Display Bandwidth Calculator
Estimate the raw video bandwidth for a given resolution, refresh rate and color depth, and compare it against HDMI and DisplayPort limits.
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Transport compatibility is an estimate. Timing, encoding, cable quality and display stream compression can change the result.
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What is the Display Bandwidth Calculator?
This tool estimates the uncompressed video bandwidth required to drive a display and compares it against common HDMI and DisplayPort version limits.
How to use it
- 1Enter width, height, refresh rate and bits per color channel.
- 2Read the required bandwidth in Gbps.
- 3Compare against the listed cable standards.
How it works
Raw bandwidth = width × height × refresh × (bits per channel × 3) plus a blanking overhead factor (~5–8%). Real links may use compression (DSC) to fit higher modes.
Limitations & notes
- Assumes uncompressed RGB/4:4:4; DSC and chroma subsampling reduce real requirements.
- Blanking overhead is approximated and varies by timing standard (CVT-RB vs CEA).
Frequently asked questions
Can HDMI 2.0 run 4K at 144 Hz?
Not uncompressed. 3840 x 2160 at 144 Hz with 10-bit RGB needs roughly 37.6 Gbps including about 5% blanking overhead, while HDMI 2.0 carries about 14.4 Gbps of video data. Even 8-bit 4K at 144 Hz needs around 30 Gbps. HDMI 2.0 tops out near 4K 60 Hz at 8-bit RGB (about 12.5 Gbps). For 4K 144 Hz you need HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 2.x, or DisplayPort 1.4 with Display Stream Compression.
Why does 4K 120 Hz HDR work over DisplayPort 1.4 on some monitors?
DisplayPort 1.4 delivers about 25.92 Gbps of usable data, but 4K 120 Hz at 10-bit RGB needs about 31 Gbps. Monitors make it fit in two ways: Display Stream Compression (DSC), which is visually lossless compression, or chroma subsampling to 4:2:2, which cuts the requirement to roughly 21 Gbps. This calculator models subsampling through its chroma option but does not model DSC, so a DSC-capable setup can work even when the tool shows Above estimate.
What does chroma subsampling 4:2:2 or 4:2:0 actually cost me?
Subsampling keeps full brightness detail but shares color information between neighboring pixels. 4:2:2 reduces the data to two thirds of RGB, and 4:2:0 to half. Films and games usually look fine, but small colored text on a desktop can look fringed or blurry, especially red or blue text. For a PC monitor used for work, prefer RGB or 4:4:4 and lower the refresh rate or use DSC instead of subsampling.
Is the cable or the port the bottleneck?
Usually the port version on both ends decides the limit, and the cable must be certified for that speed. A GPU with HDMI 2.1 connected to a TV with HDMI 2.0 inputs runs at HDMI 2.0 rates. For HDMI 2.1 speeds use a cable labeled Ultra High Speed; for DisplayPort 2.x look for DP40 or DP80 certification. A marginal cable often shows up as flickering, black screens or a refused refresh rate.
What should I enter in the overhead field?
Overhead represents the blanking intervals that video timings add around the visible pixels. The default 5% approximates reduced-blanking timings common on PC monitors. TV-style CTA timings can add 10 to 20% at some resolutions, so raise the value if you are checking a TV mode and the result is close to a limit. The tool compares the final figure against fixed data rates for HDMI 1.4 through 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.2 through 2.1.
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