LG UltraGear QHD 27-Inch Gaming Monitor 27GL850-B, Nano IPS 1ms (GtG) with HDR 10 Compatibility and NVIDIA G-SYNC, 144Hz, Black

You do need display port to fully take advantage of the capabilities of this monitor, however it comes with both a mid quality hdmi and display port cable so its ready to go out the box. A display port, 2 hdmi, and a dvi port are the slots available here, so plenty of room for other devices. It auto detects devices very well that are on too so no manual switching either. Very bright and clear colors at any brightness, I experience almost zero glare from a bright window behind me at full brightness. Even direct sunlight the glare is not too bad. I experienced colors very slightly being off and slight ghosting out the box on initial set up using display port, however setting display port version to 1.2 instead of 1.4 fixed this issue. Another reviewer reported this issue also, not sure what is really changing here. Possibly the cord provided but not sure, this monitor cant use any of the features that DP version 1.4 has, so 1.2 is plenty adaquate. To set this its located deep in the settings somewhere, good luck. The many settings are moderately confusing to navigate as some settings are only available on some modes with pleny of sub menus, however game modes allow the most settings and you can make it perfect as you see fit. The response time is very impressive, I turned it down to low response to 100% eliminate any ghosting or visual artifacts and it is still very fast. Blows my 8 year old LCD gaming monitor out the water in every metric. The software G sync works great with my RTX 2080 super, however the frame rate is 5-15 fps lower than it would be with conventional V sync. So if you are pushing the limits of your graphics card you may experience some studdering or delay. Above 75 fps the monitor was smooth and fast. If you cannot maintain 75+ fps at 1440p then I would not intend on using G sync or lower the graphics settings, as it is software G sync and does have some processing to do so the higher the average framerate the better. Doing full rgb colors reduced the max from 144hz to 120hz, but makes it look that much better. If I get into a game that my 2080 decimates I may change this back. I sucessfully overclocked to 165 hz without issues (set custom resolution in Nvidia control panel with a higher hz), however I dont see the need as its so smooth already at 144hz there is little difference going higher. My experience is it doesnt really look smoother than 144hz until you get into the 200s, which unfortunately this monitor cannot do. If you have a great graphics card that cant quite do 4K, get this monitor you wont regret it. Easily the best in this price range.

This monitor was the cherry on top of a major system upgrade. I was running a GTX 1080, but on an old 4790k, so I made the jump to the 10700k and paired with this, the 1080 finally gets to fulfill its destiny. The Panel: First off, let me just mention how awesome Adaptive Sync is. You GFX card brand shouldnt have to be a factor in picking your monitor. This is my first sync monitor so I wasnt sure what to expect, but all my games are running buttery smooth regardless of FPS so thats working great. The IPS was also a main attraction, as my last AOC monitor was my first IPS panel and I loved it. The fact they make gaming panels with it now is fantastic. Its also REALLY bright, like burn your retinas bright on white pages on stock settings. Bottom line, the picture quality on this screen and everything Ive loaded on it has looked beautiful so far. As far as response time, honestly I dont pay much attention to that, so if youre looking for how accurate the ms timing advertised is, I cant help you there. The Stand: So, the stand confused the hell out of me, because I was trying to find a height adjust before attaching it to the monitor, but when Id lower it, itd pop right back up. Turns out its balanced perfectly with the monitor weight and that pressure just holds it at the height you want. I like mine at lowest setting and the stand hasnt raised it under pressure yet. It supports tilt and rotate, but not swivel... which I dont need, but find odd. IMO less things to break down. Accessories: The good news is, they include a DisplayPort, HDMI, and USB cable which the software for the monitor used for hardware updates (mine was up to date out of box). The bad news is theyre all short AF. I get that most people dont need longer, but people with a larger desk area or that want to do proper cable managemnet will need to provide their own longer cables. Conclusion: Very happy with this monitor, wish I could afford 2 more for a triple setup. Shipped with no damage or dead pixels, so thats a win.

Within the first few months of owning this monitor I noticed a crack in my screen on the upper right quadrant that wasnt there previously. Im almost certain it was not of my own doing since I dont touch my monitors unless its with a microfiber cloth to clean them, and I dont remember bumping into it with anything either. On further inspection, the crack seems to be almost exactly 6-8 pixels wide, and is completely straight horizontally, like perfectly so, which I think also rules out that I scratched it somehow. Im thinking that maybe one very small component got too hot and the screen cracked there as a result or something, I dont know. Again, I dont touch my monitor and I dont use sharp objects around it either, so I was pretty surprised to see this. At first I thought it was some dead pixels. Some might think such a small crack isnt noticeable in normal use, and sometimes it isnt on darker backgrounds, but on anything lighter though its quite noticeable, like a permanent small hair which you cant wipe off no matter what. Its a bit hard to see in the picture, but there it is.

Out of the box, the colors and contrast were dreadful. Everything looked extremely washed out. I went through all the different menu options and nvidia settings and was able to look it somewhat better, but was honestly going to return it because my old 1080p 60hz TV that I was using as a monitor just looked far, far better which was sad because I thought the improved resolution and refresh rate would result in a vastly superior experience. So I was digging around online and I came across a few people talking about changing the color calibration. I checked rtings score for the monitor (much like other sites, this monitor has a fantastic rating on rtings) and I saw that the out-of-the-box color calibration was terrible but after calibration it looks fantastic. I ended up loading the color calibration profile that rtings provided and the difference was like night and day. Colors became a LOT more accurate and the contrast was vastly improved. The blacks and whites still arent perfect, but it no longer looks like the entire screen is covered by a gray plastic screen. After tinkering with the settings for HOURS (with color profiles, the monitors menu settings, and nvidia settings) I finally have the monitor looking good but it took way more work than it should have.

I love IPS panels. I used an Acer IPS for years before I decided to step up, and I have pretty high expectations for response time, color quality, and input delay. This monitor easily hits all of the marks. With the nano IPS version, or the regular, I really dont think you could go wrong. 1ms response time is a lie, but thats true of every monitor on the market that isnt a TN, and those monitors dont look very good at this price range. The fast overdrive preset - where youre going to keep this monitor - is phenomenally fast and responsive (one of the fastest IPS displays without ghosting), even at 60Hz. Another huge positive for this thing is that its dead silent. No electrical wailing or hissing. Ive read from other reviews that the headphone jack has poor sound, but it sounds no different than my motherboards sound card to me, coming from my desktop speakers and my many wasted years of being an audiophile. Maybe its using some sort of line-out mode and the headphone amp just sucks? My only real nitpick with this monitor is that it likes the color red a tad too much (likely not an issue on the non-nano). Also, dont bother with the HDR. Its literally a joke. One other thing, you can do 144Hz over HDMI, Freesync just has to be off. If you are coming from a 60Hz display, let me reassure you that screen tearing is nowhere near as noticeable at 144Hz. To summarize this review, 9/10 monitor, good for playing PlanetSide 2 and Sonic 3.

EDIT: I bought a second 27GL850-B manufactured 7/2021 as used like new (it was brand new in a damaged box, 0 hours power on time). Its great to have matching monitors for work, and it says a lot about the quality of this panel that I bought a second. Pros: Well reviewed panel, Freesync works on Nvidia/Intel now + low framerate compensation means the display doesnt tear below 48 FPS, ICC profiles exist for download (TFT Central), only needed minor tweaks out of box to make the display really pop, panel supports 10 bit, display is light - perfect for VESA mounting. Backlight bleed is minimal, very pleasant surprise. Movies and Youtube look fine on this gaming display, just a shame that 1440p/4k havent began to replace 1080p video as default. Amazon doing monthly payments on this is a great deal. Cons: I had to exchange the first panel I received. First panel had one dead pixel out of the box, and the vertical edges of the display were much dimmer than the rest of the screen on light backgrounds. Replacement panel is fine. USB hub on the monitor is unpowered, limiting what can be plugged into it. Very odd choice by LG to save a few cents on the USB hub, my Logitech G910 keyboard wouldnt even power up connected to it - HDR on this screen is terrible, leave it off. Notes: The USB hub is used for firmware upgrades - keep the cable handy no matter how useless the USB hub is. I upgraded from an Asus ROG Swift PG278QR - that display came with about 5 dead pixels and always looked washed out. It also has a firmware bug that affects the display, and backlight bleed was an issue too. And it even cost more than this LG panel! The LG 27GL850 is a huge upgrade in quality! Watch some reviews before you buy - Hardware Unboxed goes over this display very nicely. This monitor uses DisplayPort 1.4 - you may need to update the firmware of your graphics card to support it or you will not have POST/boot output on the screen. Nvidia has a download for updating older cards - I had a 1080 Ti when I bought my first LG and it was painless to run the upgrade. If you cannot upgrade, you can change the monitor to DP 1.1 or 1.2 via the on screen menu. Im still trying to find the optimal brightness - TFT Central recommends brightness of 23 with a boost to red - it was too dim and way too red, so Im guessing LG has adjusted out-of-the-box calibration on these panels since launching them. To enable 10 bit support, use the Nvidia control panel (or AMDs equivalent) and leave HDR off in Windows. My current display calibration: Gamer 1, Adaptive Sync On, Response Time Fast, Brightness 35, Contrast 70, Gamma Mode 2, Color Temp Custom, RGB all 50, DFC Off, Smart Energy Saving Off. Im using the TFT Central ICC profile in Windows 11.

This monitor is amazing when it comes to picture quality and use as a monitor. I have a few concerns though... I continually hear creaking from the monitor, not sure why this is. It is firmly secured, it also squeaks when touched. I have yet to get the audio to work via display port, but I use an audio interface and studio monitors, so Im not needing the audio enough to make a concerted effort to resolve that issue. You, however, may find this annoying if you planned on using the built in speakers. Overall, the picture quality is perfect. The better resolution makes a huge difference in screen real estate compared to other 27 in monitors, with images also looking sharper and true to color.

While I think this is a beautiful monitor panel, with rich colors and great resolution, my problem with this monitor was that its not compatible with the highest settings of the Series X/S. I think that LG should update its firmware in these models. Let me explain. The highest settings you can run on Xbox are 120fps at 4k, yet there are only 2 reasonable, reputable screens you can buy out there as of February 2021 that allow 120fps at 4k with adaptive sync(because the Xbox uses AMD) via HDMI 2.1. Those are the 32 inch Samsung OLED TV and the Acer Predator X27, but most games arent fully synchronized for 4k/120fps yet and those 2 screens cost $1500 and $1300 dollars, respectfully. The market for 4k monitors at 120fps for HDMI 2.1/next gen consoles(not ones like the LG/Dell 4k monitors that only support it via displayport) is basically non-existent at the moment and will emerge over the next few years. Streamers/Youtubers have also tested games that claim to be 4k 120fps, and most fail to even get there. It will still be 3-4, maybe even 5 years before 4k 120fps gaming via HDMI 2.1 is truly commonplace and the price for 4k 120fps monitors drops. Therefore, most people buying the Xbox Series X/S(and I actually got one through Bestbuy) will be spending only around $500 dollars on a new monitor, like myself, to take full advantage of the 120fps at 1440p the Series X offers. The PS5 strangely doesnt support 1440p, so this only applies to potential Series X buyers. I prioritize framerate over resolution for competitive gaming, and 1440p still looks amazing. Yet, when you run a game at 120fps, you run the risk of screen tearing, which is when the screen flickers or lags. This happens when the consoles/PCs refresh rate is not in sync with the monitors refresh rate. To counter this, freesync was developed. It stabilizes and synchronizes the framerate from console to PC, eliminating screen tearing and allowing colors and the full graphics to load evenly. Freesync is known as adaptive sync for people who use AMD graphics cards and G-Sync for those using Nvidia graphics card. Some monitors might be both adaptive sync and G-sync compatible, if you see the green sticker in the corner of the monitor. Both the Xbox and PS5 use AMD cards and are programmed for adaptive sync. Yet, this monitor for some inexplicable reason, and the same goes for other LG monitors, only only support adaptive sync via HDMI 2.0(and this is important because the Xbox Series X/S dont have Displayport and no DP to HDMI 2.0 adapters for Xbox exist) up to 100fps. This is not ok for the Series X/S, because if you run a game at 120FPS at 1440p without adaptive sync, you will get screen tearing and your resolution will not be fully loaded. You cannot run at a game at 100fps on Xbox Series X/S either, because its simply locked at 60hz or 120hz. Therefore, this monitor is basically the equivalent of a 1440p 60hz monitor with adaptive sync for the Series X/S because it does not support adaptive sync at 120fps/1440p for HDMI 2.0 since Displayport adapters for HDMI dont exist for Xbox, and you will get screen tearing if you run the game at 120fps/1440p without adaptive sync. It does not make sense for LG to cap the adaptive sync HDMI 2.0 fps at 100, because the HP Omen 27i, Samsung G5, and the Dell S2721DGF both use the exact panel used for this LG monitor for their own 1440/144-165hz gaming monitors, yet those all support adaptive sync at 120fps for HDMI 2.0. Even more so, Acer, Asus, Viewsonic, Gigabyte, AOC, and Viotek all have 1440p 144-165hz monitors that support 120fps with adaptive sync for HDMI 2.0. To take this a step further, most of those companies I listed above, even the ones that use this exact LG panel, are moving on to making their own 4k 120fps monitors that support adaptive sync via HDMI 2.1. The fact that LG hasnt even made this monitor and others similar LG monitors compatible at 1440p 120fps with adaptive sync for HDMI 2.0, while others already have and are moving onto 4k 120fps for HDMI 2.1, is shocking to say the least. LG might be the only company that doesnt support 120fps with adaptive sync via HDMI 2.0 at 1440p. I truly wanted to love this monitor, but I couldnt because it doesnt support adaptive sync at 120fps. If youre paying $500 for a gaming monitor, it should support 120fps at 1440p with adaptive sync. I had to sadly end up returning this monitor, and I bought a HP Omen 27i instead at Bestbuy. I absolutely love the Omen and it can actually support up to 144fps via HDMI 2.0 at 1440p and 165hz for displayport with adaptive sync for both, even though the Xbox cant even go up to that fps, but my point still stands that LG capping adaptive sync support for 1440p at 100fps makes absolutely zero sense. Aside from myself, theres no way Im not the only Series X owner looking for the 1440p monitor that can run at 120fps with support for HDMI 2.0 with adaptive sync, so people realizing or learning that this monitor cannot do 120fps at 1440p via HDMI 2.0 with adaptive sync through word of mouth, Youtube, and Reddit threads will probably end up costing LG a few thousand potential customers and lots of money because they didnt upgrade their firmware to make it fully compatible with the Series X/S. LG needs to fix this issue pronto. I dont see why they didnt make the monitor capable of 120fps with adaptive sync enabled for HDMI 2.0 in the first place, considering they likely knew that these were the supported specs coming out for the Series X/S almost 2 years in advance. It makes no logical or economic sense for them to do this, especially when other gaming monitors support it.

For gaming it’s a really incredible monitor. Great picture quality. If you wanna buy it just for gaming it’s the perfect for the price.

Nice monitor. Crisp, clean images. But a little too prone to finger smudges. And I feel like I rarely ever touch it!