LG UltraGear LG UltraGear 45" WUHD DUAL MODE 4K 165Hz FHD 330Hz Review

The LG UltraGear 45GX950A-B is a 45-inch curved OLED gaming monitor with a unique 5K2K ultrawide resolution. It offers stunning picture quality, a 165Hz refresh rate at native resolution, and a 330Hz mode for competitive gaming. It's an expensive but incredibly versatile choice for enthusiasts who want one screen to rule them all.

If you're hunting for a monitor that can do it all—serious gaming, immersive movies, and productive multitasking—the LG UltraGear 45GX950A-B is a fascinating beast. It's a 45-inch curved OLED with a unique 5120 x 2160 resolution (what LG calls 5K2K), which gives you the ultrawide aspect ratio of a 21:9 screen but with way more vertical pixels than a standard 1440p ultrawide. The headline feature is its Dual Mode: you can run it at its native, stunning 5K2K resolution at 165Hz, or drop it to Full HD for a blistering 330Hz refresh rate. With a price tag floating between $1500 and $2000, it's squarely in the enthusiast and prosumer arena.

This is where the OLED panel shines. In our tests, the color performance and contrast are in the 100th percentile—no surprise, given the 1.5 million:1 contrast ratio and 98.5% DCI-P3 coverage. Blacks are truly black, and HDR content pops with a peak brightness of 1300 nits. The 0.03ms response time is basically instantaneous, so you get zero ghosting or smearing in fast-paced games. The 165Hz refresh rate at the native 5K2K resolution is smooth, but hitting that frame rate consistently requires a seriously powerful GPU. That's where the 330Hz FHD mode comes in handy for competitive shooters, though you are trading a massive amount of sharpness for that speed.

Priced between $1500 and $2000 depending on the retailer, this monitor asks a lot of your wallet. You're paying for that unique 5K2K OLED panel and the dual-mode flexibility. For pure gaming value, a 4K QD-OLED like the ASUS ROG Swift 32" might be a simpler choice. But if you want one screen for high-end gaming, content creation, and productivity, the LG's extra vertical pixels and aspect ratio start to justify the cost. Shop around, as we've seen the price dip towards the lower end of that range during sales.

This monitor sits in a weird, awesome niche. The Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 57" is bigger and has a dual 4K resolution, but it's a Mini-LED panel, not OLED, so you don't get those perfect blacks. The ASUS ROG Swift 32" 4K QD-OLED is a more straightforward (and often slightly cheaper) 4K gaming monitor with similarly incredible picture quality, but it's a standard 16:9 screen—you lose the ultrawide workspace. The LG's trick is merging a high-PPI ultrawide productivity monitor with a top-tier OLED gaming panel. It's not the best at any one thing, but it's one of the best at doing everything at once.

Skip this monitor if you're on a tight budget, have a modest graphics card, or have a small desk. Its size and resolution demands are significant. Also, if you're terrified of OLED burn-in and plan on leaving static Excel sheets open for 10 hours a day, a high-end IPS or Mini-LED monitor like the Dell UltraSharp 27" 4K might be a safer bet. Pure competitive gamers might also prefer a faster 1440p or 1080p panel.

So, should you buy the LG UltraGear 45GX950A-B? If you have a powerful PC (think RTX 4080 or better), want a single monitor for both immersive gaming and serious multi-window productivity, and you're captivated by OLED's picture quality, this is a fantastic and unique option. The dual-mode feature is a genuine clever solution for when you need max frames. But if you're a competitive gamer who lives at high refresh rates, you'll probably be happier with a dedicated 360Hz+ 1440p monitor. And if you just want the best OLED picture for movies and casual gaming, a standard 4K OLED might be simpler and cheaper.