LG 27” UltraGear QHD (2560 x 1440) Nano IPS Gaming Display with 1ms Response Time – 27GL850-B

This monitor is fantastic. I recently bought all three panel types to get a first hand comparison of them all. They were a 240 hz acer TN panel, 120 hz ultrawide viotek VA panel and this screen. I can’t feel the difference between 240 and 144 hz. The VA panel is just too big for competitive gaming.This IPS panel is by far my favorite. It sits at a good price for the features and quality, while still being good enough for having that competitive edge.

It seems like nearly every reputable monitor review can never give a definitive YES you should buy it, or a NO you shouldn’t. “It’s always if you want, or if your preference is”‘
I’m going to say right off the hop, YES you should buy this as a gaming, or media monitor. The feature set and build quality at this price point is amazing.
What I’m going to cover below is for people (like I was) who are really on the fence about the small negatives that had me racking my brain. I hate making the wrong decision and I want to make sure I’m getting the best possible product for my money. This a great monitor, but if you’re like me, debating if those tiny issues make this monitor a bust compared to the others, read on.
Refresh rate:
For anybody who has concerns about the response time on a 144hz IPS gaming panel, you really shouldn’t. The response time and refresh rate on the GL850’s fast setting are great (I’m sure you’ve already read about the ‘fastest’ setting and its issues). I’m writing this hoping there’s at least one shopper who needs to read this right now: Others might not agree with me, but the only people who need the lowest response times and the highest refresh rates should be esports pros and should be looking to a 240hz TN panel. If you aren’t a professional gamer, there is no need for anything like that. At the highest level of professional gaming, refresh rates, and response times really matter because on an even playing field that could give someone the slightest advantage.
If you aren’t being paid to play video games, you don’t need the fastest monitor in the world. That being said, the GL850-B will provide a huge advantage over the competition. Even at the highest skill non-pro matches, tons of people are still using 1080p 60hz monitors.
Contrast Ratio:
The IPS picture quality is great. LG really hit the best of both worlds for both enthusiast gaming and professional editing. One of my main concerns buying this monitor was it’s contrast ratio. It is low at around 800:1, but it’s nothing to be worried about. It is unnoticeable when compared to other IPS monitors and not something you should look elsewhere over. To be clear you don’t need to worry about this unless you are doing a very specific type of professional work that requires a high contrast ratio.
Panel issues:
You might have read some reviews for this monitor saying that they had to return and reorder this monitor because of a panel issue. This is an issue you could encounter with ANY monitor brand at ANY price. The same is true for TVs. Don’t let someone’s “panel lottery” experience make you look at another monitor because it’s just as likely the same amount of people are having the same issues with “that other one”. There are some cases where panel issues are common with certain brands. This is not the case with LG.
Lastly, Monitor Stand:
One negative some reviewers seem to mention is the stand not having some movement features. This is also not something that should influence your decision unless you have a specific disability or professional need. If you absolutely you NEED the ability to swivel your monitor you shouldn’t be reading this long review in the first place. In the end of the day, it’s not an important issue unless you absolutely need to have it.
To summarize what I’m trying to say:
Due to the way IPS, VA & TN panels are produced there is no “100% perfect” monitor. Proper reviewers always have negatives to find, that is their job. But they’re speaking to everybody, from professionals to enthusiasts, not just gamers. I’m here to say that this is an amazing monitor and if you are thinking of buying it, but find yourself wondering
“Will the contrast ratio ruin my single-player game experience?”
“Will the stand that doesn’t swivel look bad?”
“I’m not an Esports pro, but will the .5ms faster response time make a big difference?”
The answer to all of the above is no. No, it will not, and if you were on the fence because of these small issues or others that maybe some other monitor that’s more expensive doesn’t have. I would say buy the LG 27GL850. You really can’t go wrong with this monitor. Yes, there are some features that are nice to have, that this monitor doesn’t. For example to get a true HDR experience you’ll be trading away most if not all of the benefits of this monitor and still paying more money.
This is a great choice and this monitor’s specs will still be great through 2023, and possibly beyond that. I’m really happy with this monitor and I think you will be too.

I’ve Unleashed and been using this ultra beast now for over two months and I’ve been pushing it to it’s full potential extensively using my Geforce RTX 2080-Ti.
Forget the “Pro’s & Con’s”
Here is the Truth:
I purchased the “LG UltraGear 27GN850-B model” which is pretty much the same monitor as the 27GL850-B but without the (USB-ports).
Let me tell you… This Monitor Dropkicks” the QHD 2K 1440p -144hrz & HD 1080p 100hrz gaming competition out of our solar system with it’s raw IPS performance!!
It is a phenomenal gaming monitor and I have experienced 3 other gaming monitors so far, now 4. It delivers vibrant, accurate, and consistent colors with the fastest response time speed equal if not better than any other IPS monitor in the market from 2019 into 2020!
I’ve been giddy like a kid again enjoying the extremely low input lag, and tear-free G-sync action!. There’s plenty of additional useful features that I am loving like the “Cross-Hair” input option that really actually helps in fast paced FPS games.
I thought it was just a gimmick but I was schooled by it’s attribute. Other features like “Black Stabilizer” which lets you tune/tweak the blacks/shadows within games and media to my satisfaction! Also, there is the “Game Mode” a preset configuration of different calibrated styles like “Gamer Mode 1 & 2 which are for a variety of different games that gives you the ability to tweak & configure them both to your liking!
Along with an “FPS Mode – RTS Mode – HDR Effect – Reader Mode – sRGB Mode. But the best of them all…
“My Favorite ~ Vibrant Mode” this mode (imo) is excellent for Movie watching and especially for single player open world Games like The Witcher 3 & Red Dead Redemption 2, also I’m currently playing The Last Of Us 2 on my PS4 Pro and it’s gorgeous running at 2160p due to the wonderful radiant colors and finely tuned gamma/contrast ratio!.
I could ramble on about how good this monitor is but I’m sure you get the point…
Now for the other Truth:
My only warning to anyone who loves to use monitors in the darkest of rooms will of course notice there is some IPS glow from the edges of the screen and some minor backlight bleeding. So to those who might be wondering what does that mean? It means the deep blacks within videos/movies that appear on screen look more like very dark grey and at bad angels there is shiny reflections/glowing from the corners of the screen but for games you can work around that with built in features/options as I described above. Also easy fix is to just turn on a lamp or burn some candles which will brighten up the room a little thus negating some of the IPS glow.
But with that said this small downside does not have a negative impact on me with my every day enjoyment/experience with it, but it might for someone who like I said, “Really Loves” to watch scary horror flicks or prefers to work/edit in the dark.
Overall:
This LG UltraGear QHD LED IPS Monitor is a premium (Savage!)
For the $400+ price-tag this is one of the top 5 best of the best gaming monitors you can buy hands down!!.
For someone who is looking to upgrade or is a new adventurer in this landscape.
“I Highly Recommend This Product”

no speakers. Every thing else is what I expected after my research. Toggle switch in the bottom center to control setup and all adjustmets is pure genius!! Blacks are VG and color is VG. This is a 2k monitor at a decent price. It is a shame that we have to have stuff like this shipped to us. The shipping thru FedEx was not traceable!! The transport companies are all going down hill compared to 5 years ago.

Great monitor for the price