LG's 2016 "Arcline" FreeSync lineup.

[Daniel_Chang]

Disclaimer: I don't normally cross post, but I'm putting this in both the Displays and the AMD GPU forums due to relevance to different groups.
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Back in December 2015 LG announced their upcoming 4K and Ultrawide monitors for 2016. Many of those have been physically launched and I had the opportunity to play with one today (but not measure anything). Also, if you think you see one of these (based on LG's new "Arcline aesthic), double check the spec sheet and the features list. LG has a lot of monitors out and coming out with this aesthetic, and most of them do not support FreeSync. Only the ones below are confirmed with FreeSync at this point. List will be updated based on demand.

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27UD68-W and 27UD68-P - $499.99

These are essentially the same monitor. W-model has a brushed aluminum look, while the P-model is black.

Size - 27"
Resolution - 3840x2160
Connectivity - 2xHDMI 2.0, 1x Displayport 1.2,
FreeSync Range - 40-60hz
Flicker Free - Yes
Stand - Tilt only
HDCP - Hong Kong website says 2.2, USA website does not specify

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27UD88-W - $699.99

Currently no P-model. This is essentially the same as the above monitors with some upgrades:

Size - 27"
Resolution - 3840x2160
Connectivity - 2xHDMI 2.0, 1x Displayport 1.2, 2x USB 3.0 w/1x Quick Charge, 1x USB Type-C
FreeSync Range - 40-60hz
Flicker Free - Yes
HDCP - 2.2
Factory Calibrated
Stand - Tilt, Swivel, Height, and Rotation

 

[Daniel_Chang]

29UM68-P -$399.99

Size - 29"
Resolution - 2560x1080 @ 75hz
Connectivity - 2xHDMI 1.4, 1x Displayport 1.2
FreeSync Range - 48-75hz (per LG website), 40-75hz (per AMD website)
Flicker Free - Yes
Stand - Tilt only
Speakers - None

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34UM68-P - $599.99


Size - 34"
Resolution - 2560x1080 @ 75hz
Connectivity - 2xHDMI 1.4, 1x Displayport 1.2
FreeSync Range - 48-75hz (per LG website), 40-75hz (per AMD website)
Flicker Free - Yes
Stand - Tilt + Height
Speakers - 7Wx2

 

[Daniel_Chang]

34UM88C-P - $899.99

Size - 34"
Resolution - 3440x1440 @ 75hz
Connectivity - 2xHDMI 2.0, 1x Displayport 1.2, USB 3.0 w/QuickCharge
FreeSync Range - 48-75hz (per LG website), 40-75hz (per AMD website)
Flicker Free - Yes
Stand - Tilt + Height
Speakers - 7Wx2

34UM88P - $999.99

Size - 34"
Resolution - 3440x1440 @ 75hz
Connectivity - 2xHDMI 2.0, 1x Displayport 1.2, 2x Thunderbolt 2.0, USB 3.0 w/QuickCharge
FreeSync Range - 48-75hz (per LG website), 40-75hz (per AMD website)
Flicker Free - Yes
Stand - Tilt + Swivel
Speakers - 7Wx2

These two monitors are very similar and have the same look (hence, one photo). The 88-CP up top has Height adjustment togo with the tilt. The 88P on the bottom has tilt and swivel instead, as well as a 2x Thunderbolt 2.0 ports added to connectivity. Other than that, they appear identical.

34UC88-B - $999.99

Size - 34" CURVED
Resolution - 3440x1440 @ 75hz
Connectivity - 2xHDMI 2.0, 1x Displayport 1.2, USB 3.0 w/QuickCharge
FreeSync Range - 48-75hz (per LG website), 40-75hz (per AMD website)
Flicker Free - Yes
Stand - Tilt + Swivel
Speakers - 7Wx2
Color Calibrated

34UC98-W - $1,199.99

Size - 34" CURVED
Resolution - 3440x1440 @ 75hz
Connectivity - 2xHDMI 2.0, 1x Displayport 1.2, 2x Thunderbolt 2.0, USB 3.0 w/QuickCharge
FreeSync Range - 55-75hz (per LG and AMD websites)
Flicker Free - Yes
Stand - Tilt + Height
Speakers - 7Wx2
Color Calibrated

 

[RobertN]

Nice recap, but the 34UM88 models are not CURVED(also the picture is wrong) while 34UC98 is curved. Also there is 34UC88 which is like 34UC98 but without thunderbolt and with a black casing - ~200$.

Also i can't find any links or info about the 34UM88-B maybe you are mistaken it by 34UC88-B.

 

[Daniel_Chang]

I've updated the specs for the monitors in the first post, but I'm short on time. I'll follow up later this week, hopefully tomorrow, the other monitors. There's a lot of incorrect info there as I was tired when I made the original post.

Nice recap, but the 34UM88 models are not CURVED(also the picture is wrong) while 34UC98 is curved. Also there is 34UC88 which is like 34UC98 but without thunderbolt and with a black casing - ~200$.

Also i can't find any links or info about the 34UM88-B maybe you are mistaken it by 34UC88-B.

You're probably correct on most if not all points. I'll get to those with corrections soon.

 

[Spicedaddy]

I like the 27UD68, will probably replace my 2 old U2311H with 2 of those this summer. Phone, tablet, laptop are all "retina" and I can't stand the graininess of my desktop screens anymore!

 

[Daniel_Chang]

I've updated all 3 posts with more correct information. Updated photos, specs, and prices. Thank you to those who provided feedback in both threads.

Also 27UD68-W is currently $100 off ($399.99) at Best Buy online for those looking for a good deal on a 4k FreeSync display.

 

[Daniel_Chang]

Got mine tonight. Only had a little bit of time to play with it. The model that I got is the 27UD68-P. Here are my initial observations.

• The most wobbly stand I have EVER had, and I've been through some budget monitors. If I keep this, I'll definitely be making use of the VESA mount.
• Very light matte coating. Certainly doesn't detract from the visual quality much if at all. Still prefer glossy, but this is more than adequate.
• Zero dead/stuck/bright pixels after a thorough scan (always the first thing that I do).
• Zero backlight bleed.
• Standard IPS glow.
• The LG display software was convenient, yet annoying. It kept doing "weird" things to the OS so I uninstalled it. Thankfully, the OSD is among the best I've ever used.

Resolution scaling comparisons (impressions only, may do photos later if I can fix/replace the macro lens for my Nikon). Monitors used for this are a BenQ EW2750ZL (27" 1080p), Apple Cinema Display (27" 1440p), and this LG (27" 2160p).

3840x2160 - Running at native on the LG vs. 4x DSR on the BenQ doesn't look earth shatteringly better, but definitely looks sharper and lacks the screen door effect due to pixel density. But even at this ppi you can still see aliasing in some cases, like in Diablo 3. Some games though just look significantly better than 4x DSR.

2560x1440 - It's hard to explain but the scaling here definitely takes its toll. The LG does 1440p acceptably well, with the high pixel density largely, but not completely negating the scaling. But side by side the Appel Cinema Display does look just a little sharper at its native 1440p.

1920x1080 - I expected the BenQ to look better, I really did. However, I found it to be a push. The scaling adds a softening that is like a low-quality FXAA. I guess you could call it free (but a little ugly) AA. However, you also lose the screen-door effect. Overall, both are near equally adequate at 1080p, but if I had to call a winner, it would e the BenQ, barely. Only because of the slight edge in sharpness.

It's early, so I won't claim to be 100% sold on this. I'm very picky and will play with it for 2-3 weeks before making up my mind. It's not what I wanted. To be clear, I wanted 27", 1440p, glossy, FreeSync, IPS (PLS/AHVA). 60hz is more than fine as I'd be targeting 45-60fps in my games, but a 144hz display does have the benefit of FreeSync LFC, so I wouldn't turn it down. Unfortunately, this combo doesn't exist. My options are $500-$600 panel lottery (Asus/Acer), $1,300 (Eizo Foris FS2735), or this LG for $400. In all cases glossy isn't an option. Given that I play most of my games at 4k now anyway, this LG is clearly winning, and the scaling at 1080p/1440p is more than adequate for the few newer titles that I do run. Again, it's early, but this has the potential to be a keeper for me.

 

[bigbluefe]

Why are there no 30" or 32" monitors?

Geezus I hate the display manufacturing industry.

 

[bwbob]

Daniel, I've been following this and your other "4K matters" thread with great interest since I'm in the middle of the same upgrade.

You've mentioned it in both places about running 1440p on this monitor but I don't get a choice for that resolution under win 7 and was wondering how you were able to set that up ? It's not a supported resolution per the manual pg 26 and I don't get the choice using the windows resolution selector - it's not present on the slider, the high end choices are 2048x1152, 2048x1536 and then native 3840x2160 ? I'm wondering if I'm missing the correct monitor driver to enable that resolution, I'm using the driver that came with it.

I know its the monitor/monitor driver combo rather than the video driver because this is my second try at moving to a new 4k monitor, I started with the Samsung U28E590D/Samsung driver that did present 1440p as a choice to select. I liked that monitor but decided I wanted to try IPS with all the good things I've heard about it.

Thanks for all your info sharing - it's most appreciated - Robert

also, 1 small housekeeping item, in your #1 post that has the monitor specs it lists inputs as 1 HDMI, 1 DP, and VGA - you should update it to 2 HDMI 2.0 and 1 DP 1.2a

 

[Daniel_Chang]

Hi Robert,

I don't know why yours is behaving like that. All I know is that mine works fine (caveats below). I have a GTX 970 for now, hopefully switching to AMD and FreeSync soon. I'm attaching photos that show most of the visible resolutions. I did nothing custom here. I didn't install the monitor driver, and there wasn't one that I could find on LG's website (I rarely use the utility disc that comes with a monitor).

The only caveat was the non-PC resolutions in the below screenshots. If the monitor switched to 1080p, it would become washed out due to Nvidia's failure to grasp limited/full range. So anytime that I update my Nvidia drivers, I have to set the desktop res to 1080p, force full range, and then switch back to 4k. I only have to do this once after a driver update.

also, 1 small housekeeping item, in your #1 post that has the monitor specs it lists inputs as 1 HDMI, 1 DP, and VGA - you should update it to 2 HDMI 2.0 and 1 DP 1.2a

Yup, I'll fix that. That's actually the specs on LG's website. A lot of these listings were incorrect so I had to look at multiple sources and guess.

 

[Daniel_Chang]

Daniel, I've been following this and your other "4K matters" thread with great interest since I'm in the middle of the same upgrade.

You've mentioned it in both places about running 1440p on this monitor but I don't get a choice for that resolution under win 7 and was wondering how you were able to set that up ? It's not a supported resolution per the manual pg 26 and I don't get the choice using the windows resolution selector - it's not present on the slider, the high end choices are 2048x1152, 2048x1536 and then native 3840x2160 ? I'm wondering if I'm missing the correct monitor driver to enable that resolution, I'm using the driver that came with it.
a

I've sold my GTX 970 and am temporarily using my integrated Intel HD4600, so I have the same resolution selection that you do. What GPU were you using?

EDIT: Found the solution. HDMI only exposes certain resolutions. Use Display port to expose all resolutions for this monitor. Not sure if it's a limitation on the Intel end, or the LG end. Could test using DVI out from your GPU via DVI to HDMI adapter. If it works, then it's on the Intel end. If it has the same problem, then it's a monitor limitation.

Anyway, switch to DisplayPort and your problem should be solved.

 

[bwbob]

Daniel, I'm using a 4790k w/HD4600 - I don't do much other than web or word/excel so it works great for the price.

Since you've put so much effort into this already I figured we may as well know the answer, dug around and found a DVI->HDMI adapter and tried that, It presents the same options with no 2560 x anything choices so it appears to be on the monitors end.

But not so fast, the plot thickens lol.... followed your advice and switched over to Displayport and the new resolution choices that were unavailable over HDMI are 2560x1600, 2560x1920, and 2560x2048 - oddly 1440p (2560x1440) isn't a choice ? I'm using the latest graphics driver from Intel, May ver 15.36.31.4414 on Win7sp1 x64. Are you on win 7 or 10 and do you see the same thing ?

 

[Daniel_Chang]

I'm on Windows 10. I'm seeing similar but have nothing more to add from my last post. Seems using the monitor's HDMI input, even with an adapter, gives you limited resolution support. DisplayPort seems to give you full support.

 

[makots8]

Can someone please confirm for me that the LG 27UD68 is PWM free. I have seen a conflicting reviews on this monitor about this and any information concerning the "flicker free" element would be appreciated. Thanks