AMD FreeSync And LG 34UM67 Widescreen Monitor Review

Name: AMD FreeSync And LG 34UM67 Widescreen Monitor Review
Brand: AMD

by Marco Chiappetta — Thursday, March 19, 2015, 11:59 AM EDT

Soon after NVIDIA unveiled its G-SYNC technology, AMD announced that it would pursue an open standard, dubbed FreeSync, leveraging technologies already available in the DisplayPort specification to offer adaptive refresh rates to users of some discrete Radeon GPUs and AMD APUs. AMD’s goal with FreeSync was to introduce a technology that offered similar end-user benefits to NVIDIA’s G-SYNC, that didn’t require monitor manufacturers to employ any proprietary add-ons (like NVIDIA’s G-Sync module), and that could be adopted by any GPU maker.

Though there were some technologies already available within the existing embedded DisplayPort specifications to support adaptive refresh rates, AMD still had to dedicate the resources necessary to enable FreeSync with its GPUs. AMD also had to help develop the software and hooks necessary for display manufacturers to enable FreeSync in their monitor firmware, which is what AMD has been up to since the initial FreeSync announcements were made.

But now AMD is ready to release its first FreeSync capable set of drivers, and we’ve had the chance to play with them for a little while using a sleek, ultra-widescreen display from LG. The LG 34UM67 features an IPS panel with a native resolution of 2560x1080 and a max refresh rate of 75Hz. The monitor’s full list of specifications are below, but we’ll dig into it—and AMD FreeSync—a little deeper on the pages ahead...

LG 34UM67 Widescreen AMD FreeSync Monitor

Specifications & Features

Find The LG 34UM67 @ Amazon.Com

At first glance, the LG 34UM67’s ultra-wide, 21:9 aspect ratio immediately stands out. A display like this one, with its 2560x1080 resolution, offers significantly more pixels than today’s common 1920x1080 (standard 1080p) displays on its horizontal axis. Though it’s not quite like having two displays, the additional pixel real-estate of an ultra-widescreen like the 34UM67 is easily appreciated.

In terms of features, the LG 34UM67 has a little something for everyone—an IPS panel with wide viewing angles, built in speakers, multiple display inputs, thin bezels, and easy to use controls. Of course, there’s also support for FreeSync, which is what you gamers are probably most interested in. More on that in a just a bit.

Tags: AMD, Gaming, monitor, DisplayPort, LG, freesync, gsync

Marco Chiappetta

Marco's interest in computing and technology dates all the way back to his early childhood. Even before being exposed to the Commodore P.E.T. and later the Commodore 64 in the early ‘80s, he was interested in electricity and electronics, and he still has the modded AFX cars and shop-worn soldering irons to prove it. Once he got his hands on his own Commodore 64, however, computing became Marco's passion. Throughout his academic and professional lives, Marco has worked with virtually every major platform from the TRS-80 and Amiga, to today's high end, multi-core servers. Over the years, he has worked in many fields related to technology and computing, including system design, assembly and sales, professional quality assurance testing, and technical writing. In addition to being the Managing Editor here at HotHardware for close to 15 years, Marco is also a freelance writer whose work has been published in a number of PC and technology related print publications and he is a regular fixture on HotHardware’s own Two and a Half Geeks webcast. - Contact: marco(at)hothardware(dot)com