LG UltraGear 32GP850-B gaming monitor review
The new LG UltraGear 32GP850-B gaming monitor is designed to strike a perfect balance between frame rate, performance and graphic details. A faster screen with a higher refresh rate. Panels with more pixels. And displays that span more inches. But as an all-round paper game proposition, LG’s latest product looks very compelling.
The basic formula involves a 32-inch fast IPS panel with a response time of 1 millisecond, a refresh rate of 180 Hz, and a pixel size of 2,560 x 1,440. Recently, there has been a lot of noise around high-refresh 4K games, including new generation game consoles from Microsoft and Sony. But the combination of LG UltraGear’s 32GP850-B 1440p and 180Hz is almost certainly more suitable for most PC gamers.
LG UltraGear 32GP850-B specifications
Panel size: 32 inches
Panel technology: IPS
Original resolution: 2,560 x 1,440
aspect ratio: 16:9
Refresh rate: 180 Hz
Response time: 1 ms GtG
High dynamic range: HDR10
Compared: 700:1
colour: 90% DCI-P3
brightness: 350 cd/m2
Video input: Display port 1.4 x1, HDMI 2.0 x2
other: AMD FreeSync Premium, Nvidia G-Sync compatible
Suggested retail price: USD 599 | GBP 499
For starters, it is not only a more affordable display. It also gives you half the chance to use your affordable GPU to achieve frame rates above 100fps-and in fact, you may even own it. To be sure, [email protected] is good. But in the current situation of crazy graphics card prices and scarce supply, I wish you good luck to drive this kind of display correctly.
At the same time, 2,560 x 1,440 pixels make the graphic details in the game reach a good level. Admittedly, it can’t be exactly the same on a desktop, especially considering that this is a 32-inch panel and not one of the more common 27-inch 1440p varieties. The pixel density of 92 DPI is not impressive. Therefore, the core attraction of this group really comes down to your priority balance-gaming and general computing.
Leaving aside this basic problem, LG UltraGear 32GP850-B has a powerful but not comprehensive feature set. On the bright side, the 1ms pixel response is a true gray-to-grey transaction, not the usually less reliable MPRT indicator. There is also AMD FreeSync Premium certification and Nvidia G-Sync compatibility. Therefore, no matter which graphics card you choose, you can use adaptive refresh.
LG also claims that the IPS panel covers 98% of the digital cinema DCI-P3 color space. LG UltraGear 32GP850-B is not only fast. It is also a precision tool. As for design and engineering, it is a fairly sleek client with slim bezels and a stand that can provide height, tilt and vertical rotation. Only rotation is not supported-you must physically rotate the entire display.
If there are obvious paper weaknesses, it involves HDR performance. Supports HDR10 signal decoding, which is very convenient, which means you can watch HDR videos or play HDR games and see the correct colors. But without VESA HDR certification, the maximum brightness is relatively moderate 350 nits. Similarly, the static contrast rating of the IPS panel is 700:1, which does not help to reach peaks and troughs at the same time.
In any case, if this is theoretical, what does LG UltraGear 32GP850-B actually look like in practice? This is not the most impactful or dynamic game panel we have seen. Moderate backlight power and mediocre contrast performance will not help. There is also a little bit of light from the old IPS, which causes the overall image to be slightly watery and weak.
As expected, HDR content is not impressive. On LG UltraGear 32GP850-B, do games like Cyberpunk 2077 look better than SDR in HDR mode? It might be a bit more violent. But this is much closer than what should or will happen on a monitor with true HDR capabilities.
In other words, the colors are accurate, which in itself is not a bad display. In fact, you can quickly adapt to the slightly softer image quality. It is not as rich and vibrant as most modern IPS displays, not to mention things like VA displays with full arrays, micro-LED local dimming, and all cutting-edge technologies.
However, what is even more impressive is the speed of LG UltraGear 32GP850-B. LG has designed three levels of pixel overload in the OSD menu. The middle setting provides a very fast response with almost no visible overshoot. Assuming you have a fairly fast GPU, 180Hz refresh can also achieve ultra-low latency. By the way, the full 180Hz can only be accessed through the “overclocking” switch in the OSD menu. This is a rather silly and annoying gimmick that we hope the display manufacturer will not disturb. This is a 180Hz display, the whole “overclocking” thing is stupid.
Speaking of access to the full 180Hz, it can only be done through a single DisplayPort 1.4 interface of LG UltraGear 32GP850-B. The two HDMI ports are limited to 144Hz. This may be okay, because you can only get at most 120Hz from any given console. Regardless, in terms of shared access between gaming PCs and consoles, this monitor may be a good choice in the long run. Remember, although Microsoft Xbox Series X can already support 1440p, Sony PS5 is still waiting for such support.
Therefore, the overall result is a very fast and super sharp panel with good graphic details and low-key (if accurate) image quality. Even if we do want the IPS panel to be more impactful in terms of brightness and contrast, its price is still good.