The Cable Matters Foldable USB C to HDMI Adapter Does 4K 120Hz and More

It seems so simple: if you have a PC or laptop with a USB C, and you want to send video out to a monitor you just need a cable and adapter, right? Sadly in 2022 the answer is no, as there is a confusing array of issues that come together to foil your video plans.

After looking at a sea of these adapters we may have found a solution with the Cable Matters Foldable USB C to HDMI Adapter. It checks off several key features that you should be looking for: 4K at 120Hz, HDR, 8K at 60Hz. When folded up it is compact and easy to store in a backpack or pocket. And unlike so many of these adapters found online, this one delivers on the features it claims. It really just works.

At the time of testing, we had only a single PC and display available to push the upper limits of this adapter: a 2022 Dell XPS 15 and the 2021 LG C1 OLED. This pairing allowd us to reach 3840 x 2160 x 120Hz at 8-bit with HDR enabled. Colors were crisp and visual smearing and lag were non-existent. Dropping down to 60Hz showed much the same experience, albeit with a bit more smearing thanks to the lower refresh rate. While we wish we had an 8K monitor on hand that test will have to wait. For now most of us live in a 4K world.

We didn’t see any flickering or glitching on the screen, much like we have seen on other adapters claiming just 4K at 60Hz. Audio (stereo in our test case) came through just fine at reasonable volumes and no dropouts. The only items of note that bear some consideration are that to reach this level of performance a real GPU enabled system is required (older on-board graphics need not apply) and there is no option to pass through variable refresh rate content from AMD or NVIDIA GPUs. For most folks these shouldn’t be game enders, but it’s worth looking at your use case to make sure.

If you are looking for a dependable, high performance, USB C to HDMI adapter you can just go buy this one. It works which is a rarity in this space.