HDMI Vs. DisplayPort: Which Is Better For Gaming?

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Giroro

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I really dislike the Display Port connector.
It's too big and can be tricky to get the stupid button to unlatch the stupid hooks when you're trying to unplug something behind your PC.
Plus it's the only display connector I've ever used where I've had problems with intermittent connections. Recently I have to unplug my whole setup and reattach everything just to get my monitor to recognize there's a DP signal, even after getting a new cable - So I'm dealing with that crappy connector a lot. Over HDMI its always been flawless though.
I also have this weird problem where the DP cable is supplying back voltage to my PC, so one of my case fans will always spin slowly, even when the PSU is unplugged.

Too bad my monitor can't do 144Hz @1080 over HDMI.
 

gasaraki

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Jun 11, 2008
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This article is so wrong. HDMI 2.1 spec is technically out but NO devices have HDMI 2.1 on it yet. Currently (4-20-18) HDMI 2.0 vs. Displayport 1.3, DP wins hands down. HDMI 2.0 can only do 4K @ 30 FPS while DP 1.3 can already do 4K @ 120fps
 

Gillerer

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AMD FreeSync support doesn't actually "make the decision" in most cases - at least *for* HDMI: FreeSync will always work using DP for any FreeSync monitor that has such a connection, but only works thru HDMI for specific FreeSync monitors.
 


Stop buying cheap displayport cables. Cheap ones with the latch mechanism tend to fall apart or latch poorly, or be hard to push and unlatch.

I've been using displayport for years, my high end CAD laptop we're issued at work only has a large displayport connector. Each conference room is set up for it, so i'm constantly plugging and unplugging display port. After the first few months with a cheap cable, I bought a more expensive one and all my gripes were solved.

 

dvo

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HDMI 2.0 can do 4K @ 60 FPS. that's how 4k TVs work. HDMI 1.4 will do 4K @ 30
 

AlistairAB

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May 21, 2014
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Missed the main reason why HDMI is garbage. Can't believe it wasn't mentioned.

The fact that HDMI supports two dynamic ranges, limited and full RGB. How many times have I had complaints about poor image quality, and I go to a person's home, and their TV, or PS4, or Laptop, or Computer HDMI settings aren't right, so the screen is too dark, or too grey.

Just last week I went to watch The Expanse at a person's home, and the computer and TV didn't match, and you couldn't see anything clearly on screen. But it is subtle enough your average Joe doesn't know what is wrong.

Display port only has one setting, for good reason. It is always correct when you plug it in.
 

Krazie_Ivan

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did i miss the info bout cable length limitations?
my monitors & peripherals are not in the same room as my tower, so having cables that can support 2k or 4k @144hz over a distance of 25ft is a real limiting factor when i consider upgrades. currently on 2x 1080p monitors; one 144hz over DVI-D, other 60hz over HDMI2.1 ...took 3 tries to find an HDMI that would hold signal that far.
 

ledhead11

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I have an Gaming/HTPC rig(Aorus Strix 1080TI) in a large living room with a 1440p/144hz monitor/4k TV & 4k HDR Projector. This setup has taught me a lot about the limitations of cards, cables, and ports.

At one point the same rig had 2xG1 970's and was situated about 10' from a 3d display(1080p/120hz) that used dual DVI-D. Worked fine for that. When I changed cards to the 1080TI I suddenly got drop outs. Move the rig closer and switched to a shorter cable and all was fine.

This caused the rig to be about 20' from the t.v. and 25' from the receiver. Got several different 30' HDMI 2.0 cables(all rated at 4k/60hz 18Gbps). Would only do resolutions above 1080p at 30fps 4:2:0. One of the cables is an Optical HDMI I got from Monoprice and that one works great with our Phillips 4k player. BTW color depths are very vulnerable to the limitations of the cable. If you can't get to 4:4:4 or RGB 8bit(full) or 4k/60hz then that's a good clue you've got cable issues going on. At 4k these 4k/60hz cables are only able to provide 4k/30hz 4:2:0 limited on the projector. If I switch to HDR in games(RE7 and MEA) then major dropouts occur.

Meanwhile I have another rig in a smaller room that's connected to an 4k HDR t.v. via a 6' HDMI 2.0 cable and it happily gets 4k(3840x2160)/60hz/RGB 8bit(full) and HDR. I can also switch to 4:2:2 12bit but it 'seems' to render better at RGB.

So back to the living room rig. So I swapped the 6' cable I had in the smaller room, moved the rig closer to the projector and still no-go. Same problems.

What's a guy to do right? Well I found one of the first HDMI 2.1 cables on Amazon last week. Not labeled as such but by specs it pretty much is(48Gbps). https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075N83B9X/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Connected this to the projector and voila! Not only 4k/60hz/HDR/RGB 8bit full, but if I went to 1080p I could also do RGB 12bit full! I was even able to game at 4096x2160/60hz!. One of the resolutions this projector(UHD60) and this particular t.v.(older LG 55" non HDR 4k/3d) are capable of but this isn't available on all t.v.'s. Since the Strix has 2 HDMI ports I was still able to use my long run cable to send audio to the receiver in 7.1/24bit/192khz.

So the next challenge was that I had to move the rig closer to the projector but this meant it was now around 13' away from the current monitor(1440p/144hz/3D/G-Sync). Uses DP 1.2 but after what I'd already experienced longer cables I didn't want to take a chance on more drop out issues. Got this:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075N83B9X/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Worked like a charm. Nice to have it right the 1st time and the hundreds of $$$ spent on my HDMI ventures.

My point is that cables can have a huge impact on your gaming experience. For those that have everything next to each other and are using factory included cables you'll probably be fine. As soon as you start moving things apart, especially over 6'-10' things can get tricky real fast. Save yourself some headaches and wasted money and as you spread things apart, use cables rated higher than what you need.

Which is cable type is better for gaming? To me it depends on the frame-rate. Most T.V's. only natively use 60hz even if they upscale to something ridiculously as high 600hz(saw some plasma's back in the day). So HDMI will suffice. 60hz at 4k is fine since most cards can barely do that at ultra settings anyway, at least for demanding games.

When I really want to see and experience fluid visuals then it's DP hands down. From 120-165fps DP has it covered on the monitor front and even if you get a display that's rated for those hz the manual will usually tell you that it's only available through DP.

The odd thing is that DP has really had some half-a$$ed implementations over the last 5 years. Before that HDMI had similar issues in going from 1.3 to 2.0. Now with 2.1 around the corner HDMI seems poised to be a very promising format again if consumer t.v.s truly begin to break the native 60hz barrier or monitor manufacturers adopt 2.1 in their displays. Until then DP 1.2 or 1.4 on monitor are what any hardcore frame addict should be looking at.
 

hixbot

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Check your facts bro. HDMI 2.0 can do 4k@60hz.
 
Apr 22, 2018
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One thing everyone seems to be missing - new HDMI specs require new hardware to support it.
DisplayPort just requires a driver update to support new specs/features, much more dynamic/robust than HDMI
 

pdublind

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Nov 29, 2017
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I prefer HDMI because the rest of my electronics use HDMI except for the older game consoles that use composite. Also display port won't plug into my receiver or video processor.
 
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