3D Vision 2 has finally come to Indian shores! As you all know, we at Tech Chronicle love new technology and Nvidia’s 3D Vision is no exception. For those of you new to the 3D Vision concept, this is how it works. Some monitors are “3D capable”, i.e. they can render two separate image frames of the same scene a little offset from each other. The monitor switches between the two frames very fast, at anywhere between 60 times a second (60 Hz) to 120 times per second (120 Hz), depending on the monitor. Nvidia recommends that this screen refresh rate is set to 120 Hz for the best 3D vision experience.
After you’ve got your hands on a 3D monitor, you need 3D Vision goggles. These goggles have an active shutter system that cuts out light coming through any one “shutter” (since they’re not exactly lenses) so that you can, for a 1/120th of a second, only see through one eye. This helps you only see one of the two images that your monitor is producing. Since the glasses also refresh at 120 Hz, this process is very fast too, and thus each eye sees a slightly different image very briefly. This gives you a sense of depth in the image. How much depth, depends on the 3D settings and implementation by the video that you’re viewing.
The last thing you need is an Nvidia GeForce graphics card. All cards released after the 8800GT support 3D Vision. Oh, and don’t forget the 3D Vision driver software! This is bundled along with the latest graphics card driver updates anyway, so you don’t have to find this stuff anywhere else on the web. Just go to www.nvidia.co.in and click on “Download Drivers” to get started.
I’d recommend a GTX 460 or higher GPU to play games. You could always lower the resolution/detail settings (like I did with my old 9600GT card), but it’s just not the same thing. I played some games with the GTX 590 that Nvidia had sent over, but I also decided to test on an older system as well.
That wraps up 3D Vision. So what’s 3D Vision 2? Nvidia updated its tech. It’s improved the glasses, making them brighter (the
“shutter” phenomenon used to severely dim the older goggles) by using a combination of features. One of them is 3D LightBoost™ technology. This increases monitor brightness when in 3D mode. I almost forgot to mention one small detail. Where do you buy 3D Games? Well, nowhere. 3D Vision works with most normal games. Since it’s a combination of system software and hardware devices creating the 3D effect, the games don’t need to be 3D. It just works. Some games are better suited to 3D however, and some are made with 3D Vision in mind. So while game support may vary, rest assured that out of 500 supported titles, you’ll find your favourites. There are also some games that’ll work without Nvidia certification, the hugely popular NFS: Most Wanted being an important example.
So, what did I test? I ran games, videos and saw 3D pictures. I can tell you that Crysis 2 and Battlefield 3 benefit a great deal from 3D Vision and look great. NFS: Shift was good too; the sense of depth really makes the cockpit of the car come alive. Skyrim, Modern Warfare 2 and Most Wanted show varying improvements depending on the scene. I somehow couldn’t appreciate Mass Effect and Crysis in 3D.
2D overlays (like menus) seem to float above the rest of the game, that can be a bit disorienting, though you get used to it over a while. The wireless (rechargeable) goggles sell for around `9,000. A GTX 460 costs around `9,000 too, though you’ll ideally want something like a GTX 570 or above to run this stuff in all its glory. The Asus monitor they sent me for reviewing costs around $700, I couldn’t find the India-specific price, though I suspect that’ll be around `40, if not more.