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Nvidia 3D Vision Review
- Thread starter Wollan
- Start date
ChoklitReign
Member
So it works on old games too? This is great, but I hope the price drops for those goggles in the future.
VideoMan
30% Failure Rate
Anyone who has an ATI card can download the drivers from IZ3D.com for free and use them to play games in 3D with the anaglyph glasses. I did it a few months ago because I wanted to try out 3D gaming without sinking all that money into new hardware. I was really impressed what could be done with just a cheap pair of cardboard 3D glasses.
Here's a screenshot gallery I made for a handful of games. You'll need a pair of red/blue glasses to view them. The images are huge so 56k be warned.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32634936@N05/sets/72157617669777820/
I discovered that N64 emulators worked with these drivers too and captured a couple of videos in 3D:
Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Super Mario 64
The video compression messes up the 3D effect just a little, both games look even better when you play them on your PC.
Here's a screenshot gallery I made for a handful of games. You'll need a pair of red/blue glasses to view them. The images are huge so 56k be warned.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32634936@N05/sets/72157617669777820/
I discovered that N64 emulators worked with these drivers too and captured a couple of videos in 3D:
Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Super Mario 64
The video compression messes up the 3D effect just a little, both games look even better when you play them on your PC.
I just played Warcraft 3 (un-patched and no add-on) and the 3D is super great! It really is a table top come to life, every tree, building and characters stick out of the screen. Downloading Frozen throne now, need to replay this.
edit: I just became more hyped for Starcraft 2, shouldn't be possible.
edit: I just became more hyped for Starcraft 2, shouldn't be possible.
Joseph Merrick
Member
Yeah, it's a clothes stealing sim like hitman. Heh.Wollan said:
Minsc
Gold Member
Wollan said:
There hasn't been any mention of StarCraft 2 directly supporting these has there? If there has I may have to start putting aside some cash
My other question was how much of a performance hit did you notice? I think I read a few times it is a 50% reduction in framerate? I'm guessing the 260 still handled everything you threw at it just fine as I didn't notice it mentioned at all. Also, people say Crysis is tolerable at sub 30fps, but does the need of maintaining higher framerates become more of an issue with the glasses?
They don't have to support it as Nvidia's drivers does it automatically (hence Warcraft 3 looking like sex on my screen right now).Minsc said:There hasn't been any mention of StarCraft 2 supporting these has there? If there has I may have to start putting aside some cash
Fortunately though Blizzard are one of the main collaborators with Nvidia for 3D Vision and World of Warcraft (see op) has been tailor made for it! I would also now put Warcraft 3 (2002 game) in the top three games I've tested so far! Looks superb.
Everything works just fine with my 260. Crysis ran at sub 30fps sometimes in 3D (note that not all games chop off 50% of the framerate visible to the eyes) but that particular game has other problems (see op).
Smelly Tramp
Member
I'd need to test this before i buy. The last time i saw something 3d was when i went to Disneyland and watched those goofy 3d experiences.
It is indeed awesome technology, it is also way more comfortable to wear these in long session compared to the old 3d glasses.
However as I have 1 30inch and 1 24inch monitor at home already and another 22 inch on the side that I don't even use, it's hard for me to justify to purchase a 22inch monitor just for the 120hz. However some old highend CRT with 100hz is supported also.
Well, at least I can play around with this at work =), hopefully 120hz monitors will become norm soon!
However as I have 1 30inch and 1 24inch monitor at home already and another 22 inch on the side that I don't even use, it's hard for me to justify to purchase a 22inch monitor just for the 120hz. However some old highend CRT with 100hz is supported also.
Well, at least I can play around with this at work =), hopefully 120hz monitors will become norm soon!
HowellJenkins
Banned
Heh maybe I shouldn't go with a Mac. This seems really cool.
Question for anybody that knows or has used this... I was looking at the 3D nvidia kit today and almost bought it. I don't have the monitor that you are using for this setup...
I have a monitor that is probably more 2 years+ older, it's a 24-inch samsung with the standard 60hz refresh rate... do I need that new monitor to most advantage of this new technology?
I have a monitor that is probably more 2 years+ older, it's a 24-inch samsung with the standard 60hz refresh rate... do I need that new monitor to most advantage of this new technology?
HowellJenkins
Banned
Medalion said:
Yeah, here are the requirements: http://www.nvidia.com/object/3D_Vision_Requirements.html
Dick Laurent
Member
yes, you need 120hz. 120hz windows desktop alone is worth it.
Minsc
Gold Member
Kirashi said:
While there are only 2 LCD monitors out of thousands that are capable of running with this (is that really true? If you found a 120hz display that isn't one of those two monitors, it wouldn't work?), every single CRT made that's worth it's weight (heh) can run at 100hz and thus work with these glasses. CRTs were awesome. The best thing about them is there were no native resolutions to worry about, they could scale from 320x240 up to 1600x1200 flawlessly.
brain_stew
Member
I didn't realise the Nvidia drivers supported standard anaglyph 3D as well, I'll have to try this out, a couple of pairs of glasses are only like £1.50 on Ebay.
I'd so love to jump into this but the cost of entry is just too high for me, and the halving of your framerate would be pretty hard for me to swallow. Any display device I buy in the future will have to be 3D ready though.
I'd so love to jump into this but the cost of entry is just too high for me, and the halving of your framerate would be pretty hard for me to swallow. Any display device I buy in the future will have to be 3D ready though.
Tried the IZ3D drivers with my 8800GT some time ago.
Worked pretty well most of the time, but hard time for the eyes/brain, and a pain to setup (anaglyph settings) and to use.
Couldn't get nvidia 3D drivers to work at the time, but since they seem to focus more on this, I suppose I'll try again, and post impressions if they're different ...
Worked pretty well most of the time, but hard time for the eyes/brain, and a pain to setup (anaglyph settings) and to use.
Couldn't get nvidia 3D drivers to work at the time, but since they seem to focus more on this, I suppose I'll try again, and post impressions if they're different ...
I tested these out recently and absolutely love the effect, but I think it's not yet time for them to shine.
The framerates in the games I played were all terrible. Seeing Burnout Paradise struggle to hold 30 fps was quite sad. The PC in question (not mine) was reasonably powerful, so it was disappointing to see.
The biggest problem is the monitor. My primary gaming screen is a Pioneer 1080p Kuro plasma and there is no way in hell I'm replacing it with an inferior 120Hz LCD. I do have a Samsung 23" LCD in the back room, but I'd rather not replace it so quickly just for this.
I'll be waiting for this once displays with 120Hz improve and performance increases due to newer hardware.
It's pretty tempting, however. Really impressive to behold. Then again, I DO have a nice 22" CRT monitor handy which WOULD actually work with this. Not really practical in my current setup, but interesting to consider....
The framerates in the games I played were all terrible. Seeing Burnout Paradise struggle to hold 30 fps was quite sad. The PC in question (not mine) was reasonably powerful, so it was disappointing to see.
The biggest problem is the monitor. My primary gaming screen is a Pioneer 1080p Kuro plasma and there is no way in hell I'm replacing it with an inferior 120Hz LCD. I do have a Samsung 23" LCD in the back room, but I'd rather not replace it so quickly just for this.
I'll be waiting for this once displays with 120Hz improve and performance increases due to newer hardware.
It's pretty tempting, however. Really impressive to behold. Then again, I DO have a nice 22" CRT monitor handy which WOULD actually work with this. Not really practical in my current setup, but interesting to consider....
brain_stew
Member
dark10x said:
Well your framerate will just about half in most situations, so you're going to need twice the GPU power to maintain the same framerates, and that's the biggest issue for me still.
However, with PC hardware so above console levels now, pretty much any multipltform games offers pretty damn excellent performance on a modern GPU. To get better graphics, iq and resolution plus 3D thrown into the mix on say a $150 GPU like a GTX 260 at the same framerates as the console iterations is pretty intriguing. If Nvidia added a global "30fps" cap to their drivers, it'd be much more feasible for the average joe.
The next HDTV I buy will absolutely have to be 3D ready now, so they've got me interested there's just quite a way to go yet.
Was about to mention that, with so many games developed with consoles in mind it's a very good time to be 'halving' your PC framerate. Also looking forward there's not that many super graphically games coming (I'm talking out-crysing Crysis). Rage looks insane but it's built for super framerates and Blizzard have shown really great looking (but most likely framerate friendly) games for the next three years or so. Another thing is that you don't have to have every little graphical feature to max. The graph for visual improvement probably drops dramatically versus the graph for computational power to uphold those max choices. I can promise you that the 3D stereoscopic effect is waaaaay more significant than those for visuals.
dark10x said:
There are some rumors that Panasonic's 2010 lineup of plasmas will be 3-D compatible. So far they've only prototyped the exotic 103 incher and you have to worry about plasma's future as a whole. But if true, I'll probably jump in next fall.
My HDTV turns 3 years old this fall. So at 4 years old, I wouldn't feel bad about replacing it. And mid range video cards available then shouldn't have issues handling 120fps.
I'm not in Australia anymore, back in Norway (most likely permanently).
I bought it at a Norwegian price which is usually higher than other markets (tax on top of base item price, strong valuta).
About 4100nok which transfers to 795aud / 654usd / 398gbp / 463eur (that's the Samsung screen + Nvidia 3D Vision kit).
I see that the glasses + monitor bundle costs 598usd in the states so not too great a difference.
link
edit: Heh, just noticed something. When the glasses turn itself off after idle time you see the glasses go black, clear, black, clear. Blinking to indicate that it's turning off.
I bought it at a Norwegian price which is usually higher than other markets (tax on top of base item price, strong valuta).
About 4100nok which transfers to 795aud / 654usd / 398gbp / 463eur (that's the Samsung screen + Nvidia 3D Vision kit).
I see that the glasses + monitor bundle costs 598usd in the states so not too great a difference.
link
edit: Heh, just noticed something. When the glasses turn itself off after idle time you see the glasses go black, clear, black, clear. Blinking to indicate that it's turning off.
Danne-Danger
Member
Goddamnit, I just know I'll have a ton of fun with these things from just going back to old games and trying them out...Wollan said:
On the flipside I do think I can get my hands on a nice 100HZ CRT fairly easily, and I'd rather stick with CRT than go to LCD anyway.
*Hah! I have one in the next room! Now to upgrade the 'ol personal computer.
Few notes about 3D perception in general...
stereoscopic vision is only one facet of what is needed for convincing true to life 3D.
Most other facets are already replicated on a 2D screen with 3D graphics cards...
But there are still a couple of facets that aren't catered for with this setup, including motion parallax (i.e. parallax of objects on screen relative to your own eyes/head, and not the parallax of objects in the screen from changing camera angle)... which can be handled with face tracking technology.
The last and probably most complex perceptual cue to emulate is focus. It can be fudged on screen, but really, we get strong depth cues from engaging the muscles in our irises which in turn changes our focal point. Two items can be close together on the X,Y plane, but be far on the Z plane - the change in focal distance helps to indicate how far something is.
There are technologies out there that change the pixel display based on the angle at which you see something (the other form of screen based stereopsis), so it's concievable that in the future, we might be able to get light directed at arbitrary angles, in turn forcing us change our focal point to see it in focus properly...
Still, stereopsis is as big a move towards 3D perception as lines converging towards a vanishing point is.
stereoscopic vision is only one facet of what is needed for convincing true to life 3D.
Most other facets are already replicated on a 2D screen with 3D graphics cards...
But there are still a couple of facets that aren't catered for with this setup, including motion parallax (i.e. parallax of objects on screen relative to your own eyes/head, and not the parallax of objects in the screen from changing camera angle)... which can be handled with face tracking technology.
The last and probably most complex perceptual cue to emulate is focus. It can be fudged on screen, but really, we get strong depth cues from engaging the muscles in our irises which in turn changes our focal point. Two items can be close together on the X,Y plane, but be far on the Z plane - the change in focal distance helps to indicate how far something is.
There are technologies out there that change the pixel display based on the angle at which you see something (the other form of screen based stereopsis), so it's concievable that in the future, we might be able to get light directed at arbitrary angles, in turn forcing us change our focal point to see it in focus properly...
Still, stereopsis is as big a move towards 3D perception as lines converging towards a vanishing point is.
brain_stew
Member
Wollan said:
It definitely seems the right time to launch it, especially once you factor in the price of high end GPUs as well as the low requirements of modern games. If only there was a driver level "30fps" setting, it'd make it so much less of an issue, as a rock solid 30fps would be achievable in3D in so many games even at maxed out quality.
Though when something like an SLI GTX 260 setup (that'd rock the shit out of 3D gaming) costs around the price that a upper midrange card used to cost just a couple of years ago there's not too much to complain about really.
Has anyone tried 3D vision out in conjunction with a trackIR yet? Its a mouth wateringly exciting prospect. Honestly, stuff liek this is why the PC is still so important to gaming, it gives a fertile test ground for these technologies to get them ready for masses once they're adapted to consoles. PC players get to experience it before anyone else and console gamers get a really refined version of the technology at quite a nice price later on, everybody wins in the end.
It is SIGNIFICANTLY better than anaglyph in that it does not interfere with the colors on display and produces a much stronger 3D effect. The only impact it has on the image is a slight darkening when using the glassies.dionysus said:
I was extremely impressed with it. Anaglyph, however, doesn't look very good at all to me.
brain_stew
Member
Oh Wollan go try Mirror's Edge, its only $20 on Steam if you don't have it and well worth it. Apparently it works great with 3D Vision, those views will be jaw dropping in full 3D.
SLI pretty much sucks anyways, if you ask me. The odd jittering effects look like shit and there are lots of small bugs when using SLI, I've seen. Not an option I would ever want to use in my rig.Minsc said:
:O Mirror's Edge in Stereo3D sounds insane. I would love to experience that.
brain_stew
Member
Minsc said:
Well I just don't know if I'd be happy with the drop in performance, it'd bug the crap out of me.
I'm in agreement with the drawbacks of SLI, its a pretty fundamental broken approach to scaling, though it could theoretically work well with 3D vision (one GPU per eye), but I'm unsure of how SLI and 3D vision is setup to work. The next batch of GPUs should pretty much be "there" as far as I'm concerned with delivering good framerates at 1080p in 3D mode, so its not a big issue really.
Revolutionary
Member
Nice.
I wanted to get this some time back when they were first shipping them and had that special on the glasses + monitor bundle (it was like $300 - dirt cheap)... but I missed out on the sale, and could never justify spending the full $600 for it. :\
I wanted to get this some time back when they were first shipping them and had that special on the glasses + monitor bundle (it was like $300 - dirt cheap)... but I missed out on the sale, and could never justify spending the full $600 for it. :\
Shame the 120Hz LCD monitors out there are 1680x1050 while most CRTs one could locate are not widescreen and won't handle 1080p (there are a few rare exceptions to this, but good luck finding them).
Of course, you're talking about the future, so hopefully we'll start seeing some great 1080p displays with 3D support.