3D monitor for 6970?

Fragg · 30 Nov 2011 at 21:58

I currently have an asus 6970 graphics card and in desperate need of a new monitor - i know quite a lot about ordinary monitors but not 3d.

The alienware OptX AW2310 3d monitor is perfect for me and my budget and since its a dell, a friend can get it discounted. Although, there is no mention of ati/amd support and only talk about nvidas 3d kit.
The 6970 has hd3d, will it work?
I will be watching movies in 3d but games wil be played usualy in 2d

Edit -
Thanks for teaching me on 3d monitors!
Although not 3d, I have now opted to go with Dells U2312HM

Surveyor · 30 Nov 2011 at 22:14

I know very little about 3D monitors but does that monitor even work in 3D with AMD/ATI cards?

Fragg · 30 Nov 2011 at 22:22

damn, i hope your wrong.

I thought that it will work with amd/ati's hd3d drivers etc.
I wouldnt be playing 3d games just watching movies more so.

Cleeecooo · 30 Nov 2011 at 22:29

Fragg said:
damn, i hope your wrong.

I thought that it will work with amd/ati's hd3d drivers etc.
I wouldnt be playing 3d games just watching movies more so.

should work with the drivers. Not certain though as that monitor is designed for nvidia 3D vision

Fragg · 30 Nov 2011 at 22:45

alright thanks, i stil have the choice to cancel my order which is good.

should i risk it?

jamjar · 30 Nov 2011 at 22:57

Fragg said:
alright thanks, i stil have the choice to cancel my order which is good.

should i risk it?

should always do a bit of searching the net for info before buying anything ,i have spent weeks and months doing that before i decide its right plus posting for advice in this forum has helped me 100% to find what i want to know ..there the best bunch of people on the net

Fragg · 30 Nov 2011 at 23:07

Canceled the order. Hopefully, will find the right monitor before christmas =P

I will change my question to will the monitor work with a 6970

jamjar · 30 Nov 2011 at 23:25

Fragg said:
Canceled the order. Hopefully, will find the right monitor before christmas =P

I will change my question to will the monitor work with a 6970

i,d have done the same ,cancel it until you are 100% sure its the right monitor ,but never not ask on here

cmndr_andi · 30 Nov 2011 at 23:48

Hi there, Good to hear you cancelled that order - the AW2310 doesn't work with AMD graphics card for 3D (though it should be fine with a HD 6970 at 120Hz in "2D" mode).

This is because the AMD 3D system has no way of independently signalling a set of 3D shutter glasses. As a result - the AMD 3D technology relies on 3D monitors (and TVs) that do their own signalling for active shutter glasses. In contrast, the Nvidia system can use "dumb" 120Hz dual-DVI monitors with no in-built syncing - since the glasses synchronisation/signalling is done by the PC-connected Nvidia 3D vision kit.

Here is a list of AMD 3D compatible kit.

Since the alienware monitor has no signalling then it won't work with AMD's 3D system.

I believe some of the best quality AMD 3D compatible monitors are the Samsung 750 and 950 series monitors, however they aren't cheap.

jamjar · 1 Dec 2011 at 00:10

cmndr_andi said:
Hi there, Good to hear you cancelled that order - the AW2310 doesn't work with AMD graphics card for 3D (though it should be fine with a HD 6970 at 120Hz in "2D" mode).

This is because the AMD 3D system has no way of independently signalling a set of 3D shutter glasses. As a result - the AMD 3D technology relies on 3D monitors (and TVs) that do their own signalling for active shutter glasses. In contrast, the Nvidia system can use "dumb" 120Hz dual-DVI monitors with no in-built syncing - since the glasses synchronisation/signalling is done by the PC-connected Nvidia 3D vision kit.

Here is a list of AMD 3D compatible kit.

Since the alienware monitor has no signalling then it won't work with AMD's 3D system.

I believe some of the best quality AMD 3D compatible monitors are the Samsung 750 and 950 series monitors, however they aren't cheap.

The cheapest price i,ve seen the Samsung 750 3D is £356.95 with free postage ..which is a high price compared to the other Nvidia 3D Vision 3D monitors

cmndr_andi · 1 Dec 2011 at 00:18

jamjar said:
The cheapest price i,ve seen the Samsung 750 3D is £356.95 with free postage ..which is a high price compared to the other Nvidia 3D Vision 3D monitors

Aye, for sure it isn't cheap. Though I guess you have to take into account that the 3D glasses and syncing is included in the price (the current Nvidia 3D kit costs £125) and you do get a really nice quality 23in 120Hz monitor.

Fragg · 1 Dec 2011 at 16:42

cmndr_andi said:
Hi there, Good to hear you cancelled that order - the AW2310 doesn't work with AMD graphics card for 3D (though it should be fine with a HD 6970 at 120Hz in "2D" mode).

This is because the AMD 3D system has no way of independently signalling a set of 3D shutter glasses. As a result - the AMD 3D technology relies on 3D monitors (and TVs) that do their own signalling for active shutter glasses. In contrast, the Nvidia system can use "dumb" 120Hz dual-DVI monitors with no in-built syncing - since the glasses synchronisation/signalling is done by the PC-connected Nvidia 3D vision kit.

Here is a list of AMD 3D compatible kit.

Since the alienware monitor has no signalling then it won't work with AMD's 3D system.

I believe some of the best quality AMD 3D compatible monitors are the Samsung 750 and 950 series monitors, however they aren't cheap.

Thankyou, very well explained.

I will research then into those monitors. I have read similar topics and some suggest i can watch movies in 3d but not game. If that is true then would any 3d shutter glasses work? - I may have picked it up wrong.

It seems a very good monitor even without 3d anyway

cmndr_andi · 1 Dec 2011 at 16:58

Fragg said:
I will research then into those monitors. I have read similar topics and some suggest i can watch movies in 3d but not game. If that is true then would any 3d shutter glasses work? - I may have picked it up wrong.

With a "dumb" non-glasses syncing 120Hz monitor like the AW2310 or any of these monitors which work with the nvidia 3D system it then there is no way to run any 3D content (films or games) with an AMD graphics card. This is because the AMD system is designed so the glassess syncing is not done on the PC, but the display (while the Nvidia system does the syncing on the PC and sends out a signal to the glassess via the little USB-connected box - all of which is totally incompatible with AMD hardware).

As for watching films but not playing games, that applies to the software used by both AMD and Nvidia graphics cards to produce 3D images from films and games.
-With Nvidia you need to buy the 3D vision kit (which includes the cost of the software license) to get 3D movies or games working correctly. If you are using a HDMI 1.4 3D TV or monitor then you don't need to buy the 3D vision kit (since the syncing and signalling is done in the display with HDMI 1.4 devices) however, you do need to buy the "3DTV play" software from Nvidia for the software license to play games in 3D. However, you don't need to buy this software if you only intend to play 3D movies - though you do need to buy some compatible 3D video playing software like PowerDVD 11 Ultra.
- With AMD cards you don't buy any additional kit or software for 3D directly from AMD. Instead you get the 3D hardware with the TV or monitor and you need to buy the software to play games in 3D from a middleware company which works with AMD's HD3D like Tridef or IZ3D. If you only want to play movies then (just like Nvidia) you don't need to purchase any of the game-focused software, but you will need a working 3D video player (which will cost money) and of course a Blu-Ray drive if you plan to run 3D Blu-rays.

May I ask how much you would be able to get the Alienware 120Hz monitor for with this deal? Even though it can't do 3D at all with your graphics card it would still make for a nice "2D" 120Hz gaming monitor if the price is right. Also, if the price is good enough then you may want to consider selling your current AMD graphics card and switching over to a Nvidia card like the GTX 570 - since this card would work fine in 3D with the alienware monitor and most regard Nvidia's implementation of 3D gaming to be superior to AMD's at the moment.

Fragg · 1 Dec 2011 at 18:39

Really appreciate the answer - sorry for the delayed reply - i was researching =P

Hmm, I might just go 2d and get a dual setup for the same price as one 3d.

I could get that AW2310 for 280 or the Samsung 750 for 305.

Instead i may either buy Samsung SyncMaster F2380M or ASUS VG236HE for 170 pound each
http://www.digitalversus.com/lcd-monitor/samsung-syncmaster-f2380m-p6216/test.html
http://www.digitalversus.com/lcd-monitor/asus-vg236h-p8757/test.html
asus monitor is 3d but i wont use that aspect due to having a 6970 card (see how much i have learned? lol)

cmndr_andi · 1 Dec 2011 at 18:51

Sounds like you have done some digging, great to hear.

The ASUS VG236HE is a quality 120Hz monitor and would be a good option for gaming, and as you say 3D is not an option with your existing AMD card and this type of monitor, but 2D 120Hz gaming is very nice.

However, If you plan to play any games then I would strongly recommend against the Samsung F2380M monitor - as its panel has issues with ghosting. Please see this review.

You may also want to consider a fast E-IPS panel 60Hz monitor like the Dell U2312HM or the ASUS ML239H. Reviews are here and here. These monitors use high-quality E-IPS type panels - so the image quality and viewing angles are a good deal better than TN panels such as those used in 120Hz monitors, but also offer relatively fast response times and low input lag. Due to these features, many on the forums use these monitors very happily for gaming as well as more general stuff like work and movie watching.

Fragg · 1 Dec 2011 at 20:26

andi...now i really cant make up my mind

Dell UltraSharp U2312HM and the Samsung SyncMaster F2380M both have a Response Time of 8ms
ASUS VG236HE is 2ms, however, cannot be rotated portrait like the others which i may regularly do.

Which would you go with?

edit- You know, I may actually go with dells ultrasharp as dell monitors can for me be discounted further than the others and the accurate colours are immense.
Would 8ms @ 60hz be a lot worse than 2ms @120hz?

jamjar · 1 Dec 2011 at 20:49

Dell ultrasharp monitors are high quality type if it was me i,d go with a Dell ,but thats just my honest view

cmndr_andi · 1 Dec 2011 at 21:05

Fragg said:
andi...now i really cant make up my mind

Dell UltraSharp U2312HM and the Samsung SyncMaster F2380M both have a Response Time of 8ms
ASUS VG236HE is 2ms, however, cannot be rotated portrait like the others which i may regularly do.

Which would you go with?

Aye, the numbers are the same for response time, however these number are arrived at in non-standardised tests so they can't be compared directly between manufacturers. As a result the only good way to compare between different brand monitors for response time and ghosting is to run each monitor through a standardised test. When this was done comparing the F2380M to the Dell U2312H the Dell came out a good deal better.

The U2312HM offers the least motion blur out of these 4 models shown, and certainly a marked improvement over the fairly slow cPVA based Samsung F2380

Fragg said:
edit- You know, I may actually go with dells ultrasharp as dell monitors can for me be discounted further than the others and the accurate colours are immense.
Would 8ms @ 60hz be a lot worse than 2ms @120hz?

Dell make some really great monitors and the U2312HM seems to carry on that reputation (with a really nice quality panel, decent responsiveness, basically zero input lag, great stand with portrait mode and excellent warranty service)- even if it wasn't discounted it would probably be my pick. If you can get it for a deal then I say jump on it - unless you play very fast-paced games almost exclusively then you will find it to be an extremely nice monitor to live with.

As for the response time difference - as I mentioned above you can't go solely from the quoted response times, but it is a certainly that the TN based monitor like those 120Hz models do respond quicker and can produce less ghosting (so long as the pixel overdrive is properly controlled). Whether you can even notice the difference really depends on how much you personally notice ghosting and what type of games you play. May I ask what monitor you currently use and what type of games do you enjoy playing?

Fragg · 1 Dec 2011 at 21:40

I would play the likes of battlefield 3 more so now a days and some rpgs. I currently use an lcd 28" Hannspree HSG1075 TV - a gaming tv made for consoles, just not cutting the visuals for pc.

I think I will take that Dell as i dont actually intend to use it solely for gaming as I do a lot of photography and enjoy using the likes of photoshop

Thanks