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We’re focusing on Displayport vs HDMI, addressing key features including bandwidth, refresh rate, and resolution to see which is better for gaming.
If you’ve had a peep at the best gaming monitors, you’ll be familiar with HDMI and DisplayPort which are responsible for connecting your monitor or TV to your gaming system.
The differences between the two are easily overlooked – after all, they’re just cables right? Wrong! There are key differences between the two which influence refresh rate, color quality and more.
It’s worth being aware of these differences before launching into the best monitor for Warzone 2. Similarly, if you’re weighing up between the RTX 4070 Ti vs 3080, your choice between HDMI and DisplayPort will make a difference. To make things easier, we’ve rounded up the best DisplayPorts for 144Hz and more. We’ve similarly found the best HDMI 2.1 cables if you’re looking to up your resolution to 4K or even 8K.
In case you’re unfamiliar, both HDMI and DisplayPort are digital standards responsible for converting digital information from your gaming system onto your screen. Any newer display, especially if it’s capable of outputting 1440p and above, should adopt HDMI or DP. But which one is better?
DisplayPort vs HDMI for gaming – which is right for you?
Your choice between HDMI and Display Port comes down to a few factors including your desired resolution, whether you want HDR content (High Dynamic Range), and whether you’re a console or PC gamer.
If we had to pick though, we’d say that DisplayPort has the edge in terms of delivering the best gaming experience. While the HDMI 2.1 standard is technically superior in bandwidth and speed to DisplayPort 1.4, you’d have to buy a TV rather than a monitor to get it. DisplayPort also offers VRR and is able to support up to four displays at any given time.
HDMI is definitely the standard connection type for home entertainment purposes. If you’re a console gamer, then HDMI will be the way to go.
The safest option for PC gamers is to go for a DisplayPort connection. While you’re less likely to find these ports on TV sets, you’ll get them on modern graphics cards and gaming laptops. Even the earliest 1.0 and 1.1 versions of DisplayPort support 144Hz refresh rates at 1080p along with audio. And with DisplayPort 1.3, you can expect bandwidth speeds up to 26 GBps.
DisplayPort vs HDMI for gaming – specs
If you want to find out whether HDMI or DP is better for gaming, it’s worth knowing that there different generations of each cable that affect the resolution and refresh rate it can output. Below you’ll find a brief overview of the most important HDMI and DisplayPort generations, their max signal rates and the GPUs that first added support for the standard.
| HDMI Version | Max Transmission Rate | Max Data Rate | Resolution / Refresh Rate support | GPU Introduction |
| 1.0-1.2a | 4.95 Gbps | 3.96 Gbps | 1080p @ 60 Hz | AMD HD 2000 (R600) Nvidia GeForce 9 (Tesla) |
| 1.3-1.4b | 10.2 Gbps | 8.16 Gbps | 1080p @ 144 Hz 1440p @ 75 Hz 4K @ 30 Hz 4K 4:2:0 @ 60 Hz | AMD HD 5000 Nvidia GK100 (Kepler) |
| 2.0-2.0b | 18.0 Gbps | 14.4 Gbps | 1080p @ 240 Hz 4K @ 60 Hz 8K 4:2:0 @ 30 Hz | AMD RX 400 (Polaris) |
| 2.1 | 48.0 Gbps | 42.6 Gbps | 4K @ 144 Hz (240 Hz w/DSC) | Partial 2.1 VRR on Nvidia Turing |
| DisplayPort Version | Max Transmission Rate | Max Data Rate | Resolution / Refresh Rate support | GPU Introduction |
| 1.0-1.1a | 10.8 Gbps | 8.64 Gbps | 1080p @ 144 Hz 4K @ 30 Hz | AMD HD 3000 (R600) |
| 1.2-1.2a | 21.6 Gbps | 17.28 Gbps | 1080p @ 240 Hz 4K @ 75 Hz 5K @ 30Hz | AMD HD 6000 (Northern Islands) Nvidia GK100 (Maxwell 1) |
| 1.3 | 32.4 Gbps | 25.92 Gbps | 1080p @ 360 Hz 4K @ 120 Hz 5K @ 60 Hz 8K @ 30 Hz | AMD RX 400 (Polaris) Nvidia GM200 (Maxwell 2) |
| 1.4-1.4a | 32.4 Gbps | 25.92 Gbps | 8K @ 120 Hz w/ DSC | Future GPUs |
| 2 | 80.0 Gbps | 77.37 Gbps | 4K @ 240 Hz 8K @ 85 Hz | Future GPUs |
Frequently asked questions
Is HDMI 1 or 2 better for gaming?
It all comes down to what computer hardware you have – if you’re graphics card and monitor can support it, go for HDMI 2.1 as it boasts a faster bandwidth.
Can DisplayPort 1.4 do 144Hz @ 1440p?
So long as you have the appropriate graphics card and monitor, DisplayPort 1.4 should be able to output 144Hz at 1440p with no problems.
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