(Credit:
Asus)
We're fans of Nvidia's 3D Vision technology, which uses a collection of hardware and software to create 3D versions of PC games. Our main knock against the concept has been that it requires several highly specific hardware purchases to work. In a recent article comparing Nvidia's 3D Vision technology to a new 3D laptop from Acer, we said:
Nvidia's 3D Vision requires a bundle of specialized hardware. At a minimum, the active glasses plus the USB emitter cost $199. But since 120Hz LCD monitors are still not common (and Nvidia only lists two officially compatible models, along with some DLP TVs and projectors), it's practically a requirement to purchase a bundle including the 22-inch Samsung SyncMaster 2233RZ for $598. On top of that, a desktop (not laptop) GPU--generally GeForce 8000 series or newer--is also required.
That's why we're pleased to see that Asus is announcing an all-in-one solution in the form of a new 15.6-inch laptop with Nvidia's 3D Vision technology built in. The $1,699 G51J 3D has a 120Hz LCD panel, an Intel Core i7 CPU, a high-end Nvidia GeForce GTX 260M GPU, and comes bundled with a pair of Nvidia's active glasses and the USB-powered IR emitter required to make the glasses work.
This is still an expensive proposition, and one that requires you to charge up and wear a pair of battery powered 3D glasses--but flipping open a laptop will certainly be easier for most than setting up a separate 120Hz LCD monitor and connecting to your desktop gaming rig via a dual-link DVI connection.
We have yet to put the Asus G51J 3D through its paces, but the components seem well-suited for mid-high-end PC gaming, and the Nvidia 3D Vision technology itself goes from pretty interesting to mind-blowing depending on the game. Acer's Aspire 5738DG, in contrast, uses a different passive 3D technology that was not nearly as impressive, and was hampered by components that were not up to speed for 3D gaming.
The Asus G51J 3D system is available starting Tuesday from online retailers including Amazon and Newegg.
3M's new 3D optical film relies on directional backlight technology to focus left and right images sequentially into the viewer's eyes.
(Credit: 3M)3M has come up with a new optical film that lets you ditch the glasses when viewing stereoscopic 3D images on mobile devices.
The 3D optical film goes into the gadget's backlight unit and uses two alternate rows of LED lights to project left and right images sequentially into the viewer's eyes. As the sequential images are focused on the individual eye, the technology eliminates the need for 3D glasses to block the picture for the other eye. And, according to Erik Jostes, LCD business director of 3M's Optical Systems Division, it does so without sacrificing screen brightness or resolution.
"This technology can switch from 3D mode to 2D mode and back and you don't make compromises on the original display," he said.
3M's technology works on displays up to 9 inches, and the company envisions it primarily for games and other single-user applications. It requires one LCD panel and operates at a 120Hz refresh rate (most monitors and TVs display video at 60Hz, but to watch video in 3D, the video must be displayed at 120Hz, since each side of the screen creates two perspectives for each frame).
Since installation of the 3D film is almost identical to that of film stacks on existing systems, 3M says it can be easily integrated into the display's backlight module at the assembly stage. The film--which will be on display at the Korea Electronics Show next week--is currently appearing in one mobile device in Asia, according to Jostes, though he wouldn't disclose which. He says it's currently in small-scale production and may show up in products stateside as early as the holidays.
Back in mid-August, Intel's Nick Knupffer made a promise to casual 3D gamers by suggesting that a new driver update would give systems that use the Intel G965 integrated graphics chipset a much-needed performance boost. I was highly skeptical of this claim, but wanted to put Intel's claims to the test.
(Credit:
Sierra Entertainment)
To test Intel's claims, I chose an Acer TravelMate 4720-6727 laptop, which uses a 2GHz Core 2 Duo T7300 CPU, 1GB of RAM, an integrated 965GM Express graphic chipset with 384MB memory allocated, and running Windows XP Professional SP2. While this hardware combination is not the fastest available, I feel it comes close to representing a typical configuration for a midrange laptop with integrated graphics. I tested the laptop with CNET Labs' regular suite of 3D gaming benchmarks, using the originally installed driver (14.29) as well as the updated version (14.31.1).
First up on the list o' games was Quake 4. At a resolution of 640x480, using the low-quality video settings, and with only vertical-sync and antialiasing (AA) turned off, the result was an average of 20.2fps with the updated driver. With the video quality changed to high quality and AA set to 4x, the average framerate decreased by only 2 percent. I continued to up the ante to 1,024x768 at high quality and AA set to 8x; ending at 12.2fps. In comparison to the older (14.29) driver, I consistently saw only a 3 percent to 3.5 percent performance increase--which actually falls within our acceptable margin of error.
Next up was F.E.A.R. At 640x480, using fairly conservative performance settings, but with Enable Shadows turned on, it reached 22fps. By turning off the Enable Shadows feature, however, it achieved a more respectable 43fps. F.E.A.R. was actually the only game I saw that truly benefited from the driver update dramatically, nearly doubling the framerate.
To throw something a little more current (at least as of last year, anyway) into the mix, I tried Company of Heroes, using settings specifically suggested by Intel for "optimal experience." Following Intel's suggestions, it only reached 12.1fps. I then dropped the Physics, Terrain Detail, and Effect Fidelity settings to Medium and generated 13.3fps. The only time I was able to reach 20fps or more was by dropping all the quality settings as low as they go, except for Shader Quality and Model Quality, which I left set to High.
The minimal acceptable framerate for PC gamers falls into the 30 to 40fps range--but only when you are forced to make compromises, such as image quality vs. performance. Otherwise, the typical preferred minimum framerate is 60 to 70fps. I didn't hit framerates close to either of these two ranges, with the exception of F.E.A.R, which is the least taxing of the games I used for testing. In addition to benchmarking the above titles, I also played a few other games, such as Doom 3. Consistently, with the benchmarks and anecdotal gaming, I found that I had to make too many sacrifices to image quality in order to even try to get close to acceptable framerates. Even then, most of the time the image-quality sacrifices were still not enough to generate acceptable framerates.
It appears that my skepticism was well-founded, as Intel did not deliver on its promise. CNET Labs has yet to see an integrated graphics solution from Intel that is robust enough to meet the expectations of even the most-casual 3D gamer. To think that a mere driver update would provide the necessary boost would be naive. But don't give up on Intel quite yet; its recent acquisition of Havok indicates that Intel is willing to take gaming seriously, and leaves the door open for what the future may bring.
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