LG UltraGear 45GX950A-B: problems, parts and running costs
Checked: 2026-10-19
Summary
A 45-inch 800R curved 5K2K OLED gaming monitor whose main recurring issues are the aggressive curve, matte-coating grain, dim-looking HDR and burn-in risk under a two-year warranty that does not explicitly cover burn-in. There are no consumables, so the only running cost is electricity at about 85-92 W at 200 nits. At street prices near $1,499-1,600 it is a defensible premium buy for sim and single-player immersion; at the $1,999 MSRP it is a niche pick.
Common problems and fixes
- 800R curve is too aggressive for some owners — the dominant complaint: TechSpot calls it too curved for normal gaming, RTINGS lists adaptation time as a con, and owners who prefer 1800-2000R call 800R “terrible”; an aggregator puts overall sentiment around 68% positive with the curve and matte coating as top cons. No fix beyond sitting back or choosing a milder curve. [5][7][13][15]
- Matte coating shows grain and reduces clarity — coating grain reduces clarity versus glossy WOLED and diffuse reflections hurt black depth; listed as a top con in owner aggregates. [7][13]
- HDR can look dim — Tom’s Guide lists “relatively dim HDR” as a reason to avoid, and one owner nearly returned the panel as “so dim”; measured highlights are about 625-700 nits at a 10% window. [10][13][7]
- Burn-in risk with unspecified warranty wording — RTINGS and TechSpot warn against hours of static productivity content; the two-year warranty does not explicitly cover burn-in and TechSpot calls the wording below the industry standard. Mitigate with OLED care habits (hide taskbar, 1-minute screen-off timeout). [5][7][12]
- Text clarity is only OK on RGWB subpixels — one exact-model owner found text slightly worse than his old 38GN950 until a ClearType recalibration; TechSpot still rates text clarity great. [12][7]
- USB dongle interference in closely spaced ports — the same owner reported dongles in the USB-A ports causing lag/dropouts, fixed by spacing adapters. [12]
- Vertical banding in dark greys — visible in dark scenes per TechSpot. [7]
- No pixel-cleaning progress indicator and stand wobble — flagged by an owner and TechSpot respectively. [12][7]
Parts and consumables
No replaceable parts or consumables reported.
Yearly running cost
No subscription or consumable is reported. The only running cost is electricity, about 85.3 W at 200 nits (Tom’s Hardware) and 92 W on full-screen white at 200 nits (TechSpot). Not enough data for a yearly dollar figure. [9][7]
When it is a good buy
Street anchors: Newegg $1,499.99 and Best Buy $1,769.99 (Apr 2025), about $1,600 per Tom’s Hardware (Nov 2025), against an MSRP of $1,999 (PCMag, Tom’s Guide) and $1,999.99 at review (PCWorld, Apr 2025). [10][9][6][8]
At about $1,499-1,600 it is a defensible premium buy for sim and single-player immersion if the 800R curve suits you. At $1,700-1,800 it gets harder to justify against 240 Hz QD-OLED ultrawides and 49-inch 32:9 super-ultrawides. At the $1,999-2,000 MSRP it is a niche pick unless 5K2K sharpness is the whole point. [6][7][8][13]
[5][7][13]