Product Review: The LG 32GP63A-B Is One Of The Cheapest Gaming Ultrawides on the Market!
This monitor was tested thoroughly as well as used PERSONALLY every day to complete this full in-depth review. Here is what I found after this process...
Pros:
1440p Resolution
34 Inch Screen Size
Great Color Temperature Accuracy
Good Ghosting & Input Lag
Good Build Quality
Cons:
Dim In Bright Rooms
Poor HDR Performance
Size, Resolution, & Panel Type
The LG 34GP63A-B is a 34 inch ultrawide with a resolution of 3440 by 1440p.
This also has an 1800R curve. This is a slight curve that adds a little to immersion but isn’t too much. If you're someone who hates Samsung's 1000R super curved monitors, this curve probably won’t bother you, and I much prefer this to flat ultrawides.
As for the panel type, this is a VA panel.
Refresh Rate & Variable Refresh Rate
The 34GP63A-B has a native refresh rate of 160Hz and has FreeSync Premium.
FreeSync worked well with Nvidia G-Sync compatibility with no screen tearing or anything like that, as we do expect this from LG at this point.
Brightness & HDR
This is rated for 300 nits of brightness, and after testing, that is what this hits all the time. Now 300 nits is good, but it’s not super bright. Most of the time when doing normal writing or work flow tasks, the brightness was fine. When gaming, however, I usually shut the curtains.
As for HDR, this does have it, however, when in HDR, the overall brightness isn’t really increased. As well, like all the other competition in this segment, this doesn’t have a wide color gamut. Because of this, in HDR you don’t really gain anything when compared to SDR.
Colors & ACCURACY
The LG 34GP63A-B covers 99% of the sRGB color gamut, so no wide color coverage here. Although, this is common for the price point and competition.
As well, this is factory calibrated from LG. LG does this the best by far out of any brand, and it shows here.
The color temperature out of the box was basically perfect, hitting a shocking 6586K with a target of 6500K. This is very uncommon at this price and even with more expensive monitors. They rarely are this close out of the box.
As far as the overall accuracy out of the box, across the board all colors were under-saturated. This was my feeling immediately after unboxing it, so I just increased saturation of the reds, greens, and blues, and this made it so much better. If you don’t have a calibration tool, that is exactly what I’d recommend. I overall got really good results just from doing this. Not perfect, but not bad at all for the price point.
Contrast Ratio & Backlight Bleed
The contrast ratio from the 34GP63A-B is exactly what you’d expect from a VA panel at a 3000:1 contrast ratio, which is great!
This has much deeper blacks than a typical IPS panel, so night scenes, more contrasted gameplay, or movies look great on this. This is arguably the biggest pro to VA panels over IPS panels.
Now for backlight bleed, my unit had absolutely none. This is expected, as LG is usually spot on with quality control.
Response Time, Ghosting, & Input Lag
As for response time, the LG 34GP63A-B hits a claimed 5ms GTG, but how is the ghosting? Well, it’s better than many gaming VA panels, but not as good as the Dell S3422DWG. That being said, the Dell is in a slightly higher price point.
The ghosting is the best in the fastest response time setting. When in the fastest setting, ghosting is definitely noticeable. Some people won’t really notice this, but if you’re someone who is prone to noticing smearing and ghosting, the Dell S3422DWG is definitely significantly lower than this.
As for input lag, this is exactly what you’d expect being quite low when compared to other 144Hz or 160Hz monitors.
Menu System & Controls
This uses LG’s previous menu system, which is not a bad thing.
It’s fast, functional, and it looks pretty good. It's not quite as attractive as the newer system, but that is really just a reskin. This is the best menu system in the game. I’ve said it a million times.
The joystick in the center middle bottom chin has no learning curve, it’s overall just perfect.
VESA Compatibility
VESA compatibility here is great with 100mm by 100mm VESA mounts. It also comes with screws already in the back, which is nice to have.
Internal Speakers
As for internal speakers, this is actually one of the few LG ultragear monitors that has speakers, so how are they?
Well, as you’d expect, no bass. However, with the Waves MaxxAudio on they get reasonably clear, decently loud, and they don’t rattle. They aren’t quite as good as what Samsung has been putting in their monitors, but this isn’t absolute trash like I was expecting.
Connectivity & Ports
Ports are exactly what you’d expect: two HDMI 2.0, one DisplayPort 1.4, and a 3.5mm audio out.
Stand & Build Quality
Stand and build quality is good.
This is the premium stand found on LG’s previous generation of UltraGears, but this is a new monitor. I think they are using these previous generation stands to try to cut down on cost. The materials are high end and everything feels well put together.
As for adjustibility, this has height, tilt, and a little amount of rotation to level it on the desk. This generation and stand did lack a ton of adjustibility with swivel and full rotation, but personally, I never use these on ultrawides.
Price & Value
The LG 34GP63A-B is one of the cheapest gaming ultrawides in the market.
The Dell S3422DWG, which has better ghosting and a higher brightness, is a bit more expensive. Now personally, I prefer the Dell due to the higher brightness and better ghosting. However, the price and if both/one of these is on sale will absolutely be the deciding factor when choosing which one to buy.
Overall Verdict
So overall, do I recommend the LG 34GP63A-B? Well, if you want one of the least expensive gaming ultrawides on the market from an extremely good brand, then yes! But if you have a slightly bigger budget, I recommend the Dell S3422DWG over this due to higher brightness and better ghosting.