LG OLED evo - C5 series OLED65C5PUA 65"

The LG C5 65-inch OLED delivers infinite contrast, blistering 120Hz gaming, and a glare-free screen at a price that can now dip below $1,000. Picture quality metrics are surprisingly mid-pack due to modest brightness, but that's irrelevant in a dark room where it shines. All four HDMI 2.1 ports and G-SYNC/FreeSync support make it a top pick for gamers with multiple consoles. If you don't need blazing daytime HDR, this is the OLED sweet spot.

Gaming is where the C5 genuinely flexes. We're talking 4K at 120Hz across every input, a 0.1ms response time that eliminates ghosting, and support for both NVIDIA G-SYNC and AMD FreeSync. Our database puts it in the top 1% of all TVs for gaming, and after testing fast-paced shooters and racers, we can confirm it feels immediate in a way that even premium LCDs struggle to match. The OLED panel's per-pixel illumination means dark areas in games stay ink-black while bright highlights pop without blooming, making titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and Alan Wake 2 look almost three-dimensional.

On the movie and streaming front, the C5's OLED Motion handling is a treat for 24fps content, with just the right amount of cinematic judder if you disable the smoothing (or a silky Soap Opera Effect if you don't). The a9 Gen8 processor does solid upscaling, so a 1080p Blu-ray looks respectably sharp. HDR performance is mixed: Dolby Vision and HDR10 are present, and the C5 covers 76% of our HDR metric ranking, meaning it's above average but not class-leading. Bright highlights in nature docs or explosions can feel a touch restrained compared to a Samsung QD-OLED like the S95F, but the C5 fights back with those perfect blacks. If you prioritize shadow detail over sheer luminance, you'll be very happy.

The Samsung S95F QN65S95FAFXZA remains the most direct rival. That QD-OLED panel produces noticeably higher color brightness and better daylight HDR pop, but it costs significantly more and lacks Dolby Vision. If you're a stickler for reference color and HDR metadata, the LG's Dolby Vision might actually sway you more than raw nits. A new heavyweight in the conversation is the Samsung Neo QLED QN900F, an 8K Mini-LED that out-brights everything here and upscales with frightening precision, but it's in a completely different price bracket and still can't match OLED per-pixel control. The Hisense U8 75U8QG is a 75-inch Mini-LED powerhouse that out-brights both OLEDs and costs less, but it can't touch the C5's per-pixel precision. There's blooming around subtitles in dark scenes, something the C5 completely avoids.

LG's own G5 Series OLED97G5WUA sits at the top of the OLED food chain with a heatsink-boosted panel that delivers significantly higher peak brightness and richer color volume than the C5, but you'll pay a steep premium for that extra luminance. And the TCL QM7K Series 75QM7K offers a huge 75-inch screen for a competitive price, but it's a different animal entirely: bright, bold, but noticeably less cinematic in a dark room. If you prize size and brightness above all else, that 75-inch TCL is tempting, but for film purists, the C5's contrast and gaming fluidity are hard to beat at this price.

Pricing for the OLED65C5PUA has gotten even more aggressive at the low end, and we're seeing a wider spread than before. The set has dipped as low as $983 from some third-party sellers, while certain retailers are bundling it with extended warranties and accessories for as much as $2,700. That nearly $1,700 gap means you absolutely need to shop around, but the floor price is now under a grand for a 65-inch OLED, which is borderline absurd. If you can land one around that $1,000 mark, the C5 makes a very strong case for the best performance-per-dollar TV in 2025 for dark-room viewing.

Compare that to the Samsung S95F QD-OLED, which still commands $1,800 or more for the same screen size. The C5 undercuts it by a wider margin now, especially when you catch a deal. For pure value, it walks a near-perfect line between premium picture and wallet-friendly reality, assuming you aren't chasing absolute peak HDR brightness.

Here's the thing about the LG C5 OLED: it's the 65-inch TV that'll make you swear off LCDs for good if you do most of your watching in a dim or light-controlled room. The C5 inherits LG's OLED evo panel, the a9 Gen8 processor, and a new glare-free screen coating that finally makes an OLED usable when the curtains are open. It's aimed squarely at movie nerds who crave perfect black levels and gamers who need buttery 120Hz motion without spending flagship G-series money. And with pricing bouncing between $1,142 and $2,000 depending on where you look, it's one of the more accessible ways to get a big-screen OLED in 2025.

We tested this set against our full database, and the numbers back up the buzz. In gaming, the C5 lands in the 99th percentile, which is about as good as it gets right now. With all four HDMI ports packing full 2.1 bandwidth, G-SYNC and FreeSync support, and a response time measured in fractions of a millisecond, you can plug in a PS5, Xbox Series X, and a gaming PC simultaneously and never miss a beat. The smart TV chops are also excellent: webOS 25 rides on that a9 Gen8 chip and feels snappy, and the inclusion of Wi-Fi 6E means streaming high-bitrate Dolby Vision content is silky smooth.

But don't mistake the C5 for a perfect all-rounder. Its picture quality score sits at the 36th percentile in our database, which sounds brutal for an OLED. That number reflects peak brightness and out-of-box color volume where the C5 doesn't chase the sun like some QLED or QD-OLED rivals. In a bright living room, you'll notice it dimming down, especially in HDR. However, the infinite contrast ratio means nighttime movie sessions are spellbinding. If your TV habits center on cozy evening binges rather than sunny afternoon sports, that percentile won't matter one bit.

Skip the C5 if your TV sits in a sunroom or faces a wall of unshaded windows, you'll be fighting reflections and lacking enough brightness to overcome ambient light. The Outdoor score of 53.8 backs that up, this just isn't built for patio duty. In that scenario, a bright Mini-LED like the Hisense U8 or a QLED will serve you far better. Also pass if you're after the absolute peak HDR spectacle for movies. The Samsung S95F QD-OLED or even LG's own G-series will get you noticeably brighter highlights and richer color volume. The C5's value lies in delivering perfect blacks and gaming prowess at a mid-range price, but it leaves brightness bragging rights to other sets.

For anyone who primarily watches TV or plays games after sunset, the LG C5 is a no-brainer, and the new sub-$1,000 floor price makes it even harder to resist. The perfect blacks, slick gaming features, and improved anti-glare coating make it the best 65-inch OLED value we've seen this year. Hook up a PS5 or a dedicated 4K Blu-ray player, dim the lights, and you'll forget all about brightness percentiles. It's the kind of TV that reminds you why OLED became a big deal in the first place.

If your living room is flooded with daylight and you can't control it, you'll want to look at a high-brightness Mini-LED like the Hisense U8 or even the Samsung S95F if the budget allows. The C5 works in a bright room, but you're leaving some of its magic on the table. And if you plan to use the TV outdoors, skip this entirely, our data shows it's one of the weakest outdoor performers available. But for the right environment, the C5 is a crowd-pleaser that lives up to its 4.8-star real-world reputation.