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PC Motherboards start to support 4K video

Written by David Shapton | Nov 22, 2012 10:00:00 AM
Gigabyte 4K solution

Awareness of 4K video has reached motherboard manufacturers as Gigabyte announces their first motherboards that support a 4K output.

There are no real standards for 4K delivery yet (although HDMI 1.4 does support 4K resolutions at 24p) so any current solution has to rely on multiple connections using existing standards, and this is what Gigabyte has done. Their "TH" model motherboards have Intel-certified dual Thunderbolt ports. Thunderbolt complies with the DisplayPort 1.1 standard, which gives support for 2K resolution. By using two ports together, and connecting to a monitor that supports 4K and dual DisplayPort inputs, users can view 4K video.

4K monitor

One such monitor is the Eizo FDH3601, which has a native 4096 x 2160 resolution on its 36.4 inch screen.

Whichever way you look at it, this is not a solution for everyone. The Eizo costs $35,700, making it $10,000 more expensive than Sony's 84" 4K Bravia!