Tested: LG humongous OLED gaming monitor wants to double as my smart TV

Best Prices Today: LG Ultragear 39GX90SA-W

$1296.99

$1299.99

$1,299.99

$1299.99

$1299.99

Blink and also you’d miss it, but it surely’s true. Smart gaming screens are right here. Both LG and Samsung now provide screens marketed at avid gamers that embody a totally useful TV working system that works a lot because it does on every model’s sensible TVs. The LG Ultragear 39GX90SA-W brings this idea to an enormous, lovely OLED panel. It seems nice, but it surely’s not good.

Read on to be taught extra, then see our roundup of the best gaming monitors for comparability.

LG Ultragear 39GX90SA-W specs and options

The most notable specification on the LG UltraGear 39GX90SA-W’s spec sheet is its measurement. It’s a 39-inch ultrawide with a 21:9 facet ratio, and whereas a 39-inch show could not sound considerably bigger than a 34-inch ultrawide, it leads to a 31 p.c improve in show space. Put merely, the 39-inch LG feels means greater than a 34-inch different.

• Display measurement: 39-inch 21:9 facet ratio
• Native decision: 3440×1440
• Panel sort: WOLED
• Refresh fee: Up to 240Hz
• Adaptive Sync: Yes, Adaptive Sync, AMD FreeSync Premium, Nvidia G-Sync Compatible
• HDR: HDR 10, VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400 CertifiedHDR
• Ports: 2x HDMI 2.1, 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 1x USB-C with DisplayPort Alternate Mode and 65 watts of Power Delivery, 1x Ethernet, 2x USB-A (2.0), 1x 3.5mm audio-out
• Additional options: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth, distant management, LG webOS
• Audio: Speakers included
• Warranty: 2-year elements and labor guarantee
• Price: $1,599.99 MSRP, $1,299.99 retail at time of overview

The 39GX90SA-W can also be notable as a result of it contains LG’s webOS sensible tv working system. It works simply because it does on an LG Smart TV and gives entry to all kinds of apps, in addition to connectivity to many digital content material libraries, like films you may need bought by means of YouTube. It even helps cloud gaming companies like GeForce Now.

Pricing is excessive, although no more than anticipated. The retail MSRP is $1,599.99, however a look at value monitoring web sites reveals the sale value of $1,199.99 is extra typical. That’s costly however anticipated for an enormous, high-end OLED monitor.

LG Ultragear 39GX90SA-W design

The LG Ultragear 39GX90SA-W is a 39-inch ultrawide monitor with an aggressive 800R curve. Though obviously not as large as 45-inch ultrawide alternatives, it has critical presence and takes up a whole lot of area on a desk. The aggressive curve stands out instantly and can show polarizing. If you want a curved monitor, it’s nice. If not, you’ll have bother placing up with it.

Size and curved show apart, the 39GX90SA advantages from an alluring ultra-white design. The rear panel and show stand each function a stark, clear, nearly medical look that may slot in with minimalist desk setups. Most of the monitor’s supplies are plastic, however the backside half of the stand is steel, and the plastics used had been sturdy once I picked up the monitor.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

The stand is large. It features a broad neck, a big base, and a deep attain that locations the ultrawide show panel comparatively near the consumer’s face. It could be tough, or unimaginable, to seek out a perfect place in case your desk is lower than 30 inches deep, or lower than 50 inches huge. That’s to be anticipated given the 39GX90SA’s large ultrawide display screen, but it surely’s nonetheless necessary to remember. Most folks will discover a 34-inch ultrawide a greater match for his or her desk.

Even so, LG’s design is a win. It’s at the very least as premium as Samsung’s Odyssey G8 and G9 screens, and extra enticing than current alternate options from Asus, Gigabyte, and MSI (amongst different manufacturers). It works particularly effectively as a mixed-used monitor in a room that serves as a house workplace in the course of the day and a gaming den at evening.

LG Ultragear 39GX90SA-W connectivity

Connectivity is usually a spotlight for the LG Ultragear 39GX90SA-W, with a number of caveats.

On the plus facet, the monitor contains a whole lot of video connectivity. It has two HDMI 2.1 ports, one DisplayPort, and one USB-C with DisplayPort. That’s a complete of 4 video inputs and an excellent vary of choices for connecting laptops, desktops, and recreation consoles.

The USB-C port additionally helps knowledge and as much as 65 watts of Power Delivery. I’m comfortable to see a USB-C port with Power Delivery included, because it reinforces the monitor’s identification as a show for each work and play. Owners can use a single cable to attach and cost a thin-and-light laptop computer that has USB-C.

The monitor’s extra connectivity contains two USB-A ports (each USB 2.0) and Ethernet. The Ethernet port is helpful in case you plan to take advantage of the monitor’s sensible connectivity, which I’ll get to shortly. If you don’t have Ethernet useful, nonetheless, that’s nice: The monitor additionally helps Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

A 3.5mm audio jack rounds out the connectivity.

LG Ultragear 39GX90SA-W menus and options

LG calls the Ultragear 39GX90SA-W a “smart gaming monitor.” What does that imply? It’s mainly a wise TV.

While it lacks a TV tuner (that means it may possibly’t settle for cable or antenna TV enter), it in any other case works very like any LG tv that runs LG’s webOS. It gives an enormous number of streaming apps, from Netflix to Crunchyroll, and even helps cloud gaming apps like GeForce Now (which suggests you possibly can technically recreation with out a PC or console by connecting a Bluetooth recreation controller to the monitor). WebOS is fast, enticing, and straightforward to know.

However, the 39GX90SA-W suffers a number of issues in terms of how the monitor interacts with PC inputs. For instance, when a brand new PC enter is linked, the monitor will ask in case you’d like to modify to that enter. The immediate doesn’t keep on-screen for lengthy, although, so I usually discovered it had disappeared by the point I climbed out from beneath my desk to attach my desktop.

I additionally had small however noticeable points with the responsiveness of the monitor’s on-screen menu, which sometimes hesitated as I moved by means of choices. I even encountered a loading display screen icon whereas swapping between monitor menus. That’s not one thing you’ll see on a monitor that lacks a wise TV working system.

This is most blatant when utilizing the Game Optimizer mode. Opening the on-screen menu on this mode opens a Ultragear-branded menu that in any other case doesn’t seem. It doesn’t assist adjusting many options, nonetheless, and the swap from the Ultragear menu to the usual menu takes a number of seconds, throughout which a loading icon seems.

On the opposite hand, the 39GX90SA-W ships with a compact distant that gives easy accessibility to observe choices. While the menu system’s typically gradual efficiency is annoying, it’s much less annoying than adjusting monitor menus utilizing a joystick or buttons on the monitor itself (a joystick remains to be discovered on the monitor, although, in case you lose the distant). The streaming apps I examined, resembling YouTube and Netflix, labored as anticipated.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

Speakers are bundled within the 39GX90SA-W, however they’re not loud sufficient to be helpful in most conditions. I discovered them tepid at most quantity even in my residence workplace, which has no important noise in addition to my residence HVAC. The 39GX90SA-W’s audio system may hardly compete with that.

I’m unsure everybody will discover the 39GX90SA-W’s sensible includes a win, but it surely’s at all times fascinating to see them on an enormous, ultrawide monitor. This is successfully a 39-inch ultrawide sensible TV—one thing that doesn’t exist within the conventional HDTV market. It’s sadly not giant sufficient to be used in most TV dens, however I do assume this idea will enchantment to consumers largely focused on viewing films or taking part in PC video games.

LG Ultragear 39GX90SA-W SDR picture high quality

The LG Ultragear 39GX90SA-W makes use of an LG WOLED panel. These panels have been examined in quite a few screens and are usually barely much less vibrant in comparison with Samsung’s QD OLED panels, though they nonetheless carry out effectively by way of distinction and brightness. The LG Ultragear 39GX90SA-W stays on-script.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

I measured a sustained SDR brightness of about 246 nits from the 39GX90SA-W. As the graph reveals, that could be a typical stage of brightness for a contemporary OLED monitor in SDR. Although it’s not particularly shiny, it’s sufficient to be used in a room with some mild management, like blinds or curtains.

If you’re sitting close to sunlit home windows, nonetheless, glare can grow to be a problem. The monitor has a semi-gloss coat, however its aggressive curve can have the impact of focusing mild sources relying on their angle, which might amplify glare.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

Contrast is a energy of OLED panels. They can attain a minimal brightness of zero nits, which suggests they’ve an successfully infinite distinction ratio. The result’s the deep, immersive picture that propelled OLED to the highest of picture high quality rankings.

The 39GX90SA-W is not any exception, but it surely additionally doesn’t stand out. All the OLED panels discovered on fashionable screens attain a minimal luminance of zero nits, so there’s no significant distinction right here.

Still, distinction is a key motive to pick the 39GX90SA-W as an alternative of an ultrawide LCD competitor.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

The 39GX90SA-W’s shade gamut spans 100 p.c of sRGB in addition to 96 p.c of DCI-P3 and 88 p.c of Adobe RGB when examined in the usual monitor preset. That’s a wonderful outcome and sufficient to offer a vibrant, extremely saturated picture that most individuals will discover pleasing.

As the graph reveals, QD-OLED screens just like the Alienware AW3425DW are likely to have barely higher shade saturation. The benefit is delicate, however noticeable, although the LG’s shade gamut remains to be wonderful.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

The 39GX90SA-W has good shade accuracy in its customary picture preset, though because the graph reveals, it’s not the most effective in its class. The picture seems practical, and I had problem noticing any main shade points other than shade temperature. It is necessary to notice that the monitor affords a complete vary of picture high quality presets, together with knowledgeable presets. These presets considerably improve shade accuracy, lowering the typical shade error to a formidable 0.85.

In customary mode, the gamma was 2.3, which is above my goal of two.2, and the colour temperature was 7400 Okay—which is cooler and extra sterile than the popular 6500 Okay. The knowledgeable picture high quality preset once more improved issues dramatically, shifting each gamma and shade temperature to our desire.

Sharpness, nonetheless, is an issue that may’t be mitigated. The 39GX90SA-W has a local decision of 3440×1440, which is typical of most ultrawide screens. But most alternate options have a smaller 34-inch panel, and spreading the identical variety of pixels throughout a 39-inch panel noticeably degrades sharpness. Small fonts have clear pixelation and shade artifacts round them, whereas small buttons and interface components can look blocky. It’s tolerable, however the 39GX90SA-W shouldn’t be for individuals who need a crystal-clear show.

The 39GX90SA-W’s general picture high quality is nice, but it surely’s a bit below-average for an OLED monitor. It shares frequent OLED strengths, together with an unbelievable distinction ratio and huge shade gamut. However, LG’s WOLED nonetheless doesn’t rival Samsung’s QD-OLED in shade quantity, and the 39GX90SA-W’s sharpness might be a problem for eagle-eyed patrons. It’s a beautiful show however doesn’t stand out from the OLED crowd.

LG Ultragear 39GX90SA-W HDR Image Quality

LG’s UltraGear 39GX90SA-W helps HDR and is VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400 licensed. That’s the everyday stage of certification for an OLED monitor. However, because the graph beneath reveals, the monitor can attain the next stage of brightness than that certification would recommend, with a most sustained HDR brightness of 783.5 nits.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

When I examine the 39GX90SA-W to its rivals I’m pressured to repeat myself, as as soon as once more it performs about in addition to most different OLED screens in the marketplace. Its HDR brightness figures are just like lately examined WOLED screens. Samsung QD-OLED are presently a better option for HDR general, however I wouldn’t name it a night-and-day distinction, and it ought to solely sway you if HDR efficiency is amongst your high priorities. 

Still, I used to be happy with the LG’s HDR image. It’s vivid in most scenes and video games, with solely scenes that try to push brightness throughout your complete show actually difficult the monitor.

LG Ultragear 39GX90SA-W movement efficiency

The LG UltraGear 39GX90SA-W has a most refresh fee of 240Hz, which gives a buttery-smooth picture in PC video games that may attain body charges that top. It additionally advantages from OLED’s low pixel response time, which drops as little as 0.03 milliseconds. In follow, this additional reduces movement blur. As a bonus, it additionally interprets to comparatively minor movement blur at decrease refresh charges (like 60Hz or 120Hz).

There’s extra to it than simply movement readability, as a result of the monitor additionally gives broad adaptive sync assist with official assist for Adaptive Sync, AMD FreeSync Premium, and Nvidia G-Sync requirements. While most screens that assist any of those may also unofficially work with all three, it’s good to see official assist to offer avid gamers peace of thoughts.

As with different features of the 39GX90SA-W, the monitor’s solely draw back is that it’s mainly the identical as different OLEDs in the marketplace. There’s a really huge number of screens which have a 240Hz refresh fee or larger, so whereas the LG seems nice in fast-paced video games, it doesn’t look higher than the competitors.

Should you purchase the LG Ultragear 39GX90SA-W?

The Ultragear 39GX90SA-W is one other competent entry into LG’s ever-growing line-up of OLED screens. It delivers an immersive, colourful, contrast-rich picture with very good movement readability, although it suffers from sub-par sharpness. The monitor additionally gives LG’s webOS sensible TV working system with entry to acquainted apps together with Netflix and GeForce Now, alongside Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. That means it may possibly function an all-in-one gaming and leisure show even with out a PC hooked up.

That makes the 39GX90SA-W alluring in order for you an ultrawide monitor that’s bigger and extra feature-rich than most rivals. If you don’t care about sensible options in your monitor, nonetheless, a smaller and cheaper different just like the Alienware AW3425DW will make extra sense.