LG UltraGear 27GL850-B vs ViewSonic Elite XG240R: which gaming monitor is the best buy?

The best gaming monitors don’t just make games look amazing in 2022. They can help you win those games, too. With high refresh rates, low response times and advanced features such as HDR they deliver incredible detail at very high speeds, giving you the edge in fast-moving gameplay. They’re pretty great for watching movies too.

We think the LG UltraGear 27GL850-B is the best gaming monitor for most people: it hits the sweet spot of size, performance and price. But we also really rate the ViewSonic Elite XG240R, which is a brilliant budget buy. Is the LG so much better that it’s worth extending your budget for? Let’s look at the key differences between them.

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LG UltraGear 27GL850-B vs ViewSonic Elite XG240R: design

LG’s gaming monitors tend to be understated, well-designed things and this UltraGear is no exception: the 27-inch panel is surrounded by ultra-thin bezels that make it clear the display is the star here. The height, tilt and pivot are all adjustable. 

The ViewSonic’s case is less showy than its predecessors, replacing the red of the XG2402 with an all-black look that helps disguise the fairly large bezels, although there are two arrowhead-shaped LEDs at the back to remind everyone that this is a gaming monitor. The foot is pretty ugly but that’s hardly a reason to steer clear.

LG UltraGear 27GL850-B vs ViewSonic Elite XG240R: picture quality

LG is famed for its display panels – it’s one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of TFT-LCD panels, and makes panels for the likes of Dell and Apple – and this is a very good IPS panel with excellent colour reproduction and wide viewing angles. It has QHD resolution (2,560 x 1,440), a 144Hz refresh rate and a 1ms response time, and it has HDR 10 for deep blacks and vivid brights. 

The panel in the ViewSonic is a TN panel, which we find less involving than IPS – but as TN panels go this is one of the better ones with 1,000:1 contrast and good colour reproduction. It doesn’t have the depth or contrast of the UltraGear, but it’s perfectly decent for the money. This panel is 24-inch to the LG’s 27 and has HD resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 but it has the same 1ms response time and 144Hz refresh rate. 

LG UltraGear 27GL850-B vs ViewSonic Elite XG240R: colour fidelity

The UltraGear's Nano IPS display delivers 98% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut and a colour range that’s a good 35% greater than sRGB at 100%. Its color reproduction is impressively deep, especially if you’re playing something with deep blacks and neon hues like Cyberpunk 2077.

The ViewSonic doesn’t have HDR 10 and the panel isn’t as good at colour reproduction as the IPS in the LG display, but it still delivers 16.7 million colours with the same brightness and contrast levels as its more expensive rival. 

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LG UltraGear 27GL850-B vs ViewSonic Elite XG240R: features

The UltraGear supports AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync to reduce screen tear and stuttering, and it has a black stabiliser that can make it easier to see players hiding in the dark bits. There are two HDMIs and a DisplayPort socket for connecting multiple devices. 

The ViewSonic Elite also has AMD FreeSync, and its menu system has been given a revamp to make it much easier to navigate than before: it’s easy to switch between picture modes to get the right visuals for the game you’re playing. There are twin HDMIs and a DisplayPort.

LG UltraGear 27GL850-B vs ViewSonic Elite XG240R: pricing and verdict

The street price of the UltraGear is currently around £440/$500, which is pretty reasonable for a monitor with this specification: LG gives you a lot for your money with adaptive sync, dynamic action sync and fun details such as a a built-in crosshair. It’s a great gaming monitor.

The ViewSonic is not quite as good – its panel isn’t an IPS – and it’s smaller with lower resolution, but it is still very good. And it’s a lot cheaper: around £300/$300-$330. If you’re happy with the smaller dimensions it’s a really smart buy.

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