LG's new 45-inch 5K2K OLED could be the pixel-packed gaming monitor you've been waiting for
We've seen plenty of 45-inch ultrawide OLED gaming monitors before. But they've all suffered a horribly low 3,440 by 1,440 resolution. Well, not any more. LG has just announced a new 5K2K 45-inch OLED, the LG UltraGear 45GX950A.
A first world problem if ever there was, but 3,440 by 1,440 is pretty modest when stretched across a huge 45-inch monitor as opposed to, say, a 34 incher like the excellent Alienware 34 AW3423DWF. The result is a slightly grim pixel density of just over 80 PPI. A tragedy, indeed.
But 5K2K means 5,120 by 2,160 pixels. The resolution is basically a standard 4K pixel grid taken out from 16:9 aspect to 21:9. In terms of pixel density, it works out to 125 PPI. That's a little short of the circa 140 PPI of a 32-inch 4K monitor. It's quite a ways off the 166 PPI of the new 4K 27-inch OLEDs we mentioned earlier today, too, obviously.
But it's also a fair bit better than the 108 PPI of a regular 27-inch 1440p panel and the usual 34-inch ultrawides, including OLEDs. In truth, we'll have to see it with our own beady peepers to decide just how much the pixel density improvement over those popular monitor formats translates into more visual clarity, sharpness and detail.
LG hasn't quoted any specs for the panel beyond listing the same 0.03 ms as other LG OLEDs along with a refresh of 165 Hz. That implies there's nothing dramatically new about it save for the form factor and resolution, and thus it will likely mirror LG's existing 3rd gen WOLED gaming monitor panel technology.
That's no bad thing. But it probably means we won't see any advance in terms of full-screen brightness, which is still a limitation on all OLED gaming monitors, and colour brightness, which is a little weaker on LG's WOLED versus Samsung's QD-OLED tech.
Along with this LG UltraGear 45GX950A, there's also an LG UltraGear 45GX990A. It's essentially the same monitor but in a bendable format. Where the 45GX950A offers a fixed and quite extreme 800R curve, the 45GX990A can go from fully flat through to 900R. Oh, and it achieves that bend via a remote control and motors as opposed to manually.
For the record, both panels also offer a secondary 2,560 by 1,080 pixel doubled mode offering 330 Hz refresh. It's a similar dual-mode feature to 4K monitors that can also run at 1080p but at a higher refresh rate.
In truth, these pixel-doubled modes never look quite as crisp as the same resolution in native format on a similarly sized panel. But it's a nice little extra all the same.
As for the sordid matter of money, the fixed curve 45GX950A has an MSRP of $1,999. The bendable 45GX990A hasn't been priced up, but what with the fancy motorised panel bending shizzle, we suspect it will be at least $2,500. Ouch.
Best gaming monitor: Pixel-perfect panels.
Best high refresh rate monitor: Screaming quick.
Best 4K monitor for gaming: High-res only.
Best 4K TV for gaming: Big-screen 4K PC gaming.