LG 34GS95QE-B  Monitor Review

The LG 34GS95QE-B has a simple, yet sleek, design that's different from previously-released LG UltraGear monitors. It has a smooth back panel and there's RGB lighting too. It also has an aggressively curved screen that may take time getting used to if you've never used a curved screen.

The build quality is great. It's made entirely of plastic that feels good, but isn't as premium as on other monitors. The back panel is solid as it doesn't easily flex, and the stand holds the screen well. That said, the biggest downside is that the screen on our unit isn't uniformly curved as the edges of the screen are warped, as you can see here. However, it's possible that not every unit experiences this issue.

The ergonomics are decent, especially for an ultrawide monitor. It offers most adjustments, but it has a limited swivel range, which is disappointing if you need to turn the screen for someone next to you. Luckily, the stand has a cutout for cable management.

The measured thickness is from the edges to the back of the stand, but the thickness from the center of the screen to the back is 5.9 inches (15.0 cm).

The measured thickness of the display is from the edges to the back of the screen, but the thickness from the center of the screen to the back is 2.4 inches (6.0 cm).

There's a joystick to control the on-screen display and turn the monitor on and off.

• DisplayPort cable
• HDMI cable
• USB-B to USB-A cable
• Power supply and cable
• Mouse bungee clip
• User documentation, including quality assurance report

The LG 34GS95QE-B has a near-infinite contrast ratio, meaning it displays deep blacks next to bright highlights.

OLED panels like this one don't have a backlight, so they don't require a local dimming feature. However, with a near-infinite contrast ratio, there isn't any blooming around bright objects, and it's the equivalent of a perfect local dimming feature. We still film these videos on the monitor so you can see how the screen performs and compare it with a monitor that has local dimming.

The SDR brightness is okay. It gets bright enough to fight glare in most well-lit rooms, but it isn't bright enough to fight glare from really bright sources, like if you have it opposite a sunny window. Luckily, it keeps its brightness consistent enough across different content that it isn't distracting. These results are from after calibration in the 'Gamer 2' Game Mode, Brightness at '100', Smart Energy Saving off, and Peak Brightness on 'Low'. However, you get a slightly dimmer minimum brightness with Peak Brightness off, and while setting it to 'High' results in a slightly brighter image, it's less accurate.

The 'Gamer 1' mode gets a bit brighter, but it's less accurate. You can see the brightness results for it below:

• Real Scene 243 cd/m²
• Peak 2% Window 323 cd/m²
• Peak 10% Window 326 cd/m²
• Peak 25% Window 328 cd/m²
• Peak 50% Window 303 cd/m²
• Peak 100% Window 251 cd/m²
• Sustained 2% Window 321 cd/m²
• Sustained 10% Window 323 cd/m²
• Sustained 25% Window 326 cd/m²
• Sustained 50% Window 301 cd/m²
• Sustained 100% Window 250 cd/m²
• Automatic Brightness Limiting 0.017

The HDR brightness is alright. It gets bright enough for small highlights to pop against the rest of the image. It also follows the PQ EOTF well enough, so it displays scenes at their correct brightness, but because it has a slow roll-off at the peak brightness, it doesn't let highlights get the brightest they can. These results are in the 'Gamer 1' Game Mode with Peak Brightness on 'Low,' Brightness at its max, and Smart Energy Saving off. The brightness remains the same even with a 16:9 aspect ratio.

Although you can get brighter highlights in the 'Gamer 2' mode or with Peak Brightness on 'High,' the real scene brightness doesn't improve, and images are less accurate. You can see the results for them below.

As using these settings results in a fairly aggressive ABL, you can also turn Peak Brightness off if that bothers you and you want consistent brightness across different scenes. However, that limits the real scene brightness to 239 cd/m², with most windows sizes reaching 250 cd/m², and you can see the PQ EOTF.

The gray uniformity is amazing. There aren't any noticeable inaccuracies or dark areas, which is ideal for playing atmospheric games or opening full-screen webpages.

This monitor has perfect black uniformity as its OLED panel can turn individual pixels on and off, so there isn't any blooming.

The accuracy before calibration in the sRGB mode is fantastic. It locks colors well to the sRGB color space, and there are minimal inaccuracies with its white balance. The color temperature is also close to the 6500K target, but gamma doesn't follow the sRGB curve well, as dark scenes are too dark and bright scenes are too bright. As the sRGB mode also locks a few settings, like Black Stabilizer, you have to use another mode that's less accurate with oversaturated colors if you want to use those settings. You can see the results for Gamer 1 and for Gamer 2.

The accuracy after calibration is fantastic. While it isn't that much better than before calibration, you can at least use any of the settings that are locked out in the sRGB mode.

The SDR color gamut is fantastic. It displays all colors needed in the common sRGB color space. It also displays a wide range of colors in the Adobe RGB color space used in professional publishing, but primary colors aren't accurate.

The LG 34GS95QE-B has an incredible HDR color gamut. It displays most colors in the DCI-P3 color space used in most content, with great tone mapping. While it has more limited coverage of the wider Rec. 2020 color space, it still displays most colors well.

The HDR color volume is good. It displays dark colors well, but it doesn't display bright colors as well as QD-OLED displays, like the Dell Alienware AW3423DWF.

The LG 34GS95QE-B has an outstanding horizontal viewing angle. Although it technically isn't perfect, you won't see any inconsistencies when viewing from the sides or if you sit close to the screen.

The text clarity is okay. As programs don't render text properly with a RWBG subpixel like this one, text isn't as sharp as on other 34-inch, 1440p monitors. Enabling Windows ClearType (top photo) improves text clarity a bit, but introduces color fringing, which you can notice if you sit close to the screen, otherwise it's harder to tell. These photos are in Windows 10, and you can also see them in Windows 11 with ClearType on and with ClearType off.

This monitor doesn't have distracting direct reflections. It absorbs light well, so glare isn't strong. Any reflected light is spread out due to the matte coating, but because of the screen's strong curve, it concentrates the reflections towards the center.

The black levels remain low in a bright room. While it doesn’t display the deep and inky blacks that OLEDs are known for in a dark room, the black levels don’t rise too much.

This monitor has minimal reflected light. Light spreads out, but because of the screen's curve, it's concentrated together instead of being stretched across the screen.

The LG 34GS95QE-B has fantastic gradient handling, and you won't see any banding. However, there's noticeable black crush, and changing Black Stabilize and Brightness can help reduce this issue by elevating grays. You can see an example of this with the LG 32GS95UE-B here. This issue happens both in SDR and HDR.

You can reach the monitor's max refresh rate over DisplayPort as long as your graphics card supports Display Stream Compression (DSC). You can disable DSC by selecting the ‘1.4’ Input Compatibility Version setting, but that lowers the refresh rate, and you can't disable it over HDMI.

On top of FreeSync VRR and G-SYNC compatibility, the monitor also supports HDMI Forum VRR.

The LG 34GS95QE-B has outstanding motion handling across its entire refresh rate range with VRR enabled. CAD remains low throughout, and there's minimal blur with fast-moving objects.

The refresh rate compliance is outstanding. With a near-instantaneous response time, it makes full-color transitions before drawing the next frame.

The CAD at the maximum refresh rate is outstanding. It displays fast-moving objects as intended, and motion is extremely sharp. There isn't any inverse ghosting, either.

The CAD at 120Hz is outstanding. Pixels transition to their target RGB level almost instantly, so there isn't any blur trail behind fast-moving objects.

The CAD at 60Hz is outstanding. Pixels transition colors almost perfectly, and any noticeable blur is persistent.

The LG 34GS95QE-B doesn't have an optional black frame insertion feature to reduce persistence blur.

Unfortunately, the LG 34GS95QE-B has distracting VRR flicker with changing frame rates. It's most noticeable in dark scenes, and while it isn't so bad in brighter scenes, you can still see it in dark shadows. This is typical of OLEDs, but it isn't as much of an issue with consistent frame rates.

The LG 34GS95QE-B technically isn't flicker-free because there's a slight dip in brightness that corresponds to the 240Hz refresh rate.

The LG 34GS95QE-B has low input lag for a responsive feel while gaming.

This monitor doesn't have any compatibility issues with the PS5, as it even downscales 4k signals. However, because the console doesn't support ultrawide signals, you'll see black bars on the sides unless you stretch the image.

The LG 34GS95QE-B works well with the Xbox Series X|S, except you need to use the console's HDMI override setting for 1440p @ 60Hz to work, which disables VRR. It even downscales 4k signals, which is useful because the Xbox only supports HDR in 4k. However, because the console doesn't support ultrawide signals, you'll see black bars on the sides unless you stretch the image.

The 3.5 mm audio output serves as a combo jack with both audio out and mic in, but you need to have the USB-B cable connected to your computer to make full use of it. It also comes with DTS Headphone:X to simulate surround sound audio. Unlike many monitors, it has an Optical Audio output to connect to soundbars or speakers.

This monitor works well with macOS. It works best with HDMI 2.1 and USB-C to DisplayPort connections, but over USB-C to DisplayPort, you can't enable VRR and HDR at the same time, which you can over HDMI, although with a lower refresh rate. There's also a bit of flicker over DisplayPort, particularly in game menus. If you're using a MacBook, windows return to their original position if you close the lid and reopen it again.

The LG 34GS95QE has a few extra additional features, including:

• Crosshair: Adds a virtual crosshair that your system won't detect.
• DTS Headphones:X: There are three modes for this: Sports, Entertainment, and Game.
• FPS Counter: Displays the frame rate of your source.
• Hexagon Lighting: Lets you control the RGB lighting on the back of the monitor.

Like most OLED displays, there are also a few settings to help reduce the risk of burn-in:

• OLED Image Cleaning: Runs a complete image refresh cycle after four hours of use and starts when you turn the monitor off or enter the power saving mode. It takes about 10 minutes to finish. However, unlike the LG 27GS95QE-B, it doesn't have a pixel cleaning feature.
• OLED Screen Move: Moves the image by a few pixels to one side to help reduce the risk of burn-in.
• OLED Screen Saver: Automatically turns the screen off when there's inactivity.

Burn-in can occur with constant exposure to the same static elements over time, so the best ways to reduce the risk of burn-in is by watching varied content, hiding the taskbar, and using a black background. LG also provides two years of warranty coverage on the OLED panel, although this can vary between regions.