LG UltraFine 27UP850-W | Full view

It’s not the most affordable and its speakers lack bass, but LG’s UltraFine 27UP850-W monitor comes out on top with remarkable picture quality and a generous number of ports. A very good companion for your computer.

Karim Benessaieh
Press

WE love

The 27UP850 monitor, first of all, gives us a nice picture, with well-defined text, rich colors and anti-reflective coating. Its technical specifications are up to the task: its 27-inch screen has a beautiful resolution of 3840 pixels by 2160, ie four times more pixels than less expensive screens presented as “Full HD”. Its 320 nits brightness and 1200: 1 contrast ratio are well above the industry average.

Here is a monitor on which you can spend several hours a day without tearing your eyes out.

On a work desk, it rests on a U-shaped base which offers the advantage of taking up very little space. It can be rotated up to 90 degrees to place it in portrait or landscape mode, up or down 11 cm, and it tilts about 30 degrees. In short, it adapts to almost all tastes and all spaces.

It can be connected to a computer with its two HDMI sockets and its DisplayPort socket; the refresh rate is then 75 Hz. But it is its USB-C Thunderbolt output that will undoubtedly be the most useful with a recent laptop, since it allows the image to be broadcast on the monitor while recharging the device. computer, with a maximum capacity of 96 watts. The refresh rate is then 60 Hz.

Using the USB-C port also allows up to two USB-A 3.0 peripherals (keyboard, mouse, USB stick or external disk) to be connected to the monitor. This configuration is ideal when you plug in a laptop that has few outlets, such as our 2020 MacBook Pro.

For sound, we have a 3.5mm jack to plug in headphones and the monitor has two built-in 5-watt speakers.

For video games, AMD’s FreeSync technology has been integrated, which reduces latency to 5 ms and minimizes screen jerks. LG also offers three adjustment software, first LG Calibration Studio intended for professionals who want to fine-tune the image.

There is also a feature called OnScreen Control, which allows you to virtually split the screen up to eight sections. In fact, you will have invisible divisions which will force each software to paste a window into it. The application works well, although it does not seem to us to be overwhelmingly useful.

We like less

The built-in speakers are not of great quality. Yes, the volume obtained was louder than what our MacBook Pro could produce, but the sound was rather loud with a glaring lack of bass.

Another function offered, Dual Controller, seemed very attractive to us. Basically, you can control several auxiliary computers with the keyboard and mouse of the main computer. Having a second Windows computer also plugged into this monitor, we thought we had found a silver bullet to navigate between our two computers. Alas, Dual Controller never worked after an hour of hacking and video tutorials.

At $ 649.99, this monitor isn’t the cheapest of 4K displays. Blame it on its USB-C connection capability, which is relatively new on the market.

One buys ?

With its versatility, image quality and great connectivity, the LG 27UP850 is an excellent monitor, for everyday use or for work. Its gaming capabilities are more than honest, though its refresh rate won’t make it a favorite with the most discerning hobbyist.

Of course, you have to be prepared to pay the price.