LG UltraGear OLED 27 review: A stunning gaming monitor with just one flaw

The LG UltraGear 27GR95QE-B ($999) is one of the most gorgeous gaming monitors I’ve seen yet. That’s good news considering I’ve been eager to test this OLED monitor since LG first announced it late in 2022. My brief hands-on experience with it and the 45-inch LG UltraGear 45GR95QE-B also had me stoked. After extensive testing, I feel confident saying this is one of best gaming monitors you can buy.

But what makes the LG UltraGear 27GR95QE-B so great? It has a fairly subdued design for a gaming monitor. And at 27 inches, it’s not exactly huge. What sets it apart is its jaw-dropping visual fidelity provided by the 2.5K OLED display. Games look phenomenal on this monitor, as does streaming content. The super fast 0.03ms response time and 240Hz refresh rate also deliver an enjoyable gaming experience. The fact it’s less than $1,000 is also a big deal.

The monitor isn't perfect, however. It's considerably dimmer than some of its competitors, and the fact you can't access all menu options without a remote is also troubling. The astonishing picture quality and speedy performance mostly help you overlook these deficiencies, but they're still worth pointing out.

The LG UltraGear 27GR95QE-B is a gaming monitor that’s easy to recommend. In fact, I think it might have replaced the incredible Alienware AW3423DWF QD-OLED as my favorite gaming monitor. Find out why in my full review.

LG UltraGear OLED 27 review: Price and release date

• Starts at $999
• The 45-inch UltraGear 45GR95QE-B is also available

The LG UltraGear 27GR95QE-B is now available for $999/£998 on LG’s website. It has a 27-inch QHD (2560 x 1440) OLED display with a 240Hz refresh rate.

Its bigger sibling, the LG UltraGear 45GR95QE-B, is also available for purchase on the manufacturer’s website. This gargantuan monitor has the same features as the 27-inch model, only it’s larger (naturally) and costs $1,699/£1,698. 

LG UltraGear OLED 27 review: Design

• Sleek, unassuming design
• Plenty of ports

Aside from the tasteful lighting along the sides and bottom, you'd be hard-pressed to identify the UltraGear 27GR95QE-B as a gaming monitor. With the exception of the LG logo and “UltraGear” brand on its legs, the all-black chassis is devoid of any adornments. The overall design gives the monitor an air of sophistication.

At 23.8 x 22.6 x 10.2 inches and a weight of 16.2 pounds with the stand, the UltraGear 27GR95QE-B isn’t overly large or heavy. The stand’s V-shaped legs also don’t take up much space on a desk.

You can raise or lower the screen across a span of 4.3 inches along the stand’s sturdy shaft. The screen also tilts backward -5 degrees or forward up to 15 degrees, and can swivel 10 degrees both left and right. I found it easy to tilt and swivel the screen to my preferred angle and height.

The 27GR95QE-B features numerous ports, including two HDMI 2.1 ports, a DisplayPort, two USB-A ports , one USB-B port, an S/PDIF out and a headphone jack. HDMI 2.1 support is particularly noteworthy for console gamers since it means they can play games like Destiny 2 at 120Hz. Granted, that’s one of the few titles on PS5 and Xbox Series X that supports such a high refresh rate, but it’s good to have HDMI 2.1 for future-proofing.

Even if it’s not the flashiest-looking gaming monitor out there, the 27GR95QE-B is an elegant device that won’t look out of place even in a traditional office. And I think I speak for most video game fans when I say a gaming monitor’s display quality and performance are more important than its aesthetic appeal.

LG UltraGear OLED 27 review: Display

• 27-inch 240Hz 2.5K OLED display
• Not as bright as other monitors

The UltraGear 27GR95QE-B features a 27-inch OLED (2,560 x 1440) display with a 16:9 aspect ratio and support for HDR. These specs, along with the 240Hz refresh rate, deliver a crisp picture quality that's buttery smooth. Surprisingly, the display isn’t exactly bright — but we'll get to that in a moment.

I played Doom Eternal and Cyberpunk 2077 on this monitor and the exceptional picture quality left me stunned. The former’s cartoonish gore comes through splendidly, while the latter’s neon-drenched streets absorb you into its dystopian world. Even less graphically-intensive games like Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster look stunning.

The 4K content I found on YouTube looks as crisp and colorful as any of the games I tested. A Dolby Vision video called “Beauty of 4K HDR” showcases colorful animals, environments and even people in body paint. Not only are the colors distinct and vibrant, but the monitor does an exceptional job of showing off small details like a lizard’s scales or a plant's leaves.

For fun, I also fired up SNL's "HBO Mario Kart" trailer, which also looked great on this monitor.

You can flip between 6 different display modes when using the LG UltraGear 27:  Gamer 1, Gamer 2, FPS, RTS, Vivid, and Reader. In general I kept it in the default Gamer 1 mode while testing, and the monitor covers 137% of the sRGB color gamut and 97.2% of the more demanding DCI-P3 gamut (the closer to 100%, the better), with a Delta-E value of 0.41 (closer to 0 is better). The other display modes available had similar color values, based on our testing. 

In contrast, the Sony Inzone M9 reached 145% of the sRGB color gamut, 102.9% of the DCI-P3 color space and a Delta-E value of 0.31. On its standard display mode, the HyperX Armada 27 achieves 105.1% and 74.4% of the sRGB and DCI-P3 color spaces (respectively), with a 0.21 Delta-E value.

The UltraGear 27GR95QE-B doesn’t get overly bright compared to other monitors, either. It's rated for the equivalent of 200 nits, which is below average for a monitor or even a premium laptop/tablet screen. However, it's important to note that OLED displays typically don't get as bright as LCD screens, though 200 nits is still surprisingly low.

In the Gamer 1 display mode, the UltraGear 27GR95QE-B achieves an average of 203 nits, which is on par with the advertised brightness. That's the brightest this display gets, with the lowest being 121 nits of brightness in Reader Mode, which has lower blue light emissions.

These values are dim in comparison to the Sony Inzone M9, which achieved an average of 395 nits of brightness in its standard mode. The Armada 27 (344 nits) also outshines LG’s monitor. But keep in mind neither of these has OLED panels.

LG UltraGear OLED 27 review: Performance

• Smooth 240Hz refresh rate
• Extremely low 0.03ms response time

LG is marketing the UltraGear 27GR95QE-B toward an esports crowd who desire monitors with high refresh rates and low response times.

With a 240Hz refresh rate, a super low 0.03 millisecond response time and support for Nvidia G-Sync and AMD Freesync, this monitor certainly ticks those boxes. But even if you’re not a professional esports competitor, you’ll still benefit from the monitor’s responsive performance.

Doom Eternal is an extremely fast-paced game that can push your reflexes to the max. I can’t say this monitor made me play better, but it certainly didn’t hinder me. No matter how much was happening on the screen or how fast I was moving, the UltraGear 27GR95QE-B never stuttered. Zipping across New York City in Marvel’s Spider-Man for PC was also seamless and smooth.

LG UltraGear OLED 27 review: Interface

• Multiple display options
• Using the power button to navigate menus is awkward

Typically, you can access a monitor's display settings via a dedicated menu button somewhere on the device. However, there is no such dedicated button on the LG UltraGear. You're expected to use the included remote control, and if it breaks or disappears you'll lose access to some advanced features and have to fiddle with the monitor's power button in order to access the menu.

The menu has a variety of display modes, including the aforementioned Gamer 1 mode, a Gamer 2 mode, an FPS mode, RTS mode, Vivid, and Reader mode. Most of these modes are self-explanatory. FPS mode in particular is going to be key for competitive players, as it's optimized for framerate and that afore-mentioned 0.03ms response time. As I said, I'm not a competitive player so I was quite happy keeping it in Gamer 1 mode.

If you can't find the remote, you can access a quick menu by pressing the power button nub underneath the display. To select a specific option, you move the power button either left or right. Since the power button nub doesn’t protrude much, it’s a bit tricky moving it in the desired direction. I would have preferred a dedicated OSD (on-screen display) joystick because it’d feel more intuitive to use.

As for the menu options themselves, it's pretty disappointing to see that LG has limited what you can do without the remote. The only options you can change with the power button menu are power, input, volume and brightness. That means, for example, that if you lose your remote you can't switch modes on this monitor, turn Adaptive Sync on or off, change languages, enable an FPS counter, etc. 

Obviously this is a glaring weakness in the monitor's design that suggests LG would rather sell you replacement remotes than design a user-friendly product. But if you just need to make basic adjustments, the quick menu serves its purpose.

LG UltraGear OLED 27 review: Verdict

The LG UltraGear 27GR95QE-B is the first gaming monitor I reviewed in 2023 and I can already see it being one of this year’s best. Yes, its display doesn’t get as bright as some competitors, but it’s hard to argue against its ultra-smooth performance and extraordinary picture quality. Its relatively small size and understated design are also aspects I appreciate. With that said, I would have scored it a tad higher if I didn't need a remote to access the menu.

I’d suggest the 27GR95QE-B to just about anyone in the market for a gaming monitor. But if you’re looking for an alternative with similar specs and pricing, the Sony Inzone M9 is a solid choice that offers a slightly higher resolution and lower refresh rate. The HyperX Armada 27 ($499) and Gigabyte M27Q X ($349) are also great choices if you’re on a tighter budget.