Which cable fits a 5120×1440 240Hz super ultrawide? Bandwidth breakdown

A 49-inch 5120×1440 super ultrawide at 240 Hz with 10-bit 4:4:4 HDR needs 59.5 Gbps, well past DisplayPort 1.4's 25.9 Gbps ceiling and UHBR 13.5's 52.22 Gbps. Only UHBR 20 (77.37 Gbps) or HDMI 2.2 can carry this mode uncompressed; everything else relies on Display Stream Compression.

Required bandwidth
59.5 Gbps
Uncompressed
With DSC
15.9 Gbps
Visually lossless 3:1
Mode
5120×1440 @ 240 Hz
10-bit 4:4:4

Interface Bandwidth Analysis

See how much uncompressed and compressed bandwidth this resolution and refresh rate mode demands, compared to the native limits of common video cables.

Uncompressed Signal59.5 Gbps
With Display Stream Compression (DSC)15.9 Gbps

DSC uses visually lossless 3-to-1 compression, shrinking the required bandwidth so it fits through older cables.

Cable Limits Reference
HDMI 2.0
14.4 Gbps
✗ Not supported
DP 1.4
25.9 Gbps
⚠ DSC required
HDMI 2.1
42.6 Gbps
⚠ DSC required
DP 2.1 (UHBR 20)
77.4 Gbps
✓ Native support
Display Mode: 5120 × 1440 @ 240 Hz
Color depth: 10-bit 4:4:4

Calculator

Display Bandwidth Calculator

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Required Bandwidth

Uncompressed

59.45 Gbps

With DSC (Display Stream Compression)

15.85 Gbps

Interface Compatibility

HDMI 1.4
✗ Incompatible
HDMI 2.0
✗ Incompatible
HDMI 2.1 (48G)
DSC Required
HDMI 2.2 (96G)
✓ Native
DisplayPort 1.2
DSC Required
DisplayPort 1.4
DSC Required
DisplayPort 2.1 (UHBR 10)
DSC Required
DisplayPort 2.1 (UHBR 13.5)
DSC Required
DisplayPort 2.1 (UHBR 20)
✓ Native

How this is calculated

DSC 3:1 compresses the signal to about 15.9 Gbps, which even DP 1.4 handles easily. That's how Samsung's Odyssey G9 OLED and similar super ultrawides hit 240 Hz over DP 1.4: they use DSC as the default, not the fallback. Dropping to 175 Hz (the non-compressed spec on most DP 1.4 super ultrawides) brings bandwidth down to about 43.4 Gbps, still too much for DP 1.4 raw but fine over HDMI 2.1 at 8-bit.

Verdict

59.5 Gbps is past most real-world interfaces' uncompressed limits. DSC is universal here, and DP 2.1 UHBR 20 is the only route to get 240 Hz at this resolution without compression, with cables that top out at about 1 meter.

More Ultrawide scenarios

Frequently asked questions

Can standard DisplayPort 1.4 run a 49-inch super ultrawide at 240Hz?
Only if using DSC (Display Stream Compression), which compresses the massive 59.5 Gbps required bandwidth into a signal DP 1.4 can carry.