LG 40” UltraWide Curved WUHD Monitor (Open Box)

My use case: I'm a designer. Mostly software, but also hardware (mechanical design and schematic capture/PCB layout) I work in Windows 10 using a Radeon Pro WX7100 display card and professional driver. My experience has been pure plug and play, though I did need to select 5120x2160 resolution in display options. I don't game. Driver certification for my CAD software and stability are what matters to me. I'm driving the display via Displayport at 60 Hz. Haven't tried 72Hz because it has no advantage to me. I have no experience with using the monitor on Thunderbolt or HDMI. (Note that HDMI limits you to 30Hz at native resolution. Boo!) My impressions: It's really wide! However, not so wide as to be unwieldy. Build quality is really nice. Looks and feels solid. It's fairly heavy at about 25 lbs. You'll need a sturdy monitor arm if you don't use the supplied stand. I'm using the Ergotron HX arm which works really well with it. I haven't tried the supplied stand. This monitor replaces an LG 31MU97-B which had the most resolution I could get when it came out (4096x2160) It offered a distinct advantage over standard 4K, but this monitor puts it to shame. It gives you 1/3 more screen width than a standard 4k. If you have a lot of context to display in your work as I always do, it makes a huge difference. The biggest advantage is in PCB layout. If there is a better monitor for that job I haven't seen it. Being able to view fine detail over such a large area of the design is a huge advantage! Image quality: The screen has a matte finish, but it isn't overdone. I think it's a really good compromise. It limits glare and reflections, but doesn't compromise contrast and sharpness noticably. It's an IPS panel so as you'd expect, contrast isn't all that great, but it's quite good. Brightness is so-so, but again, I find no reason to complain. Off axis color and overall image quality is really good as you'd expect from an IPS panel. My unit has no noticable light leakage around the edges which is a common complaint with IPS panels. LG seems to have really gotten this panel tech right finally. Color accuracy seems really good though I haven't done any measuring. I use it at 100% scaling and I find that the text in Windows native interfaces is very sharp and readable though quite small. (If you need larger text, use scaling. Don't run the display at lower resolutions. You'll be wasting the money you paid for the resolution this monitor provides.) This monitor runs 140 dots per inch. This is about the same as large (31") 4K monitors. Otherwise: The Displayport cable LG provides is just long enough for me at about 6 feet. The super-thin bezel on top and sides looks nice when it's off, but it's something of a scam because the actual screen area is smaller. There is about a 1/2" effective border all around. Bottom line: If you need lots of sharp, effective screen real estate, this is your monitor. I'm really pleased with it and already seeing real advantages in my work. Additional thoughts after some time living with the monitor: The screen curvature is a good compromise. It's not so great that it's distracting. I don't find the curvature to be an issue when doing mechanical CAD work which I had worried might be the case. You'll see a lot of complaints about scaling issues in other reviews. This is a Mac thing. It isn't an issue in Windows 10 or 11 which do scaling really well. I use the monitor in a well controlled environment. If I had big windows with tons of uncontrollable sunlight or super-bright office lighting not under my control I would likely find the modest brightness to be an issue. But in my environment it's not a problem. I'm running the brightness at 100 and the contrast at 73 currently. I find this gives about the best photo image reproduction and looks good across my other uses. The joystick controlled on-screen setup menus take a little getting used-to, but they are pretty comfortable once you get the hang of them. The sharpness adjustment can get you in trouble if you aren't careful. Leave it at around 50 to 60 which seems to be the neutral point. Like sharpness enhancements in photo editing software it uses 'overpeaking' to increase apparent sharpness. It creates artifacts that aren't part of the original image. Note that the other monitors of this size from Dell, Lenovo and others all use the same LG manufactured panel. There isn't much to choose between them unless one offers specific connectivity advantages to you. I can't comment on the built-in speakers. I Haven't used them. All in all, after using it for a while, I'm satified I made the right purchase. Update after nearly two years use: Still looks and works great. No issues. My best monitor purchase so far.