Bottom Line
The LG 34GP63A offers an immersive image quality thanks to its 34″ 3440×1440 curved VA panel with a high contrast ratio as well as smooth gameplay with a 160Hz refresh rate. However, there are better ultrawide alternatives around this price range.
If you’re looking for an affordable ultrawide gaming monitor, there are plenty of options to choose from – let’s see where the LG UltraGear 34GP63A-B fits in!
Image Quality
Based on a VA panel, the LG 34GP63A boasts a high static contrast ratio of 3,000:1, which results in deep blacks as opposed to IPS panels with a usual contrast ratio of ~1,000:1 and grayish blacks in comparison.
Additionally, VA monitors don’t suffer from IPS glow, which along with the higher contrast ratio provides you with a more immersive viewing experience, especially in dark rooms.
There’s still some backlight bleeding and VA glow, but their intensity varies from unit to unit and while these visual artifacts are not as bothersome as IPS glow, it’s something to keep in mind.
Unlike IPS monitors that have flawless image quality regardless of the angle you’re looking at the screen, VA panels can have noticeable gamma and saturation shifts at certain angles, but it’s not something to be concerned about unless you plan on doing professional color-critical work – basic content creation can be done without issues.
Moving on, the LG 34GP63A monitor has a peak brightness of 300-nits, meaning that it can get more than bright enough under normal lighting conditions.
Next, it covers the entire sRGB color space, which results in vivid and accurate colors without over-saturation. However, a lot of ultrawide models at this price range also offer wide color gamut support for more vibrant image quality – while this causes over-saturation when viewing SDR content, most users don’t mind the extra vibrancy.
The 3440×1440 screen resolution looks great on the 34″ viewable screen of the LG 34GP63A as you get a high pixel density of roughly 110 PPI (pixels per inch), resulting in plenty of screen space with sharp details and text.
Moreover, the ultrawide aspect ratio provides you with extra horizontal screen space for a wider field of view in compatible games and it’s especially useful for audio/video editing and productivity work.
Games that do not support the 21:9 aspect ratio will be displayed with black bars at the sides of the screen, but luckily, most titles do support it!
You can think of the LG 34GP63A as a 27″ 2560×1440 display that’s just ~33% wider! The UWQHD resolution is a bit more demanding than 1440p, but it is still not nearly as taxing as 4K UHD, allowing you to maintain decent frame rates with a mid-range GPU.
The monitor also supports HDR (High Dynamic Range), but while it can accept the HDR10 signal and display it, there’s no proper hardware support (such as local dimming, wider color gamut and much higher brightness and contrast) for a noteworthy HDR image quality. So, you should just disable HDR on this monitor.
Performance
The LG 34GP63A monitor has four response time overdrive modes: Off, Normal, Fast and Faster. While using the highest overdrive mode usually results in prominent pixel overshoot, this is not the case here.
In fact, even with the Faster overdrive mode, there’s noticeable ghosting behind fast-moving objects. Sadly, this is expected from most high refresh rate VA gaming monitors.
In darker scenes, the ghosting becomes even more noticeable, so if you’re mostly playing fast-paced competitive games or you’re particularly sensitive to smearing, we recommend getting a faster monitor instead.
Some gamers won’t be bothered by the amount of ghosting though.
Further, the LG 34GP63A supports variable refresh rate via AMD FreeSync Premium and even though it doesn’t have official NVIDIA G-SYNC Compatible certifications, you can use VRR with select GeForce GPUs (10-series or newer) over DisplayPort with a 48-160Hz supported range for tear-free gameplay.
Again, as it’s the case with most high refresh rate VA gaming monitors, the LG 34GP63A is prone to VRR brightness flickering with fluctuating frame rates and around the LFC (~48FPS) threshold. This doesn’t affect every unit of the monitor equally and the intensity will vary between different games and PC setups, but it’s something to keep in mind.
Input lag performance is excellent with just around 4ms of delay, which is imperceptible.
The monitor also supports 1ms MBR (Motion Blur Reduction), which uses backlight strobing to reduce perceived motion blur at the cost of picture brightness, but it introduces screen flickering and cannot be used at the same time as VRR.
Features
Beneath the bottom bezel of the screen, there’s a directional joystick for quick and easy navigation through the OSD (On-Screen Display) menu. Alternatively, you can download the OSC (On-Screen Control) desktop application to make your display adjustments via keyboard and mouse.
Useful gaming features include Black Stabilizer (improves visibility in dark scenes), crosshair overlays and various picture presets.
Besides the standard image adjustments (brightness, contrast, color temperature, etc.), the LG 34GP63A also offers some advanced settings, including four gamma presets, sharpness, 6-axis hue/saturation, aspect ratio control (full wide or ‘original’), Auto Input Switch and manual color temperature fine-tuning in 500K increments.
The backlight of the monitor is flicker-free (unless 1ms MBR is enabled) and there’s a low-blue light preset (the Reader mode) available.
Design & Connectivity
The LG 34GP63A has a sturdy stand with decent ergonomic support, including up to 110mm height adjustment, -5°/15° tilt and 100x100mm VESA mount compatibility.
Further, the screen has a light matte anti-glare coating that prevents reflections without making the image too grainy, as well as a moderate 1800R curvature for added immersion.
Connectivity options include DisplayPort 1.4, two HDMI 2.0 ports (limited to 85Hz at 3440×1440 or 120Hz at 2560×1440), a headphone jack and dual 7W integrated speakers with decent audio quality (for monitor speakers at least).
Price & Similar Monitors
The LG 34GP63A goes for around $320 – $400.
We recommend the MSI MAG342CQR or the KTC H34S18S instead. These models can be found on sale for ~$250 yet they offer wide color gamut support and a steeper 1500R screen curvature.
The LG 34WP60C can also be found on sale for under $250.
It’s the same monitor as the LG 34GP63A, but with a tilt-only stand and without integrated speakers. At ~$250, it’s definitely worth considering if you’re okay with not having a wide color gamut.
If you don’t want to deal with smearing and potential VRR brightness flickering, you should invest in an IPS model instead, such as the Sceptre E345B-QUN168W, which goes for $300.
The E345B has a flat screen, which some users don’t like on ultrawide monitors, but a curved 34″ 3440×1440 high refresh rate IPS display will cost you at least ~$500, such as the Acer XR343CKP.
For more information and the best deals available, check out our best 21:9 ultrawide monitor buyer’s guide.
Conclusion
All in all, the LG 34GP63A is an excellent gaming monitor, but there are better alternatives available in this price range, including its tilt-only version without speakers that can be found for up to $150 less.
Specifications
| Screen Size | 34-inch |
| Screen Curvature | 1800R |
| Resolution | 3440×1440 (UWQHD) |
| Panel Type | VA |
| Aspect Ratio | 21:9 (UltraWide) |
| Refresh Rate | 160Hz |
| Response Time | 5ms (GtG) |
| Response Time (MBR) | 1ms (MPRT) |
| Adaptive-Sync | FreeSync (48-160Hz) |
| Speakers | 2x7W |
| Ports | DisplayPort 1.4, 2x HDMI 2.0 |
| Other Ports | Headphone Jack |
| Brightness | 300 cd/m² |
| Contrast Ratio | 3000:1 (static) |
| Colors | 16.7 million (true 8-bit) 99% sRGB |
| HDR | HDR10 |
| VESA | Yes (100x100mm) |
The Pros:
- High contrast ratio
- Plenty of gaming features, including VRR and MBR up to 160Hz
- Height-adjustable stand
- Integrated speakers
The Cons:
- Minor ghosting in fast-paced games, mainly in darker scenes
- Prone to VRR brightness flickering
- Design lacks swivel
- No PiP/PbP support
