MONITORS
70 OCTOBER2020|COMPUTER SHOPPER|ISSUE392
ONEOFTHEfewrecent advances in
desktop monitor technology is LG’s Nano
IPS panel design. This adds alayer of
nanoparticles on topofthe LED backlight,
which absorbs excessive light wavelengths,
improving the screen’s ability to reach
wider on colour gamuts.
Nano IPS also,apparently,has afaster
pixel response than standard IPS, resulting
in gaming monitors such as the 27GL850: a
27in, 2,560x1,440 displaythat claims aTN-like
grey-to-greyresponse time of just 1ms. It’s
not unique in this regard; the ViewSonic Elite
XG270QG (Shopper388) uses the same LG
tech, is the same size and resolution and has
the same Nvidia G-Sync support. But at £449,
the 27GL850 is hundreds of pounds cheaper
than the XG270QG, immediately putting it at
amajor advantage.
Sure,the 27GL850 doesn’treally have any
notable sideshow features, such as mouse
cable holders or the XG270QG’s RGB lighting,
but the core design tenets of adjustability
and practicality are met well.
The stand, forinstance,can adjust for
height and tilt, and can be rotated between
landscape and portrait modes, too. And the
two prongs of the base,while wide,are slim
enough to createarelatively modest
footprint, leaving more room on the desk.
DESIGNER GEAR
The bodywork is mainly plastic, but it doesn’t
look cheap,and the stand is sturdy enough
to resist screen wobble.Ahandful of red
highlights liven up what would otherwise
be alot of plain black, and the top, leftand
right bezels are all modishly thin. All in all,
it’s not as eye-catching as the likes of the
Razer Raptor 27 (Shopper387), but it’s
not ahideously over-designed gaming
monstrosity either.
On the rear,there’s adecent mix of ports,
including two HDMI inputs, one DisplayPort, a
combined mic and headphone jack, and two
USB3 ports, along with an accompanying USB
Type-B port forpassthrough purposes. Their
open positioning might not appeal to those
who like to keep their connectors hidden, but
we appreciated the ease of access.
That said, forensuring aclean look you
can’t do much better than the 27GL850’s
control scheme,which consists of asingle
button-cum-miniature joystick recessed
underneath the bottom bezel. Pressing this
once will power up the monitor,and once
it’s on, another press will bring up asimple
radial menu. From here you can power down,
quickly switch inputs, change the display
LG 27GL850
★★★★★
£449•From http://www.currys.co.uk
VERDICT
Boldandbeautifullyfast,the27GL850isa
sumptuous gaming monitor at agoodprice
profile or launch into
the OSD proper.
There’s an oddly
pleasant chunkiness
to LG’s OSD design,
and it’s particularly
helpful in keeping keyddetailssuchasthe
refreshrate,HDRon/offff
statusandresponse
timesettingskept
permanentlyatthe
top,regardlessofwhichhsub-menuyou’rein.
It’sallsensiblylaidout,too.Performance-
focusedsettingssuchasadaptivesyncand
responsetimearesmartlykeptseparate
from general image settings pertaining to
colour and contrast.
SETTINGTHE PACE
We tested the Nano IPS panel using the
default Gamer 1profile,and quickly confirmed
the benefits to gamut coverage: the 27GL850
covered apractically perfect 99.9% of the
sRGB gamut, with gamut volume reaching
all the wayto143%.
The downside of having much higher
volume than coverage is lower accuracy,and
it’s true that the 27GL850’s average delta-E of
3.4isn’t particularly impressive.Neither,for
that matter,iscontrast, which measured 763:1,
which is lower than even budget IPS monitors
such as the AOC24B2XH. Brightness is good,
however,peaking at 369cd/m^2.
Activating the dedicated sRGB profile
also tightens up accuracy abit, bringing
average delta-E down to 2.7,although that’s
still toohigh fortasks such as photoediting
or colour-grading avideo.
It’s also important to notethat despite
LG’s claim of supporting HDR10, the
27GL850’s peak brightness isn’t enough to
even meet the lowest DisplayHDR 400
standard. What’s more,activating this
monitor’s HDR mode through Windows’
ddiissppllaayysseettttiinnggssmmaaiinnllyyjjuussttmmaakkeessaalllltthhee
colours look flatter.Assuch, this whole
feature is best leftignored.
If this all sounds as if the 27GL850 keeps
throwing up disappointments, remember that
it’s not actually intended to be asuper-
accurateworkmachine; it’s agaming display,
and on these grounds it’s much better.The
fast 144Hz refresh ratemakes forfar
smoother movement than any 60Hz, 70Hz or
75Hz screen, and G-Sync’s effective range
stretches right up to the topofthis; only
FreeSync, which also works, is limited to
100Hz over HDMI.
A1ms response time is also achievable,but
requires the Faster pixel overdrive setting. Just
like on the XG270QG, this maxed-out setting
introduces inverse ghosting effects, so it’s
better to drop down to the Fast settings.
This keeps things smooth and fluid while
maintaining aresponse time closer to 4ms,
which is still very quick by IPS standards.
Besides, nitpicking numbers will only get
you so far, and in motion the LG 27GL850
looks absolutely tremendous. There’s not a
whiff of screen tearing with G-Sync enabled,
nor any sense that the monitor is struggling
to keep up with fast gameplay. This high
speed, married to such arichcolourpalette,
is abrilliant combination, and while
ViewSonic’s monitor performs similarly –as
could be expected, given it shares apanel –
this only highlights how much better value
tthe 27GL850 is.
PLAYMAKER
TThere are many monitors that hit the gaming
ssweet spot of 27in and 1440p,including afair
ffew that use colourful IPS panels, but almost
nnone combines vibrancy with the same slick,
bblur-free motion exhibited by the27GL850.
IIt’s lacking some bells and whistles, but since
tthe 27GL850 also provides an adjustable
sstand, well-judged design, arespectable OSD
aand avariety of connections, it never seems
llike something you’re merely settling for.
MMore than that, it’s agreat monitor with the
bbest, most modern IPS panel forgaming.
