Long Usage Sessions with the LG UltraGear evo 27GM950B: Hyper Mini LED, 5K
The spot on the right of the monitor is from a window behind me
Opening disclosure: I received this product for free from LG as part of an event. While I was asked to share my review, all opinions are entirely my own.
In my first impressions post I describe why I preferred Hyper Mini LED over OLED for my setup and use case. For this second review I wanted to focus more on how well the 1250 nit brightness of this panel actually holds up over longer gaming and desktop sessions, especially when displaying bright HDR content.
When people talk about HDR, peak brightness usually gets most of the focus, and while that is important, I think sustained brightness is just as valuable. Before this monitor, I was using an HDR display that didn’t even reach 1000 nits. Bright HDR content on the panel felt flat and unimpressive. Even though HDR was “on”, it couldn’t get bright enough to make any meaningful difference. So one of my biggest questions coming into this monitor was whether the 1250 nits on the 27GM950B would actually hold up well during longer bright scenes or if it would drop off after the first few minutes the way a lot of other displays.
In practice, the monitor has held up well. During longer gaming sessions I never found myself thinking that the display had become noticeably dimmer or less impactful. Bright outdoor settings, daylight scenes, and HDR highlights continued to look bright and vibrant throughout my session. Some specific games I’ve played using this monitor include: Elite: Dangerous, Red Dead Redemption 2, Assassins Creed Black Flag, and Forza Horizon 6. I have a Ryzen 5 5600 & RX 9070XT and it has no problem driving games at the native resolution.
Outside of gaming, I spend more time using this monitor for programming, browsing, watching videos, and general productivity (I watched the entirety of Game of Thrones with HDR for the first time and it was amazing… except for the last season). The 218 PPI continues to be one of my favorite features of this monitor because everything from text to UI elements look incredibly crisp. Even months of daily use, that level of sharpness is something I appreciate every time I sit down at my desk.
Some things I would like improved is that I wish this monitor had a built in KVM feature. The monitor has a 90w USB Type-C port and it would be convenient to have my macbook and desktop connected to the monitor to allow for easy switching between the devices. One minor thing to mention is that the power supply is quite large, for my desk setup it’s not much of a problem but for others it’s worth knowing about.
Overall, after spending more time with the UltraGear evo 27GM950B, my opinion hasn’t changed much on the monitor. I still think it’s a solid display for my use case of productivity/media consumption/light gaming. Sustained brightness was one of the areas I was most interested in after my initial impressions, and in day-to-day use it has delivered an impressive experience that's bright, immersive, and wonderful to use over extended periods.
