The LG 38GL950G-B is a great ultrawide gaming monitor that features LG's NANO IPS technology. It's the largest member of the UltraGear lineup, sporting a 38-inch 21:9 screen to deliver an immersive gaming experience. Motion handling is superb thanks to its outstanding response time and 175Hz refresh rate, but it lacks an optional black frame insertion feature. It has exceptionally low input lag, it delivers a decent HDR experience, and it comes with a Picture-in-Picture mode that can be useful for streamers and multitaskers. Unfortunately, its contrast ratio is low and there's visible backlight bleed, so it's not the best option for dark rooms. Lastly, it has native G-SYNC support, FreeSync compatibility, and there's even some RGB lighting to set the mood.
Our Verdict
The LG 38GL950G is a very good monitor for most uses, even though it's primarily designed for gaming. Its large screen size feels incredibly immersive, and it provides plenty of screen space for productivity tasks. It has a fast response time, low input lag, and it supports variable refresh rate technology. It has an outstanding SDR color gamut for content creation and it comes with an sRGB mode that's impressively accurate. Unfortunately, it has bad ergonomics and it doesn't perform all that well in dark rooms due to its low contrast ratio.
- High refresh rate.
- Outstanding response time.
- Low input lag.
- Sub-par contrast ratio.
- Bad ergonomics.
The LG 38GL950G is a good office monitor. Its large screen size provides plenty of screen real estate to have multiple windows opened at the same time. It gets bright enough to overcome glare, it has wide viewing angles, and text looks sharp thanks to its high pixel density. Unfortunately, it has bad ergonomics, as it only allows for height and tilt adjustments. On the upside, it has low input lag and the backlight is flicker-free.
- Good viewing angles.
- Impressive peak brightness.
- Low input lag.
- Sub-par contrast ratio.
- Bad ergonomics.
The LG 38GL950G-B is a great gaming monitor. It has a 175Hz refresh rate, outstanding response time, and exceptionally low input lag. Its large screen provides an immersive gaming experience, and its high resolution delivers a sharp image. Sadly, it has a low contrast ratio that makes blacks look grayish and there's a lot of backlight bleed, making it less ideal for gaming in the dark. It supports G-SYNC to reduce screen tearing, and it's also compatible with FreeSync.
- High refresh rate.
- Outstanding response time.
- Native G-SYNC support.
- Low input lag.
- Sub-par contrast ratio.
- Mediocre black uniformity.
The LG 38GL950G is a good monitor for media consumption. Its large 38-inch screen feels immersive, it has a high resolution, and it supports HDR. It lacks swivel adjustment, but you can still share content with others thanks to its wide viewing angles. It isn't the best option for dark room viewing, though, as its low contrast ratio makes blacks look gray and there's a lot of backlight bleed, which can be distracting.
- Outstanding response time.
- Good viewing angles.
- Low input lag.
- Sub-par contrast ratio.
- Bad ergonomics.
- Mediocre black uniformity.
The LG 38GL950G is a good monitor for content creators. The 21:9 aspect ratio is great for those who need a lot of horizontal space. Images and text look sharp, it gets very bright, and it has wide viewing angles, so you can easily share your work with colleagues. It has excellent coverage of the Adobe RGB color space and superb gradient handling. It lacks swivel adjustment, and it can't rotate to portrait mode due to its ultrawide format.
- Good viewing angles.
- Impressive peak brightness.
- Low input lag.
- Sub-par contrast ratio.
- Bad ergonomics.
- Mediocre black uniformity.
The LG 38GL950G is a decent monitor for gaming in HDR. It has low input lag, a fast response time, and it supports variable refresh rate to minimize screen tearing. It can display a wide color gamut, it has a decent HDR peak brightness, but sadly, no local dimming. Also, like most IPS panels, it has a low contrast ratio and mediocre black uniformity, so it isn't the best option for dark room gaming.
- High refresh rate.
- Outstanding response time.
- Native G-SYNC support.
- Low input lag.
- Sub-par contrast ratio.
- No local dimming.
- Mediocre black uniformity.
Check Price
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the LG 38GL950G-B and it's only available in a 38-inch size. It's the biggest monitor in LG's UltraGear Gaming monitor lineup, which includes over a dozen models in different configurations.
If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their LG 38GL950G-B doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we'll update the review. Note that some tests, such as the gray uniformity, may vary between individual units.
Our unit of the LG 38GL950G-B was manufactured in May 2020; you can see the label here.
Popular Monitor Comparisons
The LG 38GL950G-B is a great ultrawide gaming monitor. It performs almost identically to its smaller sibling, the LG 34GN850-B, but it's significantly more expensive, placing it in the territory of large high-end TVs. For other options, you can also see our recommendations for the best gaming monitors, the best ultrawide gaming monitors, and the best 144Hz monitors.
The LG 38WN95C-W and the LG 38GL950G-B are similar-performing monitors aimed at different uses. The 38WN95C-W is an office monitor that supports Thunderbolt 3 and has built-in speakers. It also gets brighter in HDR, displays a wider color gamut, and has better ergonomics. However, the 38GL950G-B is a gaming monitor with native G-SYNC support, a 175Hz refresh rate, and quicker response time at 60Hz.
The LG 38GN950-B is the successor to the LG 38GL950G-B. However, there's one key difference: the 38GN950-B has native FreeSync support instead of G-SYNC like its predecessor. That said, it's still certified as G-SYNC compatible. The other big change is that the 38GN950-B only overclocks up to 160Hz instead of 175Hz, although most people shouldn't feel any difference. The 38GN950-B has a wider color gamut and much higher peak brightness to deliver a better HDR experience. It has local dimming, which the 38GL950G-B lacks, but it performs terribly.
The LG 38GL950G-B and the LG 34GP950G-B are very similar overall. The 34GP950G-B has a slightly faster response time at the max refresh rate, and it's a bit better for HDR, with higher peak brightness and a wider color gamut. The 38GL950G-B is slightly better for office use, with a larger, higher resolution screen, and it supports picture in picture and picture by picture, so you can view two sources at once.
For most uses, the LG 38GL950G-B and the LG 34GN850-B perform very similarly, with the 38GL950G-B being marginally better. The 38GL950G-B has a bigger screen, it gets brighter, and it has a higher max refresh rate. On the other hand, the 34GN850-B has a faster response time and a much better HDR color gamut.
We buy and test more than 30 monitors each year, all of which we purchase ourselves, without cherry-picked units or samples. We put a lot into each unbiased, straight-to-the-point review, and there's a whole process from purchasing to publishing, involving multiple teams and people. We do more than just use the monitor for a week; we use specialized, custom tools to measure various aspects and deliver objective, data-driven results. We also consider multiple factors before making any recommendations, including the monitor's cost, its performance compared to the competition, and whether it's easy to find.
Test Results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for videos & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for videos & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
for pictures & test results
