LG GN Ultragear 38GN950,38” Gaming Monitor

The LG 38GN950 is a 38" 3840x1600 144Hz (160Hz) ultrawide curved gaming monitor with 1ms GtG, Nano IPS, HDR600, and FreeSync (G-SYNC Compatible). The LG UltraGear 38GN950 is one of the most expensive gaming displays around. It’s a 38-inch panel with a 21:9 aspect ratio, and this super-wide display is paired with a resolution of 3840 x 1600. There are high-end specifications elsewhere, too, including a ring of 48 RGB LEDs for illuminating your gaming den.

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The LG 38GN950-B is a great ultrawide gaming monitor. It's the successor to the LG 38GL950G-B, but unlike its predecessor, it supports FreeSync natively instead of G-SYNC. It's certified as G-SYNC compatible, though, so those with an NVIDIA graphics card still get a nearly tear-free gaming experience. It has low input lag, exceptional response time, and a 144Hz refresh that you can overclock up to 160Hz, resulting in amazingly fluid gameplay

It has a great wide color gamut and impressive peak brightness to deliver a pretty good HDR experience, although it's not the best option for dark room viewing due to its sub-par contrast. Unfortunately, the stand doesn't allow for any swivel adjustment.

The LG 38GN950-B is very similar in design to its predecessor, the LG 38GL950G-B. Like other 2020 UltraGear monitors, the stand has been redesigned slightly. The column is wider at the bottom, and the wide V-shaped feet are elevated so that they only make contact with the table at the tips. There are still some red accents and RGB lighting on the back.

This widescreen is curved, with a gentle radius of 2300R. That’s modest, with most curved panels sitting at 1800R and rivals such as the Samsung Odyssey G9 making the curve tighter at 1000R.The two displays take wildly different approaches to curved panels. The LG’s subtle curve can help with viewing angles and is a great option if you find the tighter designs elsewhere overly oppressive. However, the wider G9 and its tighter radius can potentially deliver a more immersive wraparound experience.

The LG UltraGear 38GN950 comes with AMD FreeSync that runs at 144Hz with a 160Hz overclock option – and it’s the Premium Pro version, which means added support for HDR and low frame-rate compensation. The LG is compatible with Nvidia G-Sync, too. Samsung went further by offering a 240Hz refresh rate, but the 144Hz rate here is still ample for mainstream gaming and competitive play.The LG 38GN950 supports variable refresh rate (VRR) with both AMD’s FreeSync Premium Pro and NVIDIA G-SYNC Compatible certifications thus ensuring smooth performance.

VRR synchronizes the monitor’s refresh rate with GPU’s frame rate in order to completely eliminate screen tearing and stuttering without noticeably affecting input lag.The supported VRR range is 48-160Hz, but below 48FPS, LFC (Low Framerate Compensation) kicks in and maintains smooth performance by frame rate multiplication (47 FPS -> 141Hz).

Other useful gaming features include various picture presets (FPS, RTS, Reader with a low-blue light filter, and two customizable Gamer profiles), Black Stabilizer (improves visibility in darker games), and customizable crosshairs.

You will also find advanced image adjustment tools, including four gamma presets, manual color temperature settings, and 6-axis hue/saturation.It’s possible to manually enable/disable the local dimming function or set it to ‘Auto’ (automatically enables when HDR content is detected), and you can change its speed via the Variable Backlight option depending on the content (Fast for gaming, Normal for video playback, etc).

To access and navigate the OSD menu, you can either use the directional joystick beneath the bottom bezel of the monitor or download UltraGear Control Center and make your adjustments in a desktop application.Finally, there are 48 RGB LEDs at the back of the monitor. The RGB lighting is bright and can create quite atmospheric lighting; it can also be synchronized with on-screen video or audio.

The stand of the monitor is sturdy and offers decent ergonomics with up to 110mm height adjustment, -5°/15° tilt, 100x100mm VESA mount compatibility, and +/- 3° pivot for balancing the screen. You cannot swivel the screen to the left/right though.There’s a subtle but noticeable 2300R screen curvature which further improves the viewing immersion. The screen also has a light matte anti-glare coating, which eliminates reflections.The bezels are ultra-thin at the sides and at the top of the screen, while the bottom bezel is a bit thicker as the monitor doesn’t feature LG’s latest Oxide 4-sides borderless design, like that of the LG 27GN950.

Connectivity options include DisplayPort 1.4, two HDMI 2.0 ports (limited to 75Hz at 3840×1600), a headphones jack, and a dual-USB 3.0 hub.

The LG UltraGear 38GN950 is an expensive and confounding monitor that doesn’t always justify its high price.For all-round high-end gaming, it’s very good, offering decent syncing, lighting and connectivity. The IPS display can’t match Samsung’s VA panel for contrast, however, and that Samsung has better HDR options. The G9 also boasts a higher refresh rate and a lower price point, making the LG a tough sell.LG UltraGear 38GN950 is an excellent gaming monitor, but its high price and the strength of the competition makes quite thinkable.