LG reveals their 34GK950G and 34GK950F Nano IPS G-Sync and FreeSync displays

At IFA 2018, LG has unveiled two gaming-oriented displays for ultra-high-end PC gamers, both of which offer resolutions of 3440×1440 and high refresh rate playback. 

These two monitors are designed to cater to the opposing sides of the PC market, with the 34GK950G supporting G-Sync while the 34GF950F supports VESA Adaptive-Sync and FreeSync 2. Both monitors use an LG “Nano IPS” display, which used a flicker-free W-LED backlight with a KSF phosphor layer to deliver 98% coverage of a DCI-P3 colour space. 

From here on, both monitors become very different, with the G-Sync variant supporting a 100Hz refresh rate and a 120Hz overclocked mode while the FreeSync version supports a full 144Hz refresh rate without any need to overclock. In modern displays, “Overclocking” refers to the limiting of colour depth, chroma or other bandwidth-heavy features to enable support for higher maximum refresh rates. This makes the FreeSync version of this display superior in terms of image quality, at least when compared to the G-Sync version when running at its overclocked 120Hz mode. 

Why is the G-Sync version so limited? The 34GK950G only offers support for DisplayPort 1.2 and provides an 8-bit colour depth, whereas the FreeSync 34GK950F supports DisplayPort 1.4, which delivers the ability to support higher refresh rates without compromises.  The FreeSYnc version also supports HDMI 2.0, while the G-Sync version only supports HDMI 1.4, suggesting that it doesn’t use Nvidia’s latest DisplayPort 1.4 complaint G-Sync module.  

Both monitors support a peak brightness of 400 nits, which is low as far as HDR compliance goes, though it is enough to grant the FreeSync version a full FreeSync 2 certification. The FreeSync version also offers support for 10-bit colour depths (8-bit FRC). Both models feature stand with tilt, height and swivel options, though the G-Sync version also features LG’s “Sphere Lighting” system on the rear of the monitor.