LG UltraGear 38GN950
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According to our monitor expert
The LG UltraGear 38GN950 is an UltraWide monitor for die-hard gamers. Thanks to the extra-wide 38-inch screen, you can see more of the playing field. The curved design allows you to see enemies coming from the side earlier and experience games more intensely. The 38GN950 has a high refresh rate of 144Hz, which you can overclock to 160Hz. This ensures that every game plays smoothly. Thanks to the 1ms response time, you won't be bothered by ghosting either. In addition, this monitor is compatible with both G-Sync and FreeSync 2. This means that your fps and Hz are the same, regardless of what video card brand you have. The WQHD+ resolution ensures a sharp display of your games and more screen space in height. The combination of Nano IPS, DCI-P3, and HDR 600 also provides a colorful, clear gaming experience.
Curved | ||
Aspect ratio | Ultrawide (21:9) | |
Refresh rate | 160 Hz | |
Response time | 1 ms | |
Panel type | IPS panel | |
Color depth | 1 billion colors (10-bit) | |
Built-in speakers | ||
Adjustable in height |
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After much deliberation, this screen was chosen as the successor to my LG 34UM95 screen from 2014, one of the first 1440p ultrawides. I was looking for a screen with slightly more vertical resolution, sync options and more hz. I use it for work (design, 3D modelling) and gaming (usually RTS and RPG).
First things first: the 21:9 (or in this case 12:5 to be precise) resolution is GREAT for both work and gaming. Compared to the now more common 3440x1440 resolution, the 38GN950 offers more vertical pixels, which is very nice for the work and the available buttons/sliders etc in the image. I was used to 60hz. Although I have not been able to get it faster than 120hz until I buy my new PC (DP 1.2 on my PC still): what a relief. Much calmer on the eyes. The image quality is beautiful. This clarity makes the image much more expressive. And the sRGB mode makes it good for my work to also make the colors stand out better.
I switch a lot between my work laptop and the home PC, perhaps recognizable to other home workers in this day and age? This screen picks up when a source becomes active, I no longer have to select the input. And when I turn off the PC, the screen turns off by itself. This screen manages small things that are still very pleasant.
The monitor is somewhere between productivity and media/gaming. The curve is pleasant and not too aggressive. The style is controlled and can be found professional, but also a bit gamey. You can control this even further by adjusting the lighting. The base of the monitor is a stumbling block for me: it is very deep, much deeper than my previous monitor. I now have a monitor arm, which is really beautiful with this device because it looks so ultramodern when floating with that light.
For me, this thing is a treat. Actually too beautiful and, to be honest, also very expensive, but if you work with screens a lot, it is worth it. However, do realize that with this super fast large bin of pixels, you also need a good up to date PC to get everything out of it. My work laptop (dell precision 7520) can only get to this screen via thunderbolt to DP 75hz. All mDP or HDMI solutions don't work because this 3 year old laptop has HDMI 1.4 and mDP 1.1 (and therefore only drives 30hz at this resolution, which is really impossible). In contrast, my old GTX970 fixed PC can achieve 120hz via DP 1.2, and 75hz via HDMI 2.0, Although you can't achieve 100+ Hz in games with an old PC at such a resolution, of course.
The price is hefty, but you get a very good screen for that. The only thing I really can't get is that they only have a single DP port on this screen, and two HDMI. The HDMI connections can't go over 75hz, so why just a DP? I really don't understand that and that limitation is now also bothering me. Furthermore, this is the screen for anyone who wants the best in the monitor field, but doesn't want to spend >> 2K for a little more hz.
Tom Kramer
5 October 2020
Automatically translated from Dutch
Purchasing this screen was one tough choice. Shifting from 1440p 165Hz screen was not an easy choice as there was a serious concern to keep 100+ FPS at QHD+ resolution. Anyhow with having 2080 Super or 2080Ti and now 3080/3090 RTX it will definitely keep 100+ FPS in most of the games on Ultra/Max settings. Being skeptical about ultrawide screens and how they will handle normal office work I decided to go step forward and to get WQHD+ resolution instead of WQHD. This choice was one of the better choice I recently made and will not regret it. You just feel that screen is completely filled and there are no black bars by side when watching movies or working in an Office package. Quality of the screen is on a very high level and having bad experience in the past with ASUS and ACER QA/QC, have to say that LG did excellent job. Some IPS glow, which is normal on these screens but no backlight bleeding nor dead pixels. Colors on this screen are almost equal to OLED/QLED TV's and I was astonished to see colors differently when compared to my previous IPS gaming monitor. Additional plus is that LG provides you with DP and HDMI cables and monitor will remind you to use them if you connect any others (not that is impossible but not recommended). Playing games on this screen changed my perspective in many video games as you are more submerged and you see much more details when compared with 1440p or even 4k resolutions. High refresh rate works out of the box when connected to nVidia or AMD graphics card and there are no issues with OC the refresh rate even to 160Hz. Only issue that i found is stability of the screen as it is heavy and wide and it swivels from time to time if your desk starts shaking a bit from typing or just hitting the table with your hands, it is recommended to purchase additional monitor arm to connect to wall or table. Price is also on a very high side but it pays of with having good QA/QC from LG and having out of the box perfect image quality and colors. Did not try HDR 600 yet but it was not the main goal of having gaming monitor.
Bojan Samardzic
22 September 2020
Automatically translated from Dutch
Great, beautiful, fast monitor. Best of the best. But the quality control really needs to be better.
Jamie Thepass
6 February 2021
Automatically translated from Dutch
Product number | 864483 | |
Manufacturer code | 38GN950-B.AEU | |
Brand | LG | |
Warranty | 2 years | |
Processing of your defect | Via Coolblue | |
Old product returned for free |
Recommended display resolution | 3840x1600 | |
Aspect ratio | Ultrawide (21:9) | |
Refresh rate | 160 Hz | |
Response time | 1 ms | |
Panel type | IPS panel | |
Local dimming | ||
HDR support | ||
Contrast ratio | 1000 | |
Touchscreen | ||
Type of HDR | DisplayHDR 600, HDR10 | |
Screen reflection | Anti-glare | |
Blue light filter | ||
Flicker-free technology | ||
Color space | DCI-P3 | |
Color depth | 1 billion colors (10-bit) | |
Adaptive Sync | ||
Type of adaptive sync | Freesync Premium Pro, G-Sync Compatible | |
Resolution width | 3840 pixels | |
Resolution height | 1600 pixels | |
Anti-reflection type | Anti glare | |
Viewing distance | 63 - 169 m | |
Horizontal viewing angle | 178 ° |
Height | 47,8 cm | |
Width | 89,6 cm | |
Depth | 31,2 cm | |
Weight | 9,2 kg | |
Color | Black | |
Including stand | ||
Material | Metal, Plastic | |
Cable management | ||
Appearance | Gaming | |
Curved | ||
Screen curve | 2300 R |
Number of HDMI connectors | 2 | |
Number of Female HDMI type A 2.0 ports | 2 | |
Number of headphone jacks | 1 | |
Type of headphone connection | 3.5mm (TRRS) | |
Number of Female Standard DisplayPort 1.4 ports | 1 | |
Number of female standard USB-A ports | 2 | |
Female standard USB-A port version | 2.0 | |
Number of female standard USB-B (3.0 form) ports | 1 | |
Number of female 3.5mm TRRS Audio Jack ports | 1 | |
Type of USB port | Standard USB-A, Standard USB-B (3.0 form) | |
Number of USB ports | 3 | |
Suitable for daisy chaining |
Included by default | DisplayPort cable, HDMI cable, USB cable | |
Not included by default | USB-C cable |
Adjustable in height | ||
Tiltable | ||
Pivotable stand | ||
Pivot function | ||
VESA mount option | ||
VESA mount | 100x100mm |
Energy label | G | |
Energy consumption standby | 0,3 W | |
Energy consumption active | 70 W | |
Energy consumption per 1000h | 42 kWh | |
Annual energy consumption | 61,32 kWh | |
Annual energy costs | 24,53 euros |
Built-in speakers | ||
Webcam | ||
Kensington lock |
Recommended for use | Gaming, Image editing and graphic design, Internet, email, and text processing, Photo editing, Video editing, Watching movies in 4K, Watching movies in Full HD |
