VESA's DisplayPort 2.1a Update Is Here To Solve Short Cable Woes For Gamers

VESA, the Video Electronics Standards Association, is announcing an update coming to DisplayPort. This will bring it to version 2.1a, and will replace the DP40 ultra-high-bit-rate (UHBR) cable specification with the DP54 UHBR cable specification. According to VESA this update will allow up to four-lane UHBR13.5 link rate support with a maximum throughput of 54 Gbps in passive cables up to 2 meters, roughly 6.5 feet, in length.

Gamers in need of more cable options for their battle stations will be happy to see what new cables using this new specification will be capable of. VESA says that “DisplayPort 2.1a update effectively doubles the passive cable length for UHBR13.5 GPU-to-display connections—which previously could only be supported through a DP80 UHBR cable—providing consumers with greater flexibility in their gaming or workstation setup.”

Prior to this update, gamers who needed to use a DP80 UHBR only had the option of using a one meter, roughly 3-foot, cable. This greatly limited the ways someone could place their desktops and monitors in their space. Getting the extra 3 feet of length without having to sacrifice the amount of throughput is a big deal.

Cables are probably one of the least exciting parts of building a PC, but they play an incredibly important role in a desktop setup. It’s good to see VESA continuing to add flexibility to the DisplayPort standard as the need arises.