This is usually more than enough for standard productivity and office use.UGREEN HDMI Switch with 3.3 FT HDMI CableĢ In 1 Out: This 4k HDMI switch supports to connect of two HDMI sources to one HDMI monitor USB-C DP may be limited by bandwidth, with support for an uncompressed 4K resolution at 60Hz, or 8K resolution at 60Hz using Display Stream Compression. USB-C DisplayPort connections are convenient for notebook owners who want a single cable to do everything. When Should You Choose USB-C or Thunderbolt? If you want to use a single USB-C cable for power and display output, make sure you match the monitor’s power delivery (measured in watts) to your laptop’s power requirements. Most monitors on the market that feature USB-C connectivity don’t use the (faster) Thunderbolt standard. Thunderbolt displays, like Apple’s Studio Display, require a Thunderbolt source to use this connection via an active Thunderbolt cable. It’s important to note that the USB-C DP and Thunderbolt standards are separate, even though Thunderbolt devices often support the slower USB-DP standard. For best results, do some research to make sure your notebook works with any monitors you’re considering purchasing. Many Thunderbolt devices, including Apple’s 2017 range and onward, support DisplayPort over USB-C and can be used with most monitors that support the standard. The Thunderbolt standard has used the USB-C format since Thunderbolt 3.
DisplayPort supports VRR technologies like FreeSync and G-SYNC, which are popular with PC gamers. Unlike HDMI, DisplayPort doesn’t support HDCP which makes it unsuitable for use with devices like BluRay players, since it doesn’t meet the required encryption standards. Like the HDMI standard, DisplayPort makes use of Display Stream Compression to enable “visually lossless” compression. It will support a total throughput of 80Gbps, enough for 16K video at 60Hz, or three 10K monitors at 60Hz using when daisy chained together. DisplayPort 2.0 was finalized in 2019 and after several delays is expected to launch in 2022.
The current DisplayPort standard is 1.4a, with a maximum throughput of 32.4Gbps, which means a maximum resolution of 4K at 120Hz (with full HDR) or 8K at 60Hz (standard definition). The standard can carry video, audio, and USB data. The key difference is that DisplayPort is more commonly found on monitors, and so has typically been the go-to choice for PC users (particularly gamers). If you’re in the market for cable, make sure you don’t overspend on expensive HDMI cables that offer no benefits and that you don’t fall for “fake” HDMI 2.1 cables.ĭisplayPort is similar to HDMI in that it is a wholly digital standard for carrying audiovisual data. If you have a laptop you may find yourself stuck with a different HDMI output like mini-HDMI, which requires a specific cable but works in much the same way. If you don’t have an HDMI 2.1-compatible display you’ll be limited to HDMI 2.0b speeds, which caps your output at 4K resolution with 60Hz (and support for full HDR).
To use HDMI 2.1, you’ll need a TV that supports the standard on at least one of its HDMI ports and an HDMI 2.1 source like the Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5, or NVIDIA 30-series graphics card.
It supports variable refresh rate (VRR) technology like AMD FreeSync and NVIDIA G-SYNC, plus a native form of VRR defined by the HDMI 2.1 standard. The standard can also carry an 8K resolution at 60Hz, or a 10K resolution at 30Hz. The latest iteration of HDMI is version 2.1a, which provides a total throughput of 48Gbps, which is enough to transport 4K resolution video at 120Hz with full high dynamic range (HDR) support.