31.5" 2560x1440 165 Hz VA G-Sync - LG 32GK850G

razorpakk · 16 Jul 2018 at 23:06

Thanks, I'll probably get it next week.

There's nothing similar out there (and with G-Sync) anyway, besides the curved Acer.

EDIT: Just ordered the B-Grade for 450£. Would be a great deal if there's nothing wrong with it!

roysters · 18 Jul 2018 at 12:55

Temped to pick up a B-Grade on a punt. I have a TN panel, not to happy with the colours, not sure if this will be much better.

razorpakk · 18 Jul 2018 at 15:29

roysters said:
Temped to pick up a B-Grade on a punt. I have a TN panel, not to happy with the colours, not sure if this will be much better.

I'd go for it, if it's a good panel you've got a great discount, if it isn't you can always return it.

Monitor arrived: no dead pixels, better contrast than my BenQ.

Only problem is the text, which is indeed soft. At first I thought it wasn't set at the right resolution. I'll try to deal with it though, for 450£ it's hard to complain.

When I go on https://www.rapidtables.com/web/tools/screen-resolution.html
it recognizes my resolution as 2048 x 1152. I tried changing cables or refresh rates, still the same.

When I change resolution to 1920*1080 it reports 1536 x 864.

What's going on?

SirCanealot · 20 Jul 2018 at 15:00

B Grade was not there when I bought this! Got it when it was 650, so not too terrible I guess

I've been working from home today on this monitor and regarding the text rendering, I think it's more or less the same as my BL3200PT. With my work Surface Pro 4 sitting next to it, the text obviously looks a lot less pretty, but it's 32" verses 12"(or whatever it is)! I still think the sharpness on this monitor is a TAD too high, but it's fine really. No problems with text rendering at all here!

So TLDR: If you're happy with text on the 3200PT, you'll be happy with the GK850G too

PCM2 · 20 Jul 2018 at 16:28

razorpakk said:
When I go on https://www.rapidtables.com/web/tools/screen-resolution.html
it recognizes my resolution as 2048 x 1152. I tried changing cables or refresh rates, still the same.

When I change resolution to 1920*1080 it reports 1536 x 864.

What's going on?

You're either using scaling in Windows or zoom in your web browser.

razorpakk · 20 Jul 2018 at 21:02

SirCanealot said:
B Grade was not there when I bought this! Got it when it was 650, so not too terrible I guess

I've been working from home today on this monitor and regarding the text rendering, I think it's more or less the same as my BL3200PT. With my work Surface Pro 4 sitting next to it, the text obviously looks a lot less pretty, but it's 32" verses 12"(or whatever it is)! I still think the sharpness on this monitor is a TAD too high, but it's fine really. No problems with text rendering at all here!

So TLDR: If you're happy with text on the 3200PT, you'll be happy with the GK850G too

I managed to use it for just a few hours (had to go in holiday after the delivery!), definitely an upgrade coming from the BenQ, contrast - which was already fine - has also improved.

I wasn't sure the sharpness was on par, when I go back home I'll take some pictures for a real comparison.

NirK · 21 Jul 2018 at 15:45

razorpakk said:
I managed to use it for just a few hours (had to go in holiday after the delivery!), definitely an upgrade coming from the BenQ, contrast - which was already fine - has also improved.

I wasn't sure the sharpness was on par, when I go back home I'll take some pictures for a real comparison.

Yes would be interested how much better it is compared to the BenQ for the image and colours etc. obviously it has higher HZ etc.

roysters · 23 Jul 2018 at 14:49

Am i right in saying this and the acer PREDATOR Z321QUBMIPHZX are the only 31" + models that have GYNC @144hz?

razorpakk · 23 Jul 2018 at 21:42

As far as 16:9 goes, yes.

I'll be back home next Friday (for those waiting for a comparison with the BenQ BL3200PT).

jubei · 27 Jul 2018 at 09:39

Anyone with this monitor, is it worth waiting for an ips panel of the same size or a va with a better contrast ratio?

So close to buying this in the sale but worried it will look washed out compared to my current ips. Also pcm made it sound pretty good on responsiveness, but I've always thought high Hz wasted on a va due to the lag, is this worthwhile pairing with my 1080ti for quake champions and fortnite etc? I want the 32" high Hz so smaller monitors are a no go.

razorpakk · 27 Jul 2018 at 13:03

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/lg_32gk850g.htm

Washed out compared to an IPS? It would have to be a really bad VA.

Is there any reason to install any software?

NirK · 27 Jul 2018 at 17:27

Most of the AMVA screens I have seen have "washed out colours" compared to IPS, this is not the contrast ratio or blacks etc. which are much better than IPS, but the colour vibrancy is better on IPS even though the black levels are not very good. Not sure about this one as I have not seen it, but I have seen other AMVA screens.

jubei · 28 Jul 2018 at 09:46

I bought this yesterday anyway, not sure about the colours, white is not very white.. Need to mess with options a little more.

Looks like mine stutters at 165hz but assume I can't return for that with it being the overclock hz?

Question for those with it... How do I get the sphere lighting on? I don't seem to have any options in the osd?

Other than the above though it looks much nicer in person than the pictures, stand doesn't look terrible like the pictures have it seem. I also find text and image to be nice and crisp too.

razorpakk · 28 Jul 2018 at 10:20

jubei said:
I bought this yesterday anyway, not sure about the colours, white is not very white.. Need to mess with options a little more.

Looks like mine stutters at 165hz but assume I can't return for that with it being the overclock hz?

Question for those with it... How do I get the sphere lighting on? I don't seem to have any options in the osd?

Other than the above though it looks much nicer in person than the pictures, stand doesn't look terrible like the pictures have it seem. I also find text and image to be nice and crisp too.

There's a wheel next to the nipple you've been pressing. Press that one instead.

NirK · 28 Jul 2018 at 11:16

jubei said:
I bought this yesterday anyway, not sure about the colours, white is not very white.. Need to mess with options a little more.

Looks like mine stutters at 165hz but assume I can't return for that with it being the overclock hz?

Question for those with it... How do I get the sphere lighting on? I don't seem to have any options in the osd?

Other than the above though it looks much nicer in person than the pictures, stand doesn't look terrible like the pictures have it seem. I also find text and image to be nice and crisp too.

According to TFTcentral, the best refresh rate for this monitor is 120hz, because 144 or 165 you get more blur as the pixels cannot keep up with the refresh rate. I would run it at 120hz or 144hz max.

Also please let me know about the colours compared to IPS because I am considering this monitor although not sure about it.

PCM2 · 28 Jul 2018 at 20:53

NirK said:
According to TFTcentral, the best refresh rate for this monitor is 120hz, because 144 or 165 you get more blur as the pixels cannot keep up with the refresh rate. I would run it at 120hz or 144hz max.

Also please let me know about the colours compared to IPS because I am considering this monitor although not sure about it.

Actually, there is an important point to note with this monitor. I'd highly advise you read the responsiveness section of my own review before jumping to conclusions about which refresh rate is best. If you have G-SYNC active in the Nvidia Control Panel it speeds up pixel responsiveness significantly. At 165Hz plenty of pixel transitions are performed fast enough to give a very good experience. Perceived blur is significantly lower than at 120Hz, overall, and 'connected feel' is improved. This far outweighs the marginally more noticeable trailing for some sluggish transitions at 165Hz vs. 120Hz. Not every user would find the improvement in perceived blur and 'connected feel' massive and 120Hz is certainly a nice experience on the monitor, but do be aware of this 'G-SYNC bonus' because some measurements or assessments are done without G-SYNC active in NVCP.

razorpakk · 29 Jul 2018 at 09:09

After a few days of intensive gaming and coming from another 32'VA (BL3200PT). I'm having a blast.

Ghosting is really negligible and as someone who moved to VA after a good IPS (Asus ProArt), there are no alternatives.
I could never game with washed out blacks and all I ever wanted was the contrast of VA without the ridicolous ghosting I was experiencing with the old BenQ. That's it, I found it.

Without going ultra-wide, as far as I'm concerned this is the best monitor out there.

Also having lucked out with the B-grade for 450£ is a good plus.

NirK · 29 Jul 2018 at 15:21

PCM2 said:
Actually, there is an important point to note with this monitor. I'd highly advise you read the responsiveness section of my own review before jumping to conclusions about which refresh rate is best. If you have G-SYNC active in the Nvidia Control Panel it speeds up pixel responsiveness significantly. At 165Hz plenty of pixel transitions are performed fast enough to give a very good experience. Perceived blur is significantly lower than at 120Hz, overall, and 'connected feel' is improved. This far outweighs the marginally more noticeable trailing for some sluggish transitions at 165Hz vs. 120Hz. Not every user would find the improvement in perceived blur and 'connected feel' massive and 120Hz is certainly a nice experience on the monitor, but do be aware of this 'G-SYNC bonus' because some measurements or assessments are done without G-SYNC active in NVCP.

PCM2 are you the guy who writes TFTcentral? or is that badass? I cannot remember, but yes it does say on TFTcentral that 120hz is better, although if Gsync makes 144hz fast enough pixel transitions then that is even better.

PCM2 · 29 Jul 2018 at 15:38

NirK said:
PCM2 are you the guy who writes TFTcentral? or is that badass? I cannot remember, but yes it does say on TFTcentral that 120hz is better, although if Gsync makes 144hz fast enough pixel transitions then that is even better.

Baddass runs TFT Central (and very well, I might add). My name is a giveaway to the website I run (PCM = PC Monitors).

I should mention that I completely understand why other reviewers would disable G-SYNC in NVCP when reviewing the monitor and testing responsiveness. It's standard practice to ensure it is definitely staying at the refresh rate you say you're testing. But in this case it makes a significant difference to the pixel responsiveness. Take a look at my pursuit photographs with and without G-SYNC and compare to others, you'll see this.

Legend · 29 Jul 2018 at 17:48

So what are the thoughts on this vs the Acer Z321QU? Much between them apart from the curve (which is more of a gimmick IMO)?