easyMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
220-1201 Practice Question: A customer wants to connect a laptop to a 4K TV…
A customer wants to connect a laptop to a 4K TV for a presentation. The laptop has an HDMI 1.4 port, and the TV supports HDMI 2.0. What is the maximum resolution and refresh rate the customer can expect?
⚠ Common exam trap
This question tests the misconception that the display's higher HDMI version will override the source's lower version, leading candidates to choose 4K at 60Hz (Option A) without recognizing that the laptop's HDMI 1.4 port is the limiting factor.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
4K at 30Hz
HDMI 1.4 is limited to a maximum data rate of 10.2 Gbps, which supports 4K (3840×2160) only at 30Hz due to insufficient bandwidth for 60Hz. The TV's HDMI 2.0 capability does not increase the laptop's output; the connection operates at the lower version's capabilities. Thus, the maximum achievable is 4K at 30Hz.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
4K at 60Hz
Why it's wrong here
HDMI 1.4 lacks the necessary bandwidth to support a 4K (3840x2160 or 4096x2160) resolution at a 60Hz refresh rate. Achieving 4K at 60Hz requires a minimum of HDMI 2.0, which significantly increased bandwidth to 18 Gbps compared to HDMI 1.4's 10.2 Gbps. Attempting this resolution and refresh rate combination with an HDMI 1.4 port would result in no signal or a degraded image.
- ✗
1080p at 120Hz
Why it's wrong here
Although HDMI 1.4 can comfortably handle 1080p (1920x1080) at high refresh rates like 120Hz, this option is incorrect because the customer explicitly requested 4K resolution. Furthermore, 1080p is not the maximum resolution that an HDMI 1.4 port can output. The question asks for the maximum resolution the laptop can output, and 4K is a higher resolution than 1080p, making this choice insufficient.
- ✓
4K at 30Hz
Why this is correct
This is the correct answer because HDMI 1.4 has a maximum bandwidth of 10.2 Gbps, which is sufficient to transmit a 4K (3840x2160 or 4096x2160) resolution, but only at a refresh rate of 30Hz. While newer HDMI versions offer higher refresh rates for 4K, 4K at 30Hz represents the highest pixel count (resolution) achievable with the HDMI 1.4 standard, fulfilling the "maximum resolution" requirement for the laptop.
- ✗
1440p at 60Hz
Why it's wrong here
While HDMI 1.4 is fully capable of transmitting a 2560x1440 (1440p) resolution at a smooth 60Hz refresh rate, this option does not represent the maximum resolution output for the given HDMI 1.4 standard. The customer specifically desires 4K, and HDMI 1.4 can indeed support a higher pixel count than 1440p, even if it means a lower refresh rate for 4K. Therefore, it fails to meet the "maximum resolution" criteria.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Laptop Hardware and Components
Key term
CAN
A CAN (Controller Area Network) is a robust vehicle bus standard designed to allow microcontrollers and devices to communicate with each other without a host computer.
Key term
Bandwidth
Bandwidth is the maximum amount of data that can travel over a network connection in a given amount of time, usually measured in bits per second.
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every 220-1201 question from scratch — 972 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1201 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 220-1201 exam.