importance of display port?

M

myktek

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Messages
244
So I've noticed that lately some newer monitors now include display port and I was wondering if I purchase a new monitor should I factor this into my decision?

Is display port the future?

If I upgrade my video card in like 2/3 years.... I'm wondering if Display port will be the standard by then. I know no one can tell the future, but I'd just like to get your opinion on it.
 
Right now, display port is needed if you plan on using a Mac. Otherwise, I wouldn't worry about it.
 
Display port is also handy if you want to drive more than 2 monitors with one card (ATI with DP outs). Since I already have have a TV and a Monitor connected, I won't buy another monitor that doesn't have DP.
 
There are no DP to DVI cables. There are DP to DVI active/powered converters that are both more finicky and more expensive.
 
Displayport is definitely the future. That being said, the past isn't going anywhere for a while.
 
The Displayport addresses the Bandwidth issue. Right now 1920*1080/1200 is the standard. HDMI can handle this ok but not much higher. Display port is also free while there is a fee for using HDMI to the manufacturers. If you want say S3D in a higher resolution than 1920*1080 Displayport has more headroom. Likewise for surround or eyefinity is S3D or in higher res monitors/HDTV. IT IS THE FUTURE,. BUT IT MAKES CONNECTIVITY EASIER NOW. Some monitor makers are starting to discontinue dsub/vga ports already. DVI is the new "standard". While AMD was the first to put displayport on their cards Nvidia manufacturers are beginning to do so also.

Right now, if a monitor has a displayport on it, it is probably a higher quality unit to begin with.
 
Plus Displayport can be used to address the panel directly internally if the instead of lvds and that is good for lag free input options that bypass scaling at native resolutions and 10bit or higher displays that use a hardware LUT.

Once 4K hits the sceen DP will be the only game in town especially if that is at 120hz. By it being royality free that allows the manufactures to build simpler drive electronics that cost less too.

Old a consumer display it is ok if it processes the signal to hell and back since the picture isn't locally generated but for computer graphics DVi is too bandwidth limited and HDMI chipsets can mess with the color and scaling since it is meant to handle 4:2:2 or 4:4:4 studio (16-235) not full RGB 4:4:4 so you get a graphics card that might or might not send full RGB 4:4:4 over hdmi and the chipset in the monitor might want 4:4:4 studio so you get crushed details from all the conversion and potential lag.
 
i think it is a great idea to get a displayport monitor. dvi is not necessarily outdated but displayport is definately better. your resolution wont change but you would be capable of running 3+ monitors from one graphics card

HoppyChris said:
There are readily available DP to DVI cables, so don't worry about it.
Click to expand...

the problem with this is that in certain situations standard dp to dvi cables wont work. on ati graphics cards, you can run a displayport, and a dvi, but if you try to run a combination of more than 2 HDMI or DVI cables for a 3+ monitor setup, then you will need an active displayport adapter, which cost $50-75+. the eyefinity 6 5870 requires 4 active displayport if you want dvi/hdmi only monitors.
 
I am waiting on the day where they implement DP daisy chaining.
One cable from the PC to one screen and then a cable from screen to screen for more displays.
 
I would definitely try and get a monitor with displayport. It's much simpler to set up an eyefinity setup and I would imagine that it will become the dominant cable in the future.
 
Lack of displayport is a dealbreaker for me. I've got AMD cards that I use to drive three monitors, and I've got a Lenovo laptop with displayport out. I don't want to have to buy or carry dongles, either active or passive.

Displayport is free technology, technically superior to the alternatives, and will hopefully become ubiquitous.

I don't like mini-displayport, though -- it gets back into the dongle problem again. It's annoying that the 6000 series AMD cards use minidp as reference.
 
I use a miniDP -> DP adapter cable to connect my 6990 to the ZR30w and it's great. Inexpensive and much less bulky.
 
Zepher said:
I am waiting on the day where they implement DP daisy chaining.
One cable from the PC to one screen and then a cable from screen to screen for more displays.
Click to expand...

You can do that with Thunderbolt. I'm sure you're going to see a lot more of it next year.
 
duoflea said:
the problem with this is that in certain situations standard dp to dvi cables wont work. on ati graphics cards, you can run a displayport, and a dvi, but if you try to run a combination of more than 2 HDMI or DVI cables for a 3+ monitor setup, then you will need an active displayport adapter, which cost $50-75+. the eyefinity 6 5870 requires 4 active displayport if you want dvi/hdmi only monitors.
Click to expand...

I thought that passive displayport adaptors let you use a 3rd display so long as your resolution was handled by single link DVI?
 
Zepher said:
I am waiting on the day where they implement DP daisy chaining.
One cable from the PC to one screen and then a cable from screen to screen for more displays.
Click to expand...

Apple is there already, and they're doing it with their laptops and 27" 2560x1440 IPS displays:

http://www.apple.com/displays/

Intel will be doing it on its Ivy Bridge CPUs whenever those come out. I can't tell if either Nvidia or AMD are even thinking about this.
 
evilsofa said:
Apple is there already, and they're doing it with their laptops and 27" 2560x1440 IPS displays:

http://www.apple.com/displays/

Intel will be doing it on its Ivy Bridge CPUs whenever those come out. I can't tell if either Nvidia or AMD are even thinking about this.
Click to expand...

AMD promo material since 2009's launch of Eyefinity show this, but also note it requires DP 1.2 monitors to work.
 
Actually Apple is doing that with Thunderbolt displays, not DP displays AFAIK.

Apple is already leaving DP behind.
 
Yes the connector is based on DP, and Apple made it so it output compatible signals, but then you can't daisy chain, which was the point above.

To daisy chain you need a Thunderbolt port and a Thunderbolt monitor (possibly the second monitor could be DP).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top