Bottom Line
The LG 34GP950G is one of the best 34″ 3440×1440 IPS ultrawide gaming monitors available thanks to its fast response time, wide color gamut, G-SYNC module and DisplayHDR 600 certification.
However, it’s quite expensive as there are many more cost-effective alternatives you should take into account.
The LG 34GP950G is the first 34″ 3440×1440 144Hz IPS ultrawide gaming monitor to feature a dedicated G-SYNC module for flawless VRR performance and DisplayHDR 600 certification for a relatively good HDR viewing experience.
Consequently, these two features significantly add to the price, but are they worth it?
Image Quality
The LG UltraGear 34GP950G-B is based on a Nano IPS panel, sporting a wide 98% DCI-P3 gamut coverage for more vibrant and saturated colors, especially when it comes to reds and greens.
Should you prefer more accurate sRGB colors for SDR content, there is a provided emulation mode that restricts the monitor’s native ~135% sRGB gamut to ~100%.
In this mode, you can adjust the screen brightness, but the color channel settings are locked. Luckily, factory calibration is excellent!
Further, the monitor has 178° wide viewing angles, meaning that the image quality will remain consistent regardless of the angle you’re looking at the screen.
On 34″ sized screens, the 3440×1440 UWQHD resolution hits the pixel density sweet spot of roughly 108 PPI (pixels per inch). This means that you get plenty of screen real estate as well as crisp details and text, without any scaling necessary.
The 21:9 ultrawide aspect ratio further improves your viewing experience by extending your field of view in compatible games. It also allows you to enjoy movies shot at 2.35:1 – 2.40:1 aspect ratios without the black bars at the top and bottom of the screen.
Incompatible content will be displayed with black bars at the sides of the screen, with options to stretch out or zoom/crop the image to fill the entire screen.
The screen is basically equivalent to a 27″ 2560×1440 monitor that’s ~33% wider.
Moving on, the LG 34GP950G has VESA’s DisplayHDR 600 certification. When watching HDR content, the brightness jumps up to 600-nits from the standard 400-nits for punchier highlights.
Next, the backlight has 56 dimming zones that can dim parts of the screen that need to be dark without affecting the parts that are supposed to remain bright. However, since the monitor has only 56 zones and almost 5 million pixels, the effectiveness of its local dimming implementation will depend on the content.
In HDR scenes with bright and dark objects far apart, the improvement in image quality can be quite meaningful; you get vivid highlights without losing details in the dark parts of the image.
On the other hand, if a scene is very demanding with numerous dark and bright objects close together, the image quality won’t be any better. So, it all depends on the content you’re watching; it varies between different games, videos, individual scenes, etc.
Unlike it’s the case with DisplayHDR 400 certified monitors, you at least get some noticeable improvement in image quality thanks to local dimming and strong peak brightness.
Due to the low static contrast ratio of the LG 34GP950G monitor (ranges from 700:1 to 1,000:1, depending on the unit), blacks won’t be quite as deep and inky as that of VA panel monitors (around 3,000:1 contrast ratio), but VA technology has other disadvantages.
IPS glow can also take away from the viewing experience, mainly in dark rooms, but it’s the expected drawback of IPS technology. Its intensity varies across different units of monitors, but in most cases, it’s completely manageable.
Performance
The LG UltraGear 34GP950G input lag amounts to around 4ms, which makes for imperceptible delay between your actions and the result on the screen.
Response time performance is impressive as well. There are four response time overdrive modes: Off, Normal, Fast and Faster.
The ‘Normal’ mode efficiently prevents ghosting behind fast-moving objects without adding any pixel overshoot across the entire refresh rate range.
Further, the monitor features a dedicated NVIDIA G-SYNC module for flawless VRR (variable refresh rate) performance.
You can overclock the monitor’s native 144Hz refresh rate up to 180Hz. VRR is supported all the way up to the maximum overclocked refresh rate, providing you with tear-free gameplay up to 180FPS.
It’s also possible to use VRR with AMD Radeon graphics cards over DisplayPort.
Note that in order to use the LG 34GP950G at 3440×1440 180Hz, you need to use 4:2:2 chroma subsampling or drop the color depth to 8-bit.
For 10-bit color depth and a full 4:4:4 RGB signal, you are limited to 144Hz.
Given that the difference between 8-bit and 10-bit color depth isn’t that noticeable in games, this won’t bother most users. Further, most games only support 8-bit color.
Games that do support 10-bit color are mostly very demanding, in which case, reaching 144FPS at 3440×1440 with high picture settings will be nearly impossible anyway, even with a high-end PC rig.
The backlight of the monitor is completely flicker-free and there’s an integrated low-blue light filter (the ‘Reader’ picture preset).
Features
There’s a directional joystick beneath the bottom bezel of the screen for quick and easy navigation through the OSD (On-Screen Display) menu.
Next to the joystick, there’s a control wheel that’s used for adjusting the Sphere Lighting 2.0 RGB technology of the monitor.
You can also use LG’s On-Screen Control and UltraGear Control Center desktop applications to make your adjustments via keyboard and mouse.
The RGB lighting is quite useful as the LEDs are strong enough to reflect off of the wall and it can be synchronized with on-screen video or audio.
Other noteworthy features include Black Stabilizer (improves visibility in dark scenes by manipulating the gamma curvature), various picture presets, a refresh rate tracker and crosshair overlays.
You’ll also find standard and advanced image adjustment tools, including brightness, contrast, color temperature, four gamma presets, 6-axis hue/saturation, aspect ratio, etc.
There’s no Motion Blur Reduction (backlight strobing technology), Picture in Picture or Picture by Picture available.
Design & Connectivity
The stand of the monitor is sturdy and offers height adjustment up to 110mm, tilt by -5°/15° and 100x100mm VESA mount compatibility. You cannot pivot or swivel the stand.
The screen has a light matte anti-glare coating that eliminates reflections without making the image grainy. Moreover, the screen has a 1900R curvature for added immersion.
Connectivity options include DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.0, a headphone jack and a dual USB 3.0 hub.
The HDMI 2.0 port is limited to 100Hz at 3440×1440 with 8-bit color depth – or 85Hz with 10-bit color 4:4:4 RGB. It also supports 120Hz at 2560×1440 and HDMI-VRR for Xbox consoles.
Price & Similar Monitors
The LG 34GP950G price ranges from $700 to $1,300, which is too expensive considering that you can get the Dell Alienware AW3423DWF for $700.
The Dell AW3423DWF has a QD-OLED panel with an infinite contrast ratio, a higher peak brightness, a wider color gamut and zero backlight bleeding, glowing, or haloing artifacts. Further, it supports VRR up to 165Hz and has an instantaneous pixel response time speed. As a result, you get a significantly better HDR image quality and gaming performance than that of the 34GP950G.
If you don’t want an OLED panel, check out the Acer XR343CKP. It uses the same panel as the 34GP950G without the G-SYNC module, but its VRR performance is flawless and it can be found for $500. It even has USB-C with PD and KVM.
To learn more about monitors and ensure you’re getting the model most suited for your personal preference, visit our comprehensive and always up-to-date best gaming monitor buyer’s guide.
Conclusion
While the LG 34GP950G is an excellent gaming monitor, there are a lot better alternatives in this price range.
Specifications
| Screen Size | 34-inch |
| Screen Curvature | 1900R |
| Resolution | 3440×1440 (UWQHD) |
| Panel Type | IPS |
| Aspect Ratio | 21:9 (UltraWide) |
| Refresh Rate | 144Hz (180Hz OC) |
| Response Time | 1ms (GtG) |
| Adaptive-Sync | G-SYNC Ultimate (30-180Hz) *Supports FreeSync over DP |
| Ports | DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.0 |
| Other Ports | Headphone Jack, 2x USB 3.0 |
| Brightness | 400 cd/m² |
| Brightness (HDR) | 600 cd/m² |
| Contrast Ratio | 1000:1 (static) |
| Colors | 1.07 billion (8-bit + FRC) 98% DCI-P3 |
| HDR | DisplayHDR 600 |
| Local Dimming | 56-zone |
| VESA | Yes (100x100mm) |
The Pros:
- Wide color gamut, sRGB mode
- Plenty of features, including G-SYNC up to 180Hz
- Quick response time, low input lag
- DisplayHDR 600
- Height-adjustable stand, USB hub
The Cons:
- Expensive
- Design lacks swivel option
- IPS glow and mediocre contrast ratio (as expected from this panel technology)
