LG UltraGear LG UltraGear 39" WQHD 2K 1440P 240Hz FreeSync Review

The LG UltraGear 39-inch OLED is a spectacular gaming monitor that makes compromises for everything else. The 240Hz OLED panel offers unmatched motion clarity and incredible HDR contrast. Just know that its lower SDR brightness and OLED burn-in risk make it less ideal as an all-day work monitor. At around $900, it's a compelling price for a screen this big and fast.

The LG UltraGear 39-inch OLED is a monitor that makes you pick a side. It's not a jack-of-all-trades. It's a master of one: immersive, high-speed gaming. That 39-inch, 21:9 curved OLED panel is the main event, wrapping around your peripheral vision with perfect blacks and a 240Hz refresh rate that makes everything feel liquid smooth. If your desk is a command center for first-person shooters, racing sims, or sprawling RPGs, this is your ticket.

Who is this for? It's for the gamer who wants the OLED contrast and pixel response of a high-end TV, but in a monitor form factor that's built for low-latency PC gaming. The 3440x1440 resolution is a sweet spot—demanding enough to look sharp, but not so punishing that you need a $2000 GPU to hit high frame rates. Our database scores it an 86.3 for gaming, which puts it in the top tier.

What makes it interesting is the combination of size, speed, and format. A 39-inch ultrawide is massive without being comically wide like some super-ultrawides. The 800R curve feels natural, and the inclusion of webOS means you can stream Netflix or YouTube TV directly on the monitor when you're not gaming. It's trying to be your entertainment hub, not just a display.

Let's talk numbers. That 240Hz refresh rate paired with OLED's near-instant 0.03ms GtG response time is the real deal. In motion, there's virtually no blur or ghosting. Fast-paced games feel incredibly responsive, and our performance percentile ranking of 83 confirms it's a top contender. The HDR performance is where it gets exciting, though. It hits a peak brightness of 1300 nits, which means highlights in HDR games and movies really pop against those infinite OLED blacks. It's not just a spec sheet bullet point; you feel the difference.

There is a trade-off, and it's brightness in standard use. The spec sheet lists 275 nits for SDR, which is on the lower side. In a brightly lit room, the image can look a bit dim compared to a bright IPS panel. But in a controlled lighting environment, especially for gaming or media consumption at night, the OLED contrast more than makes up for it. The color performance lands in the 83rd percentile, covering a wide gamut for vibrant, accurate colors right out of the box.

Priced around $900, this monitor sits in a interesting spot. You're paying a premium for the OLED panel and the high refresh rate, but you're not venturing into the $1500+ territory of the largest super-ultrawides or 4K OLEDs. For the specs you get—a massive, fast OLED with great HDR—the price is actually competitive.

When we look across vendors, the price is remarkably consistent, hovering right at that $897-$900 mark. There aren't wild discounts or inflated prices, which suggests LG has this priced where they want it. Compared to a 34-inch OLED at a similar price, you're getting more screen. Compared to a 45-inch OLED that might cost more, you're getting a more manageable width and a higher pixel density. It finds a niche and owns it.

The most direct competitor is the ASUS ROG Swift 32" 4K QD-OLED. That one trades the ultrawide format for a taller 4K resolution. You get a sharper image for productivity and media, and QD-OLED technology can get brighter. But you lose the immersive width, and 4K is much harder to drive at high frame rates in games. If you split time 50/50 between work and play, the ASUS might be the better fit.

Then there's the Samsung Odyssey 57" Neo G9. That's a whole different beast: a super-ultrawide with a mini-LED backlight. It gets incredibly bright and has no burn-in risk, but it can't match the per-pixel contrast of OLED, and it's enormous. It's also usually more expensive. The LG's appeal is its focused, immersive size. For a pure gaming experience where contrast is king, the LG OLED often feels more special. The MSI MPG 32" 4K is another fast IPS option, trading perfect blacks for higher SDR brightness and no burn-in worries, but it can't match the OLED's motion clarity or HDR pop.

Skip this monitor if your primary use is productivity in a bright room with lots of static application windows. The combination of lower SDR brightness and the need to babysit the OLED panel against burn-in (hiding taskbars, using screen savers) adds friction to a workday. Graphic designers or video editors who need extreme color accuracy for print might also prefer a dedicated, calibrated IPS monitor.

Also, if you're tight on desk space, this 39-inch beast will dominate it. Look at a 34-inch ultrawide OLED instead. And finally, if you want the absolute sharpest image for text and love having 50 browser tabs open, a 32-inch 4K monitor (OLED or high-end IPS) will provide a sharper desktop experience. The LG is a specialist, and it's okay to admit if you need a generalist.

Buy the LG UltraGear 39-inch OLED if your primary goal is an immersive, jaw-dropping gaming experience and you can control your room's lighting. The combination of size, curve, perfect blacks, and blistering speed is genuinely transformative for single-player adventures and fast-paced shooters alike. Just be ready to use dark mode for everything and maybe hide your taskbar.

Think twice if you work in a super bright home office with lots of static Excel sheets and browser windows open all day. The lower SDR brightness and the ever-present (though manageable) worry about OLED burn-in make it a less ideal daily driver for standard office work. In that case, a high-quality IPS or a QD-OLED monitor with better brightness and burn-in mitigation might cause less anxiety. For a dedicated gaming cave, though, it's hard to beat.