A high image transfer rate is particularly important when gaming. Today's optimum is at a frequency of 144 Hz or even higher. Most screens are now connected via HDMI cables. But now the question arises: Is such a transmission even possible via HDMI? And if not, how can I connect my monitor?
Is my HDMI cable compatible with 144 Hz?
There is no general answer to this question. There are several types of HDMI cables. Older HDMI cables are type HDMI 1.4 and unfortunately do not support this desired frequency, at least officially. In theory, the bandwidth of these cables is high enough to transmit 144 Hz in Full HD. Some manufacturers such as Asus or msi have made use of this, so that some of these screens can also be used with an HDMI 1.4 cable.
Newer HDMI cables are HDMI 2.0 or HDMI 2.1. With these cables, a frequency of more than 120 Hz is possible - at least in theory. Unfortunately, many gaming monitors are modified in such a way that 144 Hz cannot be transmitted via HDMI, but only via a type of cable called DisplayPort. It is best to check before buying whether your desired monitor supports 144 Hz via HDMI transmission..
So the bottom line is: try it out! There is also specific software that you can use to measure actual latency. What may or should not be possible in theory is sometimes completely different in practice.
By the way: You should also make sure that your monitor and graphics card are designed for such a high frequency. If your hardware is relatively old, even a modern HDMI cable cannot change the transmission..
What alternatives do I have to HDMI?
If your display and graphics card support the appropriate connections, you can use one of two other types of cable : First, there are dual-link DVI-D cables . These can certainly transmit the 144 Hz. The other alternative is DisplayPort cables . These can also transmit 144 Hz and even beyond.
The DisplayPort cables are especially important if your display has G-Sync support. G-Sync is a technology developed by Nvidia that is mainly used in gaming monitors. It can happen that the image transmission from the monitor and graphics card are not completely synchronized. Tools like V-Sync or G-Sync ensure that the transmission runs smoothly - and at a high frequency..
Of course there are also other connections, such as VGA. However, these are out of date and can only reproduce lower frequencies than HDMI or the cables just mentioned.