Review on LG 27GN950B UltraGear 4K 144Hz HDR Gaming Monitor with G-SYNC Compatibility and Pivot Adjustment - 27GN950-B by Hakeem Turman

While the monitor (like all late bloomers of 2020) should have at least one HDMI 2.1 port like that found in LG's Nano TV range, it doesn't. But honestly, 120fps gaming on next-gen consoles is a pipe dream anyway. The problem is that the PS5 lacks the total HDMI bandwidth required for HDR, VRR and 120Hz (it's capped at around 30 gigabits compared to the 40 gigabit HDMI bandwidth of the X-Series - note I've got both own and enjoy, but I always rely on facts.Basically, the Series X can hardly offer that kind of performance and Sony has acknowledged that the PS5's performance target is 4k at 60fps, with TV panel support being their priority The truth is both consoles can handle 1440 at 120 but currently only Microsoft supports this and even then it comes at the cost of HDR Neither console is capable of playing smooth 4k at 120fps without major tweaking, and PS5 currently has the upper hand in most games because developers have to optimize for it first - the whole build needs to be pushed in to become a native PS5 game, just need to apply an Xbox game patch to get it into the S erie X (which is why the PS5 store suggests you download the PS4 or PS5 version, while Microsoft only has one version). Any engineer or techie will always tell you that a native build takes precedence over a fix. In any case, this is not a test of consoles, but a test of what I consider to be the best console monitor. I bought it to use with my Playstation 5 (the other was for my X series) and within the first 30 minutes or so I had the best picture I've ever seen on a console. Let me rewind a little, I saw a demo of this panel a few months ago and fell in love with its sleek design, almost borderless screen and amazing lighting effects. This is the first display to offer decent HDR for less than a thousand dollars! I ended up ordering two of these. I carefully took it out of its pretty packaging (a little lackluster given the cost of this panel, and some of the styrofoam was damaged in transit) and after a painless reassembly, I connected it up using the Sony-recommended HDMI cable AND the included power adapter. I was hesitant to use EVERYTHING, but the cables that came with it, considering it's actually a high-end HDMI cable, I don't think it was a problem. In fact, Sony claims the same thing as LG about using universal cables with their devices. I have many LG products and I promote LG. My latest TV panels are LG Nano IPS and OLED, my best audio setup uses multiple LG components and I could go on, I'm a LG fan. I tested the PS5 on all my LG panels with great results so I was very happy to use this GN950 panel. I know the PS5's best quality is 4K at 60 fps, which this monitor should have easily surpassed. The specs, response times and resolution capabilities of this monitor are stunning enough that a Sony system shouldn't have stood a chance. The tragedy happened on Christmas Day. I got up early in the morning to pack presents for the kids and play games on the new monitor. Up to this point I've only played HDR for about 20 minutes. The PS5 is currently having some issues with going to sleep so I disabled it but I configured it to put the display signal to sleep and based on LG's own warnings I have the display on the best Screen/best performance set. Conservation. Aside from tweaking the display and making sure it's not too bright, I haven't really delved into the more complex panel setups. All I can tell you is that I wanted to give 5 stars for a short time without testing it thoroughly. I'm very used to LG doing an excellent job with quality and I really love their products. During my brief gaming session, I went to the PSN store to check out some of the year-end deals. I decided to turn off HDR and try the HDR effect instead because I was in the dark because it was early in the morning and didn't want to wake anyone up. IPS displays are worst in dark rooms, and while this one is definitely more in line with an average VA panel, its ratio is only 1000:1. As rtings.com reports, this monitor's only downside is a completely dark room. But local dimming and adjustable backlighting do an excellent job of solving this problem. I left it on one side in the store and had to run to the bathroom; I was gone maybe 10 minutes. When I came back the screen was pitch black and I figured my PS5 was either frozen or accidentally going to sleep. However, the LED bezel around the console glowed brightly and I could hear Playstation sounds coming from an external LG PL7 that I connected to the panel. The worst in the Christmas story has happened. My only gift was destroyed because of a crappy console. I panicked and quickly unhooked the PS5 (after trying for a minute or two to open the monitor menu) from the monitor and proceeded with the hard reset. The last bit of life poured out of the monitor and although it tilted/flickered vertically I could barely see the menu. I managed to factory reset the monitor, after that I turned it off for 3 minutes because of the useless support from LG. In short, the monitor is dead and I would be tired of using it on every game console. This is a computer monitor that a savvy marketer convinced us is for consoles, not consoles. I find the new consoles and this monitor to have too many conflicting features despite having one unit on the go (remember I ordered 2). SEND MORE BACK because it probably won't get any better. I'd be lying if I didn't say I hope the next one is better. I'm planning to buy an Odyssey G7 and several of my friends have confirmed that Samsung works well with the PS5 and offers a more realistic HDR experience. Don't buy the fake version because the firmware can't be updated because it's a different model. Thanks for reading and good luck! I will update my review if this other one works as promised by everyone.