Difference between DisplayPort and HDMI

[ElwynSB]

Hi there!

 

I recently bought a laptop with an i7-8750H and a GTX1060. With that I bought an external display etc. That display comes with an HDMI cable and a DisplayPort cable. 

Now the question is: What's the difference between the DisplayPort and HDMI cable?

I've read that DisplayPort supports 144Hz (which is my monitors refresh rate) and HDMI only supports untill 60Hz. The thing is, I read different stuff everywhere. I've also read that one of them did not support the transfer of audio, but that's not necessary anyway since I'm using a headset.

 

If someone could help me, that would be great!

 

 

ElwynSB

[kelvinhall05]

DP > HDMI. Newer, higher bandwitch, and just better overall.

[minibois]

They are a physically and electronically different video connection standard, that are actually quite similar.

To get some things out of the way:

- Displayport and HDMI both support 4K at 60Hz

- Displayport and HDMI both support 144Hz (provided you have the correct sort of version on either side)

- They both support sound

 

Check this hand-dandy tool to see what refresh rates are supported at what resolution at what DP/HDMI version:

 

 

As you can see, HDMI support 1080p144Hz on HDMI 1.4 and even 1440p144Hz on HDMI 2.0, provided your device and display have this standard.

Sometimes I see some monitor only support Freesync via either DP or HDMi, so that could be worth checking.

 

Long story short:

Use the connection which supports the resolution and refresh rate you are looking for. That could be either.

You basically can never go wrong with DP though, it supported most higher refresh rates/resolutions earlier, meaning there is a higher chance both devices (your computer+monitor) have the right DP version for what you're trying to do

[Jurrunio]

Displayport is like HDMI evo tbh, or rather DP and HDMI are playing cat and mouse with each other with DP always coming ahead. Do you have to use one over the other? not necessarily, just depends on resolution and refresh rate you need as well as revisions of connections the monitor and video output has.

[SupaKomputa]

DP have more bandwidth so it could deliver higher resolution in faster refresh rate.

But newer version HDMI 1.4 and up supports up to 240hz in 1080p.

Both support audio, no need to worry about it.

[PlayStation 2]

In terms of signal, literally nothing differentiates DisplayPort from HDMI to DVI to, hell, any digital output method you can think of.

In terms of what they can support, DisplayPort has traditionally been ahead of the curve compared to HDMI, supporing 4096x2160 at 60Hz well before HDMI ever got there. They both can support about the same types of audio outputs and passthroughs, if memory serves.

[ElwynSB]

Wow, thanks for the fast replies!

This was 100x if not 1000x easier to understand than the articles on the internet

[NinJake]

Don't forget the locking function of DP!

[KonaKonaCube]

The only drawback of DP is if you turn off a monitor the system handles it like a disconnected device and shuffles your desktop. Bah!

[Brooksie359]

Yeah display port vs HDMI is weird when it comes to monitors. Really you have to figure out which one is being used by your monitor to run 144hz and use that connection. Sometimes both will support 144hz in which case it doesn't matter which one you use while in other cases they only support it over Display port and in some odd cases they only support it over HDMI. I have even seen it where they only support 144hz over some weird dual dvi port for a monitor. Monitors are sometimes weird like that.