6 February 2018

REVIEW: LG UltraWide Curved Gaming Monitor

Be in the game

Following our recent recent reviews of headphones and mice designed specifically for gameng, we've been hitting the PC games quite a lot. If you though that the 11 inch screen on your super-powered laptop was just fine for gaming... you wrong, moron. We've learnt that, despite what we've previously been assured of in the bedroom, bigger is better, and they don't come much bigger than the LG UltraWide Curved Gaming Monitor.



For the techies out there, the model of monitor we've been reviewing is actually called the 34UC79G, which just rolls from the tongue, eh? All you really need to know from that string of letters and numbers is the first part: 34. This particular LG UltraWide Curved Gaming Monitor is 34 inches wide across the diagonal, making it comparable to many full-size TVs.


However, unlike most TVs, this thing has an UltraWide aspect ratio of 21:9, making it look more like a miniature cinema screen than anything. It comes with an adjustable stand (that clips together very easily) which allows you to raise, lower and tilt the screen, but not rotate. Beyond that you get a power cable and a HDMI lead.

Plugging this thing into a laptop or desktop was easy as pie, although you might want to check your screen display settings before doing so. The laptop we plugged it into, the recently reviewed HP Envy x360, a Windows 10 convertible laptop, did not possess the ability to stretch the desktop as wide as the monitor allowed. Yes, games could be altered to fit, but most other apps and programmes were therefore a bit wasted, resulting in thick black columns either side of the image. Still, no worries.


Because, as the name suggests, this has been designed to treat gamers to the widest, most immersive view of their game worlds. Going from 16:9 to 21:9 makes a huge amount of difference, giving you a literal edge over other players using conventional monitors. The IPS screen and the curved form factor also help with close-to viewing, something normal TVs don't require.


As well as the size and shape, the LG UltraWide Curved Gaming Monitor also boasts some every impressive specs. The monitor possesses a refresh rate of 144hz, and 1ms motion blur reduction, keeping movement in game as sharp and as smooth as possible. There is also AMD FreeSync Technology at play, which apparently reduces the shuttering that can occur when the graphics card frame rate differs from the monitor's refresh rate. We had no idea that was a thing, but we certainly never experienced any kind of stutters during gameplay.


The LG UltraWide Curved Gaming Monitor also offers you the option to change the mode depending on what kind of game you're playing. This lets you optimise the screen for different sorts of situations, such as FPS1 (First Person Shooter 1) which ups the refresh rate and alters how black appears for better daylight visibility. It's all very handy, and for serious gamers that kind of thing matters.

So although it might not be best suited as an everyday monitor (unless you know more about changing the aspect ratio of Windows 10 than we do),  for gaming - particularly for those who are looking to go pro - the LG UltraWide Curved Gaming Monitor 34UC79G is a sound choice, and one we've enjoyed playing with.

Around £569

Available from www.amazon.co.uk




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