LG 34GK950F-B 34" 21:9 Ultragear WQHD Nano IPS Curved Gaming Monitor with Radeon FreeSync 2 (2018), Black

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Im a Big Fan of Nvidia, but G-Sync is expensive and doesnt make much sense for those of us who get the best Graphics Cards with 120hz or greater monitors. So when I found this monitor claiming it had a "Virtual" 1ms response time mode. I went ahead, made the purchase and Im glad I did. Its hard to find Ultra-Wide Monitors 32" or above with a decent response time. But this monitor really shines in FPS and Racing titles and the screen is super sharp. I havent seen any tearing or ghosting with a MSI 1080ti Gaming X pushing this monitor. My old monitor was a 27" Acer Nvidia 3D ready with 1920x1080 resolution, 120hz Refresh Rate and 2ms Response Time. So its not like Im coming from a small 60hz monitor. This sure does feel like a worthy upgrade for anyone to enjoy...

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I got a perfectly working Monitor! Read some of the other reviews on google and a few have noted that they get dead pixels and red or green lines across the screen but lets be real n think about it. Only those who get a bad screen take to the internet and post their experiences and everyone whos looking to get one just sees those reviews. The truth is Most people who get a working product dont tend to make reviews theyll just use it and never think to mention to the community how awesome a product is. On to the review. Im no monitor geek or know much about monitors, All I wanted was for the screen tearing to stop and to have smooth gameplay above 60fps without vsync on. Welp folks, we have a winner. Im coming from the Samsung CF791 1440p Ultrawide 100hz and since my framerates were well above 100fps I did get some screen tearing and wasnt as smooth. With this monitor at 144hz everything is Milk! The IPS is GORGEOUS! I thought the samsung Quantum dots was nice but this... THIS is where the pixels are born! Colors pop and the HDR is also a HUGE bonus even though its not HDR10 WHO CARES! I opted for the 144hz Freesync over the 120hz Gsync model because it doesnt matter if you have 144hz monitor and over 144hz fps in game. I get no screen tear and everything looks buttery smooth. Not to mention $200 less. Cons: Not really a CON for me but it will be for those who play First Person Shooter games. The input lag is 14ms according to my research. And I did research it because coming from a 4ms lag on my Samsung monitor I did notice something "different" when I was wiggling my open windows around but just BARELY. I dont notice it unless I actually do TRY to notice it but there is an every so slight delay in input lag. Again, I only noticed it when I first set it to 144hz and tested the response. But it my everyday use and RPG game play, I dont notice a damn thing. Im sure you MIGHT notice the lag if youre a competitive gamer. But yea, thats the ONLY thing I thought is really worth mentioning.

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Great value for a great monitor. First off, my review may be a bit skewed, because Im coming from an older 26" IPS LCD monitor that had a resolution of 1920x1200 that I purchased maybe 10 years ago. For me, the best thing about that panel was the large view angles and better color reproduction than all of the TN-panel monitors that were available at the time. So when I was looking to upgrade, I wanted another IPS screen, but I also wanted 144 hz refresh rate for smoother gaming and less input lag. After going back and forth on a few ultra wide-screen models, I picked this one because of the features and the price - I got a smoking deal when it dropped to $499 for 2 days. At that price, there isnt anything else out there that is even close to this. In a nutshell, here are the things that impressed me: Size: 21:9 takes gaming to a whole new level. you get a much more immersive experience. Also, HUD elements are pushed out to the sides, and are not obstructing the view of the game. Photo and Video Editing takes on a whole new dimension. There is just so much more workspace. You can see the whole image on the screen and still have room for the tool bars on the sides without them getting in the way. Your video timeline is actually usable at decent zoom levels without having to turn off any other panels. For basic use, I usually have my browser taking up 2/3 of the screen and my audio player/chat/email/etc on the other 1/3rd of the screen. Refresh Rate: 144 hz is the real deal. Even 120 hz feels amazing compared to 60hz. I was really surprised how smooth mouse movement feels on 120/144 hz. The difference between 60 and 120 is amazing. Stepping up from 120 to 144hz isnt nearly as dramatic, but its still noticeable. Games feel so much better at the higher refresh rates, and everything else looks and feels much smoother than 60hz. Color Reproduction Coming from an IPS LED, I expected to have at least as good color reproduction on this. What I wasnt expecting was that moving from an old LCD panel with traditional backlighting to an LED backlit panel would make a huge difference in contrast levels and color brightness. My old IPS screen looks washed out compared to this. Blacks are super black and colors have more depth and saturation than what I was expecting. I was watching a youtube video in 16:9, so I had the black borders on the sides. At the end of the video, the film went entirely black except for the product logo in the center of the screen. I could not see where the 16:9 part of the video ended and the black bars on the sides began. everything was completely black, unlike the LCD panels Ive had where pitch black comes out as dark gray. Features and design The monitor has a really clean design with a really thin frame. Only a small LG logo in the bottom center, and no annoying lights or visible buttons. The single control button also a 4 way joystick on the bottom of the panel. pressing it activates the OSD, and you use the joystick to navigate the menu system, which is very easy to figure out. You can also install LGs OnScreen Control software, which opens up more options for screen splitting and switching profiles thats faster and easier to use than the joystick and OSD. The back of the panel has a standard 100x100mm VESA mount pattern, which I am using instead of the included stand. The frame makes this monitor appear nearly bezel-less, but the actual part of the screen that lights up doesnt go all the way to the edge. there is maybe 10-12mm of space, but it still looks very nice. Finally, I know some people are turned off by the 2560x1080 resolution. For me, it works great. Windows does a lousy job scaling, so if you have a super hi-rez screen, a lot of apps and UI elements have tiny text, and can be straining on people with older eyes, like me. Also, I run a single 1070, and Im still able to get very good frame rates at this resolution (80+ in BF1 on ultra), which works for me. If I got a 1440p or 2160p screen, Id need to spend at least $400 for another video card to be able to push that many pixels. But youll need to make that decision for yourself.

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My new monitor arrived yesterday in great condition. I was dreading plugging it in for the first time because of the "panel lottery" that people talk about, especially in regard to high resolution IPS monitors. I fired up my machine and lo and behold no dead pixels at all that I was able to detect. Pixel perfect! Very little back-light bleed with a minimal amount at the corners. Seems to be predominantly the lower left. I was unable to set the refresh rate above 100hz, but I imagine that has to do with my graphics card supporting only displayport v1.2 when it really needs v1.4. I will investigate this further. The colors are amazing to my eyes with great whites and blacks. The monitor was set too bright from the factory for my tastes, but that was quickly and easily remedied. I know that pixels can go dead in the first few weeks of use, but so far this is terrific. I will add to this review in a couple of weeks.

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Good gaming monitor but horrible light bleed on the left hand side. Its very noticeable when watching movies because most movies will put black bars on both side of the screen, so it formats the picture properly. Youll also notice the light bleed during dark cut scenes in games. I spoke with LG support and they were willing to replace it but couldnt guarantee that I wouldnt get a refurbished monitor. I bought this brand new so I opted to have Amazon replace it instead. The second one was even worse! See the attached pic. The left is the original and the right is the replacement. I know this isnt a high end monitor and I know IPS monitors can have some light bleed but for $620, I was hoping for better.

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Ive always said to never go cheap on the peripherals you interact with - monitors, keyboard & mouse need to be great. This monitor falls in that great category. Obviously its a bigger monitor than most, but you dont truly realize how big and awesome it is until you get it set up on your desk. I was going to toy around with HDR, but really havent found the need to do it because the colors on the Nano IPS panel are absolutely excellent. There is some IPS glow on all four corners. The photo I took makes it look worse than it actually is. I only really ever notice it when Im watching a full screen video in 16:9 and I have the black bars on either side. There is a little glow, but it doesnt bother me really at all. This version of the monitor does not have the RGB shenanigans on the back like the g-sync version, but Id never turn it on anyways. The only con so far is the stuff I learned after I bought it. I did my fair share of due diligence trying to pull up reviews and such, but I recommend you download the manual and give it a read before you make your purchase... I didnt think to do that. If your GPU has display port 1.2, then you will be capped at 100hz. You also cant use the 1ms motion blur feature either. However, I read in the manual that you cant use freesync and motion blur together anyways. It would have been nice to know. My Fury gpu wouldnt push 144 fps at this resolution anyways so maybe the 1.2 is a push. All I know is Ill need display port 1.4 from a 1080ti, rtx or Radeon vii for another $600 or so thank you very much.

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Pros: It works with Nvidia GPU Gsync enabled, no monitor issue like flickering, artifacts, etc. The HDR effect preset makes gaming/movies look amazing (no need to have HDR active which can caused washed out color). Cons: Although it is Gsync compatible, the performance compared to an actual Gsync monitor is pretty avg/poor. There is micro stutter here and there with Gsync enabled. I have tested both models and the Gsync monitor + Nvidia GPU just performs way better and flawlessly. Also, after 220+ hours used the monitor started to flicker. This was not caused by Gsync enabled or Freesync extended enabled. This was caused by internal hardware issue which I had to send it in for repair (possible capacitor defect which is known to cause flickering and needs to be changed out). Update: Turns out LG couldnt fix the issue with the monitor flickering so they sent me a new replacement and it was damaged (see attachment). Dropping stars for this issue.

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Ive only had it a few days, and played a few games with this monitor so here are my initial impressions. First, I came from a 32" LG 4k monitor, so the lack of vertical resolution, especially for tasks like viewing images and videos takes getting used to as they dont fill the entire display on an ultra wide. To be honest I would have preferred the 38" LG monitor with its 3840 x 1600 resolution for general day to day tasks, but that model is only 75hz refresh rate, and I wanted 144hz. I am driving it with a Sapphire RX Vega 64 liquid cooled GPU. The monitor arrived in a huge cardboard box, I thought it was a new stove at first ; ). It was well packaged, and there is a piece of Styrofoam in the packaging that you use to support the monitor while you attach the stand and cables etc. It includes cables, youll want to use displayport if you have an AMD GPU. I adjusted the settings loosely based off the tftcentral review of the monitor, and included with the monitor was a calibration spec sheet. Turning it on and placing it on my desk it is huge, but after a few days you start to get used to it, and the curve of the monitor. I played some DOOM and it looked glorious, it is definitely smoother than 4k 60hz. Same with Wolfenstein 2 and some CoD Black Ops etc. There are no dead pixels, it is really bright, I turned it down to 40% for my room. Overall Windows and internet browsing is fine, its almost better to web browse in a window, and you can have other windows open next to it, there is so much screen real estate. Ill be honest, going from 60hz to 144hz in Windows Im not seeing any "ahaa" differences in smoothness or fluidity of the mouse, but not noticing any lag in games or Windows either. Ill try to edit this after a few months of use. Currently I feel this is the best ultra wide monitor you can buy if you want 3440 x 1440 and high refresh. There have been 200hz monitors announced for a long time that have not been actually produced for sale yet, who knows if those will ever happen. Pros: 144hz Freesync 2, HDR400, accurate color, connectivity, joystick control, super thin bezel, vesa mount, no noticeable backlight bleed *yet. Cons: Id rather see more vertical real estate, could be HDR1000, some review sites claim input lag in fast FPS shooters, I dont notice any though.

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Ok so here is a break down on this monitor: ◙ 34" Ultrawide ◙ Curved ◙ 2560 x 1080 Resolution ◙ 144Hz ◙ IPS Panel ◙ $700 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 (youd 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 monitors 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 cant 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 youll 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, Im 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 LGs site) and the 1ms refers to motion blur reduction. While this may not be ideal, it does not change the performance of the monitor. :).

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Ive had mine for about 12 hours now, and my mouth is still hanging open. I was torn between buying this and an Oculus Rift. After borrowing a friends Oculus for a month I have to say that, for now, I think Ive made the right decision. If that opinion changes in the coming months, Ill be sure to update it here. Going from a 10-year-old 23" 1920x1080 TN 60Hz monitor to THIS will leave you speechless, especially if youre into First-Person Shooters, and open-world games are literally breathtaking. I still intend to go VR someday. I just feel it has a little ways to go yet... Maybe in another year or so. Is it "perfect"? Of course not. There is some major light bleed at the edges of the screen, but Ive yet to notice it in-game. So, quite frankly, I couldnt care less about that. Its not even worth taking a star off over if youre buying this for gaming, IMHO. Games Ive played with it so far: World Of Tanks Call of Juarez: Gunslinger Portal 2 Batman: Arkham City GOTY edition Fallout: New Vegas (It took a little tweaking of the ini file to get this one to look right.) DOOM (2016) - It really shines on this one. Anyway, Its been a long time since I was this happy with a gaming hardware investment... and again, if my opinion of it changes, Ill be sure to update it here. Going back to gaming now. :)

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