I'm considering a 5120×2160 ultrawide monitor mainly for work and Windows use. I'm not asking whether an RTX 3090 can render games at 240 FPS—I'm wondering whether it can output the desktop at 240 Hz at that resolution. Would DisplayPort 1.4 be a bandwidth limitation, or would DSC or HDMI 2.1 make it possible?
4 Answers
A 3090 can output 5120×2160 at 240 Hz, but you’ll need Display Stream Compression over DisplayPort 1.4 or a suitable HDMI 2.1 connection. Whether it works also depends on the monitor’s inputs and supported color depth, HDR mode, and chroma settings. Uncompressed DP 1.4 bandwidth isn’t enough, but DSC is designed to handle modes like this.
DisplayPort 1.4 isn’t automatically a dealbreaker. With DSC enabled, 240 Hz should be possible on a compatible monitor. HDMI 2.1 may also support it, so check the monitor’s specifications rather than assuming the graphics card alone determines the limit.
Some published GPU tables can be confusing because they list maximum aggregate display capabilities and different-generation DisplayPort limits. For this specific setup, verify that both the monitor and the 3090 support DSC at 5120×2160 and 240 Hz, and use a certified high-bandwidth cable.
Desktop output at 240 Hz is different from rendering games at 240 FPS. The 3090 can refresh the Windows desktop at that rate if the connection supports the required mode; gaming performance at 5120×2160 is a separate issue and will be much lower.
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