How to Connect to a 120+ Hz display

[ABYs]

@Glenwing I wanted to know more about HDMI to DP active converter you linked above. Is it really working? Because I'll be playing hefty amount to bring it in India. Do you know any alternative converters as well?

 

[Glenwing]

@Glenwing I wanted to know more about HDMI to DP active converter you linked above. Is it really working? Because I'll be playing hefty amount to bring it in India. Do you know any alternative converters as well?

I have tested it to work up to 1080p 120 Hz. I haven't tested any others.

 

[dev1]

Hello there @Glenwin , I'm very interested in making a transportable monitor using oem parts like the B173HAN01.4 lcd screen, however by doing so I have to use an LCD controller I've found one that only supports HDMI (1.4 or at least that's what they've advertised it), I'm wondering if the controller itself could cripple the panel, and I'm stuck with HDMI(I haven't been able to run an HDMI more than 60Hz...). Oh, and also both things are from a Chinese site which I'll not name, but just clarify since electronics like these are scars locally....

 

[Lukebad]

First of all: Thanks for this treasure trove of information. Very useful guide!

I was researching active HDMI (source) -> DP (monitor) cables to be able to do 1080p @ 120Hz, saw your mention of the cable, found a very similar cable in my country and I'm currently waiting for the seller to confirm in writing that it works. Hopefully it does!

I have tested it to work up to 1080p 120 Hz. I haven't tested any others.

That particular Amazon listing is strange, because there's a recent review claiming 1080p @ 120Hz was not attainable. The seller answered that it removed mentions from 1080p120 from the product's description, so now I'm confused. You used it and it worked, but the guy reviewing couldn't get past 60Hz... Maybe they sent different cables? (link for posterity: "Isn't compatible with all laptops" Amazon Review)

 

[Glenwing]

First of all: Thanks for this treasure trove of information. Very useful guide!

I was researching active HDMI (source) -> DP (monitor) cables to be able to do 1080p @ 120Hz, saw your mention of the cable, found a very similar cable in my country and I'm currently waiting for the seller to confirm in writing that it works. Hopefully it does!


That particular Amazon listing is strange, because there's a recent review claiming 1080p @ 120Hz was not attainable. The seller answered that it removed mentions from 1080p120 from the product's description, so now I'm confused. You used it and it worked, but the guy reviewing couldn't get past 60Hz... Maybe they sent different cables? (link for posterity: "Isn't compatible with all laptops" Amazon Review)

It is because he is trying to use it with a higher resolution monitor which the adapter is limited to 30/60 Hz at. He has lowered the resolution to 1080p thinking that will enable the higher refresh rate but probably does not know that he needs to disable GPU scaling for that to work, otherwise the refresh rate will be limited to whatever is available at max resolution no matter what resolution he selects in the OS.

 

[Lukebad]

It is because he is trying to use it with a higher resolution monitor which the adapter is limited to 30/60 Hz at. He has lowered the resolution to 1080p thinking that will enable the higher refresh rate but probably does not know that he needs to disable GPU scaling for that to work, otherwise the refresh rate will be limited to whatever is available at max resolution no matter what resolution he selects in the OS.

I'm betting that could be it, and the seller just decided to remove it to prevent future issues...

BTW, I'm probably getting an Asus VG248QG - It's supposed to work with 1080p @ 120Hz over HDMI (English Manual (last page has the relevant info)), I'll report back once it arrives and I can test it.

 

[brryronnie]

Yes, it will work, as long as the monitor supports it.

Thank you for your confimation that it will work. Since I'm having a doubt that it will, I'm also thinking buying higher refresh rate monitor than my laptop with 60hz display for my laptop.

 

[MJenish]

Hi Glenwing, I just recently purchased AOC 24G2 (144HZ), monitor. And yes it does support 144hz over HDMI. You can update your list. Once again thank you so much, this discussion helped me a lot throughout my research.

 

[Glenwing]

Hi Glenwing, I just recently purchased AOC 24G2 (144HZ), monitor. And yes it does support 144hz over HDMI. You can update your list. Once again thank you so much, this discussion helped me a lot throughout my research.

Thank you

 

[Lukebad]

After a post office strike, one unarrived monitor and a second one bought through a private courier...
I can finally confirm that the Asus VG248QG does indeed support 120Hz over HDMI. Out of the box, no compatibility issues, straight through the "monitor settings" dialog (no custom profile needed)

Thanks again for your work! Hopefully, this teeny tiny contribution will help someone, as your list has helped me.

 

[thanhan97]

So I just connected a 144hz monitor to my MSI GE62 6QC laptop using the mini displayport. It says it is DP v 1.1. And according to this forum post DP v 1.1 should be enough to run 1920x1080 @ 144hz.

I just played a game of League of legends, and the refresh rate was locked to 60hz. When i had the monitor conencted through HDMI it was not locked to 60hz. And no, i don't have a framerate cap on in game.

 

[Glenwing]

So I just connected a 144hz monitor to my MSI GE62 6QC laptop using the mini displayport. It says it is DP v 1.1. And according to this forum post DP v 1.1 should be enough to run 1920x1080 @ 144hz.

I just played a game of League of legends, and the refresh rate was locked to 60hz. When i had the monitor conencted through HDMI it was not locked to 60hz. And no, i don't have a framerate cap on in game.

Please try the steps in section 6 first

 

[Thomas_Nelson]

Hey Glenwig,

Thanks for the knowledge article it has been really useful for my understanding of monitor compatability.
I have a weird issue though that appears to defy the rules that you have stated. For years I ran a BenQ Xl2411z off my 1080ti at 1080p 144hz (there is no doubt it was running at this refresh rate) and I was using a display port to DVI-Dual Link cable. I recently sold the monitor to a friend and when he tries to do the same with his RTX 2060 Super it won't run at 144hz. Have you any suggestions that could possibly help with this?

 

[Glenwing]

I recently sold the monitor to a friend and when he tries to do the same with his RTX 2060 Super it won't run at 144hz. Have you any suggestions that could possibly help with this?

All I can say is that that's the expected result from a normal DisplayPort to DVI cable.

I have a weird issue though that appears to defy the rules that you have stated. For years I ran a BenQ Xl2411z off my 1080ti at 1080p 144hz (there is no doubt it was running at this refresh rate) and I was using a display port to DVI-Dual Link cable.

How did you confirm that it was running at 144 Hz? Do you have a link to the cable you were using?

 

[Thomas_Nelson]

All I can say is that that's the expected result from a normal DisplayPort to DVI cable.


How did you confirm that it was running at 144 Hz? Do you have a link to the cable you were using?

Thanks for the reply. It was just an amazon basics cable and it was at 144hz in Nvidia control panel and windows display settings. From other research I've done it seems impossible, thought I gave my mate a great monitor for his first PC lol but now he's got to splash out on an active adapter.

 

[rayn7]

Hello. Your information was the best, you helped me not to be stupid to buy a monitor that does not support 144hz +. However, I'm still looking for a monitor and I almost found it (ViewSonic XG2401), only it doesn't support Freesync on HDMI. (And i want Freesync or G-sync also)

I own an Acer Nitro 5 AN515-54-75T7:
- Core i7-9750H (6 Cœurs) - 2.6 GHz, Turbo 4.5 Ghz, Cache 12 Mb
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660Ti 6GB DDR5

• RAM 16GB DDR4, SSD 1024GB
  [*]1 x USB Type-C : USB 3.1 Gen 1
  [*]1x HDMI (2.0 i think?)
  [*]144 Hz, (1920 x 1080), resolution 1080p Full HD Pixels.

Unfortunately (and I don't understand why) it doesn't have DisplayPort and I have to connect the laptop to a monitor only with the help of HDMI.
I read and searched in your post a list of monitors that also offer G-sync or Freesync using HDMI and also 144Hz. Unfortunately, there are not many like this. From your article I found the model ASUS VG258QR also supports G-sync and 144Hz (though not tested by you personally or others in the community). Is it more likely that it supports 144Hz for HDMI since it is 165Hz, or does it have no connection and it just depends on what frequency the monitor supports for HDMI?
The monitor is 165Hz, my laptop is 144Hz. Do you think this model would be compatible with the HDMI cable for 144Hz, or nothing is certain and I can only find out from the monitor test? Thanks u very much

EDIT: If anyone has teste the ViewSonic XG2402, can they confirm if Freesync works for HDMI?

My laptop: https://www.amazon.fr/Acer-Nitro-AN515-54-75T7-Ordinateur-portable/dp/B07YD3C3NF
ASUS monitor: https://www.amazon.fr/ASUS-VG258QR-1920x1080-Haut-parleurs-Compatible/dp/B07KJ67Y3K

Thank you and Merry Christmas!

 

[Glenwing]

I read and searched in your post a list of monitors that also offer G-sync or Freesync using HDMI and also 144Hz.

NVIDIA graphics do not support the FreeSync over HDMI protocol, they are only compatible with FreeSync over DisplayPort.

 

[Yobo]

@Glenwing
(Srry for my english)
I have a HDMI-DVI adapter, and i want to connect a 1080p 75hz monitor, atleast i know, the VGA (with same bandwith than SL-DVI-I) can 1080p 75hz, but i have a question, are going to work in 75hz? Or its limited to 60hz?

 

[AOCardy]

It is because he is trying to use it with a higher resolution monitor which the adapter is limited to 30/60 Hz at. He has lowered the resolution to 1080p thinking that will enable the higher refresh rate but probably does not know that he needs to disable GPU scaling for that to work, otherwise the refresh rate will be limited to whatever is available at max resolution no matter what resolution he selects in the OS.

Thanks for the explanation!

 

[Holkao]

Hi, great content, i have a question, i own a benq xl2410t, one year ago the dvi-d stoping working, perhaps a hardware problem, nowadays i tried again use the dvi-d again (60hz sucks), but the screen stay all black or if i put in the fps mode, stay all around black bars with the middle all black too, theres a message error that i forgot, 'no signal cable' (i think), my question it is, there is a way to use the 120hz without the dvi-d? i have a gtx 1660s using with it. thx

 

[Glenwing]

Hi, great content, i have a question, i own a benq xl2410t, one year ago the dvi-d stoping working, perhaps a hardware problem, nowadays i tried again use the dvi-d again (60hz sucks), but the screen stay all black or if i put in the fps mode, stay all around black bars with the middle all black too, theres a message error that i forgot, 'no signal cable' (i think), my question it is, there is a way to use the 120hz without the dvi-d? i have a gtx 1660s using with it. thx

Not on the XL2410T. The DVI input is the only port that will work at high refresh rates.

 

[Holkao]

Not on the XL2410T. The DVI input is the only port that will work at high refresh rates.

Oh, thats unfortunate for me, i tried so many things to make the dvi-d works again, using the hdmi and dvi-d connect for install the drivers, but never tried to change the dvi-d plug (the monitor one), i just dont know what happenend, seems to be the dvi-d cable, but i tried three ones, i dont think its the cables. thanks for answering me.

 

[RazerFeed]

Hey, I have xl2411 connected through hdmi, I am looking at the adaptors that you have suggested for 144hz@1080p, but they are pretty hard to find in my country. I just set my monitor to 90hz1080p at nvidia panel using custom profile. It seems to work well, but since it's way above 60hz (considering 60hz is supposed to be max) I am a bit worried if this can cause any damage to my monitor or something. Or is it safe, and I can try to set hz to even higher than the 90hz ?

 

[Glenwing]

Hey, I have xl2411 connected through hdmi, I am looking at the adaptors that you have suggested for 144hz@1080p, but they are pretty hard to find in my country. I just set my monitor to 90hz1080p at nvidia panel using custom profile. It seems to work well, but since it's way above 60hz (considering 60hz is supposed to be max) I am a bit worried if this can cause any damage to my monitor or something. Or is it safe, and I can try to set hz to even higher than the 90hz ?

90 Hz is about the limit of what the XL2411 is capable of over HDMI.

 

[Bluegori]

Hello glenwing, greetings from Indonesia i have some issue with my new monitor, maybe u can help?

So yesterday i bought a new monitor its Armaggeddon xc27hd, the problem is when i connect DVI or HDMI to my GPU the PC wont boot, procie fan and fan case seems to light up but the mouse and keyboard doesn't. Then i tried to unplugged the cable and tried to boot without it and it seems fine, all the lights are on. I plug the cable again and it works just fine.

I can boot without any problem using the previous TV ( LG )

Spec : Asrock B450m Pro 4
Ryzen 5 2600
GTX 1050 TI 4GB

Thanks in advance, cheers mate