NVIDIA GeForce 3D Vision

Note: Pricing for this product is in US$.

Since 3D entertainment seems to be the way to go, we were looking forward to see how this new technology aids immersion, especially in interactive entertainment such as games. Here's our review of the NVIDIA GeForce 3D Vision.

The NVIDIA GeForce 3D Vision kit consists of a pair of glasses that sport liquid crystal lenses and help you view images in 3D and an infra-red emitter. The package also contains the requisite manuals and driver CDs and two USB connectors — one to connect the IR emitter to your computer and one to charge the glasses. There are also rubber attachments for the glasses moulded for nose bridges of different sizes. As you can probably infer, NVIDIA has thought of almost everything when packing the 3D kit.

Okay, so now how do you get to play your favourite games in 3D? First you have to ensure that you have the correct hardware. You need an LCD monitor capable of a refresh rate of 120Hz. NVIDIA very helpfully provided us a 22-inch Samsung SyncMaster 2233RZ monitor for testing. The NVIDIA GeForce 3D Vision works with NVIDIA GeForce 8 series and above. Unfortunately, it does not support ATI cards, so Radeon users you will have to look elsewhere for your 3D gaming needs.

Setting up the NVIDIA GeForce 3D Vision and installing the drivers is an easy-enough process and soon we were checking an image preview pack in 3D. We were impressed. The list of games that the kit supports is also huge and the games are rated 'Excellent,' 'Good' and 'Fair'.

We could hardly find a game that wasn't on the list and thus sat down first with Far Cry 2, a game that is rated excellent and with reason. The 3D depth that was now visible in the game definitely took the immersion up a notch. Similarly, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare also looked excellent. However, there was a noticeable drop in frame-rates when playing COD4 and Crysis. Also, the change in visual quality was very discernible in Crysis (rated 'Good').

The NVIDIA GeForce 3D Vision is priced at US$199. Combine that with the moolah you will have to spend on a compatible monitor, it is indeed an expensive proposition. However, if you are looking to improve your gaming experience, then this is indeed an interesting proposition.