Asus VG236H 3D Vision Monitor Review
Testing Continued
Published: 21st July 2010 | Source: ASUS | Price: £399.99 |
Testing Continued
Gaming is what you're all here for though and gaming is what we'll provide.
Before I delved into the world of 3D gaming it was important to see how the VG236H performed normally and the results were much like those of the film and image tests. The VG236H has a very sharp image quality with everything nice and crisp, especially for a TN panel. Colour reproduction is equally impressive with no real tweaks needed to get nicely saturated hues with good gradient differentials.
The Asus responded well to all of our testing with no ghosting visible even in fast games such as Unreal 3 and Need For Speed Shift. There was good shadow detailing and deep blacks which is one of the major areas that cheaper panels fall down on.
Having warmed up with the usual OC3D test suite it was time to have a go at some 3D games. It's important to note here that whilst nearly all games are compatible with 3D because it is some driver jiggery-pokery rather than anything the game itself needs to do, nonetheless many use workarounds and other tweaks to provide their performance, not all of which are compatible with the 3D process.
nVidia kindly provide a pretty comprehensive list of those titles which work well, and those which don't. For titles which are great without being perfect they also list the problems that you will experience. This is a huge benefit as it saves so much frustration of installing that title to see it in 3D, only to discover that the HUD is a 2D bitmap and the shadows don't render properly. Much kudos has to go to nVidia for this.
It also means that if you have a small selection of games you can check beforehand if it is worth the upgrade. I'm a complete game addict and so have far too many to choose from, but if you would like to view the list it is available online here. Although the title "good" would normally mean you should be fine, experience with the Asus VG236H and the 3D Vision setup means that unless you are a diehard fan of a game listed under "good" I'd recommend you stick to either the nVidia accredited titles or those listed as excellent. A quick scroll down the list shows that one of OC3Ds, and my, favourite games Dirt 2 is actually listed as "poor". Stubbornly trying it I can tell you that "unplayable" would be closer to the truth.
Anyway, what about those titles that do work?
Obviously some titles are better suited than others. Company of Heroes works almost flawlessly and yet doesn't really benefit from 3D. It's a similar situation with the otherwise excellent Blood Bowl, Rollercoaster Tycoon etc. Generally games which take the most advantages out of the good old Z-axis are the ones that are most enjoyable. Driving games and First-Person Shooters mainly, but some sports games actually get a boost.
Unreal Tournament III, despite being the most disappointing outing in the series, really works well with 3D Vision enabled. The maps come alive and judging your jumps while flying through a deathmatch becomes a cinch. The only caveat is that the game is so fast it does become a bit smeary round the edges, but that is more a limitation of the 3D process than of the Asus VG236H itself.
Devil May Cry 4 is another title that really does the business in 3D. The Capcom port is one of the finest ever and it makes the absolute most out of the 3D with monsters easily gauged in the depth field to allow you to keep those Smokin Slick Style combos going with ease. It's no suprise that a shot from DMC4 is one of the few that nVidia supply on their 3D CD to demonstrate the technology.
Obviously I can go on for ages about the benefits and the various games I tested in the time I've had with this before Asus come to snatch it back from my death grip. However one more is worth mentioning, Metro 2033.
This actually nicely demonstrates the problems with 3D technology when it comes to performance needed. Metro 2033 is a hard game on your system anyway, but once you introduce the need to render every frame twice it quickly becomes unplayable. It's not a problem with its compatibility as it handles the 3D with aplomb. It's just a single GTX480 hasn't got the gumption to be able to run it at a playable level.
Most Recent Comments
The normal 2D image only imitates 3D through depth perception in terms of the size of object in reference to the foreground. The 3D vision is different in the like real vision one eye effectively sees slightly more of one side of an object and the other eye vice versa, your brain then combines the images to give you the overall image perceiving 3D.
This is probably why it takes some getting used to as your brain will see the 3D of your room and then a second 3D image of different depth on the monitor, hence why it might get confused and lead to some people getting headaches or sometimes just poor aim.
Like patting your head while rubbing your stomach however, the brain can be taught to distinguish between simultaneous tasks affecting the same area of the brain.
Apache pilots effectively learn to look like a Chameleon looking at different images with each eye and still maintaining an overall picture without feeling sick or losing perception of depth.
I think with a little practice it would be easy to adjust to the change in picture and you'd soon be fragging people the same as always.
Of course there's the fact you can still just watch films (if you didn't want to game with them on) providing the 3D movie experience at home.
I myself have bought a 3D vision monitor in preparation for my pc I'm still building (seems like ages, tho I did start planning it in feb lol).
We'll see how I get on eventually.
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Originally Posted by name='silenthill'
There is an old axiom that says 'seeing is believing' in this case very true, custom pc reviewed 3D vision a few months ago and give it a absolute NO they said it give you a headache after one hour of playing and the 3D effect wears out, so for me it is a absolute NO until the technology evolves to something more mature also I read a review in bit-tech that claimed that the FPS drop dramatically when using 3D vision so another downer, last week I went to CURRY’S and a sales person showed me a 3D movie clip on a 50’’ 3D plasma, to be honest it was very impressive but after a while the 3D effect did wear out, fact is the brain can only be tricked for a short time and all the current 3D products in the market are at the first stages of the evolution of the 3D technology.
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What they need to do is create a proper depth of view screen that can do it properly without having to fool you. It's quite easily done, you just layer several LCDs over one another with no silver backing. You then create a movie or game in layers so that they have a viewpoint they can make into a vanishing point. Until that happens 3D is not 3D.
Nvidia have been wasting money on this crap for bloody years now. It's just good money after bad trying to invent something that just doesn't work as an idea. I DO NOT want to have to wear a stupid set of glasses on my head that are going to screw up my eyesight any more than it already is.
I can't even play handhelds because I spent too long on the Gameboy as a kid and it buggered my eyesight.
New member here. I am looking at getting the Asus to use with my Xbox 360, which is starting to get 3D games coming online, starting with call of duty in November.
I have heard that to get 120hz you need to connect via the DVI port, so would a hdmi to dvi connector work for this?
Also, I see that there is an IR transmitter which you connect to your pc, any ideas how this would work with the xbox?
Many thanks,
Cheeky
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Originally Posted by cheekychappie
Hi there, New member here. I am looking at getting the Asus to use with my Xbox 360, which is starting to get 3D games coming online, starting with call of duty in November. I have heard that to get 120hz you need to connect via the DVI port, so would a hdmi to dvi connector work for this? Also, I see that there is an IR transmitter which you connect to your pc, any ideas how this would work with the xbox? Many thanks, Cheeky |
...thank u for answersbut the screen will function as a 2d monitor it doesnt need to run in 3d
i still have 2 decide if i shuld try this one and get hands on 3Dvision later or buy some superior quality LED monitor and continue with 2D gaming because of my glasses and cross-eyebut £400 is a bit to much
could get another 2 monitors for surround vision and still have £100 left over :/
that would wipe it
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Originally Posted by AMDFTW
you could almost get a dell IPS 24' monitor that would wipe it |
Second question - is it ok to play games in 2D mode with refresh 100 Hz? or better use 60 Hz
so i bought this monitor 14 days ago,and it is great piece of lcd....super fast,colors are rich,and for gaming it is a great choice!and YES!!!and it is pushing 120fps in 2D mod when the Vsync is on,the only thing you need to do is set up the refresh rate in nvidia drivers for 120hz....didn`t try it in 3D mod tho
anyway i`m really happy with this purchase
lol
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