30” Dell U3014 To 27” LG 27GN950-B
- Thread starter nlel1975
- Start date
I ended up buying the U3017 to replace a 3007WFP (which I continue to use for another computer and it is still going strong). U3017 is a brilliant monitor with excellent colour. Would miss the 30" versatility to be honest as I use it a lot for documentation.
Guessing about 99% of people normally get the same size or larger
But there always going be 1% that wants to be different
I recently upgraded from my trusty old Dell U3014 to a LG 38WN95C ultrawide. Although not the same monitor as the LG 27GN950-B, I feel my impressions may be of a reassuring nature as the panels have similar colour and motion characteristics.
I have tried to treat the LG38WN95C as if it were in 16:9 mode too for your benefit.
The Negatives (To get them out the way):
-Vertical Size
My new monitor (The LG 38WN95C) still has 1600p in vertical resolution real estate due to a slightly higher PPI, but results in a smaller vertical space. However, after a few weeks of usage I have normalised to the new vertical screen size. The LG 38WN95C has a vertical height of 36.63 cm compared to the my old Dell's 40.39cm. Your LG 27GN950-B has a height of 33.62cm (again a 3cm increment) so the difference will be more on your new monitor, but I imagine you'll adjust in a few weeks. Going down 3cm has made no difference to me. Only back to back comparisons make it apparent now.
-Edge Backlighting
Your old Dell 3014 has individual LED backlightling (not OLED, but a matrix behind the LCD panel) which is still very expensive to manufacture properly. LG keep costs down by using edgelighting. You only really notice it on a blank white screen though and it manifests in darker shades along the top 1.5cm of my screen.
The Positives:
-Image Clarity
The difference in pixel density is wonderful and my screen isn't even 4K like the LG27950-B. I believe the Dell U3014 has a PPI of about 100 so anything is a step up really in 2020. The step up to 111 PPI on my LG 38WN95C is very noticable and working on the Dell now feels like it's an old 42" Plasma tv from the early noughties in comparison. Your screen is 163 PPI too so this will be even more noticable.
-Colour Gamut
My main reason for keeping my Dell for so long was due to the excellent colour reproduction. The colour quality on LG's new panels is pretty much identical.
-Motion Quality & Gsync/Freesync
Wow! I mean really wow! Working on a 60Hz monitor feels like the universe is broken or I've had a stroke now. And that's just in Windows not to mention whilst gaming. Games are incredible. The biggest suprise for me was when I fired up RDR2, which I run with resolution scaling to achive a higher image quality. This, however, comes at the cost of FPS. At 40-50 FPS Red Dead 2 on my LG feels like 60+ FPS on the Dell with no image tearing due to the wonderful Gsync. It's a gamechanger (apology for pun) coming from a Dell U3014. Games like Doom Eternal that run higher than 100FPS feel almost real.
-Screen Bezel Size
Yep, the Dell was a chuncker!
-Anti Reflective Coating
Just as good as the DellU3014, phew!
-Hassle Free Gaming
On the old Dell U3014 to reduce input lag in games I had to go through a ridiculously long recipe of menu changes to get the sweet spot for gaming. On my LG it just works all the time. No need for chages aside from brightness to suit individual needs.
Final Thoughts:
To wrap my rant up, I was very sceptical as to whether an upgrade to a modern LG was going to be beneficial or the right decision coming from a colour calibrated true 10bit Dell U3014. A monitor I've been happy with for over 7 years. Until it arrived. I'm never going back and this monitor should last me the next 7 years again. Best of luck!
I have tried to treat the LG38WN95C as if it were in 16:9 mode too for your benefit.
The Negatives (To get them out the way):
-Vertical Size
My new monitor (The LG 38WN95C) still has 1600p in vertical resolution real estate due to a slightly higher PPI, but results in a smaller vertical space. However, after a few weeks of usage I have normalised to the new vertical screen size. The LG 38WN95C has a vertical height of 36.63 cm compared to the my old Dell's 40.39cm. Your LG 27GN950-B has a height of 33.62cm (again a 3cm increment) so the difference will be more on your new monitor, but I imagine you'll adjust in a few weeks. Going down 3cm has made no difference to me. Only back to back comparisons make it apparent now.
-Edge Backlighting
Your old Dell 3014 has individual LED backlightling (not OLED, but a matrix behind the LCD panel) which is still very expensive to manufacture properly. LG keep costs down by using edgelighting. You only really notice it on a blank white screen though and it manifests in darker shades along the top 1.5cm of my screen.
The Positives:
-Image Clarity
The difference in pixel density is wonderful and my screen isn't even 4K like the LG27950-B. I believe the Dell U3014 has a PPI of about 100 so anything is a step up really in 2020. The step up to 111 PPI on my LG 38WN95C is very noticable and working on the Dell now feels like it's an old 42" Plasma tv from the early noughties in comparison. Your screen is 163 PPI too so this will be even more noticable.
-Colour Gamut
My main reason for keeping my Dell for so long was due to the excellent colour reproduction. The colour quality on LG's new panels is pretty much identical.
-Motion Quality & Gsync/Freesync
Wow! I mean really wow! Working on a 60Hz monitor feels like the universe is broken or I've had a stroke now. And that's just in Windows not to mention whilst gaming. Games are incredible. The biggest suprise for me was when I fired up RDR2, which I run with resolution scaling to achive a higher image quality. This, however, comes at the cost of FPS. At 40-50 FPS Red Dead 2 on my LG feels like 60+ FPS on the Dell with no image tearing due to the wonderful Gsync. It's a gamechanger (apology for pun) coming from a Dell U3014. Games like Doom Eternal that run higher than 100FPS feel almost real.
-Screen Bezel Size
Yep, the Dell was a chuncker!
-Anti Reflective Coating
Just as good as the DellU3014, phew!
-Hassle Free Gaming
On the old Dell U3014 to reduce input lag in games I had to go through a ridiculously long recipe of menu changes to get the sweet spot for gaming. On my LG it just works all the time. No need for chages aside from brightness to suit individual needs.
Final Thoughts:
To wrap my rant up, I was very sceptical as to whether an upgrade to a modern LG was going to be beneficial or the right decision coming from a colour calibrated true 10bit Dell U3014. A monitor I've been happy with for over 7 years. Until it arrived. I'm never going back and this monitor should last me the next 7 years again. Best of luck!
It was due to a lack of 4K 144hz options over 27" Anyway gaming might be better on a smaller monitor don't have to move your eyes around the screen so much.