LG 34UC88/34UC98/34UM88 Monitors Thread
Keep in mind that this thread is very old. 34UC88/34UC98 are still the highest quality IPS ultrawides to buy next to their 38" counterparts, but not all information here will be up to date.
Also keep in mind that NVIDIA now supports Adaptive Sync/FreeSync on their GTX 1000 series, GTX 1600 series and RTX 2000 series graphics cards, which means that all frameskipping issues previously experienced on 75 Hz LG monitors are no longer present.
There is no official LG 34UC88/34UC98 thread so I decided to create one since those great monitors deserve it. Also they are very similar and only significant differences are in connections (UC98 features 2x Thuderbolt) and design (UC88 is all black while UC98 features silver stand and white back). There is also 34UM88 that is flat version. I will post some basic information, sum up reviews and reports I have read/heard and share my personal experience since I own 34UC98 for over a month now.
LG 34UC98
LG 34UC88
LG 34UM88
Models and Price
There are four different models available:
34UC98 - Curved, 2x Thunderbolt, White Back, Silver Stand (~$1000)
34UC88 - Curved, no Thunderbolt, all Black (~$700-800)
34UM88-P - Flat, 2x Thunderbolt, all Black (~$730)
34UM88C - Flat, no Thunderbolt, all Black (~$575-650)
There are also differences between curved models and flat one:
-flat one uses old panel with a lot of yellow bleed, curved ones are the newest panels with little and blue bleed
-flat one has bigger bottom bezel
-on flat version stand is mounted to monitor by screws, on curved ones stand is clipping into monitor with no tools or screws required
-back design is a bit different on flat version
-OSD joystick on curved models is hidden inside frame while on flat version it is outside, which may make it more vulnerable for damage and you have less space for potential central speaker
Specification
34" 3440x1440 IPS Panel
10bit Color Depth (8bit + A-FRC)
1900R/1.9m Curve (34UM88 is flat)
sRGB over 99%
60 Hz Refresh Rate, 75 Hz with FreeSync enabled (34UM88 has only 60 Hz)
AMD FreeSync at 55-75 Hz Range (34UM88 at 40-60 Hz Range)
5 ms Response Time
2x HDMI 2.0
1x Display Port 1.2a
2x USB 3.0
1x USB 3.0 Quick Charge
2x Thunderbolt (34UC98 and 34UM88-P only)
Headphone/Speaker Output
For more details visit LG's official site: 34UC88 34UC98 34UM88-P 34UM88C
Curve
Both 34UC88 and 34UC98 feature 1900R/1.9m curve that is much more aggressive than 3800R/3.8m used on all other ultrawide models on the market
My personal experience with this aggressive curve is very good. I had 3800R curved Dell U3415W for some time before I returned it because of backlight bleed and coil whine, so I was already used to curve, but 1900R curve is much more aggressive and it was very visible for me at the beginning and there was "strait lines problem" that a lot of people complain about with curved screens. But now after few weeks I am perfectly used to it and I no longer see it that much, I am even starting to think that it would be nice if it was even more curved.
Backlight bleed
Review and reports about backlight bleed on UC88 and UC98 are very consistent, all of them saying that bleed is significantly reduced compared to previous ultrawides that suffered and still suffer from extreme problems that are the biggest deal breaker and major issue with 21:9 monitors on the market today. On 34UM88 heavy backlight bleed issues still persist. Here are few photos made by users/reviewers:
(user photo
(user photo
(user photo, low quality but you can assume that everything gray is okay and everything blue is bleed
(user photo
(reviewer photo
(reviewer photo
(reviewer photo
(reviewer photo
(reviewer photo
(user photo
(user photo
(user photo
(user photo
(user photo
(user photo
My personal experience with backlight bleed on 34UC98 is similar to the pictures posted for UC88/98. Backlight bleed is significantly smaller than on other ultrawides I had/saw, visible only in dark scenes in dark room and even then it won't be a deal breaker. There is some blue bleed in left bottom corner and thats basically it, around other three corners there is a silverish shade known as IPS glow, you cannot avoid this effect on IPS monitor. I returned few 34" ultrawides before because of backlight bleed and this issue almost put me off from buying ultrawde, but 34UC98 is by far the best one in terms of backlight bleeding and this issue is almost completely removed for me with this monitor.
Based on reports, UM88 seems to be much worse in terms of bleed than UC88/98.
Fixing backlight bleed
(only bottom corners)
Personally I got somehow meaningful bleed only in left bottom corner (similar blue bleed to third user photo showed above, I wasn't able to catch it on photo because of my poor camera). However, I noticed that pushing bezel gently just next to bottom left corner fixes this bleed almost completely. So I pushed piece of thick paper in the corner between left bezel and bottom physical bezel and eliminated bleed in this corner almost completely. Now it is negligible like in 3 other corners by default.
It looks like this:
Of course you do it at your own risk, pushing bezel too much or using too thick material to push between bezels may cause damage to panel (nothing to worry about if you do it gently though, it is very hard to damage panel this way)
FreeSync and 75 Hz resfresh rate
NVIDIA now supports Adaptive Sync/FreeSync on their GTX 1000 series, GTX 1600 series and RTX 2000 series graphics cards, which means that all frameskipping issues previously experienced on 75 Hz LG monitors are no longer present, so all information in spoiler below is irrelevant.
FreeSync range is 55-75 Hz, which is very narrow and limiting. 34UM88 has 40-60 Hz, which is actually more sensible that 55-75 as you actually have FreeSync working when dropping to low FPS. Quality of implenentation on these displays is also not very high and they tend to flicker in some scenarios even within native range.
You can try to expand the range however, read below.
Expanding FreeSync Range
If you find 55-75 Hz FreeSync range narrow and limiting, you can try FreeSync hack explained here: http://www.guru3d.com/news-story/ow...rs-can-enlarge-hz-range-with-simple-hack.html for harder version, and here http://nils.schimmelmann.us/post/133778060542/modded-asus-mg279q-drivers-with-60-144-hz-freesync for easy one.
The easiest way is to use CRU (Custom Resolution Utility)
Typical scenario for changing FreeSync range is flickering and unstable brightness, also blinking during frametime spikes like during stuttering or loading screens. This however is only for extended range and native range should still work fine, so it is worth trying.
I own 38UC99 right now and was able to change the range from 52-75 to more sensible 36-60. This will result in flickering below 50 FPS, but makes the most important 48-60 range smooth so it is a good compromise.
Overclocking
All of these monitors are 60 Hz by default and can only go higher with FreeSync enabled. Once enabled, you can go to advertised 75 Hz and possibly overclock too. My 38UC99 runs stable and without frame skipping at 85 Hz with 40-85 range. Notice the difference here, with NVIDIA support for Adaptive Sync I can run 85 Hz with 40-85 Hz range while previously the best you could get was 60 Hz with no Adaptive Sync. So these monitors got kind of a second life because of that.
Image Retention
There are a lot of reports and complains about image retention on those displays. I am also experiencing this issue, however I think that it is a bit overblown. There is no way for this effect to occur during gaming or watching movies, the only place where it occurs for me is web browser. If you have the same site displayed for few minutes, for example watching youtube videos without fullscreen, it will occur and then it will be visible on grayish and blueish backgrounds for up to few minutes depending on how much it "burned-in". However what you have to consider here is that your alternative to this issue is extreme backlight bleed on other models with panels different than those from UC88/98. You just need to know your use case. Backlight bleed affects gaming and watching movies very negatively while retention doesn't occur there. Retention on the other hand affects things like web browsing and maybe some programs depending on their characteristics (I didn't experience any retention in Premiere Pro).
You can reduce retention by playing with Brightness and Contrast options in OSD.
Reportedly Dell U3417W that is using the same panel as UC88/98 has not image retention, so check this one if you are worried about this issue.
Reviews
I am not going to review my monitor here, because my review is already available at Linus forum, where I made detailed comparison review with other ultrawides I had.
My review: https://linustechtips.com/main/topi...-w-vs-samsung-s34e790c-comparison-and-review/
Tech of Tomorrow:
Tek Syndicate:
Hardware Canucks:
Tech Source:
randomfrankp:
Attic Tube:
TV Calibration with Darko: and
HD Televizija: http://hdtelevizija.com/en/2016/04/06/lg-34uc98-ultrawide-1440p-34-inch-monitor-review/
HardwareLUXX: http://www.hardwareluxx.com/index.p...8274-reviewed-lg-34uc98-w-curved-monitor.html
samgao - UC88 vs UC98 comparison: and
nyxagamemnon's 34UC88 thread on this forum: https://www.overclock.net/t/1593189...trawide-i-got-it-testing-it-heres-my-thoughts
9to5Mac: http://9to5mac.com/2016/04/20/revie...splay-review-video-editing-widescreen-movies/ and
Reviews4all:
PRAD:
Conclusion
I think it is safe to call 34UC88 and 34UC98 second generation of ultrawides. With all major issues figured out by LG those monitors present very high quality consistent for all units. At this point, looking at all the issues other models are having, I wouldn't recommend anything else for 34" 3440x1440 buyer.
I have a great time with my 34UC98 and getting it after all of those faulty monitors I had to return was a huge relief, since I even thought about giving up on the 21:9 apect ratio and go back to 16:9. I am glad that I didn't have to do it thanks to this beautiful screen.
Color profiles to download
TFT Central's Dell U3415W ICC profile (the one I use along with Flux at 5000K color temp)
34UC98 ICC profile by TV Calibration with Darko (more flashy colors)
TFT Central's Acer X34 ICC profile (overly vibrant but some may like it)
TFT Central's LG 38UC99 ICC profile
TFT Central's LG 34UC79G profile
Powergate user 34UC88 profile
Alternatives
List of displays that are presenting similar quality to UC88/98:
Dell U3417W - exact the same panel as 34UC88/98, 60 Hz, no FreeSync
LG 38UC99 - bigger version of 34UC98, 37.5 inches, 3840x1600, 75 Hz, FreeSync 52-75
LG 34UC99 - newer version of 34UC98, with USB Type C, 52-75 FreeSync, supposedly removed retention
LG 34CB88 - looks like 34UC88 revision, no idea what the difference is
34CB98 - also no idea, three years of warranty instead of two
Keep in mind that this thread is very old. 34UC88/34UC98 are still the highest quality IPS ultrawides to buy next to their 38" counterparts, but not all information here will be up to date.
Also keep in mind that NVIDIA now supports Adaptive Sync/FreeSync on their GTX 1000 series, GTX 1600 series and RTX 2000 series graphics cards, which means that all frameskipping issues previously experienced on 75 Hz LG monitors are no longer present.
There is no official LG 34UC88/34UC98 thread so I decided to create one since those great monitors deserve it. Also they are very similar and only significant differences are in connections (UC98 features 2x Thuderbolt) and design (UC88 is all black while UC98 features silver stand and white back). There is also 34UM88 that is flat version. I will post some basic information, sum up reviews and reports I have read/heard and share my personal experience since I own 34UC98 for over a month now.
LG 34UC98
LG 34UC88
LG 34UM88
Models and Price
There are four different models available:
34UC98 - Curved, 2x Thunderbolt, White Back, Silver Stand (~$1000)
34UC88 - Curved, no Thunderbolt, all Black (~$700-800)
34UM88-P - Flat, 2x Thunderbolt, all Black (~$730)
34UM88C - Flat, no Thunderbolt, all Black (~$575-650)
There are also differences between curved models and flat one:
-flat one uses old panel with a lot of yellow bleed, curved ones are the newest panels with little and blue bleed
-flat one has bigger bottom bezel
-on flat version stand is mounted to monitor by screws, on curved ones stand is clipping into monitor with no tools or screws required
-back design is a bit different on flat version
-OSD joystick on curved models is hidden inside frame while on flat version it is outside, which may make it more vulnerable for damage and you have less space for potential central speaker
Specification
34" 3440x1440 IPS Panel
10bit Color Depth (8bit + A-FRC)
1900R/1.9m Curve (34UM88 is flat)
sRGB over 99%
60 Hz Refresh Rate, 75 Hz with FreeSync enabled (34UM88 has only 60 Hz)
AMD FreeSync at 55-75 Hz Range (34UM88 at 40-60 Hz Range)
5 ms Response Time
2x HDMI 2.0
1x Display Port 1.2a
2x USB 3.0
1x USB 3.0 Quick Charge
2x Thunderbolt (34UC98 and 34UM88-P only)
Headphone/Speaker Output
For more details visit LG's official site: 34UC88 34UC98 34UM88-P 34UM88C
Curve
Both 34UC88 and 34UC98 feature 1900R/1.9m curve that is much more aggressive than 3800R/3.8m used on all other ultrawide models on the market
My personal experience with this aggressive curve is very good. I had 3800R curved Dell U3415W for some time before I returned it because of backlight bleed and coil whine, so I was already used to curve, but 1900R curve is much more aggressive and it was very visible for me at the beginning and there was "strait lines problem" that a lot of people complain about with curved screens. But now after few weeks I am perfectly used to it and I no longer see it that much, I am even starting to think that it would be nice if it was even more curved.
Backlight bleed
Review and reports about backlight bleed on UC88 and UC98 are very consistent, all of them saying that bleed is significantly reduced compared to previous ultrawides that suffered and still suffer from extreme problems that are the biggest deal breaker and major issue with 21:9 monitors on the market today. On 34UM88 heavy backlight bleed issues still persist. Here are few photos made by users/reviewers:
34UC88/98
(user photo
(user photo
(user photo, low quality but you can assume that everything gray is okay and everything blue is bleed
(user photo
(reviewer photo
(reviewer photo
(reviewer photo
(reviewer photo
(reviewer photo
34UM88
(user photo
(user photo
(user photo
(user photo
(user photo
(user photo
My personal experience with backlight bleed on 34UC98 is similar to the pictures posted for UC88/98. Backlight bleed is significantly smaller than on other ultrawides I had/saw, visible only in dark scenes in dark room and even then it won't be a deal breaker. There is some blue bleed in left bottom corner and thats basically it, around other three corners there is a silverish shade known as IPS glow, you cannot avoid this effect on IPS monitor. I returned few 34" ultrawides before because of backlight bleed and this issue almost put me off from buying ultrawde, but 34UC98 is by far the best one in terms of backlight bleeding and this issue is almost completely removed for me with this monitor.
Based on reports, UM88 seems to be much worse in terms of bleed than UC88/98.
Fixing backlight bleed
(only bottom corners)
Personally I got somehow meaningful bleed only in left bottom corner (similar blue bleed to third user photo showed above, I wasn't able to catch it on photo because of my poor camera). However, I noticed that pushing bezel gently just next to bottom left corner fixes this bleed almost completely. So I pushed piece of thick paper in the corner between left bezel and bottom physical bezel and eliminated bleed in this corner almost completely. Now it is negligible like in 3 other corners by default.
It looks like this:
Of course you do it at your own risk, pushing bezel too much or using too thick material to push between bezels may cause damage to panel (nothing to worry about if you do it gently though, it is very hard to damage panel this way)
FreeSync and 75 Hz resfresh rate
NVIDIA now supports Adaptive Sync/FreeSync on their GTX 1000 series, GTX 1600 series and RTX 2000 series graphics cards, which means that all frameskipping issues previously experienced on 75 Hz LG monitors are no longer present, so all information in spoiler below is irrelevant.
By default, both 34UC88 and 34UC98 feature 60 Hz refresh rate. However, both are featuring AMD FreeSync technology that allows panel to reach 75 Hz. After enabling FreeSync in monitor OSD, 75 Hz refresh rate appears in control panel. However, you can do this effectively only with AMD card, because even though it theoretically works with Nvidia cards, there is phenomenon called frame skipping that will cause all your system and monitoring tools report 75 Hz and FPS while you will see only 60 FPS effectively and those additional 15 frames are going to be skipped.
According to report, inserting additional AMD card to your system removes firmware lock and you can now have 75 Hz with Nvidia GPU, so maybe you can try to find a way to fool the system and make it see AMD card that you don't have:
Quote:Originally Posted by PowergateÂ
Found something interesting today, i put my RX 480 in the free pcie slot below my GTX 1070.
The Monitor now shows Freesync as active without frameskipping.
The displayport cable is connected with the Nvidia card, the AMD card just acts as some kind of dongle.
FreeSync itself is not working (tested with the Windmill demo). It's just a workaround for the 75hz firmware lock on Nvidia cards.
According to report, inserting additional AMD card to your system removes firmware lock and you can now have 75 Hz with Nvidia GPU, so maybe you can try to find a way to fool the system and make it see AMD card that you don't have:
Quote:Originally Posted by PowergateÂ
Found something interesting today, i put my RX 480 in the free pcie slot below my GTX 1070.
The Monitor now shows Freesync as active without frameskipping.
The displayport cable is connected with the Nvidia card, the AMD card just acts as some kind of dongle.
FreeSync itself is not working (tested with the Windmill demo). It's just a workaround for the 75hz firmware lock on Nvidia cards.
FreeSync range is 55-75 Hz, which is very narrow and limiting. 34UM88 has 40-60 Hz, which is actually more sensible that 55-75 as you actually have FreeSync working when dropping to low FPS. Quality of implenentation on these displays is also not very high and they tend to flicker in some scenarios even within native range.
You can try to expand the range however, read below.
Expanding FreeSync Range
If you find 55-75 Hz FreeSync range narrow and limiting, you can try FreeSync hack explained here: http://www.guru3d.com/news-story/ow...rs-can-enlarge-hz-range-with-simple-hack.html for harder version, and here http://nils.schimmelmann.us/post/133778060542/modded-asus-mg279q-drivers-with-60-144-hz-freesync for easy one.
The easiest way is to use CRU (Custom Resolution Utility)
Typical scenario for changing FreeSync range is flickering and unstable brightness, also blinking during frametime spikes like during stuttering or loading screens. This however is only for extended range and native range should still work fine, so it is worth trying.
I own 38UC99 right now and was able to change the range from 52-75 to more sensible 36-60. This will result in flickering below 50 FPS, but makes the most important 48-60 range smooth so it is a good compromise.
Overclocking
All of these monitors are 60 Hz by default and can only go higher with FreeSync enabled. Once enabled, you can go to advertised 75 Hz and possibly overclock too. My 38UC99 runs stable and without frame skipping at 85 Hz with 40-85 range. Notice the difference here, with NVIDIA support for Adaptive Sync I can run 85 Hz with 40-85 Hz range while previously the best you could get was 60 Hz with no Adaptive Sync. So these monitors got kind of a second life because of that.
Image Retention
There are a lot of reports and complains about image retention on those displays. I am also experiencing this issue, however I think that it is a bit overblown. There is no way for this effect to occur during gaming or watching movies, the only place where it occurs for me is web browser. If you have the same site displayed for few minutes, for example watching youtube videos without fullscreen, it will occur and then it will be visible on grayish and blueish backgrounds for up to few minutes depending on how much it "burned-in". However what you have to consider here is that your alternative to this issue is extreme backlight bleed on other models with panels different than those from UC88/98. You just need to know your use case. Backlight bleed affects gaming and watching movies very negatively while retention doesn't occur there. Retention on the other hand affects things like web browsing and maybe some programs depending on their characteristics (I didn't experience any retention in Premiere Pro).
You can reduce retention by playing with Brightness and Contrast options in OSD.
Reportedly Dell U3417W that is using the same panel as UC88/98 has not image retention, so check this one if you are worried about this issue.
Reviews
I am not going to review my monitor here, because my review is already available at Linus forum, where I made detailed comparison review with other ultrawides I had.
My review: https://linustechtips.com/main/topi...-w-vs-samsung-s34e790c-comparison-and-review/
Tech of Tomorrow:
Tek Syndicate:
Hardware Canucks:
Tech Source:
randomfrankp:
Attic Tube:
TV Calibration with Darko: and
HD Televizija: http://hdtelevizija.com/en/2016/04/06/lg-34uc98-ultrawide-1440p-34-inch-monitor-review/
HardwareLUXX: http://www.hardwareluxx.com/index.p...8274-reviewed-lg-34uc98-w-curved-monitor.html
samgao - UC88 vs UC98 comparison: and
nyxagamemnon's 34UC88 thread on this forum: https://www.overclock.net/t/1593189...trawide-i-got-it-testing-it-heres-my-thoughts
9to5Mac: http://9to5mac.com/2016/04/20/revie...splay-review-video-editing-widescreen-movies/ and
Reviews4all:
PRAD:
Conclusion
I think it is safe to call 34UC88 and 34UC98 second generation of ultrawides. With all major issues figured out by LG those monitors present very high quality consistent for all units. At this point, looking at all the issues other models are having, I wouldn't recommend anything else for 34" 3440x1440 buyer.
I have a great time with my 34UC98 and getting it after all of those faulty monitors I had to return was a huge relief, since I even thought about giving up on the 21:9 apect ratio and go back to 16:9. I am glad that I didn't have to do it thanks to this beautiful screen.
Color profiles to download
TFT Central's Dell U3415W ICC profile (the one I use along with Flux at 5000K color temp)
34UC98 ICC profile by TV Calibration with Darko (more flashy colors)
TFT Central's Acer X34 ICC profile (overly vibrant but some may like it)
TFT Central's LG 38UC99 ICC profile
TFT Central's LG 34UC79G profile
Powergate user 34UC88 profile
Alternatives
List of displays that are presenting similar quality to UC88/98:
Dell U3417W - exact the same panel as 34UC88/98, 60 Hz, no FreeSync
LG 38UC99 - bigger version of 34UC98, 37.5 inches, 3840x1600, 75 Hz, FreeSync 52-75
LG 34UC99 - newer version of 34UC98, with USB Type C, 52-75 FreeSync, supposedly removed retention
LG 34CB88 - looks like 34UC88 revision, no idea what the difference is
34CB98 - also no idea, three years of warranty instead of two