If you’ve been reading my recent posts, you’ll know that we’ve recently moved into a new bungalow and have been renovating it over the past couple of years. Part of the renovation included redesigning my home office, including a new desk and monitor setup. Having always used at least a two monitor setup, this time I opted for something different. I opted for a single ultrawide 5K2K monitor. After a little research, I purchased the LG 40WP95CP-W. The specifications were exactly what I was looking for, and it had features no other monitor available at the time had. However, I won’t buy LG monitors again. Read on to find out why.
A couple of years ago, I made the switch from Windows devices to Apple devices for my personal use. As I already had a tablet and work issued mobile phone in the Apple ecosystem, it made sense. The other major contributing factor was that the primary use of my personal laptop is for Lightroom and Photoshop. Apple devices do this so much better than Windows devices. At the same time, I decided to forego the use of both a laptop and a desktop. The associated management of multiple Lightroom catalogs and between machines when travelling makes it more trouble than it’s worth. I opted for a MacBook Pro with the same specs as my current Windows desktop.
Why Did I Buy the LG Monitor
To compliment this new laptop, I was looking for a widescreen monitor with at least a 4K resolution. I was also looking for a device I could connect to with a single cable, either USB C or thunderbolt and would charge my laptop. It would be a bonus if I could use it with my work issued laptop and my old desktop PC until I was fully migrated to the MacBook.
After some research, I settled on the LG 40WP95CP-W, it has all the features I require. A single Thunderbolt 4 cable connection, 5K2K resolution, and the ability to connect another Thunderbolt monitor as well as several downstream thunderbolt and USB 3.2 ports. If you’re interested in the full specifications, you can find them on the LG website.
I purchased the monitor in November 2022, the retail price from LG at that time was £1400. I ordered from an online retailer as they could provide next day delivery. It arrived and it was everything I expected. The resolution provided an enormous amount of desktop space and I saw a noticeable increase in my productivity, I later added a Caldigit Thunderbolt 4 dock to my desktop setup, mainly to provide additional connectivity. I needed additonal Thunderbolt ports to connect additional storage and peripherals. This setup worked well, until it didn’t.
What Went Wrong
Fast forward to November 2024 and the panel suddenly started having issues. I had to go in to the office for a day long meeting and when I returned, the monitor showed some strange burn in behaviour. The panel had a ghost image that seemed to be permanent. It remained when switching between different inputs and after being disconnected from powe.. I left the monitor powered off overnight and the ghost image remained. As a last resort, I disconnected everything from the monitor and tried connecting my laptop directly to the hdmi and Thunderbolt imputs. The issue still remained. You can imagine my disappointment.
I’ve used IPS panels for over twenty years. and with one exception I’ve never had one fail on me. The LG monitor is the most expensive monitor I’ve purchased in that time, and to have it fail in just over two years is immensly dissappointing. Prior to the purchase of the LG monitor, I used Dell monitors. I owned two Dell 24″ unltrasharp monitors that kept working for over ten years. When I moved into my new house, I even sold them on to a colleague, and as far as I know, they’re still going strong. To have a monitor this expensive fail in just over 24 months is unacceptible. I realise these things are only guaranteed for 12 months by the manufacturer, but considering the cost, I expect them to last a lot longer. This is why I won’t buy LG monitors again.
Which replacement did I choose?
I now need to look for a new monitor. I’m looking for the same size and specification of monitor, but this time I won’t be buying an LG monitor and I won’t be recommending them to anyone. I have settled on a replacement which has arrived recently. Look out for a followup post to find out what I replaced the LG with and what my first impressions are.
Thanks for stopping by and reading this article, let me know if you’ve had any similar experiences in the commets below.
Have a good one.
