LG 38GN950-B

[PeegeeTips]

at the moment I have both monitors (34 and 38GN), the first with hdr400 and the second with hdr 600: both are far from being judged as hdr ready, hdr 1000 is something else.

finally, the local diming function introduced on 38 is only useful for marketing purposes, in real use a local dimming must have hundreds of zones to work properly, and there are still few, the ideal is the management of every single pixel.

Agreed, I found the Samsung CRG90 to be awesome for HDR and its rated at 1000

My 38GL950B I wouldn't even bother!

Sure, this would be the accepted view for watching HDR video...
... and yet for gaming use specifically i have seen plenty of reviews that suggest a good implementation of HDR600 can provide an excellent visual upgrade vis-a-vis playing the same game on the same monitor in SDR.

Notably, the CRG90 has the same limited panel based local-dimming as the 38GN/38GN HDR1000 vs HDR600)...
... whereas the 38GL does not have any kind of local-dimming, and has a panel brightness only suitable for HDR400 certification.

There is even something to be said for a HDR400 monitor that also meets AMD's requirements for Freesync Premium Pro provided it has been well implemented:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI3FXkHzu-s&feature=youtu.be&t=22m45s

 

[Murzilka®]

Hello, a question for the 38 GN owners, if I may: When the fps go below 48hz (where the VRR ends) do you get stuttering?

 

[NewLevel]

Unfortunately yes. I have tested this with AMD Freesync in Linux running VRRTest by Nixola (github). Lower than 46 - 48 FPS stuttering becomes really unpleasant. 51 Hz is the lowest refresh rate i have seen in OSD, and lower 50 FPS the refresh rate curiously jumps up from 51 Hz to 100 Hz. Continuing decreasing fps lowers Hz as much. Under 50 fps you get double refresh rate, i.e. 38 fps / 76 Hz.

 

[IIISLIDEIII]

Hello, a question for the 38 GN owners, if I may: When the fps go below 48hz (where the VRR ends) do you get stuttering?

in the case of titles that do not remain stable above 50 fps, it is sufficient to simply create a custom resolution at 3440x1440 to gain about 30 fps, obviously not in full screen but by removing the proportioning, a sort of 34 within the 38.
I am doing it very often, not for a problem of minimum fps, but simply to reduce the size of the image in first person shooters, a classic type of games where a smaller image helps to be faster.
Indeed, I am currently using COD and bf5 on the 38GN with an even lower custom resolution.
Image quality exactly equal to the native resolution being a 1: 1 mapping and no variation on general performance (input lag and response time), gsync active in full screen.
This is around 3040x1278:

 

[Murzilka®]

I see. This is what I had thought. Thanks.

 

[MidKnight]

Received this monitor yesterday (from another supplier) and wow what a fantastic thing it is! Seems I have a great panel, no dead/ stuck pixels no obvious vignette around the edges. The picture quality is just fantastic and I was pleasantly surprised by the HDR implementation on the limited testing I managed to do. Way better than I was expecting (which wasn’t much). I was very undecided on whether to buy the GN over the GL (which is now £200 cheaper) but the possible fan issue with the GL and the increased brightness of the GN pushed me towards getting the mor expensive display. Really impressed so far.

 

[Azrael1]

Received this monitor yesterday (from another supplier) and wow what a fantastic thing it is! Seems I have a great panel, no dead/ stuck pixels no obvious vignette around the edges. The picture quality is just fantastic and I was pleasantly surprised by the HDR implementation on the limited testing I managed to do. Way better than I was expecting (which wasn’t much). I was very undecided on whether to buy the GN over the GL (which is now £200 cheaper) but the possible fan issue with the GL and the increased brightness of the GN pushed me towards getting the mor expensive display. Really impressed so far.

I have to admit from my research if both were the same price I would jump for the GN each time due to the reasons you listed. Hope you are enjoying it

 

[MidKnight]

I have to admit from my research if both were the same price I would jump for the GN each time due to the reasons you listed. Hope you are enjoying it

I was very tempted by the GL and it’s £200 cheaper price, and no doubt the GN is selling for a premium at the moment, but the fan issue would definitely bug me and also the HDR600 over 400 was a pull too. Plus it’s the newer model so when I saw one available I couldn’t resist (I recently returned a Samsung G9 was needed something fairly quickly). I am sure the GL is also fantastic but as I could not see them side by side I went for the latest ver.

 

[Azrael1]

I was very tempted by the GL and it’s £200 cheaper price, and no doubt the GN is selling for a premium at the moment, but the fan issue would definitely bug me and also the HDR600 over 400 was a pull too. Plus it’s the newer model so when I saw one available I couldn’t resist (I recently returned a Samsung G9 was needed something fairly quickly). I am sure the GL is also fantastic but as I could not see them side by side I went for the latest ver.

Oh why did you return the G9 was that due to the production issues. I have used a 38 GL for 2 weeks and liked it. Its a nice monitor but for the primary games I play I just prefered the samsung 49 monitor. I think when the 38 monitors hit the £800 ish mark new or used I will pick one up as a side monitor.

 

[MidKnight]

Oh why did you return the G9 was that due to the production issues. I have used a 38 GL for 2 weeks and liked it. Its a nice monitor but for the primary games I play I just prefered the samsung 49 monitor. I think when the 38 monitors hit the £800 ish mark new or used I will pick one up as a side monitor.

I had bezel peel on my G9 which, whilst small and fairly unobtrusive, bugged the living hell out of me! Also I need the monitor more for work than gaming and found the curve a little too intense for that. So I thought I would try a 38’ instead and actually prefer the extra height to be honest (totally a personal opinion). Both are fantastic displays (if Samsung can sort their QC issues out) but for me the LG is the better. Now is the GN better than the GL? I have no idea, but the fan issue would certainly be a perspective issue for me....

 

[Azrael1]

Oh god yeah - monitors are pretty much the pc component that is totally personal opinion. One of the best things is that I play MMOs and Destiny 2. When I am grinding or want to multi task its nice to have a windowed destiny 2 and netflix in a window next to it on the samsung 49. Watched entire seasons this way

 

[MidKnight]

So had this monitor since Friday - worked all weekend using it and I am REALLY impressed with it. It just works....no dead pixels literally no vignetting just vibrant and fantastic picture quality. Also have to say loving the sphere lighting much more than I thought I would too. Now my first choice when I decided on a new monitor was the Samsung G9 - I had one for about 2 weeks but returned it due to bezel peel - yesterday I was notified that the G9 was back in stock at various retailers and for a second I thought 'should I try again with the G9 - after all it was the monitor that prompted me to want to upgrade my old one - but then I look at the LG and I just think that the G9 is not as good (for what I need it for anyway) and I have a great monitor without issues plus that 1600 vertical resolution is going to be difficult to give up. Also I sit close to the monitor and the LG fills my vision so size wise its a win too. I know I am gushing over it but its a really great monitor and a worthy alternative to the G9 (which just seems to have issue after issue).

One other thing - the HDR on this is nowhere near as useless as people have been saying - it may not be TV standard but I was expecting it to be close to useless and that certainly is not the case from my limited testing.

 

[Rheinfels]

in the case of titles that do not remain stable above 50 fps, it is sufficient to simply create a custom resolution at 3440x1440 to gain about 30 fps, obviously not in full screen but by removing the proportioning, a sort of 34 within the 38.
I am doing it very often, not for a problem of minimum fps, but simply to reduce the size of the image in first person shooters, a classic type of games where a smaller image helps to be faster.
Indeed, I am currently using COD and bf5 on the 38GN with an even lower custom resolution.
Image quality exactly equal to the native resolution being a 1: 1 mapping and no variation on general performance (input lag and response time), gsync active in full screen.
This is around 3040x1278:

Could you pleased start a game with 3440x1440 and post a picture as you did above to show the difference between the 34gn850 and the 38gn950 regarding the size?

I'm following this thread for about a 1,5 month now as it seems to be the best discussion about thus Monitors I could find in the web and while the delivery of both would be possible by now I still can't decide between them compared to the price. The advantage of the 38 Inch would be about 20% larger screen including more vertical space and it supports HDR600 which might be OK.
Neutral is that it has the same resolution compared to the size (about 110ppi).
Negative might be that it's too large while sitting about 0,5-0,8m in front of it. And i don't like to reduce the resolution/screensize as shown in the quote. I'm not playing much Multiplayer, mainly Singleplayer but e.g. shooters as well....would ist be required to turn the head to much already with 38 Inch? Price would bei about 900€ for the 34 Inch compared to 1400€ for the 38 Inch at my place.

Edith: maybe it's interesting, I'm using a LG27MU67 so far, 27 inch 4k screen. But the resolution is higher than it must be, 1440p would be OK at that size I think.

 

[PeegeeTips]

i used to game in eyefinity using 3x 24" Dell 1920x1200 panels.
wouldn't worry about needing to turn your head, you get used to treating it as peripheral vision.
very immersive when you reach that zen-like state.

 

[MrClippy]

if anyone is interested in getting one of these - message me

 

[JopieXL]

Ok have it in front of me now, tested it a bit on the desktop and playing BF5. Great monitor.

Don't see much IPS glow. Littlebit vignetting especially on the top, but for me bearable.

However, two stuck pixels, visible on black background in right lower corner.

One just above the taskbar and the other on the crossroads of 2 inch from the side and 3.5inch from the bottom. Tried the usual methods but doesn't seem to have helped unfortunately.

What to do? Sent it back? It is lot of money. On the other hand, they are hardly noticeable and only on black background if I am not mistaking.

Ok quoting myself to thank all of you who responded to my post and because I wanted to give you all an update.

I did return my first monitor and got money back so that's fine.

Ordered a new one from another vendor who had them in stock, and guess what: Another stuck pixel right in the center of the screen mostly visible on black. I also came across yet another vendor, amazon.de, and they have quite a bit 'second chance' monitors: No links to competitors

Wouldn't expect so many monitors to be returned even for a large country as Germany is. Also don't think there has been massive amounts of stock for these monitors.

Don't want to cause panick or doubt though could it be that production proces is still too immature and a relative high amount of monitors have dead pixels and are being returned because of it.

To me dead/stuck pixels are not really acceptable on a pc monitor let alone on an relatively very expensive one like the 38GN950.

PS: The second one also had the slighty darker edges around the screen, however to me it is not a massive dealbreaker. And except for these issues, for me this is still a great monitor which ticks virtually every box I care for.

 

[revollucion]

Any idea when this one might be back in stock?

I consider this one to be best 1440 Ultrawide on the market right now.

 

[JediFragger]

I consider this one to be best 1440 Ultrawide on the market right now.

Shame it's 1600 wide.

 

[revollucion]

Shame it's 1600 wide.

**** wrong place... i was thinking I am on 34gn850 lol.. ignore my message

 

[JopieXL]

Well finally good luck. Third is the charm.

My 3rd monitor has no dead pixels sofar. Unfortunately, it has a bit more IPS backlight bleed in the right lower corner and also the vignetting seems a bit heftier than the other two monitors.

I must say that it takes quite a bit of time to adjust from a 1440p 27" normal TN screen. Allthough the curve is very moderate it takes some getting used to. Also the enormous width is insane so I have to admit sometimes I wondered whether I shouldn't have gone for the LG 34gn850 instead . Furthermore I miss 1:1 pixelmapping option which can be handy from time to time. And my very solid Displayport and HDMI cables don't work. You have to use the more flimsy ones which come with the monitor.

But the better colors, viewing angle, no grainy screencoating, great gaming @160hz with gsync, crisp letters etc is really nice. The lighting on the back is quite useful in a dark room (gaming at night) so you don't have to put on other lamps in the room. The software to control it is decent. Allthough to control the screen and the lighting you need two different pieces of software which is less handy.

The software for controling the screen settings is ok but could be a bit more extensive to cover all menu options.

After using it a while I am starting to get used to it however in the future I don't see myself buying a monitor with 1) a stronger curvature 2) bigger dimensions. To me this is about the max you should go for on a PC work/game setup.