Understanding various display connections will help you when deciding which PC is right for you, and which components you want to choose. Various motherboards and expansion cards include varying display capabilities. When choosing which system and which options are right for you, it is helpful to keep in mind what you might want to do with your computer system, not only now, but down the road.
- HDMI tends to be used primarily for television, but is also a fairly common feature on computer monitors. HDMI 1.4 is limited to 24-30fps with 4K video output, making mouse control and flicker rates less than optimal for some computer users.
- Display Port (DP) tends to be used with higher-end computer monitors. Display Port does not tend to be a feature on television monitors, if you are using your PC with a television.
- DVI-D is a very common computer monitor connector, but is more limited to lower resolutions (max 2560x1600).
- VGA connectors tend to only be used for basic monitor setups such as those used with servers, or as a means to connecting to older monitors.
- Thunderbolt can be used with specialty high-end monitors. It can be daisy chained to support other devices without cable clutter, and is also used for extreme throughput data transfer.
The following chart details the differences and similarities between different video display connector types, and lists all current and recent display connectors.
Video Connector Chart
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HDMI 2.0
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- Available on high-end video cards and select motherboards
- Digital
- Provides Video/Audio
- Uses the same (standard) high speed HDMI cables as HDMI 1.4
- Max resolution 3820x2150 (at 60 frames per second) and 4096x2160 (at 50 frames per second)
- Superior range of colors - 10 bit and 12 bit
- Up to 32 channels of uncompressed audio
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HDMI 1.4
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- Digital
- Provides Video/Audio
- Max resolution 3820x2160 (at 30 frames per second) and 4,096x2,160 (at 24 frames per second)
- 8 bit color
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Display Port 1.4
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- Primarily for Monitors (most TVs do not have Display Port)
- Available on High End Video Cards
- Supports Up To 8K Video
- Provides Video/Audio (and Data)
- Capable of up to 7680x4320 (at 60 frames per second), 30 bit color
- Support 4K UHD (3840x2160) @ 120Hz and 30 bits
- Effective Video Data Rate: 32.4Gbps
- Provides audio enhancements
- Multistream support (supports daisy chaining with DP out monitors)
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Display Port 1.3
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- Primarily for Monitors (most TVs do not have Display Port)
- Provides Video/Audio (and Data)
- Capable of up to 5120x2880 (at 60 frames per second), 24 bit color
- Can handle up to two 3840x2160 displays, or four 2560x1600 daisy chained displays
- Multistream support (supports daisy chaining with DP out monitors)
- Effective Video Data Rate: 25.92Gbps
- Provides audio enhancements
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Display Port 1.2
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- Digital
- Primarily for Monitors (most TVs use HDMI, rather than Display Port)
- Provides Video/Audio (and Data)
- Capable of up to 4096x2160 or 3840x2400 (at 60 frames per second)
- Effective Video Data Rate: 17.28Gbps
- Multi-Stream Support (supports daisy chaining with DP out monitors)
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Thunderbolt 3
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- Digital
- Provides Video (and Data)
- 40Gb/s transfer rate
- Uses a different connector than Thunderbolt/Thunderbolt 2
- Uses a DP/USB 3.1 Type-C style connector
- Supports Daisy Chaining of up to 6 Thunderbolt devices and monitors
- Used for high-speed Thunderbolt external data storage devices, Thunderbolt audio/video devices, and Thunderbolt monitors
- USB-C devices will work in a Thunderbolt 3 port, but will not run at the speed provided by Thunderbolt 3
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Thunderbolt 2
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- Digital
- Provides Video (and Data)
- There are currently no monitors available which fully utilize Thunderbolt 2
- Supports 4K Monitors (4096x2160 resolution)
- Will be useful for 4K video processing at frame rates greater than 60 frames per second (when monitors with these capabilities become available)
- https://thunderbolttechnology.net/sites/default/files/Thunderbolt_4kVideo.pdf
- 20 Gb/s transfer rate
- Can be used with monitors which support Thunderbolt (1) but will limit your Thunderbolt line to the 10 Gbps of Thunderbolt (1)
- Same size as Mini Display Port
- You can connect Mini Display Port devices to your PC with the Thunderbolt connectors on your PC (but you cannot plug a Thunderbolt connector into your Mini Display Port)
- Supports Daisy Chaining of up to 6 Thunderbolt monitors and other Thunderbolt devices
- Also for use with high-speed Thunderbolt external data storage devices and Thunderbolt audio/video devices
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Thunderbolt
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- Digital
- Provides Video (and Data)
- A limited number of monitors support Thunderbolt (1)
- 10 Gb/s transfer rate
- Supports Daisy Chaining of up to 6 Thunderbolt monitors and other Thunderbolt devices
- Also for use with high-speed Thunderbolt external data storage devices and Thunderbolt audio/video devices
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DVI-D
(Dual-Link)
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- Digital
- Primarily for Monitors
- Provides Video signal only (no audio)
- Max 2560x1600 resolution
- Max 85 frames per second
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DVI-I
(Single-Link)
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- Digital
- Primarily for Monitors
- Provides Video signal only (no audio)
- Max 1920x1200 resolution
- Max 60 frames per second
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S/PDIF
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- Digital
- Provides Audio signal only
- Can be used with DVI, Thunderbolt, or VGA for the audio portion of digital audio video connection
- Not all audio/video devices have Display Port/HDMI connectors – S/PDIF is often helpful is tying audio/video devices to your PC
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D-Sub Port (VGA)
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- Analog
- Not as clear as digital connectors
- Provides Video signal only (no audio)
- Older standard
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