Is the LG 27UD88 monitor good for gaming?
Best answer: With a latency of 5ms, a refresh rate of 60Hz, and support for AMD's FreeSync, the LG 27U88 won't disappoint if you're hoping to game in 4K. It's also priced well for what it offers, and is available on Amazon for under $600.4K at 60Hz: LG 27UD88-W LED Monitor ($596 at Amazon)
The combination of FreeSync and a 60Hz refresh rate makes the 27UD88 a solid choice for gaming
While some PC gamers are looking for monitors with higher refresh rates like 144Hz, 60Hz is still the rate that most people try to hit because it offers smooth and responsive gameplay experience. If you're gaming at the full 4K resolution of the LG 27UD88 (one of our all-time favorite USB-C monitors), you might find that 60Hz can still be a challenge for some graphics cards.
FreeSync is AMD's adaptive sync technology that supports dynamic refresh rates. It's meant to help reduce screen tearing and stuttering in content that can occur when a graphics card is under heavy load, predominantly in games, and offers benefits over standard V-Sync. So if your graphics card can't quite handle 60Hz at 4K, it'll dip down below that and, thanks to FreeSync, you shouldn't see any tearing.
If you're going to use FreeSync, you'll need an AMD card
Despite its name, FreeSync is only meant for AMD's own graphics cards. AMD cards released in late 2013 and later support FreeSync. If you've got an NVIDIA graphics card, that company has its own competing technology, G-Sync.
Is the response time fast enough?
The LG 27UD88 has a listed response time of 5ms, meaning that it will register your input at a rate of around 5ms after you make it. Not only is that fast enough for every other task you might perform with this monitor, but it's also enough for gaming. While you might want a faster response time on a monitor with a higher refresh rate, for 60Hz, 5ms will be just fine.
To put it in perspective, the monitor, with a 60Hz refresh rate, displays a single new frame every 1/60 of a second or 16.67ms. So if you're worried about slow response times in your games, don't be.
A great option
While there are certainly faster monitors out there, for 4K gaming, the LG 27UD88 is an exceptional monitor. If you want to use the monitor for anything else, especially things that don't require a fast response time, it'll be great for those, as well. If you don't want to invest the extra dollars in an AMD graphics card and want to get the most out of a feature like FreeSync, the monitor might seem superfluous.
A solid choice for 4K gaming.
A good response time, a 60Hz refresh rate, and the ability to utilize AMD FreeSync make this a good choice for 4K gaming.
