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DisplayPort vs HDMI (for gaming)

Also searched as: displayport vs hdmi · dp vs hdmi gaming · best cable for 144hz · hdmi or displayport

What it means

Which cable you use sets the ceiling on the refresh rate and resolution your monitor can run — pick an old version (or a cheap cable) and a 144Hz monitor can be stuck at 60Hz.

More detail

Both can be excellent; what matters is the VERSION and the bandwidth it carries. For high-refresh PC gaming, DisplayPort (1.4 or 2.1) is the safe default — it generally carries more bandwidth and handles high refresh rates and variable refresh (VRR) cleanly. HDMI 2.1 is also great (it is what modern consoles and TVs use for 4K120), while older HDMI 2.0 or a cheap cable can quietly cap you at 4K60 or 1080p120. If your monitor will not offer its top refresh rate, the cable and port are among the first things to check — use the best port your GPU and monitor share, with a cable rated for it. The cable does not change your FPS; it changes how much of it the screen is allowed to show.

The Compy Blackbook holds 174 graded entries like this one, judged against your hardware — and every change it does make is reversible, with the receipt to prove it.

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