LG's new 39-inch 5K2K OLED is easily my favourite new PC monitor at CES 2026 and it might just be the gaming panel I've been waiting for

CES 2026 has been a bit of a blowout for the PC. Nvidia and AMD had basically squat to show off, leaving Intel's Panther Lake as the only major tech launch. Except, that is, for monitors and what looks to me like the most exciting gaming display of 2026.

I give you the LG UltraGear Evo 39GX950B, all 39 inches of it. This new gaming monitor has so much going for it. It gets LG's latest OLED panel tech (albeit minus the RGB-stripe subpixel layout) and a 5K2K native resolution.

That's 5,120 by 2,160 pixels. It's basically a 4K 16:9 pixel grid taken out to 21:9 aspect ultrawide. More specifically, it's essentially a 32-inch 16:9 monitor stretched out to 21:9.

That means the 140-ish DPI pixel density is the same as a 32-inch 4K panel. Personally, when it comes to the best compromise between crispy precision for day-to-day computing and maybe creative workflows, overall panel size for immersion and tolerable GPU load for gaming, 32-inch 4K makes more sense than 27-inch 4K.

The latter has better pixel density, for sure. But that's barely noticeable for games, and yet you will feel the smaller, less immersive panel size. And 32-inch 4K is still pretty sharp and offers really nice fonts and text.

Personally, I also just love ultrawide form factors and much prefer them to, say, a dual-monitor setup. A single ultrawide is just, well, so much more seamless.

Likewise, 39-inch ultrawide strikes me as a relatively ergonomic panel size. As much as I like 49-inch and 57-inch panels, they are pretty unwieldy.

LG has even learned lessons from its 45-inch 5K2K OLED, the LG Ultragear 45GX950A, and reduced the panel curvature from a silly 800R to a more sensible and gentle 1500R. So, 39 inches, 4K pixel density, ultrawide immersion, what's not to like?

Well, the price, no doubt. That said, the LG Ultragear 45GX950A has already dropped from $1,999 at launch to $1,499 now. And you'd have to think this new, smaller 39-inch model will be cheaper. So, I imagine it will be available for about $1,000, if not at launch then a few months later.

OK, that's still far from cheap. But when you think that you should get five years of fabulous gaming and computing out of it, $200 a year for that privilege doesn't seem so bad.

All of which means I'm left with two remaining reservations. First, I do wish the UltraGear Evo 39GX950B had LG's new RGB-strip subpixel layout mentioned above. Not because of the better font rendering, but because pure RGB gives zingier, punchier colours than the RGWB layout with the added white subpixel.

Ultimately, I'd probably rather have this panel format with Samsung's gorgeous QD-OLED tech, which has never relied on a white subpixel to boost brightness.

The other obvious issue is ye olde OLED burn-in. This is an expensive display which makes most sense as a long-term investment. Thus far, OLED burn-in in PC monitors has not proved to be the problem that many feared.

But five-years-plus remains a pretty big ask. I'd still probably be willing to take the risk. It's just a pity the burn-in fear would linger in the back of my mind.

That aside, this thing looks very, very sweet. If there's any monitor announced at CES this year that might just convince me to fork out myself, it's this new LG. It's basically the display I've been waiting for over the last few years. I really hope it doesn't disappoint.