LG is already the king of OLED TVs, but when it comes to PC monitors, the company’s OLED offerings are meager. That will change this summer with the introduction of the LG UltraGear 48GQ900 this week. Like other LG OLED monitors, you can expect this to be a luxury display for people with extreme needs and big budgets.
Aimed at console and PC gamers, the 47.5-inch OLED screen will feature 4K resolution at 120Hz (overclockable to 138Hz) and a 0.1ms gray-to-gray response time. Some people find that 120Hz is useful for watching 24fps content, such as movies, to avoid judder that can occur on some 60Hz displays. All this, combined with the large size of the panel, makes it easy to see that the monitor can replace the TV in the living room, especially the cable cutter. It will even come with a remote control.
However, for extreme PC gaming, it’s worth noting that you can now reserve an OLED monitor with a 240Hz refresh rate.
OLED has a reputation for being less bright than LED-backlit alternatives. LG did not specify how bright the 48GQ900 would be, but noted that the panel will use LG’s proprietary low-reflection anti-glare coating to reduce “visual distractions.”The screen will also have 98.5% DCI-P3 color gamut and support for HDR10.
The monitor is compatible with G-Sync and AMD FreeSync Premium. Both fight screen tearing when paired with an Nvidia or AMD graphics card, respectively, and you also get frame rate compensation, which allows the display to render frames multiple times if the frame rate drops below the lowest refresh rate supported by the monitor.
There’s also a pair of 20W speakers and an audio jack that can add virtual surround sound to a connected headset via DTS Headphone:X. The port selection is rounded out with a pair of HDMI ports, a DisplayPort, a USB-A 3.0 upstream port, and two downstream ports.
But even after the release of the 48GQ900, those interested in high contrast OLED displays in PC monitor form will still have limited options. Most of them are big screens made for gamers that are overkill for most people. Technically designed for business, LG’s 26.5-inch and 32-inch OLED monitors are still among the most affordable OLED monitors despite high prices ($3,000 and $4,000 respectively).
LG has yet to confirm the price of the LG 48GQ900 in the US, but has said the monitor will be available in Japan this month, followed by North America, Europe and Asia.