NVIDIA's next-gen GeForce RTX 40 series lack DP2.0 connectivity, silly

I really thought we'd see NVIDIA unveil its next-gen GeForce RTX 40 series graphics cards, and the new Ada Lovelace GPU architecture sporting an also next-gen display connectivity: DisplayPort 2.0 aka DP2.0, but nope.

NVIDIA's huge GeForce RTX 40 series GPU reveal came and went, and after it all happened one of the biggest disappointments was the lack of DisplayPort 2.0 connectivity. We've had DisplayPort 1.4 connectors forever now, and while HDMI 2.1 has joined the party that's really for big, high refresh rate TVs (HDMI 2.1 is capable of 4K120).

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But, DisplayPort 2.0 is the future... people using GeForce RTX 4090s and GeForce RTX 4080s, and other GeForce RTX 40 series graphics cards in 2023, 2024, and 2025... all without DP2.0 connectivity. So DP2.0 starts taking off in 2023, more prevalent in 2024 and 2025, yet the biggest quantum leap in GPUs doesn't have the very latest display standard in the tail end of 2022, which sucks.

• Read more: AMD Ryzen 6000 series CPUs get DisplayPort 2.0 UHBR certification
• Read more: VESA intros DP40, DP80 UHBR cables for DisplayPort 2.0: 4K 240FPS
• Read more: DisplayPort 2.0 to HDMI 2.1 converters coming: the first DP 2.0 device
• Read more: DisplayPort 2.0 monitors coming in late 2021: 4K 240Hz and 8K 120Hz

DP2.0 is a huge upgrade over DP1.4 and DP1.4 + DSC (Display Stream Compression) where the new DisplayPort 2.0 connector is capable of 8K 120Hz and 4K 240Hz over a single cable. This blows away HDMI 2.1, and the fun gets even better when you think about there's not just a single port for DisplayPort on the back of modern graphics cards, but rather enough room for 3 monitors powered by DisplayPort.

If the next-gen GeForce RTX 40 series GPUs had DP2.0 support, we'd have 3 x DP2.0 ports that were each capable of 8K120 and 4K240. This would mean your display connectivity is pretty darn future-proof, because it'll be years yet (and many generations) before we're gaming higher than that (8K240 and 4K480).

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It's disappointing to say the least, to see NVIDIA launching such an absolute monster of silicon in the new GeForce RTX 40 series GPUs -- especially that tasty new GeForce RTX 4090 -- without DisplayPort 2.0 connectivity. I'm a huge GPU enthusiast, but I also love display technology.

I run most of the displays in my lab through DP1.4 while using HDMI 2.1 for my OLED TV (because it's 4K120-capable, and it only has HDMI 2.1 connectors). DisplayPort 2.0 would've been a match made in heaven: a next-gen GPU capable of at least driving 8K120 and 4K240 (especially so with DLSS 3 support on Ada Lovelace). But nope.

The kicker?

Intel's not-even-bloody-out-yet Arc GPUs have DisplayPort 2.0 connectivity, meanwhile 75.3 billion transistors worth of silicon and DP2.0 can't join the party.

DP 2.0 single-display resolutions:

• One 16K (15360 x 8460) display @ 60Hz and 30 bpp 4:4:4 HDR (with DSC)
• One 10K (10240 x 4320) display @ 60Hz and 24 bpp 4:4:4 (no compression)

DP2.0 dual-display resolutions:

• Two 8K (7680 x 4320) displays @ 120Hz and 30 bpp 4:4:4 HDR (with DSC)
• Two 4K (3840 x 2160) displays @ 144Hz and 24 bpp 4:4:4 (no compression)

DP2.0 triple-display resolutions:

• Three 10K (10240 x 4320) displays @ 60Hz and 30 bpp 4:4:4 HDR (with DSC)
• Three 4K (3840 x 2160) displays @ 90Hz and 30 bpp 4:4:4 HDR (no compression)