It looks like a TV; it’s as big as a TV; but it’s a gaming monitor, at least according to LG. LG launched three new gaming monitors under its UltraGear gaming brand, but its largest offering is the 48-inch chonker that is the 48GQ900.
The 48GQ900 is actually LG’s first OLED gaming monitor, even though the company has plenty of experience with OLED TVs. Unlike the 21:9 ultrawide gaming monitors that have been all the rage lately, the 48GQ900 is a 48-inch monitor in the traditional 16:9 aspect ratio. At those measurements, it’s going to look pretty massive on your desk.
It’s definitely a bit of an overlap with LG’s existing products since it already has a couple of 48-inch OLED TV options that can just as easily be used for gaming. Some of LG’s other OLED TVs are even compatible with G-Sync.
Designed for gaming —
As for what makes the 48GQ900 a gaming monitor beyond its UltraGear branding, it has a 120Hz refresh rate that you can overclock to 138Hz. LG also put an anti-glare low reflection coating on the display, which is technically 47.5 inches with a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160.
The 48GQ900 gets more points for being a gaming monitor since it’s compatible with both Nvidia’s G-Sync and AMD’s FreeSync technologies. But we have to take points away since it comes with a remote, which LG swears is “specifically designed for enhanced gaming convenience.”
The 48GQ900 will have two built-in 20W speakers and three HDMI ports, one Display Port, one upstream and two downstream USB 3.0 ports, and a four-pole headphone jack that supports audio and mic.
Smaller alternatives —
If you’re not looking for something so big to game on, LG introduced two 32-inch monitors: The 32GQ850 and the 32GQ950. If you want a higher refresh rate, the 32GQ850 is 240Hz, and can be overclocked to 260Hz — but it only has a 2,560 x 1,440 resolution. If you prefer higher resolution, the 32GQ950 offers 4K resolution, but only a 144Hz refresh rate that’s overclockable to 160Hz.
Even though LG announced these three monitors, there’s no pricing details available yet. LG did say that the UltraGear monitors would be first available this month in Japan, later coming to markets in North America, Europe, and Asia.