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OtomotO

Okay, so ELI 5 why I would now use HDMI instead of DP?

All my monitors support DP, my GPU has more ports for DP ...

I am genuinely interested as I've never even considered using HDMI for my Desktop.

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If you’re using a TV. They rarely have DP ports.

Also amplifiers and capture devices generally only do HDMI. I haven't looked at projectors, lately, but HDMI is The Standard and a desktop computer display is the only exception.

> Okay, so ELI 5 why I would now use HDMI instead of DP?

I use DP too when I can. For example my main desktop is using DP.

But many devices have HDMI, not DP. For example I've got seven Raspberry Pi here: they all have HDMI and none has DP. There's, what, 100 million Raspberry Pi in the world by now? Don't know the number but: devices that do not support DP aren't rare.

And Linux runs on much more than desktop PCs.

First off: I am aware that Linux runs on much more than desktop PCs.

I am using it exclusively and since many decades.

I was specifically asking for desktop usage though, because that's what I am mostly working with.

If that point didn't come across, I am sorry. English isn't my first language.

HDMI is a king on consumer TVs. Linux (in form of SteamOS) is becoming a major console gaming platform thanks to Valve.

> Okay, so ELI 5 why I would now use HDMI instead of DP?

For A/V stuff: CEC and (e)ARC.

* CEC: control one device, and downstream items receive instructions so you're (ideally) not fiddling with multiple remotes.

* ARC: the TV/display can decode audio/video and pass the audio to a sound bar or other audio system.

I have been using HDMI to game on TV for most or all of my adult life. Mostly console gaming. A few years back I built a dedicated gaming rig, but I still use it with a controller from my couch connected to a TV.

So this is a win for couch gamers and open source in general.

HDMI 2.1 carries more bandwidth than DisplayPort 1.4. Plenty of GPU/monitors have that port arrangement, as recent as Nvidia's RTX 40 Series.

Yeah but this is for amdgpu and they had DP2.1 support for a while now.

That doesn't help when the monitors don't have DP2.1 support.

I havent seen a monitor (besides tvs) that has HDMI2.1 but not DP2.1

I can tell you mine does: a Corsair XENEON 27QHD240. Or the somewhat popular and badly named Acer Nitro XV275K P5biipruzx

I'd say it's usual for displays released in the 2-5 years old range. HDMI 2.1 got somewhat quick monitor support for consoles, but search for "first DP2.1 monitor" gets results from 2024

And that parenthetical is exactly why people care.

TVs.

lots of linux based boxes are used with TVs.

Plenty of high refresh gaming monitors out there that use HDMI 2.1 or DP1.4 with DSC.

DSC is just the "card up the sleeve" for DP1.4, you can push it all the way to 4K 240hz HDR. So there is little incentive to switch to DP2.1 for OEMs.

I ran fiber optic HDMI from my office to my living room for 4K120 HDR+VRR couch gaming with no added latency or loss in quality. Works great. My LG C1 even supports FreeSync so VRR even works, but I have to route the HDMI directly to the TV. My receiver does not support FreeSync and only supports HDMI VRR. Presumably with this patch I will be able to run HDMI 2.1 VRR through my receiver and not have to treat my desktop as a special input.

It's just nice when technology is not hampered by nonsense.

AMD RX 6700 XT from 2021 only has DP1.4 (but HDMI 2.1).

Dell U5226KW from 2026 only has DP1.4 (but HDMI 2.1).

I don't think I have seen anything above DP1.4 in the wild for now.

Also interesting is the Steam Machine with its AMD RX 7000 series GPU only has DP1.4 even though those GPUs should be able to do DP2.1

Because your motherboard only supports HDMI. The last three I used had HDMI, and sometimes VGA.

Which part of "because the device doesn't have a DP port" is not enough for you?

You can't picture such devices or what's the holdup?

I asked specifically for a desktop.

> I am genuinely interested as I've never even considered using HDMI for my Desktop.

Sorry if that didn't come across. English isn't my first language

What’s DP? My desktop and laptop both have HDMI.

Display port. Most monitors support it.

Unfortunately not if you're running a mac

Macs definitely can use DP Alt Mode over USB-C ports, so if you get a USB-C -> DP cable it's straight up DP to the monitor.

Or you can just plug things into HDMI port without dongles.

Or you can just plug monitors into usb-c ports using usb-c cables without any special hdmi cables.

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