In one embodiment, a system includes a display source to generate pixel data for a frame to be displayed, generate a display update notification message comprising information about the pixel data, and generate a display data message comprising the pixel data. The system also includes translation circuitry to generate one or more first packets comprising the information in the display update notification message and formatted according to an input/output (I/O) protocol based on the display update notification message, and generate one or more second packets comprising the pixel data and formatted according to the I/O protocol based on the display data message. The system further includes input/output circuitry to transmit the first and second data packets across a link based on the I/O protocol.