Using USB-C for an external monitor

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Level 1

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Using USB-C for an external monitor

Hello. I hope you're having a great day.

I own an M1 Macbook Air, and recently I decided to purchase a monitor to use with my PC and Macbook simultaneously. The monitor I chose was the GIGABYTE M27Q 1440p, which supports Type-C, HDMI, and DP. I decided to use DP for my PC, and want to get more than 60hz from my Macbook since the monitor supports up to 170hz. What kind of USB-C cable would I need to get more than 60fps on 1440p?

Thank you in advance.

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 12.4

Posted on Jul 14, 2022 2:35 PM

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Answer 1

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woodmeister50

Level 7

20,395 points

Jul 15, 2022 6:15 AM in response to HoMiow

Personally, I would recommend these cables as they can guarantee to have all the bandwidth needed:

https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/owc-thunderbolt-4-cables

Plain "USB-C" cables can come in a wide variety of support. Some will only support USB2 speeds, some will only support USB 3.0 speeds (5 Gb/s), and others will support up to 10 Gb/s and most of them are not very clear on what bandwidths are supported or even if they support video.

On the other hand, You could get a certified USB-C to HDMI cable. I have one that works just fine with my 4K, 60 Hz display. I am not sure if something in the Mac may limit the speed if it figures it is connected to HDMI or not, but could be worth a shot.

However, there have been many posts with using a USB-C to USB-C connection with displays not being able to deliver beyond 60 Hz but that could very well have been cables used.

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