the evolution of H.D.M.I. refresh rate of a graphics card determines the "frames per second" speed of your graphics response..
to achieve 4K resolution at 60Hz refresh rate over HDMI, a graphics card with
HDMI 2.0 or later support is generally required.
HDMI 2.0 offers the necessary bandwidth to support this combination.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI#Version_comparisonHDMI 1.4a: (March 4, 2010), only supports
4K at 24Hz (4096x2160) or
30Hz (3840x2160). this means all graphic cards made in between 2010 + 2014
will not support 4k @ 60hzThe GeForce GTX 660, 660 Ti, and other GTX 600 series cards
can support 4K resolution (4096x2160) at 60Hz via the DisplayPort connection only
HDMI 2.0 (September 2013). It introduced key features such as support for 4K resolution at 60Hz and increased bandwidth to 18 Gbps, enabling smoother video and gaming experiences.
Key features of HDMI 2.0 include:
-Increased bandwidth: From 10.2 Gbps to 18 Gbps, allowing for higher resolution and frame rates.
-4K at 60Hz support: Enabled 4K resolution at 60 frames per second, improving visual quality.
-32 audio channels: Increased the number of supported audio channels.
-Dual video streams: Allowed for two separate video streams to be displayed on one screen.
-21:9 aspect ratio support: Provided wider aspect ratio for a more cinematic viewing experience.
-Backward compatibility: Designed to be compatible with earlier HDMI versions.
-Support for HDR (HDMI 2.0a): Introduced in April 2015, added support for High Dynamic Range (HDR) metadata, enhancing color and contrast.
The first graphics cards to support HDMI 2.0 were released in late 2014, following the release of the HDMI 2.0 specification in September 2013. Nvidia's GeForce GTX 970 and 980, based on the Maxwell architecture, were among the first to include HDMI 2.0 support. These cards, along with the GTX 960, 980 Ti, and Titan X, were released in late 2014 and early 2015.
HDMI 2.0a: (April 2015)HDMI 2.0a, released in April 2015, is an update to the HDMI 2.0 specification that primarily focuses on adding support for High Dynamic Range (HDR) content. This enables TVs to display a wider range of colors and contrast, making images appear more realistic with brighter whites and deeper blacks.
the AMD Radeon RX 480
https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/radeon-rx-480.c2848 was one of the first graphics cards to feature HDMI 2.0b (Mar 2016 ) It was released in 2016 and was part of a new generation of GPUs that also included DisplayPort 1.3/1.4 and support for HDR content.
HDMI 2.1: (Nov 2017)
While HDMI 2.0 is sufficient for 4K 60Hz, HDMI 2.1 is needed for higher refresh rates like 4K 120Hz or 8K resolution.
This newer standard offers significantly higher bandwidth, enabling 4K 120Hz or even 8K resolutions.
The
Nvidia GeForce RTX 30 series https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/graphics-cards/30-series/ was the first nvidia gpu to feature HDMI 2.1. Specifically, the RTX 3070, RTX 3080, and RTX 3090 were among the first graphics cards to implement the HDMI 2.1 standard, enabling higher resolutions, refresh rates, and bandwidth for gaming and other applications, according to Cable Matters and HDMI Licensing Administrator, Inc.. This allowed for features like 4K at 120Hz and 8K at 60Hz, as well as variable refresh rates.
The
first Radeon GPUs to support HDMI 2.1 were the
Radeon RX 6000 series https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radeon_RX_6000_series, released in November 2020. Specifically, the RX 6800 and RX 6900 XT were among the first to feature this capability. This series utilizes AMD's RDNA 2 architecture, which is also found in the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles, all of which support HDMI 2.1.
thats why it makes sense that The first popular consumer GPUs to support PCIe 4.0 were also the Nvidia GeForce RTX 30 series and the AMD Radeon RX 6000 series