Recommend me a card
Hi. When I went to upgrade my passive 3D monitor I discovered that passive 3D is dead, so time to bite the bullet and "upgrade" to Nvidia 3D Vision. I have a new 3D-capable monitor and the NVidia 3D "Vision 2" glasses kit. All I need (I think) is the graphics card, which is where my confusion begins. There are so many! And none of them seem to say "Vision 2", only 3D Vision (does it make a difference?). I don't do much gaming. It's mostly for 3D movies, 3D photo and video creation. At the same time, I want something relatively future-proof, and maybe able to play the odd game (when I get the time) in 3D at 2560x1440. Can anyone recommend me a good card? Preferable something reasonably priced. 2nd hand is fine. Cheers! ;o) Cor
Hi.

When I went to upgrade my passive 3D monitor I discovered that passive 3D is dead, so time to bite the bullet and "upgrade" to Nvidia 3D Vision.

I have a new 3D-capable monitor and the NVidia 3D "Vision 2" glasses kit. All I need (I think) is the graphics card, which is where my confusion begins. There are so many! And none of them seem to say "Vision 2", only 3D Vision (does it make a difference?).

I don't do much gaming. It's mostly for 3D movies, 3D photo and video creation. At the same time, I want something relatively future-proof, and maybe able to play the odd game (when I get the time) in 3D at 2560x1440.

Can anyone recommend me a good card? Preferable something reasonably priced. 2nd hand is fine.

Cheers!

;o) Cor

#1
Posted 07/10/2015 05:54 PM   
As always - you'll change your gaming habbits. When you try 3DV2 gaming, you'll spend 20x more time on gaming. It's the natural way of things :) About the card: (all assuming you have at least i5 @4GHz, since 3D gaming really likes fast CPUs, i5-i7 + overclocking is really recommended, since stable 2x 60fps is a REQUIREMENT for low persistence to shine. GTX660 is great for older games, and I was enjoying 3D gaming a lot with it (Trine 2, Grid:Autosport, Sonic Racing - all with stable 2x 60fps at 1080p :) ). Of course it requires lowering settings and a knowledge or time to know what you should lower and what should stay at max. ) GTX760 is better, still cheap. GTX780 is the first card I'd really recommend. It's great and allows you to use older drivers (Nvidia doesn't care about 3DV anymore, the newer drivers are worse than the old ones). Next in line would be GTX970 - a great price/value ratio, great performance. Then there's GTX980 wchich you can consider if you find it in a good price, but I'd rather go for 970. And then there is 980Ti which currently isn't the best choice because you are blocked from using older drivers. That's why some people here stay with their 780Ti for now. 980ti is a great card though, and if miracle happens (Nvidia fixes the new drivers) that would be THE card to recommend for you. Don't think about the future. 3D Vision might be dead before this year ends :( We all hope it won't be but we cannot be blind for the facts, and the facts points to Nvidia ditching the 3DV. Personally I would go for 780 if you don't want 2D gaming, and 970 if you want it.
As always - you'll change your gaming habbits. When you try 3DV2 gaming, you'll spend 20x more time on gaming. It's the natural way of things :)


About the card:
(all assuming you have at least i5 @4GHz, since 3D gaming really likes fast CPUs, i5-i7 + overclocking is really recommended, since stable 2x 60fps is a REQUIREMENT for low persistence to shine.

GTX660 is great for older games, and I was enjoying 3D gaming a lot with it (Trine 2, Grid:Autosport, Sonic Racing - all with stable 2x 60fps at 1080p :) ). Of course it requires lowering settings and a knowledge or time to know what you should lower and what should stay at max. )

GTX760 is better, still cheap.

GTX780 is the first card I'd really recommend. It's great and allows you to use older drivers (Nvidia doesn't care about 3DV anymore, the newer drivers are worse than the old ones).

Next in line would be GTX970 - a great price/value ratio, great performance.
Then there's GTX980 wchich you can consider if you find it in a good price, but I'd rather go for 970.
And then there is 980Ti which currently isn't the best choice because you are blocked from using older drivers. That's why some people here stay with their 780Ti for now. 980ti is a great card though, and if miracle happens (Nvidia fixes the new drivers) that would be THE card to recommend for you.

Don't think about the future. 3D Vision might be dead before this year ends :(
We all hope it won't be but we cannot be blind for the facts, and the facts points to Nvidia ditching the 3DV.
Personally I would go for 780 if you don't want 2D gaming, and 970 if you want it.

#2
Posted 07/10/2015 09:03 PM   
I love my 780....I never had any of the problems you guys have with GTA 5 at all in 3D Vision.
I love my 780....I never had any of the problems you guys have with GTA 5 at all in 3D Vision.

Gaming Rig 1

i7 5820K 3.3ghz (Stock Clock)
GTX 1080 Founders Edition (Stock Clock)
16GB DDR4 2400 RAM
512 SAMSUNG 840 PRO

Gaming Rig 2
My new build

Asus Maximus X Hero Z370
MSI Gaming X 1080Ti (2100 mhz OC Watercooled)
8700k (4.7ghz OC Watercooled)
16gb DDR4 3000 Ram
500GB SAMSUNG 860 EVO SERIES SSD M.2

#3
Posted 07/10/2015 10:53 PM   
Good recommendations from RonsonPL.
Good recommendations from RonsonPL.

#4
Posted 07/10/2015 11:08 PM   
In one succinct post you obliterated my hours of Googling! RonsonPL, thank you! I'm definitely planning to start putting some regular time aside for gaming, absolutely only in 3D - I assume 3D games also utilize 3D audio, it's gonna be incredible. The 780 is about twice what I was hoping to pay, but looking more closely at your recommendations, it does seem to fit the bill. I need a new CPU, too. More saving required! I hope 3D doesn't die. At least, if Nvidia decides to end its involvement, it passes the source code, specs and stuff - for the hardware we paid top-dollar for - out to the world, open-source it or something. Then any 3D enthusiast with a 120Hz monitor and a couple of most likely easy-to-reproduce hardware gadgets could enjoy the magic. Here's hoping! ;o) Cor ps. Thanks for game recommendations. If anyone has recommendations for great games with immersion levels that make you go "Wow!", I'm definitely all-ears!
In one succinct post you obliterated my hours of Googling! RonsonPL, thank you!

I'm definitely planning to start putting some regular time aside for gaming, absolutely only in 3D - I assume 3D games also utilize 3D audio, it's gonna be incredible.

The 780 is about twice what I was hoping to pay, but looking more closely at your recommendations, it does seem to fit the bill. I need a new CPU, too. More saving required!

I hope 3D doesn't die. At least, if Nvidia decides to end its involvement, it passes the source code, specs and stuff - for the hardware we paid top-dollar for - out to the world, open-source it or something.

Then any 3D enthusiast with a 120Hz monitor and a couple of most likely easy-to-reproduce hardware gadgets could enjoy the magic.

Here's hoping!

;o) Cor

ps. Thanks for game recommendations. If anyone has recommendations for great games with immersion levels that make you go "Wow!", I'm definitely all-ears!

#5
Posted 07/11/2015 01:09 AM   
About the GTX 780: On the features page at Nvidia it states that it supports "Adaptive VSync", and on the Adaptive VSync page it states "For a superior solution, which eliminates stuttering, tearing and the addition of VSync-related input lag, see our G-SYNC technology page." Yet on the specifications page for the 780 it states, "Important Technologies: GPU Boost 2.0, PhysX, TXAA, NVIDIA G-SYNC-ready, SHIELD-Ready". My monitor is G-Sync capable, so I was hoping to get a card that supports this. On the main hardware page they are listed as two separate technologies, so it's unclear (to my feeble mind) which the 780 actually has, either believe the features page ("Adaptive VSync") or the specifications page ("NVIDIA G-SYNC-ready"). Does anyone have the definitive word on this? Or am I missing something obvious!? ;o) Cor
About the GTX 780: On the features page at Nvidia it states that it supports "Adaptive VSync", and on the Adaptive VSync page it states "For a superior solution, which eliminates stuttering, tearing and the addition of VSync-related input lag, see our G-SYNC technology page."

Yet on the specifications page for the 780 it states, "Important Technologies: GPU Boost 2.0, PhysX, TXAA, NVIDIA G-SYNC-ready, SHIELD-Ready".

My monitor is G-Sync capable, so I was hoping to get a card that supports this. On the main hardware page they are listed as two separate technologies, so it's unclear (to my feeble mind) which the 780 actually has, either believe the features page ("Adaptive VSync") or the specifications page ("NVIDIA G-SYNC-ready").

Does anyone have the definitive word on this? Or am I missing something obvious!?

;o) Cor

#6
Posted 07/11/2015 01:40 AM   
All cards from 6 series and up support gsync. 780 is a bit below the bare minimum for 1440p - it'll have a very difficult time with some 2d games on high settings. I'd recommend nothing less than a 980, personally - and it still won't be enough for 3d in new games at that resolution. Remember, because 3d has to draw the game twice, you're rendering 1440p times two, which means you're effectively at 5k resolution. AND you need 60 frames per second for an ideal 3d experience. Sorry, but you have the nicest monitor (Swift) that money can buy - you should try to pair it with a 980ti if you can. I have a 980ti with a 1080p monitor for 3d.
All cards from 6 series and up support gsync.

780 is a bit below the bare minimum for 1440p - it'll have a very difficult time with some 2d games on high settings. I'd recommend nothing less than a 980, personally - and it still won't be enough for 3d in new games at that resolution. Remember, because 3d has to draw the game twice, you're rendering 1440p times two, which means you're effectively at 5k resolution. AND you need 60 frames per second for an ideal 3d experience.

Sorry, but you have the nicest monitor (Swift) that money can buy - you should try to pair it with a 980ti if you can. I have a 980ti with a 1080p monitor for 3d.

#7
Posted 07/11/2015 03:01 AM   
corz To enjoy crystal-clear image in motion you need X fps at x Hz, so 60Hz=60fps. Anything less means you cannot see clearly, therefore I treat all g-sync, adaptive-sync etc. as worthless for 3D. I might be an addict to low persistence though ;) especially when it's combined with 3D. Crystal-clear motion prevents braking the 3D immersion in fast moving scenes. I'd prefer lower details and 1080p with clear motion over ultra details at 4K. About what f3likx wrote - I recommended 780 for 1080p of course, because you wrote about the future. Now I'm confused. Do you have 1080p or 1440p now? 780 is slower than 970 and 980 but overall, for 1080p it's a better choice because of ability to work with older drivers, which might help in some older fix. Newer cards could be much better in 2D so that's why I adviced 970 if you plan to play 2D. I think what we saw with Project Cars and Wicher 3 will happen again - Nvidia will give optimizations only to the cards that are still on the shelves. 780 is not being sold anymore, so new games might show artificially big gap in performance to 970. For 1440p it's a tough choice. You could enjoy 3D even with 780 but someone else might say you need 980ti and nothing less. Depends on what games you'll play, and what settings you consider most important. PS. Glad I could help. :)
corz

To enjoy crystal-clear image in motion you need X fps at x Hz, so 60Hz=60fps. Anything less means you cannot see clearly, therefore I treat all g-sync, adaptive-sync etc. as worthless for 3D. I might be an addict to low persistence though ;) especially when it's combined with 3D. Crystal-clear motion prevents braking the 3D immersion in fast moving scenes. I'd prefer lower details and 1080p with clear motion over ultra details at 4K.

About what f3likx wrote - I recommended 780 for 1080p of course, because you wrote about the future. Now I'm confused. Do you have 1080p or 1440p now? 780 is slower than 970 and 980 but overall, for 1080p it's a better choice because of ability to work with older drivers, which might help in some older fix. Newer cards could be much better in 2D so that's why I adviced 970 if you plan to play 2D. I think what we saw with Project Cars and Wicher 3 will happen again - Nvidia will give optimizations only to the cards that are still on the shelves. 780 is not being sold anymore, so new games might show artificially big gap in performance to 970.

For 1440p it's a tough choice. You could enjoy 3D even with 780 but someone else might say you need 980ti and nothing less. Depends on what games you'll play, and what settings you consider most important.

PS. Glad I could help. :)

#8
Posted 07/11/2015 09:54 AM   
[quote=""] Remember, because 3d has to draw the game twice, you're rendering 1440p times two, which means you're effectively at 5k resolution. [/quote] 2x 1440p is not 5K not at all. 3D Surround which renders in 2D 5768x1080 is close to 4k, in 3D surround: 2x 57680x1080 is well above 4k mark. The way I see it is and based on my internal tests and such: - for 1080p 3D get ONE single GPU: preferably 780, 970/980 (Currently I can't recommend the 980Ti due to driver bugs) - 1440p - I recommend a SLI setup of some lower GPUs: 2x770, 2x780, 2x960, 2x970. Of course you can go buy more expensive GPUS as well.. - For 3D Surround: You absolutely need top of the line GPU in SLI: 2x780Ti, 2x980Ti, 2xTitanX. It really comes down to what you want to do currently and in the future:)
said:

Remember, because 3d has to draw the game twice, you're rendering 1440p times two, which means you're effectively at 5k resolution.


2x 1440p is not 5K not at all. 3D Surround which renders in 2D 5768x1080 is close to 4k, in 3D surround: 2x 57680x1080 is well above 4k mark.

The way I see it is and based on my internal tests and such:
- for 1080p 3D get ONE single GPU: preferably 780, 970/980 (Currently I can't recommend the 980Ti due to driver bugs)

- 1440p - I recommend a SLI setup of some lower GPUs: 2x770, 2x780, 2x960, 2x970. Of course you can go buy more expensive GPUS as well..

- For 3D Surround: You absolutely need top of the line GPU in SLI: 2x780Ti, 2x980Ti, 2xTitanX.

It really comes down to what you want to do currently and in the future:)

1x Palit RTX 2080Ti Pro Gaming OC(watercooled and overclocked to hell)
3x 3D Vision Ready Asus VG278HE monitors (5760x1080).
Intel i9 9900K (overclocked to 5.3 and watercooled ofc).
Asus Maximus XI Hero Mobo.
16 GB Team Group T-Force Dark Pro DDR4 @ 3600.
Lots of Disks:
- Raid 0 - 256GB Sandisk Extreme SSD.
- Raid 0 - WD Black - 2TB.
- SanDisk SSD PLUS 480 GB.
- Intel 760p 256GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD.
Creative Sound Blaster Z.
Windows 10 x64 Pro.
etc


My website with my fixes and OpenGL to 3D Vision wrapper:
http://3dsurroundgaming.com

(If you like some of the stuff that I've done and want to donate something, you can do it with PayPal at tavyhome@gmail.com)

#9
Posted 07/11/2015 10:25 AM   
[b]RonsonPL[/b], [b]f3likx[/b] is correct, I have a new ROG Swift (after playing with the OSD controls one time, I knew I had to have it!). I generally build PCs slowly over the course of a few years, stuffing the motherboard with super-value/minimal stuff to begin with and then enjoying lots of further performance bumps down the road, usually tying in nicely to updated (or just bloated) software, more demanding tasks/multi-tasking and stuff. By the time the motherboard shows it's age, I've had a couple of years of kick-ass performance and it's time to start again! Believe it or not, I'm currently driving the ROG Swift at 85Hz from the Intel HD graphics on a Celeron G530! Hey, upscaled 1080p HEVC is pretty smooth.. I [i]really[/i] just wanted a new 27" passive display, but everyone has stopped making them. The switch to Active 3D sure is expensive! Thanks [b]helifax[/b], that's exactly the upgrade path I've been considering this morning; get one decent GPU now so I can watch 3D movies and photos ASAP, maybe play a few older 3D games, then SLI in a second GPU down the line. 3D Surround would be incredible, no doubt, but not being a hard-core gamer I couldn't currently justify the indulgence! Maybe one day! Cheers guys! ;o) Cor
RonsonPL, f3likx is correct, I have a new ROG Swift (after playing with the OSD controls one time, I knew I had to have it!). I generally build PCs slowly over the course of a few years, stuffing the motherboard with super-value/minimal stuff to begin with and then enjoying lots of further performance bumps down the road, usually tying in nicely to updated (or just bloated) software, more demanding tasks/multi-tasking and stuff. By the time the motherboard shows it's age, I've had a couple of years of kick-ass performance and it's time to start again!

Believe it or not, I'm currently driving the ROG Swift at 85Hz from the Intel HD graphics on a Celeron G530! Hey, upscaled 1080p HEVC is pretty smooth..

I really just wanted a new 27" passive display, but everyone has stopped making them. The switch to Active 3D sure is expensive! Thanks helifax, that's exactly the upgrade path I've been considering this morning; get one decent GPU now so I can watch 3D movies and photos ASAP, maybe play a few older 3D games, then SLI in a second GPU down the line.

3D Surround would be incredible, no doubt, but not being a hard-core gamer I couldn't currently justify the indulgence! Maybe one day!

Cheers guys!

;o) Cor

#10
Posted 07/11/2015 11:28 AM   
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