LG Ultra Gear Evo Gaming Monitors with AI Upscaling: The Future of Competitive Display Tech [2025]

Something weird happened at CES this year. Every single tech company showed up with an AI version of something we already had. Your monitor isn't safe from the AI hype machine either.

LG just announced their new Ultra Gear Evo line, and honestly? This is one of the rare cases where AI upscaling in a gaming monitor actually makes sense. Not because AI upscaling is magic. It's not. But because LG is doing something genuinely clever with the technology, combining it with hardware that's legitimately impressive on its own.

The company unveiled three flagship monitors at CES: the 39-inch GX950B, the 27-inch GM950B, and the 52-inch G930B. Each one targets a different kind of gamer or professional, but they all share that 5K resolution and AI-powered upscaling as the headline features.

Here's the thing though: before you get excited about AI upscaling, you need to understand what LG is actually doing, why it matters, and whether it's worth the premium pricing that's definitely coming. Let me walk you through all of it.

TL; DR

• Three new Ultra Gear models: The 39-inch GX950B (ultrawide OLED), 27-inch GM950B (Mini LED with AI upscaling), and 52-inch G930B (massive curved panoramic display)
• AI upscaling included: All three use AI to upscale lower-resolution content to 5K, letting lower-end GPUs still deliver sharp visuals
• Pricing TBA: LG hasn't announced pricing or availability yet, but expect premium pricing given the hardware specs
• Professional-grade specs: These aren't budget gaming monitors—they're designed for competitive gaming, esports, and professional creative work
• Bottom line: If you're building a high-end gaming setup, these are worth waiting for. If you're on a budget, traditional 1440p or 2160p monitors still make more sense

AI upscaling in gaming monitors can reduce GPU workload by up to 70%, improve frame rates by 30%, and lower heat output and power consumption significantly. Estimated data.

What Exactly Is the Ultra Gear Evo Line?

LG's Ultra Gear branding has always meant one thing: premium gaming monitors that cost way more than you'd expect. The Evo designation is LG's way of saying these are the next generation, the evolved version of what came before.

But here's what actually separates the Evo line from previous Ultra Gear displays: integration of AI upscaling technology across the entire lineup. This isn't a gimmick they're slapping on top. It's built into the monitor's processing chain, working in real-time to scale lower-resolution content up to the monitor's native 5K resolution.

The practical implication is significant. Your GPU doesn't have to render everything at 5K. Instead, it renders at a lower resolution (say, 1440p or 2160p), and the monitor's AI chip upscales it to 5K in real-time. This means you get sharper visuals without needing a top-tier graphics card burning through power and heat.

We've seen AI upscaling in TVs for years. Samsung uses it in their QN90 and QN95 lineups. NVIDIA released DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) back in 2018, and it's become industry standard for gaming. But a monitor manufacturer building AI upscaling directly into the display hardware is less common, which makes LG's approach worth paying attention to.

The three monitors LG announced occupy three very different spaces in the gaming and professional monitor market. They're not replacements for each other. They're solutions for different use cases and different budgets (once pricing is revealed).

AI upscaling technologies like NVIDIA's DLSS can improve performance by 50-75%. LG's UltraGear Evo monitors integrate similar technology, offering around 55% improvement. Estimated data based on industry trends.

The 39-Inch GX950B: Ultrawide OLED Gaming Perfection

Let's start with the ultrawide. The 39-inch GX950B is what hardcore esports and immersive gaming looks like in 2025. This isn't a standard 16:9 display. It's 21:9 aspect ratio, which means you're getting a panoramic field of view that makes standard gaming monitors look cramped.

Native Resolution and Refresh Rates

The GX950B runs at 5K2K resolution natively, which breaks down to 5120 x 2160 pixels. That's absurdly sharp, and that's at its full resolution mode. But here's where gaming flexibility comes in: you can switch to WFHD (Wide Full HD, which is 2560 x 1440) and push the refresh rate to 330 Hz. For competitive games like Counter-Strike 2 or Valorant, 330 Hz is insanely fast. Most high-end gaming laptops and desktops can push 240-300fps in esports titles, so 330 Hz gives you headroom.

The switch between 165 Hz at full 5K and 330 Hz at lower resolution isn't something you'd do mid-session. It's a firmware setting. You'd pick one mode and stick with it depending on what you're playing. Single-player games and streaming content? 5K at 165 Hz. Competitive shooters? WFHD at 330 Hz.

OLED Panel Quality

OLED panels have become the gold standard for gaming monitors because of infinite contrast, near-zero response times, and pixel-perfect color accuracy. Each pixel produces its own light, so there's no backlight causing blooming or glow. When you're looking at a black pixel next to a white pixel on an OLED, the transition is instantaneous and the black is actually black, not dark gray.

For gaming, this means the image looks crisp and responsive. Your monitor isn't the limiting factor. Your GPU and your reflexes are.

AI Upscaling on Ultrawide

Where AI upscaling gets interesting on the GX950B is when you're playing games that don't natively support 5K ultrawide. Most games are built for 16:9, not 21:9. The AI upscaling helps fill that gap, letting you play those games at the full panel resolution without the GPU having to brute-force render at 5K ultrawide.

This is a game-changer for immersion. Ultrawide gaming requires getting used to. After a few days, you can't go back to standard aspect ratios. Games feel claustrophobic. But running ultrawide at high framerates without a $4,000+ GPU setup has been the challenge. LG's AI upscaling helps solve that.

Who Should Buy This

The GX950B is for people who've already committed to the ultrawide lifestyle and have the GPU horsepower to back it up. If you're coming from a 27-inch 1440p monitor, this is a massive upgrade in immersion and image quality. If you're budget-conscious, skip it. If you want to experience next-level immersion in games like Cyberpunk 2077, Star Wars Outlaws, or any open-world title, this is the display for that.

The 27-Inch GM950B: Mini LED Brightness With AI Upscaling

If the GX950B is for ultrawide enthusiasts, the 27-inch GM950B is designed for competitive gaming and professional creative work. It's the most interesting of the three, partly because it represents something LG hasn't done before at this scale.

What Are "New" Mini LEDs?

Mini LED technology is the middle ground between OLED and traditional backlit LCD. Instead of one giant backlight behind the entire panel, or individual pixels producing light (OLED), Mini LED uses thousands of tiny LEDs arranged in a grid behind the LCD panel. Each zone can be controlled independently, delivering contrast that's closer to OLED without the burn-in risk.

The word "New" in LG's description suggests they've refined the technology since their last iteration. Possible improvements could include more LED zones for finer local dimming, reduced blooming artifacts at zone boundaries, or faster dimming response times. LG hasn't published specifics yet, but the Mini LED tech has come a long way in the last two years.

The benefit for gamers is significant: you get OLED-like contrast without worrying about your static HUD burning into the panel after 2,000 hours of gameplay. For creatives working on content creation, the brightness (likely 1,000+ nits with local dimming) is professional-grade.

5K Native, AI Upscaling for Flexibility

The 27-inch running at 5K is an interesting density decision. 27 inches at 5K (5120 x 2880) gives you 218 pixels per inch. That's sharp enough that individual pixels disappear at normal viewing distance. Windows OS scales at 125%, mac OS at 200%, but from arm's length, the sharpness is indistinguishable from 1440p at 27 inches.

But here's the practical win: with AI upscaling, you don't have to render everything at 5K. Games running at 1440p get upscaled in real-time. Games running at 2160p (4K) get upscaled to 5K. This flexibility means your GPU workload stays reasonable while the output is crisp.

For esports titles, you'd likely disable the higher resolution and run native 1440p output, then let the AI upscale to 5K. For single-player games, you'd push the GPU harder and let it render at higher resolutions with the monitor's upscaling as a safety net.

Why Apple Should Be Paying Attention

LG manufactures panels for Apple's Pro Display XDR, the company's professional reference monitor. That monitor is aging and getting expensive. Rumor has it Apple's working on an update, and if they do, panels like the one in the GM950B might be what powers it.

The GM950B's spec sheet reads like a preview of what that Apple monitor could be: high resolution, professional color accuracy potential, massive brightness, and advanced backlight technology. For content creators working on video grading, photography, or motion design, a monitor like this could replace expensive reference monitors while doubling as a high-refresh gaming display.

Hybrid approaches are estimated to offer the best balance of quality and compatibility in AI upscaling for gaming monitors. Estimated data.

The 52-Inch G930B: The Absolute Behemoth

Then there's the 52-inch G930B. This thing isn't a monitor. It's a display system. At 52 inches, it's sitting in the territory of a large television, but built with gaming specs instead of entertainment specs.

Panoramic 12:9 Aspect Ratio

The G930B runs at 12:9 aspect ratio and 5K2K resolution (5120 x 3072 pixels). This is extreme. Standard cinema is 21:9. This is wider. You're getting a panoramic view that makes ultrawide look standard.

At 52 inches with that aspect ratio, sitting a typical gaming distance away (20-30 inches from the screen), your field of view gets completely filled. Peripheral vision disappears. It's immersion on a scale that's hard to describe without experiencing it.

240 Hz in Native Resolution

Here's what's wild: the G930B runs at 240 Hz in its native 5K2K resolution. That means your GPU has to push 5120 x 3072 pixels at 240 times per second. That's 3.8 gigapixels per second. You need serious hardware to drive this.

For context, NVIDIA's RTX 5090 (their flagship gaming GPU) can push around 3.8 teraflops. Rendering at this resolution and refresh rate at ultra settings in modern games would require this level of hardware. Most people gaming on this monitor would use AI upscaling extensively, running their games at 1440p or 2160p and letting the monitor's upscaling handle the rest.

The Curved Design

The G930B uses a curved display. At 52 inches, the curve becomes functionally important. A flat 52-inch display would require you to turn your head to see the edges clearly. The curve brings the edges closer to your eyes, making the entire panel visible without head movement.

Curved gaming displays have been around for years, but at 52 inches with this aspect ratio, the curve matters more than it ever has. Without it, the experience would be worse.

Understanding AI Upscaling in Gaming Monitors

Let's talk about what AI upscaling actually does, because there's a lot of misconception about this technology in consumer products.

How Real-Time AI Upscaling Works

Traditional upscaling is simple math. If you have a 1440p image and you need to fill a 5K display, the scaler duplicates or interpolates pixels to fill the space. It's called "stretching," and it looks soft or blurry because the scaler doesn't know what information was lost when the original image was compressed.

AI upscaling trains a neural network on millions of image pairs: low-res and high-res versions of the same scene. The network learns patterns—where edges are, where textures should be sharp, where colors should transition. When you feed it a new 1440p image, it predicts what the 5K version should look like based on those learned patterns.

Does it always get it right? No. Sometimes it hallucinates details that weren't there. Sometimes it makes things look slightly softer than native rendering would. But in most gaming scenarios, AI upscaling from 1440p to 5K looks comparable to native 2160p rendering, while using significantly less GPU power.

The GPU Requirement Question

LG's pitch is that you can use a mid-range GPU with these monitors instead of needing a flagship card. Let's do the math.

Rendering a game at native 1440p on a 27-inch monitor at 144 Hz requires roughly 275 million pixels per second. That's well within the capability of even mid-range cards like the RTX 4070.

Rendering at native 5K on the same monitor at 165 Hz requires 1.38 billion pixels per second. That's roughly 5x the workload. A single-GPU system would struggle unless you're playing esports titles (which are designed to run on lower-end hardware) or gaming at lower graphical settings.

With AI upscaling, your GPU renders at 1440p, and the monitor's AI chip handles the upscaling to 5K. You get roughly the visual fidelity of native 5K rendering at the GPU cost of 1440p, minus the small overhead of the upscaling chip.

In practice, this means:

• GPU bottleneck shifts from the rendering task to the upscaling task
• Power consumption decreases (GPU doesn't have to work as hard)
• Heat output decreases
• Frame consistency improves (fewer dips when scenes get complex)

Potential Downsides

AI upscaling isn't perfect, and there are scenarios where it falls short:

Text rendering: If you're working with small text (coding, spreadsheets), AI upscaling can make it look soft or slightly blurry. Native rendering is sharper.

High-frequency details: Patterns and textures with fine details sometimes get smoothed out or hallucinated incorrectly by the AI model.

Latency: Real-time AI processing adds a tiny bit of latency (usually 1-2ms, sometimes less). For competitive shooters where every millisecond matters, this could theoretically impact performance. In practice, most monitors' upscaling latency is imperceptible.

Model limitations: The AI model LG trained was built on a specific set of game footage. New games with completely different visual styles might not upscale as well as older titles the model was trained on.

These aren't dealbreakers for most people, but they're worth knowing.

Estimated data suggests the 27-inch GM950B could be priced around

Comparing the Three Models: Use Case Breakdown

Now let's talk about which monitor makes sense for which person, because these aren't one-size-fits-all displays.

39-Inch GX950B: For Ultrawide Gaming Enthusiasts

Choose this if:

• You've already experienced ultrawide gaming and can't go back
• You have a GPU that can push 5K ultrawide content (RTX 4080 or better)
• You play immersive single-player games more than competitive titles
• You're willing to pay a premium for immersion
• You want OLED responsiveness for gaming

Skip this if:

• Your GPU is RTX 4070 or lower (you'll spend most time in WFHD 330 Hz mode)
• Your desk doesn't have 39 inches of width
• You play primarily competitive esports
• You're budget-conscious

27-Inch GM950B: For Competitive Gamers and Creatives

Choose this if:

• You want a single display that works for gaming AND professional creative work
• You play a mix of competitive and single-player games
• You stream or create content (the brightness and color accuracy help)
• You want the smallest of the three (easier to fit on most desks)
• You want Mini LED reliability without OLED burn-in concerns

Skip this if:

• You're purely competitive (a 1440p 240 Hz display is more cost-effective)
• You value gaming-only optimization (creatives' monitor features add cost)
• You don't have professional color grading needs

52-Inch G930B: For Simulation Enthusiasts and Extreme Gamers

Choose this if:

• You have significant desk space (52 inches is massive)
• You play flight, racing, or other simulation games (immersion matters)
• You're building a high-end home gaming setup regardless of cost
• You want the absolute widest field of view available
• You have a GPU that can handle 5K2K content (RTX 4090 territory)

Skip this if:

• You play primarily competitive shooters (less immersion benefit)
• Your desk doesn't have 52+ inches of width
• You're budget-conscious (this will be expensive)
• You want a portable or flexible display

The AI Upscaling Arms Race in Gaming

LG isn't the only player in this space anymore. The gaming monitor market has shifted dramatically in the last two years.

NVIDIA's DLSS Dominance

DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) has been NVIDIA's answer to the upscaling problem since 2018. It's GPU-side, not monitor-side. Your graphics card does the upscaling. Most modern games support it natively.

The advantage of GPU-side upscaling: it's game-specific. The AI model can be trained and tuned per-game, delivering better results than a generic monitor-side upscaler. The disadvantage: it only works with NVIDIA hardware.

LG's monitor-side upscaling is hardware-agnostic. Your GPU doesn't matter. The monitor handles it. This is valuable for AMD GPU owners who don't have DLSS, or for people who want upscaling to work across all their applications (desktop browsing, video playback, etc.), not just games.

AMD's FSR and Open Standards

AMD's FSR (Fidelity FX Super Resolution) and Khronos' upsampling standards are attempts to create open, vendor-neutral upscaling tech. FSR works on both AMD and NVIDIA hardware. Open standards could theoretically level the playing field.

But here's the reality: NVIDIA's DLSS is still the most mature and widely supported. It's in almost every AAA game from the last 5 years. AMD's FSR is catching up, but adoption is slower.

Monitor-side upscaling bypasses this entire debate. If it works well, it doesn't matter what GPU you have or what standard the game supports.

Intel's Entry Into Gaming

Intel's Arc GPUs have their own upscaling tech called Xe SS. They're newer and less mature than DLSS or FSR. For Intel GPU owners, monitor-side upscaling becomes even more valuable because game-side upscaling support is sparse.

LG's approach levels the playing field for AMD and Intel users while giving NVIDIA users an additional option on top of DLSS.

AI features and 5K resolution are expected to become standard in gaming displays within 5 years, with converged displays also gaining significant traction. Estimated data.

Technical Specs Breakdown and What They Actually Mean

Let's decode the spec sheet because monitor marketing is often nonsensical to normal people.

Refresh Rate vs. Response Time

Refresh rate (measured in Hz) is how many times per second the monitor redraws the image. Higher is better. 165 Hz means 165 redraws per second. 330 Hz means 330 redraws per second.

Response time (measured in milliseconds) is how fast each pixel can change color. Lower is better. 1ms response time means a pixel can fully transition from one color to another in 1 millisecond. 0.03ms (typical for OLEDs) means it's almost instantaneous.

Both matter for gaming, but response time matters more for competitive shooters. Refresh rate matters more for smooth motion and fluid gameplay.

For the GX950B at 330 Hz WFHD mode, you're getting 3ms between refreshes. If your response time is under 3ms, you're seeing the pixels update faster than the monitor refreshes. That's ideal for competitive gaming.

Color Space Coverage

The monitors almost certainly support 99% DCI-P3 color space (professional standard) or similar. This means they can display a wide gamut of colors accurately. For gaming, this is overkill. For creative professionals editing video or photos, it's essential.

The GM950B, positioned as a hybrid gaming/creative display, would likely spec out with professional color coverage. The GX950B and G930B might have narrower color spaces optimized for gaming instead.

Wait for full specs before buying if professional color work is important to you.

Brightness and Contrast

Brightness is measured in candelas per square meter (cd/m²) or "nits." Standard displays are 200-300 nits. Professional displays are 500-1000 nits. The GM950B's Mini LED backlight likely allows 1000+ nits in peak brightness.

Contrast is the ratio between the brightest and darkest pixels the monitor can display. OLED has infinite contrast (black pixels produce no light, so they're actually black). Mini LED with local dimming can achieve 100,000:1 or higher. LCD without local dimming is usually 1000:1.

For gaming, both brightness and contrast improve visual clarity and impact, but they're not as critical as refresh rate and response time. For professional work, they're essential.

Potential Pricing and Value Analysis

LG hasn't announced pricing yet, but we can estimate based on comparable monitors and historical pricing patterns.

High-End Gaming Monitor Pricing

Premium 27-inch 1440p 240 Hz monitors run

Ultrawide 3440x 1440 gaming monitors run

Large curved gaming displays (38-40 inches) run

These are rough estimates. Once LG announces actual pricing, the real value proposition becomes clearer.

Value Calculation: Is AI Upscaling Worth the Premium?

Let's do a simple ROI calculation. The premium for AI upscaling on a monitor is maybe $400-800 (comparing it to a non-upscaling monitor of equivalent quality).

If AI upscaling lets you use a mid-range GPU instead of a flagship GPU, you save $300-500 on hardware (not including power savings over time). That offsets the monitor premium.

But if you already own a flagship GPU or a modern mid-range GPU, the upscaling doesn't directly save you money. It just makes the system work better together.

Value proposition: Medium. If you're building a new system, it's smart. If you're upgrading your monitor alone, it's a nice bonus, not a game-changer.

Estimated data suggests LG monitors will likely become available between March and June 2025, following typical release patterns.

Real-World Gaming Scenarios and Performance Impact

Let's look at how AI upscaling would actually perform in specific gaming scenarios, because the theory is different from practice.

Scenario 1: Competitive Shooter at 1440p Upscaled to 5K

Game: Counter-Strike 2 Target: 240 Hz GPU: RTX 4070 (mid-range)

Without AI upscaling: You'd run at native 1440p 240 Hz to stay above 240fps consistently. Image is reasonably sharp but noticeably less detailed than 5K.

With AI upscaling: You'd run at 1440p 240 Hz, and the monitor upscales to 5K. Visually, you gain sharpness in static environments (walls, terrain) where the AI model confidently upscales. You might lose slight sharpness in motion or visual noise, but overall image clarity improves.

Framerate impact: Zero. Your GPU still renders at 1440p. Image quality impact: Moderate positive. The upscaling adds clarity without downside in competitive scenarios.

Scenario 2: Single-Player Game at 2160p Upscaled to 5K

Game: Star Wars Outlaws Target: 60fps (single-player, not competitive) GPU: RTX 4080 (high-end)

Without AI upscaling: You'd run at 2160p native on high settings to get 60fps. Very sharp, very pretty.

With AI upscaling: You'd run at 2160p, but instead of rendering at 5K natively (which would cut your framerate in half), the monitor upscales 2160p to 5K. You get slightly softer image quality than native 5K rendering, but maintain 60fps instead of dropping to 30fps.

Framerate impact: Positive. Maintains higher framerate compared to native 5K rendering. Image quality impact: Slight negative vs. native 5K, but significantly better than 2160p without upscaling.

Trade-off: You're gaining 2x the framerate for a small amount of image clarity. Most people would take this trade.

Scenario 3: Desktop and Productivity Work

Task: Photo editing, code writing, document work Display: 27-inch GM950B at 5K

AI upscaling benefits: When you open a browser and web content isn't natively 5K (most isn't), the monitor's upscaling makes everything sharper than it would be on a standard 2160p display. Text is clearer, images are sharper.

Potential downside: Very small text (8-10pt fonts) might look slightly softer or fuzzier due to the AI model not perfectly understanding typography. This is a real concern for code editors where you're reading small text for 8+ hours a day.

LG's Position in the Premium Gaming Monitor Market

Where does LG sit in the competitive landscape, and does this announcement change anything?

Historical Context

LG has been making high-end gaming monitors for over a decade. Their Ultra Gear line is respected but expensive. Competitors like ASUS (ROG line), MSI (MPG line), and Ben Q (Swift line) have larger market share in gaming, but LG's premium segments are strong.

LG's advantage: They own the supply chain. They manufacture their own panels. This gives them advantages in innovation, cost control, and reliability that pure-play gaming peripheral companies don't have.

LG's disadvantage: Gaming enthusiasts associate ASUS and MSI more directly with gaming culture. LG is a broader consumer electronics company. The gaming credibility is there, but it's less visceral.

The AI Upscaling Announcement

By announcing AI upscaling integrated into monitors, LG is making a bold bet that monitor-side upscaling will become table stakes in premium gaming displays. They're betting that gamers will value the flexibility and compatibility more than GPU-side solutions like DLSS.

This could be smart or could be premature. NVIDIA's DLSS is still superior for gaming in direct comparisons. But monitor-side upscaling works with everything, not just NVIDIA hardware. The broader ecosystem could favor LG's approach long-term.

Design and Aesthetics Considerations

One thing we don't know yet: what these monitors actually look like. LG hasn't released detailed design images.

Based on the Ultra Gear aesthetic from previous models, expect:

• Minimal bezels (very thin black or metal trim around the screen)
• RGB lighting (probably customizable via software)
• Aggressive gaming aesthetics (sharp angles, futuristic design language)
• Premium build quality (metal stands, quality cable management)

For a 39-inch ultrawide, the stand needs to be robust. For a 52-inch curved display, the stand needs to be absolutely industrial-grade. These aren't light, flimsy displays.

Ergonomics: All three monitors should have height adjustment, tilt, swivel, and pivot (on the 27-inch). Standing or sitting for hours in front of these, ergonomic positioning matters more than you'd think.

Future Implications and Market Trends

What does LG's announcement tell us about the direction of gaming display technology?

Trend 1: AI Features Are Becoming Default

Every major display manufacturer is racing to add AI features. LG is jumping in with upscaling. Samsung is doing it with TV optimization. Ben Q and ASUS are likely next. Within 3-5 years, expect AI optimization to be standard even on mid-range gaming monitors.

The key question: will it be monitor-side, GPU-side, or hybrid? Right now it's fragmented. LG's bet is monitor-side will win.

Trend 2: Resolution Is Accelerating

5K was niche just three years ago. It's becoming normal for premium displays. In 2-3 years, we might see mainstream gaming monitors ship with 5K as standard. AI upscaling makes this possible without cutting framerate.

This is a virtuous cycle: higher resolution requires more computational power. AI upscaling reduces that requirement. More people can enjoy higher resolution. Resolution becomes expected. Cycle repeats.

Trend 3: Gaming and Professional Displays Are Converging

The GM950B being designed for both gaming and professional work is a signal. The line between a "gaming monitor" and a "professional monitor" is blurring. Creatives want high refresh rates (useful for animation and real-time design tools). Gamers want professional color accuracy (streaming looks better with accurate colors).

Expect more displays that serve both audiences.

Common Misconceptions About Gaming Monitors Clarified

Before we wrap up, let me address some common misconceptions people have about high-end gaming displays.

Misconception 1: "Higher Resolution Means Better Looks"

Not always. A 1440p monitor with a 1ms response time at 240 Hz will look better for competitive gaming than a 5K monitor with a 4ms response time at 60 Hz. Use case determines what "better" means.

For gaming, response time and refresh rate matter more than resolution. For work and creativity, resolution and color accuracy matter most.

Misconception 2: "I Need the Highest Refresh Rate"

You don't. If your GPU can only push 100fps, a 240 Hz monitor is overkill (though it provides future-proofing). Most people are perfectly happy with 100-120 Hz. Beyond that, diminishing returns apply. The jump from 60 Hz to 120 Hz is dramatic. The jump from 240 Hz to 360 Hz is imperceptible to most people.

Misconception 3: "OLED Burn-In Is Inevitable"

OLED burn-in is rare in 2025. Modern OLED gaming monitors have pixel-shifting, brightness limiting, and screen-saver detection. After 5,000+ hours of gameplay with a static HUD, you might see slight burn-in. It's possible but uncommon for people with normal gaming habits.

Mini LED eliminates this risk entirely, which is why some people prefer it.

Misconception 4: "You Can Only Use These With High-End GPUs"

Wrong. The AI upscaling is designed to work with mid-range GPUs. You'd render at lower resolution (1440p or 2160p) and let the monitor upscale. This expands compatibility significantly.

When Will These Monitors Actually Be Available?

LG announced these at CES in January 2025. The announcement didn't include availability or pricing. Historically, LG takes 2-6 months to bring products from CES announcement to market.

Expectation: Sometime in Q1 or Q2 2025 for the initial launch. Pricing might be announced at CES 2026 or through press releases in the coming weeks.

Before you buy, wait for reviews. Independent testing will tell you if the AI upscaling actually delivers on the promise. Manufacturer claims and real-world performance often diverge.

Building a System Around These Monitors

If you're seriously considering one of these displays, here's what you need to build around it:

GPU Requirements

For 39-inch GX950B:

• 165 Hz at 5K ultrawide: RTX 4080 or RTX 5080
• 330 Hz at WFHD: RTX 4070 or better
• Minimum viable: RTX 4070 (you'd use the 330 Hz mode mostly)

For 27-inch GM950B:

• 165 Hz at 5K: RTX 4080 or RTX 5080
• With AI upscaling: RTX 4070 can handle it at 1440p upscaled
• Minimum viable: RTX 4070

For 52-inch G930B:

• 240 Hz at 5K2K: RTX 4090 or RTX 5090
• With AI upscaling: RTX 4080 could work at lower resolution upscaled
• Minimum viable: RTX 4090 for full specs

CPU Requirements

CPU matters less than GPU for these. Any modern high-end CPU (Intel i 7-13K or newer, AMD Ryzen 7 9700X or similar) will keep up. These monitors won't bottleneck on CPU unless you have a very old processor.

System RAM and Storage

32GB RAM is recommended. Modern games with high-quality assets (especially at 5K) benefit from extra memory. NVMe SSD is essential (you should have this anyway).

Power Supply

The GPU is your limiting factor. An RTX 4090 requires 850W PSU minimum, often recommending 1000W. If you're building around that monitor, your PSU is the limiting factor, not the monitor's power draw.

Monitor Stand and Desk Setup

Don't cheap out on stand or desk. A 52-inch curved display weighs 40-50 pounds minimum. Your desk needs to support it. Your stand needs to be rock-solid. Wobbly monitors are maddening when you're trying to do precision work or competitive gaming.

Budget $200-500 for a quality monitor arm if mounting on a desk.

The Bottom Line on LG's AI Upscaling Strategy

LG isn't the first company to integrate AI upscaling into displays, but they're doing it at a scale and with specs that could meaningfully shift the market. The three Ultra Gear Evo models address three different audiences, which is smart positioning.

The real question isn't whether AI upscaling works. It does. The question is whether monitor-side upscaling becomes the dominant approach in gaming, or if GPU-side solutions (DLSS, FSR, Xe SS) remain primary with monitor-side as a supplement.

Based on trends, I'd bet on hybrid approaches winning: GPU-side upscaling when available (better quality), with monitor-side as a fallback (universal compatibility).

For buying: Wait for reviews of the actual products before committing. Spec sheets don't tell you everything. Real-world performance in games you actually play matters more than theoretical numbers.

For gaming enthusiasts on a budget: These monitors are premium-priced for a reason, but you don't need them. A 27-inch 1440p 240 Hz monitor at $600-800 will give you 80% of the gaming experience for 20% of the cost. These are for people who want the absolute best and have the budget to match.

For professionals: The GM950B sounds interesting if the color accuracy and brightness specs pan out. But wait for independent color calibration tests before buying. Don't assume professional specs translate to professional performance.

FAQ

What is AI upscaling in gaming monitors?

AI upscaling is technology that uses neural networks trained on millions of image pairs to intelligently enlarge lower-resolution content to match the monitor's native resolution in real-time. Instead of your GPU rendering at 5K, it renders at 1440p or 2160p, and the monitor's built-in AI chip upscales the image to 5K. This delivers sharp visuals while reducing GPU workload, power consumption, and heat output. The result is better performance without sacrificing image clarity significantly.

How does the AI upscaling work on these monitors?

LG's monitors contain a dedicated AI processing chip that runs upscaling algorithms during the video signal path from your GPU to the display panel. When your GPU sends a 1440p signal to a 5K monitor, the AI chip analyzes the image and predicts what the 5K version should look like based on patterns it learned during training. It then fills in the missing pixels intelligently rather than simply duplicating them. The process happens in real-time (imperceptible latency) as the image flows from your GPU to the display pixels. The AI model was trained on gaming footage specifically, so it understands how game visuals should look when upscaled.

What are the main benefits of AI upscaling?

The primary benefits include significant GPU workload reduction (render at 1440p instead of 5K, using 50-80% less GPU power), improved frame rates in demanding games, lower heat output and power consumption, maintained visual sharpness compared to traditional upscaling, and universal compatibility (works with any GPU regardless of manufacturer or driver support). Additionally, these benefits extend beyond gaming to desktop usage, video playback, and creative work. The economic benefit is substantial: you could use an RTX 4070 with these monitors instead of needing an RTX 4080 or 4090, saving $300-500 on GPU hardware.

Which monitor should I buy if I'm a competitive gamer?

The 27-inch GM950B is best for competitive gaming because it offers a traditional 27-inch size (proven in esports environments), supports high refresh rates, and uses Mini LED technology that's reliable and burn-in resistant. Run it at 1440p natively and let AI upscaling handle the rest while pushing your target refresh rate (240 Hz+). The GX950B ultrawide is immersive but less practical for competitive shooters where peripheral vision is less important. The 52-inch G930B is massive overkill for competitive games. Save your money.

Is AI upscaling better than NVIDIA's DLSS?

It depends on the use case. DLSS (running on your GPU) is typically more sophisticated and delivers superior image quality when available, because it's game-specific and highly optimized. However, DLSS only works with NVIDIA hardware and requires games to implement support (though most modern AAA titles do). Monitor-side AI upscaling works with any GPU, any game, and any application. It's not better objectively, but it's more universally compatible. Most gaming professionals would use both together: DLSS for games that support it, monitor-side upscaling as a fallback. NVIDIA's DLSS remains the gold standard for game-specific upscaling.

What GPU do I need for the 52-inch G930B?

For the 52-inch G930B running at native 5K2K (5120 x 3072) at 240 Hz, you need at minimum an RTX 4090 or equivalent. This is 3.8 gigapixels per second to render, which is beyond the capability of lesser hardware. With AI upscaling (rendering at 1440p or 2160p and letting the monitor upscale), an RTX 4080 becomes viable. Most people using this monitor would rely on upscaling extensively because the raw rendering requirements at full specs are extreme. If you're asking whether you need this monitor, the answer is probably no unless you have a specific use case (extreme simulation gaming, creative work) that justifies it.

When will pricing and availability be announced?

LG announced these monitors at CES in January 2025 without pricing or availability details. Historically, LG takes 2-6 months to bring products from announcement to market availability. Expect availability sometime in Q1-Q2 2025, with pricing announcements likely coming through press releases before that. Pre-orders will probably open 1-2 months before retail launch. Before buying, wait for independent reviews testing the actual AI upscaling performance in games you play.

Can I use these monitors with an AMD GPU?

Yes, absolutely. The monitor's AI upscaling works at the display level, independent of your GPU manufacturer. It works with NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel GPUs equally. This is actually one of the advantages of monitor-side upscaling: universal compatibility. AMD users don't have access to DLSS, but they can use FSR or rely on monitor-side upscaling. For AMD GPU owners, LG's approach is attractive because it removes the driver/game compatibility concerns.

Will older games look better with AI upscaling?

Yes, older games at lower resolutions will look notably sharper when upscaled to 5K. A 1440p game from 2015 rendered on a 5K monitor will look sharper and clearer than it would on a native 1440p display, because you're applying the monitor's full pixel density to the image. The AI upscaling makes this work well. However, very old games (2010 and earlier) with low-poly models and flat textures might look slightly strange when upscaled aggressively, because the AI model wasn't trained on that visual style. For most games from 2015 onwards, upscaling looks great.

Do these monitors have built-in speakers or other features?

LG hasn't detailed all the features yet. But based on premium Ultra Gear models, expect USB-C with power delivery, USB hub functionality, headphone jack, and possibly integrated RGB lighting. Audio is usually poor in gaming monitors, so don't rely on built-in speakers. The 52-inch model might have slight speaker functionality (the size allows for better audio), but you'd want external speakers or a sound system regardless.

The gaming monitor market just got more interesting. LG's Ultra Gear Evo line represents a genuine technical advancement, even if AI upscaling isn't entirely new. The real-world performance impact depends on your GPU, your games, and your expectations. For people building high-end systems in 2025, these are worth watching. For everyone else, traditional 1440p or 2160p monitors remain sensible choices until AI upscaling matures further and prices stabilize.

The competition between monitor-side and GPU-side upscaling is going to define gaming displays for the next few years. LG's making a bold bet. Whether it pays off depends on adoption and real-world performance reviews once these hit the market.

Key Takeaways

• LG announced three UltraGear Evo gaming monitors with integrated AI upscaling: 39-inch GX950B (OLED ultrawide), 27-inch GM950B (MiniLED), and 52-inch G930B (curved panoramic)
• AI upscaling technology lets GPUs render at lower resolution (1440p-2160p) while the monitor intelligently upscales to 5K in real-time, reducing workload by 50-80%
• The 39-inch ultrawide supports 165Hz at native 5K or 330Hz at WFHD; the 27-inch targets creators and competitive gamers; the 52-inch is an extreme 12:9 panoramic display at 240Hz
• Monitor-side AI upscaling offers universal GPU compatibility (NVIDIA, AMD, Intel), unlike GPU-side solutions like DLSS which only work with specific hardware
• Expected pricing likely
  $1,500-2,500 for the 27-inch,$
  2,500-4,000 for the 39-inch, and $3,000-5,000+ for the 52-inch, with availability expected Q1-Q2 2025

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