The mighty GT1030,120hz and HDMI 2.1

[ooStevo]

So i got a new TV recently,it supports 4k120 and all the Dolby vision stuff etc. When i selected 120hz on NVCP,it worked and looked ultra smooth. Good stuff.But on further investigation,it seems the GT1030 only supports HDMI 2.0b,which can't do 4k120!? So why am i allowed to select 120hz,my TV is saying 120hz as well. Is it a placebo effect i'm seeing? Sorry for saying 120hz so many times btw. <did it again

Will a Hdmi 2.1 cable be beneficial to me? My parents also have an LG C9 and SkyQ should i buy them a 2.1 cable?

 

[Rroff]

Only way it would be doing 4K120 is with reduced colour detail i.e. YCbCr420 I don't even know if the 1030 can do that.

 

[Aretak]

If it's truly hitting 4K/120Hz it'll be using 4:2:0 chroma subsampling (a form of compression) to get there. That actually probably won't matter to you if you're using it to watch TV shows/movies/etc (I assume it's not for gaming anyway on a 4K display). Almost all such content out there is only designed for 4:2:0 chroma in the first place, including streaming services and even Blu-rays. The place where chroma subsampling falls down is desktop use and clarity of text and such, but you're probably not using a TV for that in the first place, and even if you are you may be sitting far enough back that you won't even notice. It'll also have a slight effect on gaming picture quality, but again I don't expect that's a concern with a GT 1030.

Also no, buying a fancier HDMI cable won't do anything for you with either device. Don't waste your money.

 

[ooStevo]

Only way it would be doing 4K120 is with reduced colour detail i.e. YCbCr420 I don't even know if the 1030 can do that.

That's exactly what nvcp and my TV reports so you're bang on there.
@Aretak - Interesting info thank you. Also I do actually have my PC and everything else hooked up to my TV. I will probably just get a 2.1 cable anyway. Otherwise it will gnaw away at me. It's only £6 so meh

 

[Rroff]

Only thing I would say cable wise is that sometimes in these edge case scenarios there isn't much margin and things like cable length and quality can become a factor - but you'd usually see things like flicker or intermittently the screen going black or parts of it momentarily showing black rectangles, etc. if that was the case.

 

[ooStevo]

Only thing I would say cable wise is that sometimes in these edge case scenarios there isn't much margin and things like cable length and quality can become a factor - but you'd usually see things like flicker or intermittently the screen going black or parts of it momentarily showing black rectangles, etc. if that was the case.

Yeah I do notice the blackness breaking up. But that's only with streaming. 4k sources look gorgeous. And the cable length will be 2 metres if that helps.

 

[Rroff]

Yeah I do notice the blackness breaking up. But that's only with streaming.

That'll just be compression artefacts, possibly not helped by the reduced colour data though generally video data is reduced colour detail anyway.

 

[ooStevo]

Which graphics card should I go for then? I need it to be very cheap, I'm in dire straits right now tbh. I suppose I could go second hand but I'm wary of it as I've had a bad experience before.
Don't get me wrong the GT1030 works fine, but I want to get the best out of my TV. There are things greyed out in the TV settings that I suspect would be available if I had the right set up. I may regret saying this but I'm a recluse so I just want to be as comfy as I can be.

 

[MCFC_ANDY]

3000 series. AMD side probs rx6600. both around £200 though, im sure intel Arc 380 another option around £120 new iirc what about if not playing games then an IGP. if you have MM access 2nd half can be mindful, fleabay prices are high imo for 2nd hand mostly.
sure someone will correct me if better option available

 

[ooStevo]

Yeah even though I think £200 is reasonable for an RX6600 I just can't afford it. I'll probably hunt around on gumtree or Facebook and see if I can get anything on there. I don't even care if it's old gen I just want HDMI 2.1 capable card.