Bandwidth Calculator

Calculate display bandwidth requirements for HDMI and DisplayPort

Display Settings

Bandwidth Required

Required Bandwidth
23.98 Gbps

Cable Compatibility

Cable Standards Comparison

Standard Max Bandwidth Max Resolution HDR Support
HDMI 1.4 10.2 Gbps 4K@30Hz, 1080p@120Hz No
HDMI 2.0 18 Gbps 4K@60Hz, 1440p@144Hz HDR10
HDMI 2.1 48 Gbps 4K@120Hz, 8K@60Hz HDR10+, Dolby Vision
DisplayPort 1.2 17.28 Gbps 4K@60Hz, 1080p@240Hz No
DisplayPort 1.4 25.92 Gbps 4K@120Hz, 8K@30Hz HDR10
DisplayPort 2.0 77.37 Gbps 8K@60Hz, 4K@240Hz HDR10+

Related Tools

Calculate safe areas for your broadcast video format Find resolution that matches your available bandwidth Compare bandwidth requirements between resolutions Reference bandwidth needs for standard resolutions Calculate bandwidth for high refresh rate signals Calculate total bandwidth for multiple display setup Calculate HDMI bandwidth for projector resolution

Understanding Video Bandwidth and Display Signal Requirements

Video bandwidth measures the data rate required to transmit display signals from your graphics card to your monitor. Expressed in Gbps (Gigabits per second), it determines whether your cable and port can support a specific resolution and refresh rate combination. Our bandwidth calculator helps you verify compatibility before purchasing monitors or cables.

Higher resolutions and refresh rates demand more bandwidth. A 4K display at 60Hz requires approximately 12.5 Gbps, while the same resolution at 144Hz needs nearly 32 Gbps. Understanding these requirements ensures you select appropriate cables and verify your GPU's output capabilities.

HDMI and DisplayPort Bandwidth Capabilities

HDMI Versions

HDMI 2.0 provides 18 Gbps bandwidth, supporting 4K at 60Hz or 1440p at 144Hz. HDMI 2.1 dramatically increases bandwidth to 48 Gbps, enabling 4K at 120Hz, 8K at 60Hz, and support for Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) technology.

DisplayPort Versions

DisplayPort 1.4 offers 32.4 Gbps bandwidth with Display Stream Compression (DSC), supporting 4K at 120Hz or 8K at 30Hz. DisplayPort 2.0 provides up to 80 Gbps, enabling 4K at 240Hz or dual 4K displays at 144Hz through daisy-chaining.

USB-C and Thunderbolt

USB-C with DisplayPort Alt Mode supports DisplayPort 1.4 bandwidth through compatible ports. Thunderbolt 4 guarantees DisplayPort 1.4 output and can drive multiple 4K displays or a single 8K display.

How Video Bandwidth is Calculated

Raw video bandwidth is calculated by multiplying total pixels × refresh rate × color depth. For 4K (3840×2160) at 60Hz with 8-bit color: 3840 × 2160 × 60 × 24 bits = 11.94 Gbps. Additional overhead for encoding and blanking intervals increases the actual requirement.

Display Stream Compression (DSC) reduces bandwidth requirements by up to 3:1 with visually lossless compression. This enables high refresh rate 4K signals over connections that wouldn't otherwise have sufficient bandwidth, such as single-cable USB-C to 4K 144Hz monitors.