PC gaming in 3D stereo: 3D Vision 2 vs. HD3D

[mojo]

Stereoscopic 3D has made its way into just about every medium of visual entertainment over the past few years. Most blockbuster films are in 3D nowadays, with movie theaters delighted to charge extra for the privilege—and for the disposable polarizing glasses. 3D televisions from the likes of Sony and Samsung are being sold at Best Buy. Even some game consoles, both set-top and handheld, now offer stereoscopic graphics.

The PC, too, has jumped on this bandwagon, thanks in large part to the efforts of Nvidia and AMD. Though these two companies have different philosophies and largely incompatible implementations, they've now been pushing stereo 3D on the PC for years.

Our last in-depth look at stereo 3D gaming was in February 2009, shortly after the debut of Nvidia's 3D Vision technology. Back then, game compatibility left much to be desired, the performance hit was sizable, and the entry price was awfully steep—$199 for the glasses, $349 for a compatible display, and even more for a graphics card fast enough to do them justice. Our verdict was that, while promising, 3D Vision just wasn't ready for prime time.

Much has happened since. Prices for both the glasses and compatible displays have fallen. Updated Nvidia glasses, as well as displays based on a new backlight technology, have hit the market. Some monitor vendors are now bundling the Nvidia glasses with their displays. AMD has entered the field with a looser standard called HD3D, which promises many of the same benefits as 3D Vision. Most importantly, the list of supported games has grown—substantially. Both companies now tout stereo compatibility with hundreds of titles, including recent triple-A releases like Battlefield 3.

Things are looking up.

Over the past few weeks, I've been tinkering with a pair of stereo 3D setups—one based on 3D Vision 2, the other based on HD3D—to get a sense of the current state of affairs. I was curious to get a feel for not just how well the technology works and how the AMD and Nvidia solutions compare, but also whether stereoscopy is a worthwhile addition to the PC gaming experience.

Before we get to the big questions, we should start by explaining what 3D Vision 2 and HD3D entail.

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