HP 2311 gt 23" Monitor Review: Passive, Polarized 3D On A Budget

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HP sent us its newest stereoscopic 3D-capable monitor, the 2311 gt. Aimed at budget-conscious customers, we take our first look at a passive, polarized monitor based on FPR technology and put it up against a more expensive, active, shutter-based system.

Test System And Benchmarks

The PC we're using for testing isn’t particularly important. However, the second 3D monitor we're comparing HP's to is. We have Samsung’s S23A750D, an active 3D monitor able to help emphasize the differences between the HP 2311 gt’s FPD-based technology.

As we began writing this review, Samsung’s S23A750D sold on Newegg for $310, but was recently deactivated. The most similar product that is available is the Samsung S23A700D, a panel with almost identical specifications, but no DisplayPort input.

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Test System
CPUIntel Core i7-3960X (Sandy Bridge-E), 3.3 GHz, Six Cores, LGA 2011, 15 MB Shared L3 Cache, Hyper-Threading enabled. Overclocked to 4.25 GHz
MotherboardASRock X79 Extreme9 (LGA 2011) Chipset: Intel X79 Express
NetworkingOn-Board Gigabit LAN controller
MemoryCorsair Vengeance LP PC3-16000, 4 x 4 GB, 1600 MT/s, CL 8-8-8-24-2T
GraphicsReference Radeon HD 7970925 MHz GPU, 3 GB GDDR5 at 1375 MHz
Hard DriveSamsung 256 GB (SSD)
PowerePower EP-1200E10-T2 1200 W ATX12V, EPS12V
Software and Drivers
Operating SystemMicrosoft Windows 7 x64, Service Pack 1
DirectXDirectX 11
Graphics DriversGeForce: 301.42 WHQLRadeon: Catalyst 12.6 Beta
Monitors
Passive (FPR)HP 2311 gt
Active (AFS)Samsung S23A750D
Don Woligroski
45 Comments Comment from the forums
  • army_ant7
    I forgot if I read this before, but your GPU would have to pump out twice the number of frames for games. As it obviously seems, this is true for active shutter 3D displays. I assume that even if polarized 3D displays "interlace" 2 half resolution frames for 1 3D frame, the processing needed is still for 2 full resolution frames.

    If anyone has better knowledge on this, please correct me. :-)
    Reply
  • hardcore_gamer
    3D Vision..Y U NO SUPPORT ALL 3D DISPLAYS ?
    Reply
  • f-14
    1950's cheap gimmick idea of what 3-D is.
    complete false advertising since it's on a 1D screen.
    save your money.
    Reply
  • PreferLinux
    f-141950's cheap gimmick idea of what 3-D is.complete false advertising since it's on a 1D screen.save your money.You mean 2D.
    Reply
  • mayankleoboy1
    Radeon: Catalyst 12.6 Beta

    dont you mean 12.7 beta?
    Reply
  • vdr369
    Its not worth the price, and if you compare the quality warranty with AOC 23 inch polarized monitor AOC (which has superior color accuracy and 3 years onsite warranty)knock outs this dummy.

    and I liked the acer's 27inch polarized one because it doesn't need a software to convert 2d to 3d.
    Reply
  • army_ant7
    f-141950's cheap gimmick idea of what 3-D is.complete false advertising since it's on a 1D screen.save your money.One thing you have to understand that the fact that even 3D models in a game for example get rasterized to a 2D screen. Are they a gimmick then since 3D or 2D graphics, they still end up being 2D anyway? 3D games give us the perception of a 3D world.
    If these technologies can make us have the illusion of having a 3D view, like in real life, then I wouldn't say it's a gimmick. Are (better) in-game graphics a gimmick? A game world is also an illusion of something that isn't there, just like how it seems that you're saying 3D isn't there because it's a 2D screen.
    BTW, it's 2 different frames from different perspectives shown at the same time, just like how your two eyes work. I assume you have two, if not, I apologize.

    If you don't like stereoscopic 3D, then fine, voice out your opinions, but claiming those opinions of yours as facts is just not right. I don't mean to sound angry, but I felt obliged to "voice" this out. I'm open to debate and I don't mean to piss anyone off.
    Reply
  • hyteck9
    what about dual 3D monitors? Do any video cards even support the setup? Would it even be playable?
    Reply
  • army_ant7
    I think there's a 3 3D monitor setup possible with Nvidia cards. I'm not sure, but if what I've shared in the first ever comment on this thread is true, driving 1 3D monitor is already like driving 2 standard ones. 3 3D's would be like 6 standards.
    AMD cards can drive an Eyefinity of 6 (standard) monitors, so maybe 3 3D's doesn't sound to bad.
    Again, I'm not sure. Just sharing my observations and deductions on this, and I could be very wrong. :-)
    Reply
  • SnickerSnack
    Dual 3D monitors would be unplayable - The inside screen edges would split your character in half 99% of the time.
    Nvidia supports 3D Surround, which is three identical monitors. I haven't seen it in action, but hear it's fabulous. Pretty sure it requires at least a couple of beefy GPUs running in SLI.
    Reply