Solved Cabling Question: Two Displays, Monitors have 2 HDMI Ports + a Display Port

Greetings,

I have two identical new displays. They each have 2 HDMI inputs and one Display Port input. For output to monitors, my desktop computer has one Display Port and one HDMI port.

Due to the 60 Hz Refresh rate limitation on the HDMI cable, and that my monitors are both capable of 170Hz -- For the second monitor I bought an HDMI to Display Port cable, identical to the cable for the first monitor. I shut everything down, and removed the HDMI to HDMI cable and ran a new cable from the HDMI port on the desktop to the Display Port on the 2nd monitor.

I booted back up and now the second monitor does not pick up any signal from the desktop. I went into "Display" in Settings and tried to get the computer to detect both monitors, but to no avail. So I have to assume that my plan isn't going to work, so my question is, why would the monitor manufacturer put a Display Port on the monitors if it won't work to feed signal from the computer to the monitor?

I switched the cable on the second monitor back to HDMI to HDMI and both monitors are working fine again. Desktop specs are in my bio.

Thank you for any information / input!

One more item of relevant information -- I played with the settings on both monitors, and found that even with the settings set identical on the two monitors, the monitor fed from the computer Display Port, has better colors, and whites are whiter, even bluish white (my preference) than the monitor on HDMI to HDMI. The whites are a bit yellowish on that monitor.

So my reasons to try to switch to the DIsplay Port to HDMI cable is for more brilliant and clean colors as well as the higher refresh rate.

Is the cable you bought “Active” like the following

Just to expand on my question. I have 6 monitors, I had to buy 3 HDMI to Display Port cables. Like you, I couldn’t get a signal. So I read up and discovered that I needed an “ACTIVE” adapter. I bought 3 of the above mentioned and they worked without an issue, plugged into my nVidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super OC

EDIT:
HDMI on the monitor to Display Port on the PC (In my case)

Make certain that you are converting in the correct direction. Let me clarify what I mean by that: A cable is EITHER HDMI to DisplayPort or it is DisplayPort to HDMI. Put another way, they are uni-directional.

For example, if you have a DisplayPort to HDMI cable you MUST connect it to a DisplayPort on the computer and to an HDMI port on the display, you CANNOT use it to connect an HDMI port on the computer to a DisplayPort on the display.

It's possible that there could be some rare exception to this rule, but I have never encountered one.

hsehestedt said:

you MUST connect it to a DisplayPort on the computer and to an HDMI port on the display, you CANNOT use it to connect a DisplayPort on the computer to an HDMI port on the display.

Click to expand...

Your MUST & your CANNOT are the same thing.

hsehestedt said:

MUST ... DisplayPort to an HDMI port on the display, CANNOT ... DisplayPort to an HDMI port on the display.

Click to expand...

Well, now, @hsehestedt, I'm gald you've cleared that up.

antspants said:

Your MUST & your CANNOT are the same thing.

Click to expand...

ROFL. I have corrected it . Thanks for pointing this out.

hsehestedt said:

ROFL. I have corrected it . Thanks for pointing this out.

Click to expand...

I seriously read it about 10 times before I mentioned it, to be certain lol. Because it’s usually me.

It's a good thing I don't work for SpaceX or else there would be a lot of big kabooms.

antspants said:

I seriously read it about 10 times before I mentioned it, to be certain lol. Because it’s usually me.

Click to expand...

Yes, indeed, its usually YOU.

antspants said:

Is the cable you bought “Active” like the following

Amazon.com

Click to expand...

This is the cable I bought:


I see now that this cable is apparently uni-directional in the wrong direction for my application.

Yay for you, debby, and plaudits for you, antsy. Good to have you both here!

webby said:

This is the cable I bought:

Amazon.com

I see now that this cable is apparently uni-directional in the wrong direction for my application.

Click to expand...

OK. I can’t see anywhere in the description that says that it is an “Active” cable. Where as the adapter I bought does (in my link)

Are you going from HDMI in the monitor to DISPLAY in your GPU? Then you’ll need an active adapter I believe this is correct

So in my opinion you will need a HDMI to HDMI cable and the above Active Adapter for the GPU. It’s a bad photo, but I have 3 as mentioned. The HDMI plugs into the active adapter which has the Display Port Male input.

antspants said:

Is the cable you bought “Active” like the following

Amazon.com

Click to expand...

Thank you. The descrip for that cable says it is NOT HDMI to displayport transmission. I need a cable to go from computer HDMI output to DisplayPort monitor input. Therefore the signal direction won't work for my application.
Plus it only supports 60Hz, so I would gain nothing in refresh rate.

Wisewiz said:

Yay for you, debby, and plaudits for you, antsy. Good to have you both here!

Click to expand...

Thank you. You all are so kind and helpful on this forum.
Mad respect to you all ...

I think (I believe) 60Hz is the price or sacrifice we pay for a converter setup. I am not positive. I believe the only way you will achieve the Hz you desire is with a correct relationship from the monitor to the GPU. Perhaps there is a higher rated adapter but I haven’t ever searched.
You’re very welcome by the way. Everyone is great here, we help, and learn, or what’s the point?

antspants said:

I think (I believe) 60Hz is the price or sacrifice we pay for a converter setup. I am not positive. I believe the only way you will achieve the Hz you desire is with a correct relationship from the monitor to the GPU. Perhaps there is a higher rated adapter but I haven’t ever searched.
You’re very welcome by the way. Everyone is great here, we help, and learn, or what’s the point?

Click to expand...

OK, thank you. With the additional information that you all have provided me with here, I have to conclude sadly, that I might have little to gain by trying to do what I described in this thread, and that perhaps I might have to stick with the HDMI to HDMI cable for my 2nd monitor.

I am quite surprised by the difference in color rendering, espesially the white tones, on the monitor fed from my PC's DisplayPort, as compared to the colors fed by HDMI to HDMI -- those colors are noticeably yellowish while the whites on the monitor fed by the DP are coolish whites, plus colors are a little bit more brilliant. And I can't fix the whites on the second monitor via the settings.

It appears that the Display Port has several advantages to the HDMI port.

webby said:

OK, thank you. With the additional information that you all have provided me with here, I have to conclude sadly, that I might have little to gain by trying to do what I described in this thread, and that perhaps I might have to stick with the HDMI to HDMI cable for my 2nd monitor.

I am quite surprised by the difference in color rendering, espesially the white tones, on the monitor fed from my PC's DisplayPort, as compared to the colors fed by HDMI to HDMI -- those colors are noticeably yellowish while the whites on the monitor fed by the DP are coolish whites, plus colors are a little bit more brilliant. And I can't fix the whites on the second monitor via the settings.

It appears that the Display Port has several advantages to the HDMI port.

Click to expand...

I wonder if it would be worth you investigating display spliters?


This particular one doesn’t have the brightest reviews, only 8 reviews and not great, but as you can read here, something similar might possibly be a solution, not sure?

DisplayPort Switch 8K DP 1.4 Bidirectional Display Port Splitter 2 in 1 Out Supports 8K@30Hz 4K@240Hz Free-Sync G-sync for PC Host Monitor Laptop with 1 DP Cable and 1 USB-C Cable​

About this item​

• 【Upgraded Displayport Switch 2 in 1 out】This Bidirectional Displayport splitter allows you to connect two DP sources to one DP monitor, or connect one DP source to switch between two monitors. One button switch and don't need to repeatedly plug and unplug the device, helping to reduce wear and tear, and extending the service life of your devices. NOTE: INCLUDED DP Cable and USB-C Power Cable, better solves various problems such as resolution and other black screens, etc.
• 【Enjoy 8K Ultra HD Video Quality】UGREEN display port switch box supports 8K@30Hz, 4K@240Hz and 4K@60Hz resolutions, and backward compatible with other resolutions. This DP 1.4 switch also supports VRR and dynamic HDR Chroma, Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDCP 2.2&2.3. Allowing you to enjoy clearer and more detailed video viewing, gaming, or other high-quality image processing image and video effects.
• 【Higher Refresh Rate】The displayport switcher adopts a high-performance chip, and supports 4K@240Hz high refresh rate, with data transfer rate of up to 32.4Gbps. It also supports variable refresh rate VRR AMD Free-Sync and G-Sync, which better adapt to the picture quality of your devices, allowing you to enjoy a smoother gaming experience and low-latency game frames. This product also has a built-in shielding cover, which is resistant to interference, and fast heat dissipation.
• 【Plug and Play】The displayport splitter is easy to connect and operate, no driver is required, just an external power supply. When used, the indicator light will always be blue to indicate the working status. It also has a memory function to retain the corresponding channel before the power is turned off, making it more convenient and faster for next use.
• 【Wide Compatibility】This Display port switch 2 in 1 out is compatible with most standard DisplayPort port devices such as computers, laptops, Nvidia RTX graphics cards, AMD Radeon RX graphics cards, HDTV, Fire TV, game consoles, and more. Supports Windows / Linux / Mac OS computer systems. Widely used in home entertainment, conference rooms, schools, and other training places.