Intel Arc 'Alchemist' Discrete GPUs To Support DisplayPort 2.0: Up to 16K Displays

StarTech
(Image credit: StarTech)

Just days after formally announcing the Arc brand for its discrete gaming graphics processors and the name of the first generation Xe-HPG (DG2) products, Intel has begun to reveal some essential technical details about these GPUs. As it turns out, the new graphics chips will support DisplayPort 2.0 and ultra-high-resolution displays with deep colors.  

This week Intel published a number of patches that set the groundwork for DisplayPort 2.0 support by the 'i915' kernel graphics driver, reports Phoronix. Several patches specifically mention Display Port 2.0 UHBR [Ultra High Bit Rate] and 128b/132b channel encoding support Intel's DG2 family. One patch discloses that a GPU will handle UHBR 20 mode that supports a raw bandwidth of 80 Gbps, which is a good indicator that at least some of the upcoming Arc 'Alchemist' GPUs will support a DP 2.0 with UHBR 20.  

A DisplayPort 2.0 with UHBR 20 interface features an effective 77.37 Gbps data rate with a 128b/132b encoding, which enables higher resolution, higher refresh rate, and wider color gamut displays. One DP 2.0 cable will be able to drive a 30-bit (10-bit per color) 8K monitor at 60Hz HDR without any kind of compression (DSC or chroma subsampling). The same cable can support a 24-bit 10K display at 60Hz with HDR without any compression. Meanwhile, with Display Stream Compression (DSC), a single DP 2.0 cable could support monitors with an up to 16K resolution at 60Hz, or lower-resolution displays at high refresh rates. For example, gamers may now expect 8K displays with a 120Hz refresh rates. 

VESA's DisplayPort 2.0 specification was announced in mid-2019, so it is logical for Intel to support the technology on GPUs that are set to become available in Q1 2022. 

Interestingly, earlier this week AMD released a Linux patch enabling DisplayPort 2.0 support on its future GPUs based on the RDNA 3 architecture. 

Anton Shilov
Contributing Writer

Anton Shilov is a contributing writer at Tom’s Hardware. Over the past couple of decades, he has covered everything from CPUs and GPUs to supercomputers and from modern process technologies and latest fab tools to high-tech industry trends.

  • frogr
    typo in 4th paragraph:
    VESA's DisplayPort 2.0 specification was announced in mid-2019, so it is logical for Intel to support the technology on GPUs that are set to become available in Q1 2021.
    shouldn't it be Q12022?
    Reply
  • InvalidError
    How large can the market for 8k monitors and TVs possibly be? I doubt I'll buy anything beyond 4k in my lifespan as that is already more pixels than I can be bothered with on my 50" TV that I use as a secondary display.
    Reply