LG OLED evo AI LG OLED evo AI G5 97" 4K HDR Smart TV with Wall Review

This 97-inch LG OLED is the #1 ranked TV for gaming in our database. It's also one of the most expensive, with prices from $20k to $25k. You get a flawless 120Hz OLED panel with every gaming feature, but you're paying for a privilege, not a practical purchase.

Let's start with the headline number: this 97-inch LG OLED evo AI G5 is in the 100th percentile for gaming. That's not a typo. It's the absolute top score in our database for any TV we've tested. Pair that with a 99th percentile display score and 100th percentile connectivity, and you're looking at a screen that's built to dominate a home theater. The catch? At a price that swings between $20,000 and $25,000 depending on the vendor, it's a statement piece for a very specific buyer.

The gaming performance is the main event. That 100th percentile score comes from a full suite of features: a 120Hz native refresh rate, a blistering 0.1ms response time, and support for both FreeSync Premium and G-Sync. It's a complete package that eliminates any compromise for PC or console gamers. Beyond gaming, the display lands in the 99th percentile, driven by LG's Alpha 11 AI Processor Gen2 and that massive, glare-free OLED panel. HDR support is excellent at the 94th percentile, covering Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG. We should note that its overall picture quality percentile is a more modest 45th, which suggests that while its peak performance is stellar, some competing models might offer more consistent tuning across a wider range of content.

The value proposition here is singular: maximum performance at maximum size for a buyer with no budget constraints. The price varies by a full $5,000 across retailers, so shopping around is mandatory. At the lower end of that $20k range, you're 'only' paying about $206 per diagonal inch for a best-in-class gaming OLED. At the high end, that climbs to $258 per inch. There is no such thing as a good deal here, but there are better and worse ones.

Compared to the Sony BRAVIA 5 Mini-LED, the LG G5 wins on pure gaming specs and OLED contrast, but the Sony might have an edge in overall picture processing and brightness. Against the Hisense U6 or TCL QM8 Mini-LEDs, there's no contest on performance—the LG is in a different league—but you could buy a fleet of those TVs for the price of one G5. The Samsung Neo QLED 8K offers more pixels, but the LG's perfect blacks and superior motion handling for gaming are compelling trade-offs. For a dedicated home theater/gaming cave, the G5 is the apex predator.

Skip this if your picture quality budget isn't in the 99th percentile. Seriously, if you're not building a dedicated, controlled-light home theater or gaming cave, its strengths are wasted. The 45th percentile score for overall picture quality suggests more balanced, and vastly more affordable, TVs exist for mixed family use. Also, if you need a TV to sit on a stand, the extra cost and hassle of sourcing one is a deal-breaker.

If you have the wall, the wallet, and the want for the ultimate gaming and movie-watching experience, this LG G5 is the data-backed choice. Its percentile rankings in gaming and display are objectively the best. For everyone else—especially those who care about value, need a stand, or want a more all-around balanced picture—the data suggests looking at high-end Mini-LED competitors or smaller OLEDs. This isn't a TV you buy; it's a theater you install.