Upcoming AMD Navi 31 GPU to make the jump to DisplayPort 2.1

While previous rumours have claimed that AMD's upcoming Navi 31 GPU will utilise DisplayPort 2.0, newer reports suggest AMD is going a step further. According to multiple sources, the Navi 31 GPU will be upgraded to DisplayPort 2.1, an upcoming version of the standard, which could provide an advantage compared to Nvidia's AD102 video output options. 

Some criticised Nvidia for limiting the RTX 4090 to DisplayPort 1.4a when the GPU can easily exceed the standard's maximum refresh rate/resolution spec. As a reminder, DisplayPort 1.4a is limited to 120Hz in 4K and 60Hz in 8K, but using DSC, the maximum refresh rate increases significantly at the cost of image quality.

Verification from multiple sources that @Radeon Navi 31 will support upcoming DisplayPort 2.1 specification. I am tremendously surprised that @NVIDIAGeForce 4090 only supports DP 1.4a. Props to @LinusTech for calling out the DP1.4/4090 shortcomings! https://t.co/eW84VicAZr pic.twitter.com/4fmOtcnlth

— Kyle Bennett (@KyleBennett) October 12, 2022

That, however, won't be a problem for the upcoming AMD Radeon RX 7000 series flagship, as it's almost guaranteed that the card will feature DisplayPort 2.0. That was confirmed via a leak on a graphics driver, which shows the Navi 31 GPU would support a feature exclusive to DP 2.0 and above. DisplayPort 2.0 would have probably been enough for this card, but a recent report from Kyle Bennett claims AMD decided to go a step further and implement DisplayPort 2.1.

DisplayPort 2.1 specs haven't been announced yet, but we already know about DisplayPort 2.0, which supports up to 80 Gbit/s of bandwidth through 4 lanes, enough to power one 16K display at 60Hz, two 4K displays at 144Hz or three 4K displays at 90Hz. In the worst case, DP 2.1 will be capable of doing the same, but the most likely scenario is it will be better than its predecessor.

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KitGuru Says: The decision to limit the RTX 4090 to DisplayPort 1.4 still stands out as odd. Fortunately, it looks like AMD won't be doing the same, and will push forward with more up-to-date video outputs. 

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