WE KNOW WHAT you’re thinking: $1,000 for a 34-inch ultrawide 1440p monitor? And it doesn’t even have local dimming? At least, that’s what first struck us about the new LG UltraGear 34GN850. It ticks an awful lot of boxes, which you’d expect at this price point. But surely that much money buys you proper HDR support?
Hold that thought for a moment while we consider what the LG UltraGear 34GN850 does give you. First up there’s 160Hz refresh. That’s enough for the vast majority of semi-pro esports aficionados. It ties in neatly with the claimed 1ms response of the LG’s Nano IPS panel. LG is one of the few monitor makers that actually produces LCD panels. In fact, it’s the world’s leader in IPS production, and thus has the pick of the latest and greatest of its own panels.
Long story short, LG reckons its new Nano IPS tech is comparable to TN panels for pixel response, while maintaining all the usual IPS advantages, such as superior color accuracy and viewing angles. That’s critical, because there’s little point in driving a display at triple-digit refresh rates if the panel’s response rate can’t keep up.