3D Vision Mega Evaluation – Gimmick or Gaming’s Future?
HW requirements for S3D/3D Vision
Hardware and System Requirements
GPU Support
NVIDIA GeForce cards have been capable of driving 120Hz for some time using dual-link DVI, however LCD displays up to now have not been capable of accepting this refresh rate. All existing GeForce 8 series and higher GPUs support dual-link DVI. Where a 120Hz display really shines is when running a top title on a GeForce 8800 GT or higher, 9600 GT or higher, or GTX 200, 400 or 500 series card.
Nvidia’s 3D Vision Kit includes:
- One pair of Nvidia 3D Vision active shutter glasses with storage pouch, adjustable nose pieces, and microfiber cleaning cloth
- Nvidia 3D Vision USB controller/IR emitter
- Custom 5’ VESA stereo to 2.5 mm stereo audio plug cable
- 10’ DVI to HDMI™ cable
- 10’ USB 2.0 type A to 5-pin mini-B cable
- 6’ recharge cable (USB Type A to 5-pin mini Type B)
- Quick start guide
- Installation CD
The minimum hardware required to play is below:
3D Vision Minimum System Requirements
- Microsoft® Windows® Vista 32/64-bit or Windows 7 32/64-bit
- Intel® Core™2 Duo or AMD Athlon™ X2 CPU or higher
- 1GB of system memory. (2GB is recommended)
- 100 MB free disk space
Test Configuration
Test Configuration – Hardware:
- Intel Core i7 920 (reference 2.66 GHz and overclocked to 3.2 and 3.8 GHz); Turbo is on.
- Gigabyte EX58-UD3R (Intel X58 chipset, latest BIOS, PCIe 2.0 specification; CrossFire/SLI 16x+16x).
- 6 GB OCZ DDR3 PC 18000 Kingston RAM (3×2 GB, tri-channel at PC 1600 speeds; 2×2 GB supplied by Kingston)
- Nvidia GTX 580 (1.5 GB, reference clocks), supplied by Nvidia
- Nvidia GTX 590 (3 GB, reference clocks), supplied by Nvidia
- Galaxy GTX 560 Ti (1 GB, reference clocks) supplied by Galaxy
- EVGA GTX 550 Ti (1 GB, factory reference clocks) supplied by EVGA
- Onboard Realtek Audio
- 500 GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 hard drive
- Thermaltake ToughPower 775 W power supply unit supplied by Thermaltake
- Thermaltake Element G Case supplied by Thermaltake
- Noctua NH-U12-P SE2 CPU cooler, supplied by Noctua
- Philips DVD SATA writer
- 3 ASUS VG236H 120Hz 3D Vision ready 1920×1080 23″ displays, supplied by Nvidia/ASUS
- 2 – 3D Vision Wireless Kits (glasses/emitter) supplied by Nvidia ( we and our guests appreciated the extra consideration – thank-you!)
Test Configuration – Software
- Eighty games tested; (five games, supplied by Nvidia: i.e. Duke Nukem Forever, Bulletstorm, Alice: Madness Returns, Dungeon Siege III, and Super Street Fighter IV Arcade, edition).
- Nvidia GeForce WHQL 275.33 and 280.26
- Windows 7 64-bit; very latest updates
- DirectX July/November 2010
- All games are fully patched and updated
- vsync is forced off in the control panel but this does not apply to 3D Vision as it is forced by the 3D drivers.
- Varying AA enabled including FXAA and FSAA; some settings downgraded or disabled to get the best 3D effect
- All results show average, minimum and maximum frame rates except as noted.
- Highest quality sound (stereo) used.
Let’s see how our PC performs with 3D Vision and 3D Vision Surround:
Awesome!!! Loved the interview, the mention of 120Hz benefits over 60Hz, the performance comparisons, and the game evaluations! I think my GTX 460 1GB should be able to handle DNF in 3D just fine with almost everything at max.. but might have to upgrade for most other new games like Crysis 2.
Awesome article! I like it very much!
Thanks a lot for this great post. Really Enjoyed this.
Has anyone tried 3D Vision in a 720p projector? Will 2 gtx570 in Sli be a total overkill?