LG Electronics has just announced what looks to be an absolute beast of a gaming monitor with the launch of its curved, 49-inch 49GR85DC sporting a VA LCD display.
The new monitor is the latest in a string of high-end gaming monitors released this year, but it’s notably much larger than many of the new offerings we’ve seen lately. With LG, Samsung Electronics and other brands focused on ultra-fast OLED and QD-OLED gaming display , the slower and somewhat less dazzling LCD monitors have to do something else to stand out, and that means moving up in size.
Seo Young-jae, SVP and head of the IT business, LG Electronics said demand for expansive displays that offer high refresh rates and superb picture quality is increasing as the gaming monitor market continues to mature and grow. “Designed for gaming, but equally suited to multitasking, the new LG UltraGear is a versatile, premium display solution that shows our commitment and ability to satisfy the diverse needs of today’s consumers,” he added.
Interestingly, LG Electronics has opted to use a VA LCD panel rather than the IPS LCD panel type that’s commonly used with most of its LCD TVs and monitors. It’s a strange choice, because it’s often said that IPS panels have superior responsiveness and refresh rates compared to VA, in addition to better viewing angles. However, VA does have the edge in terms of colour reproduction and contrast.
According to LG, the 49-inch GR85DC offers dual QHD (5120x1440) resolution with an ultra-wide 32:9 aspect ratio, a 240Hz refresh rate and a native contrast ratio of 3000:1. The company claims its capable of 1,000 nits peak brightness, but don’t expect the most dazzling HDR quality, as it simply cannot match the best OLED displays.
Still, it’s the ultra-wide aspect that people are paying for, and LG said the experience will be similar to have “two 16:9 monitors side-by-side”. The company noted that to experience 240Hz in Dual QHD resolution, you’ll need a capable PC with a graphics card that supports both HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4.
Other useful features include Picture-in-Picture and Picture-by-Picture modes for those who plan to use the monitor for multitasking.
LG Electronics said the GR85DC display is available now, priced at £1,500 in the U.K. and $1,300 in the U.S. It’ll go on sale in Europe and Asia later in the year.
