Which Cable Do I Need for 144Hz?

There are numerous cables found in the market and their compatibility differs from one another. There are VGAs, DVI, HDMI and many more. If you are showing or watching 1080p content at 144HZ, you will need to use either Dual-Link DVI, DisplayPort, HDMI 1.4 cable. Take in mind, however, that there are some monitors which comes with HDMI 1.4 have 60Hz to 120Hz only. Hence, you will need to check this out first.
For 144Hz at 1440p, the minimum requirement would be HDMI 2.0 or DisplayPort 1.2. For 4K 144Hz on the other hand, would require HDMI 2.1 or DisplayPort of 1.4 with DSC 1.2.
VGA
Video Graphics Array (VGA) or D-Sub is an analog connector which is compatible with 1920x 1200 and 75 Hz. Hence, if you will be using new graphic cards and display, they will not work on this port. Though that is the case, there are still some monitors that could be used if you would want to connect them to older GPU or multi-monitor setup.
DVI
Digital Visual Interface of DVI is a popular, well-known and most commonly used connector. Take in mind, however, there are different DVI versions which works differently. The Dual-Link D port could work on 1920×1080 at 144Hz or 2560×1440 at 75Hz. Other DVI ports however could max out with the same bandwidth as VGA.
HDMI
You will notice that most monitors, graphics cards, TVs have HDMI 1.4 ports. This means, they are not enough for 144Hz at 1080p, 75Hz at 1440p and 30Hz at 4K. Though this is the case, there are monitors that have limited bandwidth over HDMI 1.4. In other words, it will max out at 120Hz or worse at 60Hz.
Most 144Hz monitors are limited to 120Hz over HDMI 1.4. However, there are some manufacturers who would utilize pixel for them to be able to use the full potential of HDMI 1.4 bandwidth which would result to being able to get 144Hz at 1080.
With these in mind, we suggest that you ensure that your monitor supports 144Hz at 120Hz over HDMI 1.4 port.
HDMI 2.0 could handle and be used for 240Hz at 1080p, 144Hz at 1440p and 60Hz at 4K. HDMI 2.1 however, could be used on 120Hz at 4K UHD and 60Hz at 8K.
DisplayPort
For those who love games, DisplayPort 1.2 could be used on most gaming monitors. They are compatible with 240Hz at 1080 up to 165Hz at 1440p and 75Hz at 4K.
The DisplayPort 1.3 and 1.4 could offer extra bandwidth which is often needed for 240Hz at 1440p, 120Hz at 4K, 60Hz at 5K and 30Hz at 8K.
The question now is what is their difference? DP DP 1.4 supports DSC or Display Stream Compression. This means you could use 144Hz at 4K, 120Hz at 5K and 60Hz at 8K with compression.
Mini-DisplayPort connector on the other hand could work with output of the the same amount of bandwidth as the DisplayPort implementation that it is based on. This means you would use this for 75Hz at 4K, 240Hz at 1080Hz at 1080p, etc.
Nowadays, mini-DisplayPort is slowly being replaced by USB Type-C port and this USB Type-C port has the ability to send DisplayPort signal for audio and video. It could also charge and transfer data to the other connected device.
- DisplayPort to DisplayPort Cable (Standard) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0098HVZBE
- DisplayPort to DisplayPort Cable (DP8K) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07J9R9ZY9
- DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort Cable (standard) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0163LQUH6
- DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort Cable (DP8K) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H48BL1J
- HDMI to HDMI Cable https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005BZG8G4
- Dual-Link DVI-D to Dual-Link DVI-D Cable https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0001Y8UC0
- Thunderbolt 3 Passive Cable (20 Gbit/s) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CEFESRO
- Thunderbolt 3 Active Cable (40 Gbit/s) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0725DW6D3
Adapters for 144Hz
If your 144Hz monitor does not support 144Hz over the same port, there are different available adapters that has combinations for 1080p 144Hz or higher. Example with DHMI to DP, you could connect this with an HDMI port to be able to monitor DisplayPort port but not vice versa. This means that these adapters are not bi-directional. Hence, you would need a DisplayPort to HDMI adapter.
As for DVI adapters, you will need for it to be active. This means you will need a USB connector. Take in mind also that a single-link will not work.
Here are some active adapter combinations:
· USB-C to DP
· DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI-D
· Mini DisplayPort to HDMI and vice-versa
· USB-C to HDMI
Unfortunately, there is no active HDMI to Dual-Link DVI-D adapter. Also, have in mind that active adapters are a bit expensive and there are some manufacturers that falsely advertise passive as active adapters. So you will have to be cautious when you purchase. Double check as well if the monitor is compatible with 144Hz over port.
Adapter (PC to Display)
- HDMI to DisplayPort Adapter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BXMOREI
- DisplayPort to HDMI 1.4 Cable/Adapter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013G4F0D8/
- DisplayPort to HDMI 2.0 Adapter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S0C7QO8/
- DisplayPort to HDMI 2.1 Adapter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08BX49V5V/
- Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019Q1DQKE/
- DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI-D Adapter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003XYBA72/
- Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI-D Adapter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0030XMREG/
- USB-C to DisplayPort Cable/Adapter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01J6DT070/
- USB-C to HDMI Cable/Adapter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0727QQLV2/
FAQ
Does HDMI 1.4 support 144Hz at 1080p?
Yes, HDMI 1.4 is compatible to work up to 144Hz at 1920×1080. However, you will have to check your monitor if it could work on HDMI 1.4.
Take in mind that older 144Hz gaming monitors like BenQ XL2411, Acer GN246HL, BenQ XL2430T, BenQ XL2411Z, ASUS VG248QE, AOC G2460PF are all limited to 60 Hz over HDMI which are limited to 120Hz at 1080p.
My laptop/PC has an HDMI port but my monitor supports 144Hz over DisplayPort
We recommend that you use active HDMI to DP adapter. This adapter allows only up to 120Hz at 1080 only.
My laptop/PC only has HDMI port but my monitor supports 144Hz over Dual-Link DVI-D
You will have to have an active HDMI to DL-DVI adapter. Unfortunately, this does not exist. Hence, you will need a monitor that will work on 144Hz over HDMI.
My laptop/PC only has a mini DisplayPort port, however my monitor supports 144Hz over DisplayPort
Use a standard Mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort cable.
My laptop/PC only has a Mini DisplayPort port by monitor supports 144Hz over Dual-Link DVI-D
We suggest that you use a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter, passive adapter is good for 1080o 120Hz.
My laptop/PC only has a USB-C port, but my monitor supports 144Hz over DisplayPort
Use USB-C port to DP adapter/cable
My laptop/ PC only has a USB-C port, but my monitor supports 144Hz over Dual-Link DVI-D
You will need to use a USB-C to DL-DVI-D adapter but it is not yet in the market, hence, you could use instead a USB-C to Single-Link DVI adapters which are limited to 1080p at 60Hz.
My laptop/PC only has a USB-C port, but my monitor supports 144Hz over HDMI.
You will need a USB-C to HDMI adapter/cable.