LG UltraGear 27GL650F-B Gaming Monitor - Review

LG 27GL650F-B Review: A Fast and Smooth 1080p IPS Gaming Monitor with G-Sync Compatibility

The LG 27GL650F-B is a 27-inch gaming monitor that offers a fast and smooth gaming experience with its 144Hz refresh rate, 1ms motion blur reduction, and G-Sync compatibility. It also supports HDR10 for enhanced color and contrast, and has a height, pivot, and tilt adjustable stand for optimal viewing comfort. Here is a review of the LG 27GL650F-B based on its features and benefits.

Design and Features

The LG 27GL650F-B has a sleek and minimalist design with thin bezels and a matte black finish. The stand has a red accent on the base and a cable management clip on the back. The monitor can be adjusted in height, tilt, and pivot, and can also be mounted on a wall or a monitor arm with a 100 x 100 mm VESA pattern. The monitor has a 27-inch IPS panel with a 1920 x 1080 resolution, which provides wide viewing angles and good color accuracy. The monitor has a peak brightness of 400 cd/m2 and a contrast ratio of 1000:1, which are decent for most scenarios, but not ideal for dark rooms or HDR content. The monitor has a 99% sRGB and 72% NTSC color gamut, which covers most of the colors used in games and web content. The monitor also supports HDR10, which can enhance the brightness and contrast of some HDR games and videos, but the effect is limited by the monitor’s low contrast ratio and lack of local dimming. The monitor has a 144Hz refresh rate and a 5ms native response time, which can be reduced to 1ms with the motion blur reduction feature. This feature inserts a black frame between each frame to reduce the perceived blur, but it also lowers the brightness and introduces flickering. The monitor has a G-Sync compatible mode, which can synchronize the monitor’s refresh rate with the GPU’s frame rate to eliminate screen tearing and stuttering. The monitor also supports AMD FreeSync, which works similarly with AMD graphics cards. The monitor has two HDMI 2.0 ports, one DisplayPort 1.4 port, a headphone jack, and two USB 3.0 ports. The monitor has two 2W speakers, which are adequate for basic sound output, but not very loud or clear. The monitor has an OSD (on-screen display) menu that can be accessed with a joystick at the bottom of the screen. The menu has various settings and modes, such as game mode, black stabilizer, crosshair, and dynamic action sync.

Performance and Gaming

The LG 27GL650F-B delivers a great gaming performance with its high refresh rate, low input lag, and variable refresh rate support. The monitor has an excellent response time, which results in clear motion and minimal ghosting. The monitor has a low input lag of around 4ms, which makes the gaming experience responsive and fluid. The monitor’s G-Sync compatible mode works well with Nvidia graphics cards, and we did not notice any issues with compatibility or performance. The monitor’s FreeSync mode also works well with AMD graphics cards, and can even work with Nvidia cards if the monitor is connected via DisplayPort. The monitor’s HDR mode can improve the image quality of some HDR games and videos, but the effect is not very noticeable due to the monitor’s low contrast ratio and lack of local dimming. The monitor’s game mode has several presets for different genres, such as FPS, RTS, and RPG, which can optimize the color, contrast, and sharpness for each game. The monitor’s black stabilizer can enhance the visibility of dark scenes, while the crosshair can help with aiming accuracy. The monitor’s dynamic action sync can reduce the input lag further, but it also disables some of the other features, such as HDR and motion blur reduction.

Conclusion

The LG 27GL650F-B is a good 1080p, 144Hz IPS monitor with great gaming performance. It has an excellent response time, a low input lag, and a G-Sync compatible mode that can provide a smooth and tear-free gaming experience. It also supports HDR10, which can enhance the color and contrast of some HDR games and videos, but the effect is not very impressive due to the monitor’s low contrast ratio and lack of local dimming. The monitor has a decent overall picture quality, with wide viewing angles, excellent gray uniformity, and great accuracy out of the box. However, like most IPS monitors, it does not look as good in a dark room, as it has a low contrast ratio and poor black uniformity. The monitor has a 27-inch screen size, which is good for productivity, but the 1080p resolution might be too low for some to watch videos. The monitor has a sleek and minimalist design, with a height, pivot, and tilt adjustable stand, and a good selection of ports and features. The monitor has a reasonable price for its performance and features, and is a good choice for gamers who want a fast and smooth gaming experience with an IPS panel.