LG UltraGear OLED 45GR95QE-B

In response to the question initially posed, I do have an interest in the new LG 45GR95QE. Perhaps I am one of the few that does, most all comments I have seen posted on a variety of sites are almost exclusively negative. Primarily due to resolution, brightness, and PPI. I noticed the model when it was first shown in August in Germany, then started researching. I'm certainly not hurting for a new monitor, I have MSI's 32" 4k model currently, flanked by two more 27" (1920x1080) MSI monitors I got on sale. I use the 4k for both productivity (WFH) as well as for gaming, with the smaller ones strictly used for productivity. Can I see a difference between 4k and 1080? Of course, but they are far from unusable for that purpose. That said I'd like to have a single curved widescreen monitor 40-45", 21:9, and I certainly want OLED. There really is not much available that meets those specifications, though with all tech items you purchase it's not long before something better comes along. But if you are always waiting, you are never buying and using what is currently available.

I'm not overly concerned with the brightness issue. My MSI monitors are certainly not turned up much past half brightness anyway, I run everything I can (including SSMS and VS) in dark mode, and I have a dedicated computer room that is not very bright by design. The panel on the Corsair is built by LG (in theory is the same) but it's brightness shows 1000 nits while this one shows 1/4 that amount. Is LG showing NITS for SDR? Not sure. I don't care about it having USB-C or power delivery (though the Corsair does not mention having the latter) though I do own a MacBook Pro, my work and gaming is on my desktop (6900XT GPU, 5900X cpu, dual m.2 SSD's in Raid-0, etc.)

PPI was and is a concern though, since soooooo many people say it will look like crap for productivity. I did find this site interesting https://www.tools.rodrigopolo.com/display_calc/ and note that my distance from eye to center screen is currently 39" and I can move it back a bit on my desk if necessary. Not worried about video/gaming screen quality, am sure that will be fine. Productivity could be an issue, but if it is I can either send it back or gift it to one of my sons like I do everything else tech gear wise I buy (getting 5-10 total years out of my purchases in general), who also game and WFH (which is my plan for my current 3 MSI monitors.) I doubt that either will be required, but we shall see. Very much appreciate comments above from Chief Blur Buster, educational.

I ordered the LG on 12/13, and its currently on a FedEx truck and arrives on Tuesday.
 
In response to the question initially posed, I do have an interest in the new LG 45GR95QE. Perhaps I am one of the few that does, most all comments I have seen posted on a variety of sites are almost exclusively negative. Primarily due to resolution, brightness, and PPI. I noticed the model when it was first shown in August in Germany, then started researching. I'm certainly not hurting for a new monitor, I have MSI's 32" 4k model currently, flanked by two more 27" (1920x1080) MSI monitors I got on sale. I use the 4k for both productivity (WFH) as well as for gaming, with the smaller ones strictly used for productivity. Can I see a difference between 4k and 1080? Of course, but they are far from unusable for that purpose. That said I'd like to have a single curved widescreen monitor 40-45", 21:9, and I certainly want OLED. There really is not much available that meets those specifications, though with all tech items you purchase it's not long before something better comes along. But if you are always waiting, you are never buying and using what is currently available.
Come back and give us a review once you set it up.
 
Come back and give us a review once you set it up.
Quick impression. It’s not 4k, and I can tell when browsing docs or the web. Not that it’s bad, it’s just not 4k. Can I work on it, absolutely I can (I’m generally 36"-39” away from center).

That said, it’s 240hz, not 144. Windows does not have to scale. FPS in games is much better. The color and blacks are immediately noticeable as being significantly better. Brightness is fine, set to 100% by default which is too bright for a dark room but perfect with my one light on and one window. It’s 21:9 (obviously) not 16:9. It’s a single monitor, not the three monitors I was using. It’s curved, not flat (kind of weird but I'm liking it). My desk is way cleaner now, and I only have to run a single hdmi 2.1 cable to it (mouse, keyboard, webcam, all plugged into the USB 3 ports, and optical out to DAC all plugged into monitor) plus a USB 3.0 A to B cable. Might go back to Optical from motherboard to DAC, it offers higher specs, but have not done so yet. DTS Headphones work great plugged into monitor (truly, everyone was simply plug it in and it works.)

Still have much more testing (PBP and PIP) and Game playing to do, but no…LG will not be issuing an RMA nor will my kids get it. They can definitely have the 4k and 27” panels, I am loving having a single monitor that is both wide and curved and a much cleaner desk.

Did I mention the color/black's are amazing? :)

2023-01-05_15-15-24.png
 
Quick impression. It’s not 4k, and I can tell when browsing docs or the web. Not that it’s bad, it’s just not 4k. Can I work on it, absolutely I can (I’m generally 36"-39” away from center).

That said, it’s 240hz, not 144. Windows does not have to scale. FPS in games is much better. The color and blacks are immediately noticeable as being significantly better. Brightness is fine, set to 100% by default which is too bright for a dark room but perfect with my one light on and one window. It’s 21:9 (obviously) not 16:9. It’s a single monitor, not the three monitors I was using. It’s curved, not flat (kind of weird but I'm liking it). My desk is way cleaner now, and I only have to run a single hdmi 2.1 cable to it (mouse, keyboard, webcam, all plugged into the USB 3 ports, and optical out to DAC all plugged into monitor) plus a USB 3.0 A to B cable. Might go back to Optical from motherboard to DAC, it offers higher specs, but have not done so yet. DTS Headphones work great plugged into monitor (truly, everyone was simply plug it in and it works.)

Still have much more testing (PBP and PIP) and Game playing to do, but no…LG will not be issuing an RMA nor will my kids get it. They can definitely have the 4k and 27” panels, I am loving having a single monitor that is both wide and curved and a much cleaner desk.

Did I mention the color/black's are amazing? :)
How does the curve feel in person?
 
Quick impression. It’s not 4k, and I can tell when browsing docs or the web. Not that it’s bad, it’s just not 4k. Can I work on it, absolutely I can (I’m generally 36"-39” away from center).

That said, it’s 240hz, not 144. Windows does not have to scale. FPS in games is much better. The color and blacks are immediately noticeable as being significantly better. Brightness is fine, set to 100% by default which is too bright for a dark room but perfect with my one light on and one window. It’s 21:9 (obviously) not 16:9. It’s a single monitor, not the three monitors I was using. It’s curved, not flat (kind of weird but I'm liking it). My desk is way cleaner now, and I only have to run a single hdmi 2.1 cable to it (mouse, keyboard, webcam, all plugged into the USB 3 ports, and optical out to DAC all plugged into monitor) plus a USB 3.0 A to B cable. Might go back to Optical from motherboard to DAC, it offers higher specs, but have not done so yet. DTS Headphones work great plugged into monitor (truly, everyone was simply plug it in and it works.)

Still have much more testing (PBP and PIP) and Game playing to do, but no…LG will not be issuing an RMA nor will my kids get it. They can definitely have the 4k and 27” panels, I am loving having a single monitor that is both wide and curved and a much cleaner desk.

Did I mention the color/black's are amazing? :)

View attachment 539695
Thanks for posting. That picture is a bit distorted but the monitor seems to fit into your space pretty well.
 
How does the curve feel in person?
From the side it looks really, really curved. But looking at it from the front you can tell it's curved obviously, but does not seem to be anything dramatic or over done. I certainly would not want another 32" or anything larger than that without it being curved, it just feels normal now. When gaming I have tried pulling it closer, someone told me to make it 32" away, and it does feel different that close (even more immersive) but both distances are fine to me.
 
Thanks for posting. That picture is a bit distorted but the monitor seems to fit into your space pretty well.
I took several, from different angles, and they all look distorted to me. Guess that's just part of the curve. It fits, sort of, but that desk is more than 30 years old. Bought it at an unfinished furniture store, had it stained and delivered, and it's been with me ever since. You can tell how old it is because the cutout for the monitor is back when monitors were still CRT's and the cutout in the top section would hold one easily. Will still hold 16:9 at30", but 32" is too much, and 21:9 and 45 certainly is. What saves me is the keyboard tray, giving me distance from any screen. Of course I could remove the top part, but all the storage is nice (and it is real wood, not particle board crap) even though you do have to move the monitor to get to the top doors (but monitors are so light now that its very easy to do. Especially that I only have one now, not three.

I did find one thing I liked about the MSI 32" that I miss on this LG, and that is the built-in KVM switch. While the PIP and PBP work perfectly fine, and it's built in, and the remote makes it super simple, you do need the switch if you want to share KB/Mouse. But I could always buy an external one if I really wanted that, and it's not that important to me since I have other means of using multiple computers at the same time with the same monitor.
 
That said, it’s 240hz, not 144. Windows does not have to scale. FPS in games is much better. The color and blacks are immediately noticeable as being significantly better. Brightness is fine, set to 100% by default

View attachment 539695

You're running your desktop at 100% brightness? I guess you wanna roll the dice on burn in.

HDR is the only time I want 100% brightness
 
We need to know if the LG is firmware updatable. Please install the software suite from LG's support page and see if there is any option to update.
 
We need to know if the LG is firmware updatable. Please install the software suite from LG's support page and see if there is any option to update.
This monitor will have the option to upgrade the firmware via the LG OnScreen Controls app. You just need to connect the monitor to your PC using the supplied USB cable then run the app.
 
This monitor will have the option to upgrade the firmware via the LG OnScreen Controls app. You just need to connect the monitor to your PC using the supplied USB cable then run the app.
This is great to know.
 
Got my Xeneon Flex, will probably make a separate thread for it. Right now its basically unusable in most games because they just crash on startup or soon after which is super bizarre. Plug my C2 in using the exact same HDMI 2.1 port and the games launch fine so it just seems related to the display.
 
Got my Xeneon Flex, will probably make a separate thread for it. Right now its basically unusable in most games because they just crash on startup or soon after which is super bizarre. Plug my C2 in using the exact same HDMI 2.1 port and the games launch fine so it just seems related to the display.
I wonder if the Xeneon Flex has a gimped HDMI 2.1 port like the Gigabyte and LG 48" 16:9 monitors. Maybe there is some incompatibility with the signal wants and the signal the games are sending.

Maybe try displayport? Or changing any HDMI-related options in the menu?
 
It has only 24Gbps HDMI 2.1 ports so they are severely gimped. Yeah I'm going to switch to DP to see if it's resolved.
 
Usually when uniformity is bad it can clear up quite a bit after the first or 2nd pixel refresh. I've given my Xeneon Flex a solid 8+ hours of max brightness content playing and done a couple pixel refreshes inbetween to see if this terrible thick vertical band on the right side of the monitor would go away but its only slightly improved. From my experience that's as good as it will get. Its super visible in dark themes and even the grey on this page but the worst is games. I'm going to give it another day before deciding what to do. Main problem is the left side of the band is dead center so in games/dark themed apps it looks like the screen is "split" in half due to that band running down the middle. My C2 in comparison is practically flawless.

All of that crap is visible in the night sky playing Forza Horizen 5.

For anyone who didn't see it in the other thread:

PXL_20230108_061930490[6954].jpg


Also have to mention that the AR coating is pretty grainy. Was really hoping for something a bit less thick but its hazyness and grain is definitley visible especially on white.
 
That dot pitch and coating alone is a turn off.

Youtuber Dawid also mentions that the AR coating on the 27" 240Hz OLED is also disgustingly "too matte". Seems like these 240Hz LG WRGB panels went for a heavier matte coating compared to the Asus PG42UQ.
 
UGG I hate super matte coatings with a passion. Maybe I will cancel my 27GR95QE pre-order.
 
I'm going to see if Corsair has a replacement available since it looks like the next stock drop is in 5 weeks according to their site. IMO there is nothing that touches this thing when it comes to shooters at the moment and seeing how there really isnt anything worth while releasing this year I want to keep it as my fast paced gaming display.

The increased vertical height that puts it between a 32" and 42" monitor is so much nicer than your typical 34" UW. If this thing was higher resolution it would be end game. For now I'm just sitting really far away from it to compensate. I've just been horribly spoiled by 240hz starting with the G8 that at this point I'll take a PPI/resolution compromise to keep 240hz on a OLED.

Also yeah the AR coating looks like your typical IPS/VA coating. Basically surface of the moon type tiny craters everywhere on solid colors.
 
I'm going to see if Corsair has a replacement available since it looks like the next stock drop is in 5 weeks according to their site. IMO there is nothing that touches this thing when it comes to shooters at the moment and seeing how there really isnt anything worth while releasing this year I want to keep it as my fast paced gaming display.

The increased vertical height that puts it between a 32" and 42" monitor is so much nicer than your typical 34" UW. If this thing was higher resolution it would be end game. For now I'm just sitting really far away from it to compensate. I've just been horribly spoiled by 240hz starting with the G8 that at this point I'll take a PPI/resolution compromise to keep 240hz on a OLED.

Also yeah the AR coating looks like your typical IPS/VA coating. Basically surface of the moon type tiny craters everywhere on solid colors.

Is the 240 Hz on the OLED so much better than the G8 240 Hz motion clarity that giving up 4K RGB clarity for WRGB 1440p is that worth it?
 
The Dell AW is still superior for 99% of use cases based on what I see and it's been out for almost a year now. Even when I was sent a couple of bad replacements for my ver 1 with physical blemishes, all of them had perfect color uniformity, QD-OLED is definitely the way.
 
Is the 240 Hz on the OLED so much better than the G8 240 Hz motion clarity that giving up 4K RGB clarity for WRGB 1440p is that worth it?
Yeah I think so. It takes a 360hz fast TN to match 240hz OLED. As for whether its worth it though really depends what you play. I'm only interested in playing CoD/Overwatch/Apex and a few other FPS titles on it and for that purpose I'd take the compromise in resolution.

Screenshot 2023-01-09 201120.png
 
Yeah I think so. It takes a 360hz fast TN to match 240hz OLED. As for whether its worth it though really depends what you play. I'm only interested in playing CoD/Overwatch/Apex and a few other FPS titles on it and for that purpose I'd take the compromise in resolution.

View attachment 540704

Have one incoming but thinking about the 27 instead. Any thoughts on if you had to choose between those? I’ve only done competitive on 24/27 and was debating between this, the 27, and the G8.
 
I don't think I can go back to 1440p after all these years at 4K. With that matte coating on the 27" LG OLED, combined with low brightness. Gonna stick with the G8.

EDIT:
rofl LG store says "this order cannot be canceled" when I go to cancel WTF.

omfg better not have to call into these tards.

What is it 1993.
 
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1440p is pretty rough for sure. The safest bet is the 27" because most aren't used to gaming on a 42" like me so competitive on this 45" would probably be overwhelming.

EDIT: Your order is probably close to shipping that's why.
 
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Straight from LG that all 27/45" panels are MLA. I guess they are still limiting full field brightness on these to around 150-160nits instead of the advertised 250nits of the 55+ MLA panels for the sake of longevity.
 


Straight from LG that all 27/45" panels are MLA. I guess they are still limiting full field brightness on these to around 150-160nits instead of the advertised 250nits of the 55+ MLA panels for the sake of longevity.


So the 27 and 45 get MLA panels but the 42 and 48 don't? Thanks LG.
 
We need to know if the LG is firmware updatable. Please install the software suite from LG's support page and see if there is any option to update.
Yes, there is an option to update the firmware using the OSC software.
 
Quick impression. It’s not 4k, and I can tell when browsing docs or the web. Not that it’s bad, it’s just not 4k. Can I work on it, absolutely I can (I’m generally 36"-39” away from center).

That said, it’s 240hz, not 144. Windows does not have to scale. FPS in games is much better. The color and blacks are immediately noticeable as being significantly better. Brightness is fine, set to 100% by default which is too bright for a dark room but perfect with my one light on and one window. It’s 21:9 (obviously) not 16:9. It’s a single monitor, not the three monitors I was using. It’s curved, not flat (kind of weird but I'm liking it). My desk is way cleaner now, and I only have to run a single hdmi 2.1 cable to it (mouse, keyboard, webcam, all plugged into the USB 3 ports, and optical out to DAC all plugged into monitor) plus a USB 3.0 A to B cable. Might go back to Optical from motherboard to DAC, it offers higher specs, but have not done so yet. DTS Headphones work great plugged into monitor (truly, everyone was simply plug it in and it works.)

Still have much more testing (PBP and PIP) and Game playing to do, but no…LG will not be issuing an RMA nor will my kids get it. They can definitely have the 4k and 27” panels, I am loving having a single monitor that is both wide and curved and a much cleaner desk.

Did I mention the color/black's are amazing? :)

View attachment 539695
hey man, so a couple of weeks later, what are your impressions of this?
i do have a 3423DW, but this screensize is very enticing for me, my use case is 80% gaming, rest work from home + content consuption.
of course i'm concerned about the PPI, but i hear that it's perfectly fine, not that bad, etc.

care to weigh in on that? how's the panel? any burn in?

cheers
 
hey man, so a couple of weeks later, what are your impressions of this?
i do have a 3423DW, but this screensize is very enticing for me, my use case is 80% gaming, rest work from home + content consuption.
of course i'm concerned about the PPI, but i hear that it's perfectly fine, not that bad, etc.

care to weigh in on that? how's the panel? any burn in?

cheers
I’ve only had mine a few days, but I’m pretty blown away by the colors, motion and crispness while gaming. I do all my work on a Mac and a Pro Display XDR, so I wasn’t as worried about desktop use here. It’s insanely smooth and clear, easy to drive 240hz with a good setup, and much brighter to me than the 27 is (I have both on my desk at the moment).

I will say, mine will be going back on Saturday, and a Xeneon Flex will take its place. I find the 800R curve way too severe, it makes me borderline nauseous sometimes. I plan to use the Flex about half as curved as the LG in games, and even flatter for my rare desktop use if needed.

I’m surprised. I was one of those people extremely worried about the resolution, but God of War in HDR changed my mind in the intro. It’s blisteringly bright, then perfectly black as Kratos walks through his house. It’s really something to behold. I also sent an AW3423DW and 32M2V 4k/32” back today if that tells you anything.
 
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I’ve only had mine a few days, but I’m pretty blown away by the colors, motion and crispness while gaming. I do all my work on a Mac and a Pro Display XDR, so I wasn’t as worried about desktop use here. It’s insanely smooth and clear, easy to drive 240hz with a good setup, and much brighter to me than the 27 is (I have both on my desk at the moment).

I will say, mine will be going back on Saturday, and a Xeneon Flex will take its place. I find the 800R curve way too severe, it makes me borderline nauseous sometimes. I plan to use the Flex about half as curved as the LG in games, and even flatter for my rare desktop use if needed.

I’m surprised. I was one of those people extremely worried about the resolution, but God of War in HDR changed my mind in the intro. It’s blisteringly bright, then perfectly black as Kratos walks through his house. It’s really something to behold. I also sent an AW3423DW and 32M2V 4k/32” back today if that tells you anything.

Good to hear. I also use an XDR for day to day work. I picked up a Flex since BB is carrying it now.

I may keep the 27 as well, but I want to see how running scaled looks.
 
Something strange is happening with this monitor. A friend of mine picked it up and I helped him set it up (about a month ago). I used the Windows HDR Calibration app that first day and set the max luminance to 600 nits. I was over there yesterday and ran the HDR app again and it calibrated the max luminance to 2200 nits! The actual brightness I saw wasn't blinding so I have no idea what's going on. I rebooted the PC and ran the app multiple times and it calibrated to over 2K nits every time. There has to be something going on where the monitor is detecting that app and changing the way it handles HDR.
 
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I've had mine for a few weeks now. It took some time to calibrate it, colors were way off, contrast, brightness, temperature, all had to be adjusted before I got it right. It's great looking monitor and the DPI doesn't bother me. My main gripe is it's much less bright than the LG C2 I previously had. I've adjusted to it over the past weeks, but it's pretty disappointing and definitely took way from any "wow factor" this thing had. In the end I'm going to keep it as nothing else out there really interests me and the response time of OLED is amazing for gaming. I was thinking of getting a 4090 instead, but I'd rather have 1440p and higher FPS and stick with my 3080. If I ever get around to getting a 4090, just means I'll get closer to the 240hz this panel supports :)

The curve is dramatic but you filter it out after a while and therefore the gimmick wears off.
 
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Hi, can anyone help me to where to find this monitor's drivers? I've downloaded all the monitors applications and software from LG website but there is no specific file for drivers and I can't get the PC to recognize the monitor as capable of displaying HDR videos. Thank you!
 
Hi, can anyone help me to where to find this monitor's drivers? I've downloaded all the monitors applications and software from LG website but there is no specific file for drivers and I can't get the PC to recognize the monitor as capable of displaying HDR videos. Thank you!
LG does not supply drivers for this monitor. Just connect the monitor with one of the supplied cables (HDMI or Display Port) and enable HDR in your Windows 11 display settings. Also make sure you calibrate the colors using the Windows HDR Calibration App that can be downloaded via the Microsoft store.

Windows HDR Calibration App
 
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