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What maximum resolutions and refresh rates are supported for external monitors?

General Information

Our laptop specifications always indicate the supported versions of DisplayPort and HDMI. For standards where the version number covers multiple bandwidth levels, we either support the maximum available bandwidth or explicitly list the bandwidth in gigabits per second (Gbps) in the spec sheet.

Based on the provided version and bandwidth information, the maximum supported resolutions and refresh rates can be determined from publicly available reference tables. Support is therefore not directly dependent on the laptop or the GPU but rather on the bandwidth available through HDMI or DisplayPort.

A comprehensive table listing the resolutions and refresh rates supported by different HDMI and DisplayPort versions can be found here:

For even more detailed information, refer to these Wikipedia resources:

By checking the bandwidth supported by the laptop’s port, users can find all necessary details regarding maximum resolutions, refresh rates, and color depth in these tables.

All additional information below is provided as background knowledge.

Background information

Both HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 2.1 share a key characteristic: the version number alone no longer defines the bandwidth.

HDMI 2.1

Overview

The bandwidth of HDMI 2.1 ranges from 18 Gbps (minimum configuration) to 48 Gbps (maximum configuration). Most laptop manufacturers do not specify which version their models are equipped with.

In general, the following picture emerges:

  • HDMI 2.1 from an Intel or AMD iGPU has so far usually only offered 18 Gbps.
  • HDMI 2.1 from an NVIDIA dGPU (from RTX 30 series) on the other hand, practically always offers a full 48 Gbps.

The lowest expansion level of 18 Gbps for HDMI 2.1 actually corresponds to the former maximum expansion level of HDMI 2.0. Thus, HDMI 2.1 for iGPUs is usually a pure rebranding and not a real upgrade compared to HDMI 2.0.

With 18 Gbps, 4K@60Hz is possible, but not 4K@120Hz or 4K@144Hz.

So if a laptop manufacturer without a dedicated NVIDIA graphics card now claims "HDMI 2.1" without specifying a bandwidth or resolution, it must be assumed that only 4K@60Hz is supported.

For XMG and SCHENKER, we have therefore been using the following scheme since the introduction of HDMI 2.1:

  • If only 18 Gbps (4K@60Hz) is supported, then we declare HDMI 2.0 in the spec sheet.
  • If the HDMI port supports 48 Gbps with up to 4K@144Hz, we declare HDMI 2.1.

Vendor support

HDMI ports provided by previous Intel and AMD iGPUs only offer 18 Gbps over HDMI, so we only list "HDMI 2.0" on the spec sheet, even though it is technically an "HDMI 2.1" port.

Newer iGPU generations offer higher HDMI bandwidths. For example, the iGPU in the AMD Ryzen AI 300 series (available since the end of 2024) now supports 32 instead of 18 Gbps. This means that they are not yet at the limit of the HDMI 2.1 standard, but they are also significantly faster than previous HDMI 2.0 laptops. This intermediate stage makes it imperative to specify the actual bandwidth in the spec sheet – a principle of transparency that our laptop spec sheets will always follow.

NVIDIA has always offered HDMI 2.1 with a full 48 Gbps since the RTX 30 series.

DisplayPort 2.1

Overview

DisplayPort 2.1 is the first DisplayPort version (since 1.0) where you can no longer directly deduce the bandwidth from the version number.

First, a brief history: DisplayPort 1.4a always required HBR3 with a total of 32.4 Gbps. This allows 4K@144Hz or 8K@30Hz to be operated without DSC (image compression). This was the gold standard for DisplayPort from around 2014.

However, DisplayPort 2.1 is now available in three versions:

  • UHBR10 (40 Gbps) – aka DP40
  • UHBR13.5 (54 Gbps)
  • UHBR20 (80 Gbps) – aka DP80

"DP40" and "DP80" are official marketing designations that were assigned by the industry consortium VESA, which defines the DisplayPort standard, to facilitate the branding of cables.

The maximum resolution and refresh rate increase with bandwidth, depending also on the colour depth (8-bit or 10-bit) and DSC compression. For example, UHBR13.5 already allows 8K@60Hz, but UHBR10 (DP40) does not. Thus, when buying laptops, graphics cards and cables, it is important to pay attention to which DisplayPort version is supported.

Manufacturer support

The Intel Core Ultra series was the first Intel generation to support DisplayPort 2.1 when it was introduced at the end of 2023.

AMD Ryzen CPUs of the 8000 series (Hawk Point) only support DisplayPort 1.4 (32 Gbps). Although AMD's spec sheets also mentioned support for DisplayPort 2.1 with UHBR10 (DP40), this was not "native" support, but had to be implemented by the mainboard via a so-called "re-timer" (a protocol converter, so to speak) - an additional effort that no laptop manufacturer will undertake in practice (also because of the associated risks regarding signal quality and validation).

This put the AMD iGPU on a par with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40-series graphics cards and also on a par with Apple Silicon (M1 to M3) – so support for DP 2.1 is still the absolute exception at present.

The newer iGPU in the aforementioned AMD Ryzen AI 300 series, which had increased the HDMI bandwidth to 32 Gbps, will now offer DisplayPort 2.1 natively at DP40 level. However, this still puts AMD behind Intel's DP80 support.

NVIDIA only offers DisplayPort 2.1 (DP80) from the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 series onwards. Previous generations offered DisplayPort 1.4 (32.4 Gbps).