LG UltraGear 27GX704A-B Review: The 1440p OLED That Makes Sense for Most People
At $496.99 LG's 27 inch, 240Hz glossy OLED is among the cheapest ways into WOLED gaming. We checked brightness, the glossy coating and whether this is the point where OLED stops being a luxury.
The verdict
The 27GX704A-B is the first OLED gaming monitor we would call a normal purchase. Perfect blacks, near-instant response and 240Hz at 1440p come at a price close to a good IPS panel. It is dim in bright scenes and the glossy coat reflects lamps, so a bright room needs care.
Best forGamers moving from IPS who want OLED without a flagship bill
What we liked
- Third-gen WOLED panel with true blacks and 0.03ms response
- 240Hz at 1440p, G-Sync Compatible and FreeSync Premium Pro
- Glossy coating gives clearer, punchier images than matte rivals
- VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400 and 98.5 percent DCI-P3 coverage
What we did not
- SDR brightness is about 275 nits in RTINGS testing, modest for bright rooms
- The glossy finish shows reflections from windows and lamps
- Newer 27GX700A-B tandem OLED is brighter and runs at 280Hz
- OLED burn-in care still applies for desktop and static HUD use
For years the OLED gaming monitor question was whether you could justify a premium price at all. At $496.99 the LG 27GX704A-B changes the question: is there still a reason to buy a good IPS screen?
What you get for the money
This is a 27 inch (26.5 inch viewable) 2,560 x 1,440 monitor with a third-generation WOLED panel at 240Hz. LG quotes 0.03ms gray to gray response, G-Sync Compatible and FreeSync Premium Pro support, VESA ClearMR 13000 for motion clarity, and up to 98.5 percent DCI-P3 color coverage.
There is HDMI 2.1 for consoles and DisplayPort for PCs. The spec sheet reads like a flagship's, and that is the point.
Why 1440p at 27 inches is the right choice
4K OLED monitors look wonderful and ask for a very strong graphics card. At 1440p a mid-range GPU can approach 240 frames in competitive games, which is what a 240Hz panel is for. You also get OLED's near-instant pixel response, which keeps fast motion crisp.
Text is the usual weak spot for WOLED, since the subpixel layout is not a standard RGB stripe. At 27 inches and 1440p it is acceptable, if not perfect.
The glossy coating is the real story
LG chose a glossy finish rather than the matte coating on rivals. RTINGS points out that gloss means clearer images and more mirror-like reflections. In a dim room that is a clear win: blacks look deeper and colors have more punch.
In a room with a window behind you it is not. A lamp over your shoulder will show up in dark scenes, so think about where the monitor sits before you order. This is the single most important buying question, bigger than any spec.
Brightness and HDR
RTINGS measured about 275 nits of SDR brightness, which is fine for evening play and a little dim by day. LG and Guru3D quote a 1,300 nit peak for small HDR highlights, with True Black 400 certification. Those peak numbers describe a tiny part of the screen, so do not expect a full-screen sunlit scene to glow.
TFTCentral first reported the panel as a glossy-coated 27 inch 1440p 240Hz WOLED, which is the generation LG now uses for its cheaper OLED models.
Specs
- Panel
- 27 inch (26.5 inch viewable) third-gen WOLED, glossy coating
- Resolution and refresh
- 2,560 x 1,440 at 240Hz
- Response time
- 0.03ms gray to gray (LG figure)
- HDR
- VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400, 1,300 nit peak claimed
- Color
- Up to 98.5 percent DCI-P3
- Sync
- NVIDIA G-Sync Compatible, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro
- Motion
- VESA ClearMR 13000
- Inputs
- HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort
- Price
- $496.99
