If you are about to buy a new PC monitor, you should check the compatibility and ports available in the monitors. Depending on the manufacturer you are purchasing the monitor from, you will have different features and docks available to use. Along with that, you should also check your PC to know what type of monitors it supports.
You can check at the backside of your PC (CPU cabinet) and look for the ports for the monitor connection. If you own a gaming PC, you will have both HDMI and DisplayPort options available. Also, the new modern computers and Laptop supports both HDMI and DisplayPort Ports. Now, why should you care about these ports? Why do HDMI and DisplayPort matter? And what are the differences between HDMI vs Displayport?
We will do a comparison between Displayport and HDMI in this article to help you understand which one you should consider. Therefore we urge you to read the complete article, not only will you know more about HDMI vs Displayport but also you will know what monitor you should buy according to your needs.
What is HDMI? (High-Definition Multimedia Interface)
As the name suggests, HDMI is an interface for transferring Multimedia from one device to other. The cable can send high-quality video and audio feed from one device to another without lag or issues. Hence, HDMI is now a standard among the Smart TV industry, however, the HDMI technology wasn't this polished and smooth as it's now.
HDMI is still under development, and they are extending HDMI since the technology has been released to the public. Therefore, there are different versions of HDMI with each performance. Technology is reaching new heights. We have gone through the following versions of HDMI briefly.
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HDMI 1.4 can support a 24Hz refresh rate with a 4K resolution for 4,096 by 2,160 size monitors. 3,840 by 2,160 size monitors provide a 30Hz refresh rate and 4K resolution or 120Hz refresh rate in 1080p resolution.
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HDMI 2.0 and later versions all support HDR and 4K resolution at a 60Hz refresh rate.
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HDMI 2.1 is the latest version of HDMI, and it provides a 120Hz refresh rate at 10K resolution. The dynamic metadata, HDMI, and Audio Return Chanel has been improved, which means now you can send the audio signals through HDMI from display to a sound system like Dolby Atmos and DTS:X Audio. Even more, like FreeSync, HDMI now also supports Variable Refresh rates.
These are a few brief explanations of each HDMI version, highlighting the capability of what each version can do. That is important to know if you want to pick the correct HDMI cable for your specific needs.
Firstly, you will have to know what your PC is capable of, for example, if your PC supports 60Hz of refresh rate, 4K resolution, and supports HDR. Then you would want to buy the HDMI that matches precisely with your PC specifications. In this case, you would need a Premium High-Speed HDMI cable or other capable of 18Gbps or higher.
However, there are also Low-Spec HDMI cables which could drastically drop the performance of the HDMI. These cables can only transfer high-quality images properly but may present issues while sharing 4K video and high-quality audio.
If your PC has FreeSync technology from AMD, then HDMI won’t give you any screen treating trouble. However, if you have G-Sync from NVIDIA card in your PC, you might have some screen tearing issues in games and video editing software.
To use HDMI is relatively simple; plug the cable into the devices, for example, from your Laptop to the TV. For gamers, if you are using AMD technologies, HDMI would be the best option for connecting your PC Monitor, or if you are finding a Display connector for your TV, you should use HDMI.
DisplayPort Explained.
Both HDMI and DisplayPort are not only very similar technologies, but both also look almost the same. However, there are minute differences between the DisplayPort and HDMI plug shapes. For instance, the HDMI cable pin has a curve, and the Display port cable plug is more like a USB rectangle.
The standards of DisplayPort are a bit different from HDMI, hence though it supports 4K resolution and high-quality audio transferring but not always. DisplayPort technology was developed as a Display Connectors for PC Monitors. Therefore, DisplayPort has full compatibility with AMD and NVIDIA technologies.
Like HDMI, DisplayPort technology has also been improved, hence resulting in different versions of it. So, here we will go through all the versions of DisplayPort briefly, which will give you the idea of what version of Display cable you should purchase.
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DisplayPort 1.2 ports might support AMD FreeSync technology and provide you 60Hz of refresh rate and 4K resolution.
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DisplayPort 1.3 provides a 4K resolution for a 60Hz refresh rate and an 8K resolution for 30Hz.
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The DisplayPort version 1.4 now supports HDR and 8K resolution for a 60Hz refresh rate.
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DisplayPort 2.0 is the latest 2020 version; it supports 10K with no HDR for 80Hz refresh rate and 16K with HDR support for 60Hz refresh rate.
To buy a DisplayPort, we will recommend you to buy DisplayPort Certified cables. Unlike HDMI, DisplayPort is compatible with all PC Monitors but may vary due to the DisplayPort versions. Therefore, we recommend you check your PC for what versions of DisplayPort it supports.
Unlike HDMI, where you have compatibility issues with G-sync Nvidia technology, you won’t have these issues while using a DisplayPort because DisplayPort is compatible with AMD and NVIDIA technologies.
Moreover, it has better specs than the HDMI for PC Monitors in addition to extra features. Such as you can only use one DisplayPort to drive through multiple Monitors. For Laptops, you can use the USB-C for connecting to a monitor using DisplayPort. Using DisplayPort is precisely similar to using HDMI. Just plug the DisplayPort cable into the devices in the respective DisplayPort port or a USB-C port.
If you are a gamer, you would probably want to use DisplayPort for the most satisfactory performance; however, if your needs are different, you have a big monitor, and you have to do video editing. Then using HDMI might be a good option for you. If you have multiple monitors, DisplayPort has the better feature to handle more than one monitor.
So for PC usage, DisplayPort seems like the best option. However, it depends on your needs. The Video card your PC has is also essential to know in this case because not every video card supports the identical versions of HDMI and DisplayPort.
