresh rate formats. The Dell is a native G-SYNC model, supporting variable overdrive when connected to an NVIDIA graphics card, while the LG natively supports FreeSync.
Test Results
The LG 32GP850-B has a clean, simple design, with red accents on the stand and slim bezels on three sides. It looks very similar to the other LG UltraGear monitors we've tested, like the LG 32GN650-B.
The LG UltraGear 32GP850-B has decent built quality. It's very similar to the LG 32GN650-B, but the stand wobbles a bit less. The monitor is almost entirely plastic, and although there's a bit of flex to some parts and the cable management is a bit cheap, it feels sturdy, and most people shouldn't have any issues with it.
The stand has sub-par ergonomics, so it might be difficult to place the monitor in an ideal viewing position. The back of the monitor is simple, with a red ring around the back but no RGB bias-lighting. There's a hook on the back of the monitor for cable management, but it's pretty basic.
The LG 32GP850-B has a chevron-shaped stand similar to the other LG UltraGear monitors on the market, like the LG 32GN650-B. The stand doesn't lay completely flat against the table, and it's attached to the front of the vertical stand, not on the sides. Despite having a nearly identical stand to the 32GN650-B, it seems more stable and supports the monitor well.
Despite the new OSD, the controls haven't changed. The joystick is great for navigating the menus, but there's some delay when first opening the OSD that wasn't there with the old OSD design.
- User manuals
- Calibration report
- Manual/driver CD
- Power adapter
- DisplayPort cable
- HDMI cable
- USB-B upstream cable
As expected for an IPS panel, the LG 32GP850-B has mediocre contrast, so blacks look gray in a dark room. These results are typical for an IPS panel but can vary between units. LG claims an average contrast of 1000:1 for this model, but it could be as low as 700:1.
The LG UltraGear 32GP850-B doesn't have a local dimming feature. The video is for reference only, so you can see how the local dimming feature on other displays compares to one without local dimming.
The LG UltraGear 32GP850-B has great peak brightness, much brighter than the LG 32GN650-B. There's no variation in brightness with different content, which is great.
These measurements were taken after calibration, in the 'Gamer 1' Picture Mode, with the backlight at max. The peak brightness can change depending on which mode you're using.
The LG 32GP850-B has okay peak brightness in HDR. It's bright enough for some HDR content to stand out better than SDR, but it's not bright enough for small highlights to stand out when watching movies.
These measurements were 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.
This monitor has great horizontal viewing angles. The brightness decreases, and colors start to wash out at wide angles, but most people shouldn't have any issues.
As expected for an IPS display, the vertical viewing angles are decent. Though the black level appears to increase at a much smaller angle from above than from below, this is due to our test's thresholds. The difference isn't noticeable in real life.
The LG UltraGear 32GP850-B has excellent gray uniformity. The screen's sides are a bit darker on our unit, but it's not very noticeable with most content.
The unit we bought has mediocre black uniformity. The entire screen is a bit cloudy, and there's some backlight bleed along the bottom edge. This can be distracting in dark scenes.
The LG 32GP850 has excellent accuracy out of the box. Gamma follows the sRGB target curve well but undershoots it consistently, so all scenes are brighter than they should be. White balance and all colors are displayed accurately, with no noticeable inaccuracies. The color temperature is slightly warm, giving everything a slight red tint, but this is hardly noticeable.
The LG 32GP850 has outstanding accuracy after calibration. Gamma is closer to the sRGB target curve, and the color temperature is very close to the target. There are still some slight inaccuracies in brighter shades of gray, but it's not really noticeable. Any remaining inaccuracies in colors aren't noticeable at all.
The LG 32GP850 has an exceptional SDR color gamut. It has perfect coverage of the sRGB color space used by most desktop and web content. Coverage of the wider Adobe RGB color space is excellent, making this a great choice for content creators.
This monitor has a superb color volume. Like almost all LCDs on the market, blues aren't as bright as pure white, but this isn't that noticeable. Due to its low contrast ratio, it can't display saturated colors at low luminance levels.
The LG 32GP850-B has an impressive HDR color gamut. It can display nearly the entire DCI P3 color space used by most current HDR content. Coverage of the wider Rec. 2020 color space is decent, and it tone-maps well for colors outside of its color space.
Decent HDR color volume. It's limited by the incomplete color gamut, and like with SDR content, it can't display saturated colors at low luminance levels.
The LG 32GP850 has great reflection handling. The matte finish diffuses light across the screen, so direct reflections aren't really noticeable unless you're in a really bright room.
The LG 32GP850 has decent text clarity. We strongly recommend running the Windows ClearType (top photo) wizard if you're on a PC. There are some font issues in apps that don't support ClearType. The smaller screen on the otherwise-identical LG 27GP850-B results in slightly better text clarity.
The LG 32GP850-B has outstanding gradient handling. There's some minor banding in darker shades, but it's barely noticeable.
The LG 32GP850 defaults to a 165Hz refresh rate, but you can overclock it to 180Hz from the on-screen display. You can't use the overclock feature at the same time as the BFI feature, and it's only supported over DisplayPort 1.4. Over HDMI, it can only reach 144Hz.
This monitor is officially certified to work with AMD FreeSync and NVIDIA G-SYNC, but the G-SYNC only works over DisplayPort and only with recent NVIDIA graphics cards.
| 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 response time at its max refresh rate is incredible. Motion looks smooth, and there's minimal blur. The recommended overdrive setting of 'Fast' is quicker than 'Off' and 'Normal', and has a lot less overshoot than 'Faster'.
| 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 response time at 120Hz is once again fantastic. Unlike at the max refresh rate, the recommended overdrive setting is 'Normal' because 'Fast' and 'Faster' have overshoot, causing inverse ghosting. This means you may need to change the overdrive setting if the frame rate of your game drops.
| 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 response time at 60Hz is slower than at 120Hz, but it's still great. It's best to leave the overdrive setting off because it has a faster total response time and less overshoot than 'Normal'. However, 'Normal' is still a good choice if you want a set-and-forget mode.
The LG 32GP850 has an optional Black Frame Insertion (BFI) feature. To enable this feature, enable the Motion Blur Reduction setting. There's a narrow range of refresh rates that support it, and it can't be enabled if you overclock the refresh rate to 180Hz. If you want something with a wider BFI range, check out the Gigabyte M32Q instead. Like most monitors on the market, you can't enable BFI at the same time as the variable refresh rate feature (VRR). You can see the motion photo at 120Hz here.
The backlight is completely flicker-free at all backlight levels, which can help reduce eye strain.
The LG 32GP850 has outstanding low input lag, resulting in a very responsive gaming experience.
The LG 32GP850 has a large screen, but because of the relatively low resolution, it has a low pixel density.
The LG 32GP850-B works well with the PS5. As expected, it doesn't support 4k @ 120Hz because it doesn't have HDMI 2.1 bandwidth. However, it can still downscale a 4k @ 60Hz image, which results in a sharper image than a native 1440p signal. For some reason, despite being a 1440p monitor, it doesn't support 1440p at all, as it displays a black screen for a few seconds when trying to use 1440p with the PS5. This is an issue that other people have reported online as well.
Besides the lack of support for 4k @ 120Hz, there aren't any issues when using this monitor with an Xbox Series X|S.
For the most part, this monitor works well with recent MacBooks, but only in SDR. HDR isn't displayed properly, as it looks washed out. VRR works well, with no noticeable flickering both in-game and while on the desktop.
The LG 32GP850 has a few additional features available, most of them gaming-oriented. It doesn't support picture-in-picture or picture-by-picture, but if that's important to you, the Gigabyte M32Q is a similar monitor with those features. Some of them include:
- 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 to make it easier to spot other players/enemies in shadows.
