The LG 27 UltraGear OLED (27GX790A) ($999) is a gaming monitor that mixes the constancy of an OLED display screen with dramatically excessive most refresh charges. Designed for hard-core gaming, the newest UltraGear is a QHD (2,560-by-1,440-pixel) monitor with a whopping 480Hz ceiling. It’s a powerful show, made even higher due to its glorious coloration protection and gamer-friendly accoutrements like a DisplayPort 2.1 enter. For the deep-pocketed gamer who needs to flex their newest and biggest GPU, the LG 27GX790A is a winner. It earns an Editors’ Selection award as a top-notch esports monitor.
Design: Most Efficiency, Most Future-Proofing
Final 12 months was chock stuffed with QHD 27-inch OLED displays, together with heavy hitters just like the MSI MPG 271QRX QD-OLED, the Asus ROG Strix OLED XG27AQDMG, the Alienware AW2725DF 360Hz QD-OLED, and the Sony Inzone M10S, The 27GX790A has probably the most in frequent with the Sony mannequin. Each are QHD OLED displays that help refresh charges of 480Hz. Increased refresh charges will definitely entice hard-core, aggressive avid gamers as a result of, with the correct GPU to push excessive body charges, they will obtain lightning-fast response occasions.
(Credit score: Joseph Maldonado)
The important thing distinction between the Inzone M10S and the 27GX790A is the latter monitor’s help for DisplayPort 2.1. This newest DisplayPort connector has had a gradual adoption charge—the one monitor to come back throughout our take a look at bench sporting one in 2023 was the Samsung Odyssey Neo G9. It wasn’t till lately that displays just like the HP Omen Transcend 32 OLED (our present prime choose for premium gaming displays) started together with it. Whereas GPUs just like the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT and RX 7900 XTX supported DisplayPort 2.1, you’ll be able to thank the newest crop of Nvidia GeForce RTX 50-series graphics playing cards for serving to it lastly break into the mainstream.
(Credit score: Joseph Maldonado)
DisplayPort 2.1 can deal with greater than double the bandwidth of DisplayPort 1.4 (80Gbps versus 32.4Gbps). Why is that this an enormous deal? DisplayPort 1.4 makes use of Show Stream Compression (DSC), an algorithm to compress every body in real-time because it’s transmitted from the supply to the monitor or TV. It is thought-about lossless to the attention, however the sign is definitely compressed 3:1. The extra bandwidth of DisplayPort 2.1 means you’ll be able to preserve larger resolutions and refresh charges with out that compression that erodes coloration accuracy.
DisplayPort 2.1 successfully future-proofs your monitor, but it surely’s not the 27GX790A’s solely connector. The monitor’s port hub additionally contains two HDMI 2.1 ports, two USB-A ports, and a USB-B upstream port. Total, the monitor is mild on ports, however these are possible all you will want for a gaming monitor. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a productivity-focused monitor with ports to spare, we suggest the Dell UltraSharp 27 4K USB-C Hub Monitor (U2723QE).
(Credit score: Joseph Maldonado)
The monitor ditches inside audio system, providing a headphone jack enhanced by DTS:X as a substitute. This audio tech has proven up on LG displays earlier than, promising to allow life-like 3D audio and spatial sound. As well as, LG touts this monitor’s four-pole headset/headphone port, which can be utilized for mic-equipped headsets in addition to output-only headphones with three-pole plugs. Monitor-side headphone jacks of any sort are a rarity nowadays, so it is good to see one in any respect right here, not to mention one which helps headsets.
(Credit score: Joseph Maldonado)
The 27GX790A measures 22.8 by 23.8 by 9.8 inches (HWD) with the stand totally prolonged, and it weighs 20.5 kilos. The show is just about borderless, with an uber-thin silhouette contrasting markedly with the thick stand. A pentagon-shaped stand base supplies room to press your keyboard in opposition to however doesn’t take up an excessive amount of house in your desk.
Testing the LG 27 UltraGear 27GX790A: A Tremendous-Quick OLED
We put the 27GX790A by way of a collection of benchmark checks that measure coloration gamut, brightness, and coloration accuracy utilizing Calman monitor calibration software program, a Murideo Six-G sign generator, and a Klein Okay-10A colorimeter. We additionally ran the monitor by way of a gauntlet of video games to measure enter lag and decide its real-world efficiency.
In our first take a look at, we benchmarked the brightness with the monitor’s default gaming profile over an SDR sign. Beneath these circumstances, we noticed a median brightness of simply 234 nits (candelas per sq. meter). That’s a smidge beneath the utmost 250 nits of brightness from the monitor’s spec web page and far dimmer than most IPS gaming displays. It is even dimmer than the Sony Inzone M10S, which registered 296 nits in testing.
Whereas IPS panels provide larger brightness maximums, OLED displays obtain vivid photographs at decrease brightness ranges, notably in low-light environments, due to their sky-high distinction ratios. The decrease distinction ratios of IPS panels can result in blacks showing washed out, affecting the perceived brightness.
Shifting to HDR, we measured 403 nits of sustained brightness. That is within the ballpark of the monitor’s VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400 certification. We measured a peak HDR brightness of 1,135 nits at a 2% pattern measurement. (We measure sustained HDR brightness at a ten% window measurement, however to measure peak brightness, we drop the take a look at measurement right down to 2%. Why? As a result of OLED shows turn out to be brighter because the take a look at patch measurement will get smaller.) Few scenes in video video games and flicks have highlights reaching this peak measurement.
(Credit score: Portrait Shows)
Shifting from brightness to paint gamut efficiency, we see the OLED panel proceed to shine. It spanned 138.3% of the sRGB coloration gamut (see the chart above), 91% of Adobe RGB, and 96.7% of DCI-P3 (see the chart under) in our checks.
(Credit score: Portrait Shows)
The colour protection right here is noteworthy, and whereas it falls barely in need of different 4K displays that use QD-OLED tech, it’s onerous to complain about numbers this good. Price noting: sRGB protection outcomes of greater than 100% have turn out to be more and more frequent with OLED displays. sRGB numbers this excessive can doubtlessly oversaturate the content material you are viewing, even main to paint inaccuracies when viewing sRGB photographs. That is notably true in purposes that don’t help coloration administration. Nonetheless, sRGB rankings above 100% additionally exhibit improved coloration grading and coloration vibrancy.
Shade accuracy can be fairly good, because the monitor recorded a Delta E measurement of two.5. A price beneath 1 is good, although few gaming displays attain it uncalibrated with out-of-the-box settings. The upper the Delta E, the extra the colours are likely to stray from their meant hue. Within the 27GX790A’s case, the two.5 is definitely not dangerous, although it’s a bit larger than what we’ve come to count on from current OLED displays.
The 27GX790A is rated for a peak distinction ratio of 1,500,000:1, just like the Alienware 27 4K QD-OLED (AW2725Q). A distinction ratio this excessive is frequent for OLED panels–they normally provide a 1,000,000:1 ratio or larger. The distinction ratio signifies the distinction in luminance between the brightest white and the darkest black {that a} monitor can produce. It highlights the monitor’s capacity to supply completely deep blacks alongside vivid whites, leading to glorious picture high quality in each mild and darkish scenes. In distinction, IPS panels usually characteristic distinction ratios of 1,000:1 to three,000:1, in order you’ll be able to think about, they don’t provide the identical quantity of vary.
Recreation and Media Efficiency
The 27GX790A sports activities a compelling coloration vary that virtually anybody will get pleasure from, however the 480Hz refresh charge will particularly attraction to hard-core avid gamers, assuming enter lag is low sufficient. Actually, the enter lag is probably going a very powerful metric for these consumers. To measure the monitor’s enter lag, we deployed the Leo Bodnar 4K Input Lag Tester; we additionally performed a handful of video games from our library to test for any noticeable blemishes, like display screen tearing.
We recorded a wonderful 2.5 milliseconds (ms) of enter lag for the 27GX790A at 1080p/240Hz utilizing the Bodnar system. Whereas we won’t report enter lag above 240Hz as a result of limitations of the testing device, typically, larger refresh charges and/or resolutions lead to decrease enter lag. So, in case your PC has the potential to run video games with body charges of as much as 480Hz, you’ll be able to count on imperceptible enter lag. That is particularly necessary for esports gamers.
(Credit score: Joseph Maldonado)
Predictably, at 1080p/60Hz, we recorded a noticeably larger results of 26.7ms. We take into account enter lag of 16ms or much less to be playable, not less than for informal play at 60Hz. This implies you might expertise a noticeable delay on decrease refresh charges and resolutions, not less than over an HDMI connection. Enjoying at full decision (2,560 by 1,440 pixels) at 60Hz solves this situation, because the Bodnar reported 7.3ms of enter lag at 1440p/60Hz. Lastly, at 1440p/120Hz, we recorded 10.1ms of enter lag.
Simply to be clear, these are all fairly good outcomes. For instance, the theoretical minimal enter lag for a 60Hz refresh charge is roughly 16.67ms. Decrease enter lag is best, however at a sure level, you’re coping with fractions of seconds which are imperceptible to most avid gamers.
The 27GX790A additionally has AMD FreeSync Premium Professional, and is Nvidia G-Sync and VESA AdaptiveSync Appropriate, which ought to imply, when you activate the suitable one, just about tear- and stutter-free movement when paired with any of right this moment’s high-end graphics playing cards.
Advert hoc recreation testing included Cyberpunk 2077, Counter-Strike 2, and Returnal, in addition to Monster Hunter Wilds, performed on a PS5 Pro. All of those carried out as anticipated with none noticeable blemishes, although I might’ve most popular if the monitor have been barely brighter.
Verdict: An Esports Gamer’s Delight
The 27GX790A toes the road between efficiency and visible constancy, and due to DisplayPort 2.1 help, it stands above different comparable gaming displays just like the Sony Inzone M10S. It does require the newest and biggest gaming PC to make the most of the refresh-rate heights. But when you end up with a brand new GPU just like the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 and need to put it by way of its paces, it is a nice monitor to make use of.
Our favourite premium gaming monitor general is the HP Omen Transcend 32, however when you’re future-proofing for a gaming rig and peak efficiency is what you crave, the LG 27-inch UltraGear OLED (27GX790A) delivers on all fronts and is the most effective in school for this measurement and backbone combo. It is our Editors’ Selection choose for esports displays.
LG 27 UltraGear OLED (27GX790A)
The Backside Line
The LG 27 UltraGear OLED 27GX790A’s panel alone makes it drool-worthy; couple it with a 480Hz refresh charge, and this monitor’s a transparent choose for hard-core avid gamers on the lookout for excessive show efficiency.
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About Zackery Cuevas
Analyst, {Hardware}
