Ask B2G: Can a GTX 970 Run at 4K UltraHD at 60hz via HDMI?

Are NVIDIA’s GTX 970 & 980 capable of 4k@60hz through HDMI 2.0 port? That’s what we are gonna talk about in this article. We will test things out to verify once and for all about this speculation of 4k@60hz through HDMI 2.0 ports.

With the implementation of HDMI 2.0, which is backwards compatible with earlier versions of the HDMI specifications, on NVIDIA’s GTX 9xx series, it significantly increases bandwidth up to 18Gbps and adds key enhancements to support continuing market requirements for enhancing the consumer video and audio experience. New functionality includes:

• 4K@50/60, (2160p), which is 4 times the clarity of 1080p/60 video resolution
• Up to 32 audio channels for a multi-dimensional immersive audio experience
• Up to 1536kHz audio sample frequency for the highest audio fidelity
• Simultaneous delivery of dual video streams to multiple users on the same screen
• Simultaneous delivery of multi-stream audio to multiple users (up to 4)
• Support for the wide angle theatrical 21:9 video aspect ratio
• Dynamic synchronization of video and audio streams
• CEC extensions provides expanded command and control of consumer electronics devices through a single control point

HDMI 2.0 does not define new cables or new connectors. Current High Speed cables (Category 2 cables) are capable of carrying the increased bandwidth.

According to NVIDIA GTX 970 Specs sheet, their GTX 9xx series comes with HDMI 2.0 ports.

Now to  start things up, here’s our test system.

Processor: i5-3570k 4.5ghz

Motherboard: ASRock Pro3 Z77

Memory: G.Skillz Ripjaws DDR3 2x4gb 1600mhz

GPU: Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 Gaming SOC 4gb GDDR5

PSU: Seasonic x650

Display: LG UHDTV 40UB800T 100hz Smart TV

40UB800T is LG’s cheapest Ultra HD TV. It’s a 40-inch LED edge-lit LCD panel — that’s 102 centimetres of screen real estate from corner to corner diagonally — with a 100Hz refresh rate. Being a UHD TV, it has a native resolution of 3840×2160 pixels.

• Screen Size: 40-inch
• Aspect Ratio: 16:9 widescreen
• Resolution: 3840×2160
• Inputs: 3x HDMI 2.0, 2x USB 2.0, USB 3.0, composite, component A/V, Wi-Fi, Ethernet
• Outputs: 3.5mm analog audio, optical digital audio
• Smart TV: Yes

So to start things out we went on ahead and check the list of available modes for the graphics card via windows 8.1 screen resolution options. The NVIDIA control panel has two choices: 4k @ 30Hz (Ultra HD section) and 4k @ 60Hz (PC section)

We can see that 3840x2160p is available to run at 60hz 32-bit true color. The 4096x2160p screen resolution is also available to run at 60hz.

So yes, you can run 3840×2160 UltraHD 4K at 60hz via HDMI if your devices your the 2.0 standard.

We went on ahead and set our native resolution to 3840 x 2160p at 60hz and run a couple on benchmark. Results are shown below.

3DMark: Fire Strike Ultra

This test pushes our Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 970 SOC to its limits by rendering each graphics test at 4k x 2k resolution. Link: http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/5528343

3dmark: Fire Strike

This is the usual 3dmark fire strike test that renders each graphics test on 1080p.

In this test, our Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 970 SOC got a GPU score of 10917.

Link: http://www.3dmark.com/fs/3784861