the truth about 3D & AMD gpu's...

[shimmy1973]

Hello everyone @ Tom's Hardware. I'm new to the site and have a relatively simple question. I just upgraded my gpu to a Radeon 6950 2 gig ddr5 and now want a 3D monitor. I've got nothing but negative replies about AMD gpu's & 3D applications. I was even told to get rid of my brand new 6950 (as if...) & buy a nVidea gpu ?

1. W/ an AMD gpu (6950 2 gig)...if I buy a 3D monitor, can I enjoy 3D games & Blue-rays ?

2. Whats the best 3D monitor to buy and with which 3D glasses ?


Thank you in advance for taking the time to reply and I'm anxious for a straight forward answer.

 

[bystander]

I have a 3D monitor which I bought about a month ago. I had two systems, one with 6950's and another with 470's. When I first set up the 3D monitor for gaming, I tried out AMD for a couple days.

The first thing you must know is that AMD's HD3D solution only supports up to 720p at 60hz (per eye). At 1080p, AMD will only deliver 24hz per eye. This is good enough for movies, but not for games. The reason for this limitation, is that it only works with HDMI 1.4a, which has limitations.

The next thing is that you must buy software from IZOD or DDDD, I used their trial version for DDDD called TriDef 3D. The software worked and I thought it was really awesome at first. It seemed to require a lot of fiddling before you get the settings right for each game, and there are lots of settings to sift through. Once setup, you can safe the profile for each game easily. For the most part it worked, but I did get some crashes in Crysis 2, once I got to this one map with a lot of fog, then it just crashed every time.

The next thing to note is that to use the monitor in 120hz, you had to connect it with a dual link DVI cable, but to run it in 3D gaming, you had to use the HDMI 1.4a cable. This is a pain the butt to have to swap out.

Next I loaded the 470's in to this system to try Nvidia 3D vision. 3D vision works with a dual link DVI cable, which allows for 60hz per eye at 1080p unlike the AMD version. Nvidia's version also has built in software that is very easy to use in comparison to AMD's. When I played Crysis 2, it does not crash, ever. Basically, Nvidia's 3D vision blows AMD's HD3D out of the water.

Just one note, the first time I tried Nvidia's 3D vision, the depth is set to 15%, but it doesn't really pop until you set it to 50% or higher and adjusting the convergence makes a big difference too.

If you want a monitor that will let you see for yourself, look at my signature, the 27" Acer is the only kit I found through a lot of searching that supports both AMD and Nvidia's 3D versions. I've been quite happy with it.


Edit: I also found that with AMD's solution, crossfire is not supported. At 720p, crossfire is not required with a 6950, but at 1080p, you would likely want crossfire. Nvidia's 3D vision works with SLI.

 

[bystander]

Btw, both will handle bluray 3D fairly equal, though reviews that have done comparisons gives AMD a small advantage in bluray playback.

 

[shimmy1973]

Best answer selected by shimmy1973.

 

[shimmy1973]

Thank you very much, that was as straight forward as it gets ! Much appreciated