In early April 2023 LG released an updated firmware for the 27GR95QE designed to supposedly help improve screen brightness. We have unfortunately had to return our screen sample, but our friends over at Monitors Unboxed have updated the firmware on their screen (done via the LG OnScreen Control software) and re-tested brightness in both SDR and HDR modes. They confirmed there was no change at all to HDR brightness in Gamer 1 mode, which has the ~6500K colour temp. Smart Energy Saving mode is applied by default to optimize power consumption, but you can enjoy a brighter gaming experience by turning it off.

Gradient handling was good though with no visible banding issues, and only minor gradation in darker tones. sRGB Emulation Mode Class 2)A lag of 8.33 – 16.66ms – the equivalent of one to two frames at a 120Hz refresh rate – moderate lag but should be fine for many gamers. Caution advised for serious gaming A lot of gamers have been waiting a long time for 27″– 32″ sized high refresh rate OLED gaming monitors and for most of them, the wait is now finally over with the LG UltraGear 27GR95QE-B! Image Quality The LG 27GR95QE-B boasts a 27-inch OLED panel with a 2560 x 1440 resolution, a 240Hz refresh rate, and a 0.03 response time. The OLED module’s brightness is rated at 200 cd/m2 while its contrast is listed at 1500000:1. This model is capable of fantastic HDR performance even if it doesn’t reach the usual 1000 cd/m2 peak outputs from its mini-LED counterparts.The 27GR95QE features a more traditional monitor-like matte anti-glare coating, as opposed to a glossy panel coating like you’d find on popular OLED TV’s including the LG 42C2. This seems to be the panel coating of choice for OLED screens aimed at desktop use, and it makes sense when you think about the typical use cases for desktop monitors compared with TV’s, and the fact that this type of panel coating has been used for many years in the LCD market. Reflection handling We need to keep in mind this is firmly a gaming screen so we can’t be too harsh on the performance in other areas, but when you’re spending this much money on a new monitor you are likely to want to use it for other things too – and who doesn’t also need to use their gaming PC and monitor sometimes for office and internet work? There are 3 problems really with using this screen away from gaming. Firstly, it’s an OLED panel and you always have to be mindful of image retention and burn in risks. LG have been flexible with the OLED care options, rather than forcing you to experience annoying dimming from things like ASBL, but perhaps even more than normal as a result, you need to be careful in your usage patterns. We would have liked a more robust and clear warranty from LG too. You can see the recommended OSD settings above that go along with this profile. Our calibrated ICC profilefor this display is available now for our Patreon supportersand will be added to our main database in the coming months. Hardware Calibration The LG UltraGear 27GR95QE has a slightly matte anti-glare finish to the screen. Whether this is a good or bad thing depends greatly on personal taste. Matte finishes do a better job of keeping reflections at bay, but full-gloss finishes look just that little sharper and more immersive. I prefer a gloss finish on my OLED panels, but that’s an entirely subjective opinion.

This is also the first sensible monitor-sized OLED panel released (with a high refresh rate above 175Hz which was the previous max) and is bound to attract a lot of interest. It’s 27″ panel (well, 26.5″ to be precise) offers a common 2560 x 1440 resolution, a wide colour gamut with 98.5% DCI-P3 coverage quoted, and even support for hardware calibration. Being OLED it’s well placed to handle HDR content with its per-pixel dimming, and it has a quoted 1000 nits peak brightness spec. This is made possible through the use of LG.Display’s latest generation “META” OLED technology, including MLA (Micro Lens Array), which you can read a lot more about here if you’re interested.Another big advantage of OLED technology is exceptional image consistency thanks to the 178° wide viewing angles. The image remains flawless regardless of the angle you’re looking at it. If this is your first experience with an OLED panel, you will be surprised by how thin the actual display is on the 27GR95QE. That’s because OLED panels don't require much space than traditional LCD technologies, and hence can be paper-thin without losing out on functionality or performance. As such, the screen requires some careful handling while setting up, as there is not a lot of room to carry it without touching the actual display. That said, like most OLED panels, the one on the 27GR95QE feels durable and reliable, so I wouldn’t fret about baby-ing it too much. LG provide a 2 year warranty for this screen although do not really talk about image retention or burn in cover, other than to say that the warranty does NOT cover “Burned-in images resulting from improper usage as described in the user manual”– but improper use is a pretty vague term. This may make it difficult to claim under the warranty should you ever run in to any image retention issues, so we would advise some caution depending on your usage type and habits, and your risk tolerance. Gaming Image retention, or burn-in is still a prevalent issue with OLED displays despite the resilience of newer panels. As such, some care will need to be taken to maintain optimal image quality on the 27GR95QE. While I wouldn’t go to the extent of baby-ing it all the time, leaving static images on the screen for extended periods of time could result in some burn-in issues. If you are a heavy Windows user, you might want to set the taskbar to auto-hide, and if you are watching lots of sports, or playing a game with a lot of static HUD elements, you might want to give the screen a break now and then with other kinds of content so the OLEDs don’t ‘set in’ on a particular color.