LG 34GN850-B (34 Inch 21: 9 Curved Ultrawide QHD)

cybereality

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So I have purchased this monitor, the LG 34GN850-B: https://www.lg.com/hk_en/monitor/lg-34GN850-B

It's 3440x1440, 160 Hz, FreeSync 2 / G-Sync Compatible, HDR400, IPS w/ 1ms response. Overall I am enjoying the monitor, it just came in this afternoon and I have tested a few games. Note my previous monitor was also an LG IPS but at 2560x1080.

So far I've tried Doom Eternal, Rage 2, Far Cry 5, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Ghostrunner, Crackdown 3, Forza Horizon 4, and Left4Dead (I always like testing this). Honestly, Doom Eternal looked pretty good with HDR. Not mind blowing, but definitely better. The resolution bump and generally better colors made the game pop more. With my 2080 Ti I was still getting around 160 fps so performance was no problem. Rage 2 looked amazing, even though it doesn't even support HDR. There was a huge improvement in the overall look of the game. Obviously resolution played a big part (1080p to 1440p) but the sky and colors and everything just looked better. Far Cry 5 supports HDR, but the effect was more subtle than Doom. I mean, it worked, but I had to switch it on and off a few times to be sure. Tomb Raider was amazing. I haven't played it since the RTX patch, and with everything on ultra (including RTX shadows and HDR) I was getting between 60 - 90 fps but it looked so good. Crackdown 3 looked good, but I couldn't really tell if the HDR was working. I tried both ways, it looked almost the same but graphics were fine so I'm not complaining. Forza did look pretty good though. Left4Dead was okay, I think it looked slightly washed out, but more than playable.

Aside from the HDR, which was somewhat a hit or miss, the monitor was a big upgrade for me. First going from 1080p to 1440p was a nice boost. I've had higher res monitors before, but I've been on 1080p ultrawide for the past 2 years. So that's nice. Also, the response time is much better. Not sure if the 1ms is marketing bs, but it's a huge improvement over the old model. The fastest overdrive mode is too much, it looks like a sharpen filter, but the faster setting still looks fine and helps immensely. Even though I am getting less performance now (at the higher res) the overall feel is much smoother and more responsive. This is huge and more than I was expecting. My old monitor was 166Hz (or 6 more Hz) but I guess the panel couldn't refresh that fast because it always kind of looked like a double image. While it's still not perfect on this new LG, it is much better. Like at least twice as good in that department. Colors on the Windows desktop generally look better, Steam library cover art pops much more, text is obviously easier to read, so very nice.

Also, QC seems good. No dead or stuck pixels. No backlight bleed at all. 160 Hz overclock worked basically without a problem. Only issue I encountered was that I read somewhere that you could do 10-bit color at 4:2:0 w/ OC 160 Hz but it doesn't give me that option. I'm running 8-bit 4:4:4 RGB, which looks fine but I'm wondering if I'm missing something in HDR mode. Still have to explore this further, would be nice to get 160 Hz and 10-bit if possible. Other than that everything seems really good. I would like to at least see a properly working HDR setup some time. I've had HDR on my past 2 TVs but the first one was bogus, and the TV I have now is good but it wasn't a mind-blowing experience. I just couldn't justify spending over $2K on a monitor for the ones with HDR1000, and there were other reasons I wanted to go with the LG. So I'm satisfied for now, but I would like to see how things develop and if there will be some progress on better quality and affordable HDR sets.
 
I figured out the color thing. I can do 10-bit at 4:2:2 and keep my 160 Hz overclock, I just had to apply each setting one at a time.

I don't see anything obviously wrong but I'll have to play with it more to see if there is any downside. Definitely games seem to be fine but I wonder if it will be a downgrade on text on the desktop. Not sure yet.
 
Here are some pictures, even though the photos barely do it justice.

LG_UW_Doom.jpg


LG_UW_FarCry.jpg


LG_UW_Rage.jpg


LG_UW_Tomb.jpg
 
This kit is actually really awesome. It took me a few days to tweak the settings and understand what I was doing, but it works really well.

Metro Exodus with RTX and HDR is insane. The scene inside the train during dawn is stunning, almost like real life. I was concerned HDR400 wasn't any good, but it actually does enhance the image a lot in certain games.

Doom Eternal also has an amazing HDR implementation. Tomb Raider looked good, I have to test more with different levels.

Far Cry 5 was a bust though. The HDR is really bad and there are not enough options to fix it. Hopefully they improved this on New Dawn.
 
Wow I'm surprised you are the only person to post about this monitor. Seems like it's a good match for the 3080 without going into 38" territory which is outside what I want to spend at the moment. I have a VA ultrawide on my racing rig and want an IPS one for my desktop as I didn't like the VA for high contrast fast motion games. This looks like a good option.
 
thanks for the review ,i have a 34uc79g-b and thinking to upgrade it ,your monitor seems a good option ,even i would like to have a 240hz ,but i dont think there is a 21:9 2k 240hz.

BassTek correct ,very good option for 3080

one reason i dont see it to be so popular, its cause the very high price ,with much less money i can get samsung G7 240hz (yes i now its not 21:9.neither ips) .
 
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It looks like this monitor was rebadged as the LG 34GP83A-B and they knocked $150 off the price. Only differences are the OSD menu and badge on the back apparently.

I ordered the 34GN850-B as I couldn't find the 34GP83A-B in stock in Canada, but may switch if the 34GP83A-B pops up in the next couple weeks.
 
It looks like this monitor was rebadged as the LG 34GP83A-B and they knocked $150 off the price. Only differences are the OSD menu and badge on the back apparently.

I ordered the 34GN850-B as I couldn't find the 34GP83A-B in stock in Canada, but may switch if the 34GP83A-B pops up in the next couple weeks.
Ya I'm waiting to see if I can get it back at the $799 price next month.
 
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