LG 49 UltraGear gaming monitor review: Ultrawide nirvana

Once I noticed one of many first 49-inch ultrawide displays from Samsung 5 years in the past, I discovered it to be a curious creation. I used to be no stranger to the world of ultrawides, however that display was a bit a lot. It was too unwieldy, and its odd decision wasn’t tall sufficient for my tastes. Since then, although, the 49-inch class has advanced: They’re cheaper, have newer show expertise and are higher outfitted for gaming. Certain, you may nonetheless have to have loads of room in your desk (or a really sturdy mounting arm), however lately they may truly be thought-about sensible.

LG’s 49-inch Curved UltraGear is a first-rate instance of how a lot issues have modified. Beginning at $1,300, it gives 49-inches of wonderful display area with a pointy 5,120 by 1,440 decision; an ultra-fast 240Hz refresh fee and 1ms response time; and AMD FreeSync Premium assist. It is LG’s largest and most immersive gaming monitor but. And after spending a number of weeks with the UltraGear 49, it has lastly made me a convert of for the 49-inch ultrawide life.

After all, one doesn’t merely resolve to purchase the 49-inch UltraGear. You might want to have the area to suit its cumbersome body, which measures 46-inches throughout. You might want to make certain all your equipment can nonetheless match in your desk (it is notably annoying when you frequently use cameras and huge microphones). And, final however not least, you additionally want to make sure the video games you play essentially the most can take full benefit of the UltraGear’s extensive 32:9 side ratio.

That any recreation can run at 5,120 by 1,440 pixels is a testomony to only how far the ultrawide monitor motion has grown over the past decade. A typical widescreen TV has a 16:9 side ratio with a 1,920 by 1080 (1080p), 2,560 by 1,440 (1,440p) or 4K decision. Ultrawide shows stretch these proportions a bit with a 21:9 side ratio, sometimes working at both 2,560 by 1080, or 3,440 by 1,440 pixels. Today, it is uncommon to discover a new PC title that does not assist these ultrawide resolutions. And once they do not, as within the case of Elden Ring, builders usually argue it is performed to keep away from giving ultrawide gamers any benefit. (After all, as is usually the case with PC gaming, modders will find a way.)

Official assist for excessive ultrawides just like the 49-inch UltraGear is extra uncommon, but it surely’s not unparalleled. I used to be capable of play a number of hours of Halo Infinite, Cyberpunk 2077, No Man’s Sky, Armored Core VI and the just lately launched FPS Sprawl on the LG’s full 5,120 by 1,440 decision. You may nonetheless want the GPU horsepower to truly get respectable framerates, in fact, however the UltraGear’s native decision continues to be much less demanding than 4K. (For the file, I examined the UltraGear 49 on my private PC outfitted with a Ryzen 7800 and an NVIDIA RTX 4090.)

Starfield (under) was the primary new recreation to spoil my excessive ultrawide enjoyable. It helps 3,440 by 1,440 , however it may well’t stretch out to 32:9 resolutions. That meant I spent my first 10 hours of the sport with black bars on the edges of the display. It was nonetheless playable, however I believe anybody who buys a monitor this dimension will likely be dissatisfied with the restrictions. You would simply hack Starfield to assist wider resolutions, however there is no assure these options will work perpetually.