LG 27GL850 review: why we named it the best gaming monitor

Recently, we named the LG 27GL850 the best gaming monitor on the market after several weeks of testing. This 1440p 144Hz display impressed us due to its excellent colour reproduction and motion handling, while a few missing features were forgiven thanks to its relatively affordable sub-$500 price point. Today, I thought it would be interesting to go into a little more detail about why this new monitor has earned our top recommendation, including a closer look at the monitor's innovative Nano IPS panel, its 1ms GtG response time rating and a few other curios that didn't make it into our summarised write-up.

The biggest difference between the LG 27GL850 and our previous picks for the 'best gaming monitor' spot is the sort of panel they use. While monitors like the Acer XB271HU and Asus PG279Q used AHVA IPS panels from Taiwanese vendor AU Optronics, this new monitor is built around a next-generation Nano IPS panel from LG Display, a subsidiary of the wider LG chaebol.

Nano IPS builds on the normal strengths of IPS panels, which are known for their wide viewing angles and accurate colour reproduction, by layering nanoparticles on the white LED backlight of the display. This layer filters out wavelengths of light that lie outside the intended gamut, allowing for more accurate colours within it. The Nano IPS specification therefore hits 98 per cent of DCI-P3 colour space, equivalent to around 135 per cent of the less-demanding sRGB gamut, allowing for more colour-accurate work and even support for HDR inputs.

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