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

The monitor is good. Good picture quality, good color accuracy, good viewing angles, good refresh rate, and its easy to configure, with two custom profiles and a number of built-in profile. The gray-to-gray (G2G) response time is pretty good (though not 1 ms as advertised unless you want lots of reverse ghosting artifacts). The stand is also quite good, and if you dont like it, you can use your own. I love this thing! But it could be better. There is only one DisplayPort input. Normally this wouldnt be a big deal, but the monitors refresh rate is capped at 100 Hz (1440p) or 120 Hz (1080p) when using HDMI if you have FreeSync on. At the very least, you can disable FreeSync on the HDMI ports and just have DisplayPort Adaptive-Sync on, since the variable refresh rate setting is per-input rather than per-profile. Also, the audio quality that comes through the built-in 3.5 mm headphone jack is awful. Everything sounds like extremely compressed MP3, and even someones with not-the-greatest-hearing like me could tell this. Many devices have built-in audio jacks (most computers, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch), but some dont (PS5, DVD players, etc.) and rely on the HDMI audio. Either way, having to unplug and plug in things when switching inputs can be annoying. All-in-all, its a REALLY good monitor, but these caveats make it hard to recommend to just anyone. Of course, some of these caveats may not even apply to everyone. If you just have just one PC connected to it, you use DisplayPort, and you plug your speakers into the PC rather than the monitor, this monitor will easily be a 5/5 experience for you. Its a very high quality display, and LG did an great job with it. But if you have to use several devices, its a 3/5 experience.

I write this review as the former owner of 3 Asus PG279Qs and one PG279QZ. I was drawn to this realm of the monitor market because I do not believe that 4K displays are worth it at this particular point in time. As far as I see it, the majority are a compromise as the bandwidth requirements for running 4:4:4 chroma subsampling, an extended color gamut, a refresh rate of 144 Hz and beyond, and a resolution of 3840x2160 all at the same time will be much better served by DP 1.5 or HDMI 2.1 (proper HDR wouldnt hurt either). Although it could be argued that achieving 144 frames at 1440p is more resource intensive than 60 frames at 2160p, I believe the experience to be the most immersive, at least until 144+ frames becomes viable at 4K. Unfortunately, based on the price to performance ratio trend of the current generation of graphics cards (Nvidia’s in specific), it is going to be a long, long time until that is achievable at a reasonable price. All things aside, I can state with confidence that I’ve found my sweet spot for monitors in the form of LG’s 27GL850. It has addressed all of the quality control concerns that I’ve experienced throughout my quest of trying to obtain a high refresh rate, 1440p IPS-type display. Seeing as this is an LG product, the monitor can rightfully be referred to as having an IPS (In-Plane Switching) panel as this is their proprietary term for the technology that produces the wider color gamut and viewing angles. I did not buy this display because I am a hardcore gamer; I bought it because I wanted a quality monitor with good color reproduction, a uniform panel, and good response time. My purchase was based solely on the off chance of LG producing a monitor where quality control wasn’t an after-thought. Now that it has finally arrived, I am proud to report that this monitor delivers. The display has zero backlight bleed and excellent uniformity, contrast, and response time. White uniformity is even across the entirety of the screen while the factory calibrated colors appear accurate even next to my calibrated Dell. Outside of sRGB mode, the colors do come off as over-saturated, although some may prefer the added vibrancy of the Nano IPS technology (I did not). Black levels are on par with most other IPS-type displays that I’ve used despite the specified measurement coming in at a somewhat lower figure than similar displays. As for response time, it seems universally accepted by the monitor community that the fast setting is adequate in preventing overshoot. The faster and fastest settings produce undesirable artifacts known as coronas. Despite this monitor not having variable overdrive, I have had no perceivable issues when it comes to gaming as I do tend to binge on CS:GO from time to time. If I had to nit-pick, and I do because this is a review where transparency informs prospective buyers, I will say that the strength of the presence of IPS glow on my display falls on the moderate end of the spectrum. This could be due to the fact the panel is 27 inches, which is a decent amount of real estate for this phenomenon to occur. It is also important to keep in mind that this is something that varies on a per panel basis. Without a doubt, it is a consequence of choosing to utilize an IPS panel for one’s computing purposes. Regardless, it is nothing unexpected or anything that cannot be addressed by adjusting the brightness level as well as the viewing distance, height, and angle. Besides simply turning down the brightness, placing the monitor further away is one way to remedy the matter. Another way to minimize the glow is to position the screen in such a way that one’s gaze meets the center of the screen as IPS-type displays fare better when the height of the top bezel is of equal height or greater in relation to one’s eyes. A final tip is to manipulate the screen’s tilt angle as oftentimes angling it upwards reduces glow. By applying these adjustments, I can easily say that this is overall the best monitor that I’ve used to date. I will not sit here and bash Asus’ most recent iteration of their high refresh rate, 1440p IPS-type display, the PG279QZ, as one can refer to the top review of the PG279QZ to see what types of problems plague those monitors. What I will say is that it’s a breath of fresh air to see that quality control still exists in consumer-grade monitors. Realistically, no manufacturing process is going to produce near perfect monitors all of the time; however, this purchase has instilled confidence in me when it comes to the LG brand. I imagine that this model will provide all disillusioned monitor buyers a glimmer of hope when it comes to having a fighting chance at obtaining a quality monitor in this realm of the market. ***As per a request in the comments, Ive attached pictures of the monitor at brightness of zero, 50%, and 100%. I also managed to track down another monitor from Micro Center, so I posted the same array of shots for this sample too. The results were very similar; however, a small circular area of bleed does exist in the top left corner. It is somewhat noticeable on a black screen unless I increase the height of the stand. To identify the pictures of the second monitor, please see the pictures without the headphones in them. Despite trying several approaches and platforms, the photo uploader refuses to retain the sequence in which I had originally ordered them).***

Ive only had this monitor for about a week but I feel like I have had enough time to make up my mind about it. I came from the VG248QE(TN panel) and immediately I could tell that the colors were a vibrant beauty and not at all saturated... except for the color red which is a little bit redder than it should be and thus caused Caucasians to have a little pink tint on them( you could say they are colored now, so its a welcome change of pace). The change from 1080p to 1440p was also something instantly noticeable. Free sync works great with my AMD GPU. HDR Effect feels like my eyes are getting attacked by a box of crayons, it not bright enough and it doesnt have local dimming so steer away from this if you want True HDR. As a competitive gamer I can without a shadow of a doubt say that the 144hz is giving me a gaming edge in Solitaire and Minesweeper. Unlike other gaming monitors this one didnt go with the disgusting tootsie roll RGB gamer aesthetic. Build feels and looks premium. The stand is metal and the monitor is plastic, but it feels like quality plastic, if you know what I mean. NSFW content looks great too but youll have to shill out cash to see content in 1440p. All in all, great monitor I recommend it!

I upgraded from an Acer ED273 which I had since August 2019. I liked that old monitor well enough - except it had a backlight flickering problem I could never fix. After plenty of research I decided this one was the adequate upgraded replacment. I ordered it as used - like new from a seller, and got what Im pretty sure was more or less a brand-new monitor, with a very good panel at that. Even lighting and very little backlight bleed - a HUGE improvement from the Acer one. I would of course expect that at roughly $150-$200 more expensive. The colors are beautiful - though the reds are somewhat oversaturated. This monitor does tend to overblow most colors, but doesnt really bother me much. Its only red that looks nutso to me! The 144hz refresh rate and 4k resolution are a treat to the eyes. It was easy to set up and feels sturdy - though I am using a third party desk mount arm rather than the stock stand. The VESA mount seems strong and I looove the control stick for navigating the settings menu - the old Acer one had an INFURIATING control stick that, on several occasions, left me wanting to bite the monitor clean in half. I cant even describe how beautiful and responsive this one is compared to the garbage crap on the Acer ED273! I will be updating this review as monitor use progresses over the years to keep up with wear-and-tear and overall lifetime of the device. I know, initially, I am STOKED to have this beauty! I can hardly wait to really sit and play games on it - I only tested some 4k gameplay video in the mean time, which looked amazing!

The brightness and the picture quality are awesome. Really accurate colors. However, Apple silicon macs do not support 1440p. So you either have to use betterDummy to workaround the HiDPI issue or just move up a notch to get a 4k display. However, you will need to pay a lot more to get a 4k display with this kind of color gamut.

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 purchased this monitor after returning two Gigabyte M27q monitors (both with dead pixels) and one MSI Optix 274QRF (for bad backlight bleeding). I was planning on buying another MSI Optix 274QRF after trading in the defective one, until someone on line at Microcenter told me they had backlight bleed with the exact same monitor in the exact same spot. The color accuracy on the MSI also left something to be desired and the BGR panel in the Gigabyte monitor looked terrible when plugged into a Mac. Although the M27q and 274QRF are better than this LG monitor in terms of specs, and cost a good bit less, LG’s quality control is worth the lower specs and increased price. It’d be nice if the contract ratio on this monitor was a bit better and the price was a bit lower, but I’m more than happy with the monitor. I only wish I had purchased this first instead of buying and returning three defective monitors from Gigabyte and MSI.

I have other monitors. I had some in the 160 hz range and others in the 144 but they were maybe at best first or second generation monitors. I had some that were curved and most of them are flat and they worked great for the time that they came out the newest being nearly 4 years old now. But THIS monitor is different. It has all the bells and whistles that a modern gamer would need as well as being a better format than standard monitors in my opinion. It is simply amazing. Sure there are 4k monitors at the higher 244 hz standard but you gotta pay a lot for them and this is a BARGAIN for what you get. I mean by far the best I have ever owned. Install is a snap. Looks great in HDR mode and when playing games in RTX mode there can not be enough words to describe how good it looks. It is simply amazing. Worth every penny I spent and got chewed out by the wife for. I may be in thee doghouse but with this monitor the Doghouse is not so bad!

Overall quality is great. You can adjust the monitor stands height with a good range.

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.