Right off the bat, I can tell you that you are not going to find another IPS monitor with 144Hz, in an Ultrawide format for $700. Not gonna happen. At least not yet anyways. I have searched and searched, comparing those with truer color, 4K resolutions, and smaller Ultrawides and this one monitor is the best of all - to an extent. Allow me to elaborate. If you are not a gamer, and you are seeking something for productivity and content creation - this is not the monitor for you. There are better ultrawides that offer higher golor gamuts, higher pixels, and better contrast ratios than this one in the same price range. Content creation requires truer color and higher clarity. Could you still do it on this monitor? Yes. But I would only recommend it for those who are avid gamers first, content creators second. Now if you are a gamer, this will really suit your needs - you get all the advantages of a TN panel, with the added benefits of an IPS. For those of you unaware of the panel types, IPS (In-Plane Switching) is, in a general sense, the better color reproducing panel offering better viewing angles but lacks high refresh rates and low response times. A TN (Twisted Nematic) offers much higher refresh rates and lower response times, but sub-par color quality and even worse viewing angles. To achieve both on an IPS panel is pretty awesome for a gamer - we do not like to sacrifice color quality or performance - although that just might be me. In any case, this monitor has been smooth with very minimal ghosting (you'd really have to pay attention), and I absolutely love the refresh rate. I actually tried overclocking, and got to 155Hz - although anything over 144Hz will distort your colors and response rate so I do not recommend it. But besides that, what are the downsides? The three biggest issues I have faced with this monitor are these: 1) The resolution, 2) Brightness,and 3) The Curve. Every ultrawide extends the resolution sideways, rather than proportionally. This mean you get more pixels off to the sides, which is not a big deal with anything 29" or under. However, on a 34", you notice a lack of color - sort of like a "washed out" feel. This is because the resolution is being stretched out but no additional pixels are being added. In order to fix this, more pixels would need to be added by increasing the resolution size. You can technically create this resolution in the Nvidia Control Panel (If you are using an Nvidia based graphics card), but it is not the monitor's native resolution so you will only be creating a "virtual" resolution making it too dull and noticeably darker images. Now a natively higher resolution on this monitor would mean that you could not have 144Hz. Or rather, you would not be able to run games at 144Hz. The amount of graphics power needed will increase significantly with a resolution higher than 2560 x 1080. A single 980ti can handle 100+ FPS (on a 100Hz monitor) with a 2K resolution (2560 x 1080 is considered 2K, although not true 2K). On a 4K resolution, frames will drop to about 40 FPS. A dual 980ti setup might get you back up to 80 FPS, but you are short from your original 100 FPS. For some that is justifiable, preferring pixels over FPS. With this monitor however, the lower resolution maximizes your graphics power to achieve those 144Hz (144 FPS) easily. For a gamer, this is fantastic. Especially if we just can't justify spending $1,000+ for a monitor that offers a higher resolution but at only 100Hz that presumably can only be achieved with a dual video card setup. Now what really bugs me is the brightness. It is too low, and sometimes bothersome. This is mostly a preference as I have a very well it room - but in darkness the brightness is adequate. Worst case scenario, turn of the black stabilizer and you'll get a bit more brightness. In this regard, VA panels would achiever higher brightness than an IPS panel, just fyi. The curve. is. not. enough. This is solely me, I'm sure. I previously had a smaller LG monitor that had a more noticable curve, I expected a bigger curve on this one, but was disappointed. Would i switch it for another one with a bigger curve? No. Unless it had 144Hz as well. Seriously, this is the only Ultrawide i could find with these specs. The only other monitor I might consider switching this for is the Asus ROG Swift PG348Q. It is the only other monitor that could come close to these same specs while offering a bigger resolution, but with the price on the Asus - I could afford two of this LG monitors. Just saying. :). In summary, (man what a review), I am a gamer first, so my need for high refresh rates is important. I would definitely recommend this for gamers. Great specs all around, the resolution does not affect the quality or feel (unless you are a die hard 4K fan). But something had to be compromised for the 144Hz. And all for $700 (or under if you are lucky enough to find that deal). EDIT: So I overlooked the response rate and another user brought it to my attention. The true response rate is 14ms / 5ms GTG (as listed on LG's site) and the 1ms refers to motion blur reduction. While this may not be ideal, it does not change the performance of the monitor. :). |
