LG 27GN950-B 4K 144Hz Monitor Review: One Fast Pixel Mover

One of the fastest 4K monitors we've ever tested

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LG 27GN950-B
Editor's Choice
(Image: © LG)

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With DisplayHDR 600 certification and a local dimming feature, the 27GN950-B boasts some killer HDR. Though it isn’t quite as impressive as an FALD display, it’s one of the best edge lit HDR monitors we’ve tested.

HDR Brightness and Contrast

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LG 27GN950
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

DisplayHDR 600? Try over 759 nits peak. That is an impressive amount of light coming from a 27-inch monitor. Only the 1,000-nit capable PG27UQ and X27 beat it. In the black level contest, FALD wins the day with the X27’s 0.0185-nit score. Samsung’s VA panel is also impressive ,but the 27GN950-B is very respectable with 0.0896 nit. Resulting contrast is strong at 8,475.3:1. With most HDR monitors delivering the same contrast ratios for SDR (1,013.6:1 after our calibration) and HDR, the LG is a stand-out.

Grayscale, EOTF and Color

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LG 27GN950
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

The LG 27GN950-B could benefit from an adjustable white point in HDR mode. Brightness steps above 50% have a visible coolness. Dialing in better grayscale tracking would mean an even more three-dimensional HDR picture. The EOTF luminance curve tracks almost perfectly with a transition to tone-mapping at 70%. This mitigates the grayscale error somewhat.

HDR color accuracy tends toward oversaturation, but the effect isn’t too grievous. The inner and outer-most points are nearly perfect while the mid-range tones are a little bolder. Most users will enjoy the 27GN950-B’s HDR presentation. Overall, it looks really good, but these charts suggest that a little better performance could be had.

Christian Eberle
Christian Eberle
Contributing Editor

Christian Eberle is a Contributing Editor for Tom's Hardware US. He's a veteran reviewer of A/V equipment, specializing in monitors. Christian began his obsession with tech when he built his first PC in 1991, a 286 running DOS 3.0 at a blazing 12MHz. In 2006, he undertook training from the Imaging Science Foundation in video calibration and testing and thus started a passion for precise imaging that persists to this day. He is also a professional musician with a degree from the New England Conservatory as a classical bassoonist which he used to good effect as a performer with the West Point Army Band from 1987 to 2013. He enjoys watching movies and listening to high-end audio in his custom-built home theater and can be seen riding trails near his home on a race-ready ICE VTX recumbent trike. Christian enjoys the endless summer in Florida where he lives with his wife and Chihuahua and plays with orchestras around the state.

4 Comments Comment from the forums
  • CXB
    The most recent firmware to the LG 27GN950-B pushes the display rate to 160Hz at 4k (the firmware takes a nervous 30+ minutes to load)
    A very nice monitor, well-suited to DisplayPort, DSC and the new graphics cards coming out (I was lucky to bag an RTX3070)
    Reply
  • Wanderingm00se
    Honestly, if this had an HDMI 2.1 it would have been an instant buy for me running this well. Maybe a refresh next year will have it. Got a series X as video card prices in Canada are insane right now if available and consoles are almost readily available and are cheaper than US pricing after conversion.
    Reply
  • tomy_12
    I heard with this monitor cannot cancel the option that the monitor will go to deep sleep, is kind of big let down when the monitor fall a sleep and can't wake up. I don't want my monitor to fall a sleep, I can make the pc set to sleep mode alone. would be nice if you can mention it in the review.
    Reply
  • CXB
    Well, you may have heard that, but I've just left my PC and my LG 27GN950 alone for 4 hours, and as soon as I hit my space bar on the keyboard, everything just woke up where it had left off.

    What I do find is that sometimes, with a second monitor, the GPU gets in a twist. But that's not a problem related to this monitor.
    Reply