Are you confused about whether to use HDMI or DisplayPort for your gaming setup? Let's talk about their differences and which is best for gaming.

HDMI and DisplayPort have become two of the most popular connectors for linking your display to your PC. Both technologies have continued to evolve throughout the years, providing high bandwidth transfers at sub-millisecond latencies.

The newer versions of HDMI and DisplayPort have become so advanced that most consumers won’t even use them at their maximum capacity. However, if you're a gamer whose aim is for the best possible gaming experience, choosing the right connector is absolutely necessary. Let's dive in.

To answer which connector is best suited for gaming, it is important that you first understand what both connectors have got to offer. Let's start with HDMI since it's the first to come out of the market.

HDMI, or High Definition Multimedia Interface, is a popular all-around connector used for media consumption, productivity, and gaming. HDMI connectors are composed of 19 pins capable of transmitting video, audio, and Ethernet data.

There are five types of HDMI connectors, but since we're mainly talking about gaming, we will focus on the standard Type-A HDMI.

Since HDMI has been in the market since 2003, it has undergone many updates, making HDMI faster and better each time. To know which version of HDMI suites your needs, here is a table of the latest versions and their capabilities (up to May 2022):

Aside from types and variations of connectors, HDMI also has four different cables, which significantly differ in performance and features. These cables would be:

HDMI with high-speed cables are capable gaming connectors. They support AMD's FreeSync technology, capable of 1080p to 10K gaming (if supported), and provide a high-speed 100Mbps Ethernet connection for downloading games and easy cable management.

Some of the biggest downsides to using HDMI for gaming are its lack of G-Sync support, lower performances for cables more than two meters, and the lack of multi-monitor support.

Note that gaming consoles like the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 only support HDMI. So this comparison only really applies to PC gamers.

DisplayPort is yet another popular connector primarily used in PCs. DisplayPort looks like an HDMI but with locking mechanisms and a 20-pin connector that can transmit both video and audio.

There are two types of DisplayPort: Standard DisplayPort and Mini DisplayPort. DisplayPort has also been in the market for over a decade now, which is why it has several variations. Here is a table of the most recent ones (up to May 2022):

DisplayPort is currently the most popular gaming connector in the market. It offers support for both G-Sync and FreeSync, support for 240Hz gaming at lower resolutions, 4K HDR gaming at 144 Hz, and support for multi-monitor setup.

As you can see, both DisplayPort and HDMI are capable connectors suitable for gaming. But if you’re playing popular FPS titles at higher resolutions, having the right connector will save you from any performance loss.

So, which connector is best suited for gaming? Without a doubt, it’s the DisplayPort!

DisplayPort is the best gaming connector in the market because of its optimized versatility aimed at gamers. Its support for both FreeSync and G-Sync allows a wide variety of gamers to enjoy adaptive sync technology. If your gaming rig uses NVIDIA graphics, then you really don’t have an option: either use DisplayPort or have a cable bottleneck.

DisplayPort’s support for multi-screen monitors is also a big plus for many gaming rigs that double as personal workstations. As a multi-monitor setup helps with productivity and streaming, and can be a separate monitor to chat with friends, play music, peek at user profiles, and look up game guides online.

Now that you know why DisplayPort is the best gaming connector, keep in mind that changing your cables from HDMI to DisplayPort doesn't necessarily mean better gaming performance. Cables and connectors cannot add performance that your current PC build doesn't already have.

But if you do have a capable gaming rig, then hopefully, this article convinces you to switch to DisplayPort and enjoy all the performance your gaming rig can provide.

Craving to learn how things worked, Jayric Maning started tinkering with all kinds of electronic and analog devices during his earlier teens. He took up forensic science at the University of Baguio to where he got acquainted with computer forensics and cyber security. He is currently doing lots of self-study and tinkering with tech figuring out how they work and how we can use them to make life easier (or at least cooler!).

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