The initial incorporation of DisplayPort 2.1 in gaming monitors is underway. This standard signifies a breakthrough, enabling high-resolution and high-refresh-rate gaming without relying on Display Stream Compression (DSC). The introduction of OLED monitors with 4K 240Hz specifications seemed like an ideal occasion to unveil a fresh wave of DP2.1 monitors, but, regrettably, this was not widely observed.
In recent months, numerous companies have revealed their monitors, with some already in transit to customers. Notably, the Omen Transcend 32 is one of the scarce monitors claimed to uphold the DisplayPort 2.1 standard.
At present, the AORUS FO32U2P stands as the sole confirmed monitor supporting the maximum bandwidth through UHBR20 specifications. While monitors like Samsung’s Odyssey Neo G9 G95NC or Asus ROG Swift PG32UQXR are verified to support DisplayPort 2.1, they do not feature 32-inch OLED panels. As per TFT Central, the Transcend monitor is expected to support DP 2.1, but only in the UHBR10 mode, which represents the lowest tier of DP 2.1 specifications.
To provide context, the UHBR10 mode offers a combined bandwidth of 40 Gbps (38.69 Gbps actual), surpassing the DP1.4 bandwidth of 32.40 Gbps (25.92 Gbps actual), as highlighted by TFT Central. Yet, within DP2.1 specifications, the potential bandwidth reaches up to 80 Gbps (77.37 Gbps actual). It’s worth noting that HP did not adhere to the UHBR20 specs, limiting the monitor’s bandwidth accordingly.
Practically speaking, the monitor falls short of supporting 4K 240Hz specifications without relying on DSC (Display Stream Compression). The AORUS monitor is theoretically capable of handling such demands, given that an uncompressed stream requires 68.56 Gbps, and UHBR20 specs allow up to 77.37 Gbps data rate.
In essence, the Transcend DP2.1 specifications turn out to be less favorable than an HDMI 2.1 connection, which supports up to 48 Gbps (41.92 Gbps data rate). In this scenario, opting for the HDMI port would be a preferable choice.
Additionally, it’s noteworthy that AMD Radeon RX 7000 cards are already compatible with UHBR13.5 mode, and Radeon Pro cards, based on RDNA3 architecture, support UHBR20 mode. As of now, NVIDIA cards lack support for DisplayPort 2.1, whereas Intel Arc GPUs are DP 2.0 ready, accommodating up to UHBR10 mode. Considering this, Intel GPUs could be a viable option for pairing with this monitor.
Source & Images: TFTCentral