LAS VEGAS—Gaming monitors often focus on refresh rates, pixel density, and size. But a new panel from LG Display upgrades how it shows text, with promises of easier-to-read lettering.
At a private booth here at CES, the company is showing off a 27-inch 4K OLED monitor, and its crisp and clear text immediately caught my eye. The panel takes advantage of LG’s “RGB stripe structure” for the subpixels, which tackles fuzzy lettering.
(Credit: PCMag)
The technology ditches the tight, triangular pattern used to display red, green, and blue subpixels. Instead, RGB subpixels are arranged in single-line columns, which can reduce color bleeding and visual distortions, since the colors are further apart, LG says.
(Credit: LG Display)
“Although OLED panels using the RGB stripe method existed before, their maximum refresh rate reached around 60Hz, making them unsuitable for use as gaming monitors,” LG explains.
(Credit: PCMag)
LG says it improved the RGB stripe method so that the panel can far exceed 60Hz to reach a maximum 240Hz refresh rate. It’s poised to appeal to anyone who enjoys strategy games, which usually display a good amount of text, or PC users who’d like text clarity outside of gaming.
(Credit: PCMag)
We didn’t get a chance to actually use the monitor, but LG Display demoed the RGB stripe technology by using it to run the strategy game Anno 117: Pax Romana. The lettering appeared more solid and defined than your average monitor, although we’d need to test it to be sure.
To appeal to elite gamers, LG Display also showed off a separate 27-inch monitor that boasts an extremely high 720Hz refresh rate. Although we’ve seen monitors with similar or even higher refresh rates, LG says its monitor is the first OLED panel capable of 720Hz.
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LG’s 720Hz panel (Credit: PCMag)
However, it can only pull off the high refresh rate in HD 1080p mode. Otherwise, it can hit 540Hz at QHD 1440p resolution.
For gamers who want a wide screen, LG Display created a 39-inch panel for a PC monitor that displays a 5,120-by-2,160-pixel resolution, or what the company dubs 5K2K. The exceptionally long OLED panel also features a peak brightness at 1,500 nits and a 330Hz refresh rate.
LG Display’s ultrawide panel (Credit: PCMag)
For now, LG Display hasn’t announced pricing or launch dates for its panels. The company is separate from LG Electronics, so it’ll be up to the company’s clients, such as PC vendors, to decide whether they sell the new displays as gaming monitors.
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About Our Expert
Michael Kan
Senior Reporter
Experience
I’ve been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I’m currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country’s technology sector.
Since 2020, I’ve covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I’ve combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink’s cellular service.
I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. Earlier this year, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.
I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I’m now following how President Trump’s tariffs will affect the industry. I’m always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.
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