LABS TEST / 27 IN GAMING MONITORS
I
t was the LG 27GL850 that kicked off
this latest wave of improved 27in, IPS
gaming screens. This monitor
introduced us to LG’s new 1ms IPS panels, which
also power some of the other screens on test
this month, so we were interested to see if LG’s
implementation could better the competition.
What you first notice about this display, upon
placing it on a desk, is the strange lack of rotation
in the stand. That oddity aside, first impressions
are good. The stand doesn’t have a particularly
premium feel, and the red plastic highlights aren’t
to our taste, but it’s still reasonably smart. The
display itself also has the requisite tiny bezel and
general slimness that we expect from this latest
generation of displays.
Connection options are good too, with a
2-port USB 3 hub joining the DisplayPort
socket and two HDMI inputs. You also
get a headphone output but no speakers.
One particularly impressive aspect of this
monitor is the on-screen display (OSD)
menu, which is responsive, neatly laid out
and governed by a single joystick control on
the underside of the display, which is very
easy to use.
Then we get to the overall feature list. Like the
other displays here, you get a 144Hz IPS panel
with a 1ms response time and adaptive sync
support with G-Sync compatibility. You even get
HDR10 support, although HDR here is basically
LG27GL850 /£499 inc VAT
SUPPLIER Overclockers.co.ukpointless, as on all the other displays in this test –
an extended colour gamut isn’t HDR.
Sadly, firing up this display reveals that
contrast isn’t its strong suit. It has a noticeably
greyer look to what should be pure black (LCDs
can never show true black) and, sure enough,
in our tests, with the backlight calibrated to 150
nits, this display produced a black level of 0.27
nits compared to 0.15 or below for most of the
other displays on test. This resulted in a contrast
ratio of just 726:1, a figure we couldn’t improve by
tweaking any of the monitor’s settings.
That’s not a disastrous contrast level, and
you may not pick it up as being low when
viewed in isolation. However, it’s plain to
see when you’re sitting next to the other
displaysontestthismonth.Wewerea touch
disappointedbythecolourbalancetoo.
6,939Kisreasonablyclosetotheidealof
6,500Kbutit’sstillthesecondworseresult
ontest,andit getsevenworseinthesRGB
mode.Thisresultsina bluetingetothe
displaythatparticularlymakesreadingtext
atouch harsh on the eyes (this mode locks
out any colour adjustment).
Even more problematic is the high colour
gamut. This display stretches all the way to 141
per cent sRGB coverage, making colours look
far brighter and more unnatural than normal.
You can fix this problem by enabling the sRGB
mode, but then you have the even worse
colour balance.
Jumping into our game tests, though, saw the
27GL850 performing well. Its sharpness in our
motion blur test even rivalled the ELMB setting
on the VG27AQ. This came across in games too,
with a generally snappy feel throughout, plus it
will also actively sync with both Nvidia and AMD
GPUs, eliminating tearing artefacts.Conclusion
The LG 27GL850 may have been at
the forefront of the new wave of 1ms
IPS gaming displays, but it no longer
maintains a clear lead over its rivals.
Competitors now offer more features
and better image quality for less money.
There’s a lot to like about this monitor for
gaming, but its price needs to drop a little
to continue to compete.VERDICT
A high price and a few niggling issues put
this trailblazer behind its usurpers.
LU C KY
+Highercolourgamut
+Goodgaming
performance
+Generally good-
quality display
U N LU C KY- Lowcontrast
- Poor OOB^
colourbalance - No rotation on stand
IMAGE QUALITY
19 / 30
FEATURES
14 / 20GAMING
24 / 30
VALUE
13 / 20OVERALLSCORE
70 %%
SPEC
Screen size 27in
Resolution 2,560 x 1,440
Panel technology IPS (nano IPS)
Maximum refresh rate 144Hz
Response time 1ms
Contrast 1,000:1
Adaptive sync FreeSync and G-Sync compatible
Display inputs 1 x DisplayPort 1.2, 2 x HDMI 2
Audio Headphone out
Stand adjustment Height, pivot, tilt
Extras 100 x 100mm VESA mount, HDR
10 compatibility, 2-port USB 3 hub