LG - UltraGear 45” OLED Curved WQHD 240Hz 0.03ms FreeSync and NVIDIA G-Sync Compatible Gaming Monitor with HDR10 - Black

If your anything like me you have been scouring reviews for many hours trying to find the perfect gaming monitor. This might be it (at least for me). This size is perfect. The 34" ultra wide monitors are just too small. 45" ultra wide monitors are really perfect. The super ultra wide (like Samsung G9) are super wide, but the aspect ratio is just wrong. Why not have additional screen real estate above and below such a narrow long screen? The size and aspect ratio of this LG 45" OLED are a much better compromise. This is an excellent gaming monitor. I was using a 27" IPS LCD with 165Hz, 300 nit brightness before this purchase. This is significantly clearer and the HDR (High Dynamic Range) is fantastic. No dead pixels. I find the screen more than bright enough and always have it turned down. The motion playing PC games is so much better it is amazing. My old LCD looks like a blurry mess during motion compared to this thing. The curve is perfect for this size. Coming from a flat screen I wasn't sure about an 800R curve like this, but its perfect and I won't go back. The curve really increased the immersion. The color is very very good and of course the inky perfect void black blacks contrasted with super bright self emitting pixels (no back light on OLEDS, the pixels make their own light) is so very nice. One other huge pro is you can update the firmware; they already fixed a bug I experienced with SDR (Standard Dynamic Range) colors. All you have to do is make sure your monitor is plugged into your PC using the provided USB cable and download the "OnScreen Control" application from the LG website. It will automatically tell you if your monitor needs to update. One minor gripe is that it took about an hour for the firmware to install, but I don't mind. I think the minor negativity this monitor sometimes receives about low PPI (pixels per inch) is completely overblown. The PPI is not an issue with this monitor. You really have to lean in much too uncomfortably close to notice. I sit about 30inches from the monitor, and there is no issue. I also don't see any weird color shading around text like some other brands of OLEDs that use different panels. The lower PPI is even an asset in a game like Digital Combat Simulator where you scan the sky for planes miles out and they may only render as one pixel at very long distances. The one pixel is noticeable on a big monitor like this with such good contrast. I also like how the monitor looks. It has a very nice build quality and feels very premium. I do have it mounted on the included 100x100 Vesa bracket to an arm, but the monitor feels very nice. The included remote is nice too. Seems to have plenty of options to prevent OLED burn in that are all automatic, but certain pixel refreshing features can be activated manually if you want to for any reason. I haven't had a single issue with image retention and have never seen even very slight retention and am very sensitive to it. (I had a plasma TV years ago that did have it). The modern OLEDS don't have this problem with normal use and are not comparable at all to how the old plama TV's used to get this. I mainly use it for PC, but this monitor does have HDMI 2.1 max bandwidth, so consoles like Xbox and PS5 are fully compatible with max resolution and max refresh rate with HDR and VRR that the consoles support.

In these 3 pictures, I also have my 16" 16:10 laptop for scale just to show you how deranged this monitor is! Pros: 45" 21:9 display is massive. Playing 21:9 games and watching 21:9 movies is an automatic dumb smile, especially with the 800r curve. It's about as close to VR as you can get with a desk monitor. It's probably the most optimum panel size and shape I can think of. I also enjoy doing work on here because of this. OLED, with its deep blacks and vibrant colors, is the cherry on top. And 240hz? In what earthly scenario would you ever need more? Cons: Not exclusive to this monitor, OLED panels have inherent issues. Small risk of burn-in (which hasn't happened in the 8 months I've owned this) and vertical banding on grayscale backgrounds to varying degrees. Still would rather have this over LCD and IPS, though. And the popular negative on this monitor, the PPI, although surprisingly not as bad as I thought it would be, still leaves a bit to be desired. I personally got quite used to this, though. Just don't put your face like one foot away and you won't tend to notice it. Quick tip: Don't forget to test both the included HDMI 2.1 and the DisplayPort 1.4 cables to see which is better for your situation. I cluelessly went with DisplayPort 1.4 cable the first few weeks thinking it would be good enough and when I switched to HDMI 2.1, video games ran significantly better. HDMI 2.1 has 48 gbps bandwidth while DisplayPort 1.4 has only 32.4 gbps bandwidth.

I upgraded from a 27'' Asus ROG Swift (2020) 144hz G-Sync IPS display to this jaw dropping OLED during Best Buy Members Black Friday 2023 ($999.99). After experiencing this display firsthand, and a few weeks of use (mainly on Overwatch and World of Warcraft), its worth the investment. I won't be able to go back to previous display tech (non-OLED, non-curved, or size) for PC gaming. I truly noticed the difference between OLED and non when comparing with my TV (4k Sony, LED 2017). I thought my Sony TV was the BEST display I owned.... but after seeing the rich blacks, color pops of OLED, with the fluidity of motion on this gaming monitor.... its bar none. I'm now noticing whiter blacks, and less richness on my Sony. My wife is sick of me talking about wanting an OLED TV now!! The size of the monitor is not as big as you think it could be! Which is a massive win. When I saw "45 inch" it worries me at first. Would it fit? Would I be too close to such a large display? With the curved design, it easily fits on my 60 inch desk, with my gaming desktop on top as well. If anything, it completes the space. It does take some getting used to while gaming, but once you do, you'll never go back. One minor negative, which others have noted, is overall brightness of the monitor. It doesn't get super bright, and the sides of the screen (left and right) are slightly dimmer than the center. HOWEVER, its definitely not a deal breaker and the trade offs are totally worth it. You barely notice it in-game, as your focus is usually in the center of the screen. My man-cave is in my basement, with no natural light or backlight hitting the monitor, so I can't speak to how it would perform under those conditions. Another minor negative, for those using this as a work and gaming display: This is a gaming display first, not for work and e-mail juggernauts. The 1440p on a monitor this size does make text a little less "crisp". With that being said, its marketed as a gaming display, and that is what this monitor should only be used for. It gets by with internet scrolling (and even writing this review) but I do miss my previous ASUS in these environments. Still, worth the trade off though! Overall, LG has knocked this one out of the park. I'll update this review with reliability in the years to come. Is it worth the MSRP of $1,700? I would say no (unless you are a gamer 24/7), but on sale at $999, absolutely.