The connection standard for new generation displays is called DisplayPort 2.1: Promising unprecedented performance, with a maximum bandwidth of 80 Gbps (UHBR20), it is the only consumer standard capable of supporting monitor 4K a 240 Hz without data compression (Display Stream Compression, DSC). However, despite the enormous potential, the adoption of DisplayPort 2.1 is encountering several obstacles, at various levels.
DisplayPort 2.1 and the cable length problem
One of the main critical issues of DisplayPort 2.1 concerns the maximum cable length DP80 (UHBR20) certified. According to the VESA database, the maximum length currently allowed for these cables is just 1.2 meters, with many cables reaching 1 meter or even no more than 80 centimeters.
These lengths are extremely limited for most desktop configurations. In these cases, in fact, the PC is usually positioned on the ground while the monitor is on the desk: cables at least 2 meters long are required.
A further complication arises from fragmentation of specifications within the DisplayPort 2.1 standard. In fact, in addition to UHBR20 (DP80) – which offers the maximum bandwidth of 80 Gbps – there are also specifications UHBR13.5 (DP54) at 54 Gbps and UHBR10 (DP40) at 40 Gbps. All are lumped under the DisplayPort 2.1 umbrella, leading to a lot of variability in actual performance. Exacerbating the situation is the fact that they don’t yet exist DP54 certified cables.
Slow adoption in video cards and monitors
The adoption of DisplayPort 2.1 (in another article we talk about the differences between DisplayPort versions) by manufacturers has currently progressed rather slowly. In the world of GPUAMD RDNA 3 cards only RX7000 support DP54, while professional cards W7900 they add a single DP80 port.
The offer Intel Arc Alchemist is limited to DP40, while NVIDIA has decided not to implement DP2.1 on its Ada Lovelace GPUs RTX 40. On the monitor front, the only display currently available capable of guaranteeing full DP80 support is the Gigabyte Aorus FO32U2P, a new OLED 4K a 240 Hz just launched on the market.
To get around bandwidth restrictions, many manufacturers are turning to data compression. Although DSC allows you to achieve high resolutions and refresh rates, it involves a quality loss of the image and some limitations, such as disabling DSR support on NVIDIA GPUs.
DSR (Dynamic Super Resolution) is a technology developed by NVIDIA that allows you to render at higher resolutions. The technique, similar tosupersamplingallows you to obtain sharper and more detailed images, reducing artifacts.
Future prospects for improving the implementation of DisplayPort 2.1
VESA and cable manufacturers are working to increase the maximum length of DP80 cables beyond the current 0.8-1.2 meters, including through the use of active cables instead of copper passives. However, this solution could lead to an increase in costs.
Meanwhile, for DP40 there is availability of certified cables up to 3 meters, while DP54 should allow lengths of 2 meters, offering an acceptable compromise.
As display resolutions and refresh rates continue to grow, older standards such as DisplayPort 1.4a they will no longer be able to manage new technologies without resorting to data compression. The adoption of DisplayPort 2.1 will therefore be fundamental to fully exploit the potential of future high-end monitors.
Opening image credit: iStock.com – Natalia Yankovets