ASUS VG236H 23-inch 3D Display Review: 120Hz is the Future
by Brian Klug on August 7, 2010 2:48 AM ESTLegacy Titles, 'Good' Games: Work with 3D, but hardly Flawless
The most common problem in older titles was that crosshairs rendered at screen depth. Two titles where this really stuck out were Battlefield Bad Company 2, and to a lesser extent games running Valve’s Source engine.
This crosshair in Day of Defeat: Source renders at screen depth sometimes, deep 3D other times
To be fair, NVIDIA offers the ability to enable a 3D Laser Sight for certain games, which replaces the distracting normal cursor in some games.
In general, it’s distracting when things are being rendered at screen depth. A good example is how in games like TF2 or DOD:S, kill notifications in the top right, chat text, weapon selection, and players names all render in 2D at screen depth. You can get used to it, but it looks out of place. There’s also the occasional bit of content that just isn’t 3D as well.
When you fire up a title, NVIDIA gives you an overlay in the bottom right with information about the game’s compatibility, as well as what settings should be enabled or disabled for optimal 3D quality. The interesting bit about 3D is that you can really get a feel for when game engines are doing hackety things like rendering HDR at screen depth instead of in 3D - all these little flaws show in 3D mode on older titles.
The other problem is simple - hold a weapon up to a wall, and you’ll get the perception that your gun is going into the wall, which is actually closer to you. This is that age old clipping problem rearing its ugly head, now in 3D. It’s impossibly difficult to describe, but weapons will appear to dive into materials that they can’t. In the past, with 2D, this wasn’t a problem, but the result just looks off in 3D.
See how the MG42 goes into the wood? It's even weirder when it appears to have depth.
The reality is that Excellent and Good rated titles work very well, but just haven’t been designed for 3D. The result is that while the game content is 3D and looks beautiful, things like menus, crosshairs, and information all on the edges makes the experience a bit jarring.
NVIDIA 3D Vision Ready: Play These in 3D
But what about NVIDIA’s 3D Vision Ready titles? New games designed for 3D? I decided to try a little experiment. I decided I would play Metro 2033 through, beginning to end, entirely in 3D. I would then repeat the same thing in 2D and see what I thought.
I want a 120Hz 3D monitor and kit of my own now.
The difference in the 3D experience here compared to ‘good’ or even ‘excellent’ titles is mind-blowing. What makes Metro 2033 a particularly good example is how everything is 3D. The initial menu screen is 3D, everything is 3D. There isn’t a jarring difference between content that obviously was never intended to be viewed in 3D and the rest of the game - in Metro 2033 it just works.
Metro 2033 in 3D: Everything is 3D in this menu
Things like dust are entirely volumetric, not just 2D speckles. There’s depth and detail on weapons, objects, and textures. The game is just completely immersive in a different way. It’s difficult to explain just how much more engaging this game feels in 3D compared to 2D. Suffice it to say things like the very final level where you’re running on floating platforms or in a maze away from the dark ones, or up in Ostankino tower, are amazingly different and trippy. Honestly, Metro 2033 in 3D is close to if not entirely NVIDIA 3D Vision’s killer app. 3D vision does exact a considerable price on framerate though. With Metro 2033 I settled on 1680x1050 on High with the DX10 codepath to get playable framerates. Pushing the GTX 470 much further reduced FPS too much.
The only caveat which remains is the same as found in other 3D systems - you do lose some brightness, and you’ve got to wear glasses, which is annoying if you already wear glasses to correct your vision.
Losing brightness through the shutter glasses
As I’ll show in a second, the VG236 is indeed a very bright display, but you really need every last nit to keep things lit up when in 3D mode. Just by nature of using shutter glasses, everything gets dimmer. I wouldn’t say it was a problem when playing 3D games, but I did increase gamma in Metro 2033 just a bit because it’s such a dark game most of the time.
For me, the bottom line is this. Virtually every game is going to benefit from a 120Hz panel because you won’t get visible tearing until your framerate is over 120 fps. In older games where even on maximum everything you’re well over 100, it’s nice to actually see some of those frames. To that extent, games do appear smoother to me visually. For 3D content, 3D Vision Ready titles are a whole different level of immersion compared to older titles that - while they do work - have distracting 2D elements. With time, hopefully more games will be developed with 3D in mind and lose the distracting bits that otherwise diminish the experience.
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Gris - Monday, August 9, 2010 - link
"Manufacturers need to create circularly polarized monitors before it is really usable."I think you may be right, (if that's even viable), but more so for tv's than computer monitors where viewing in a vertical position is more the norm.
zoxo - Monday, August 9, 2010 - link
Yes indeed, but why settle for a half-solution?But I agree, that anything that uses passive glasses is a huge step-up. Those active glasses drive me nuts.
ChongDOTcom - Monday, August 9, 2010 - link
I guess this display is quite popular, since it's sold out at nearly every online retailer. The only site I could find that has some in stock was Best Buy, where I luckily just ordered one last night.I was originally going to get the Alienware Optx, but that's the same price but doesn't come with the glasses. It looks a little cooler, but they seem extremely similar. I don't even need the glasses, though (I have an ATI card). I'll likely sell them.
Anybody know any workarounds to get 3D to work on this screen? I'd be willing to purchase another 3D kit.
meldog11 - Tuesday, August 10, 2010 - link
i think most of you are missing the point...the point is true functioning 3-d gaming on almost 24 inches of landscape @ true 1080p.....i hear you throwing out a huge wish list of things that arent available now nor where they available before....but this is closer to your wish list of demands, at a price point that 3 months ago you could only get 22 inches and 1680 x 1050.....what i took from this whole review is that the reviewer was overwhelmingly impressed with the 3d technology...meaning it actually "works" and a worthy skeptic is converted!...so if your not a fan of 3d technology then fine, if you wont be impressed with a new level of immersion in the games that you play fine, if close to 24 inches of landscape dont improve on the previous 22 inches of landscape fine.....but make no mistake about it this is a definite step in the right direction in terms of gameplay and performance for an imerging tech and at a price point that is impressive or at least competative to its predeccesors......just my humble opinionRaZz! - Thursday, August 12, 2010 - link
Nice review. In the conclusion you mention the Acer and Alienware monitors - in my opinion the LG W2363D should be named in this league as well.Since reviews of these monitors are cluttered all over the web on different sites with different test methods etc, it's pretty hard to really compare the monitors respectively the results from these tests.
I'd really love to see these 120Hz monitors tested with the same test methods - compared from one source.
Anandtech would do a lot of people a favor with a 120Hz monitor roundup ;) Many forums have threads going on with exact this topic and a lot of people are unsure which monitor is better. Facts and detailed field reports are very rare, even though some of these monitors are out there for quite some time already.
On a side note: there have been a lot of issues reported for the Acer, like too aggressive Overdrive which makes fonts too sharp and hardly readable as well as green and red coronas when doing fast turns in games. Videos of these problems can be found on Youtube for example.
Sabresiberian - Thursday, August 12, 2010 - link
I'm sooo glad to read an up-to-date article that describes the 120Hz LCD monitor in a discreet state. The previous articles I read (back when they first came out ) left me with the impression that they weren't really 120 Hz, just 60Hz gimmicked-up, and not much better. Brian has answered that question and I am thrilled to know we aren't entirely hampered with 60Hz as a standard for future video.Looking forward to a real quality unit along the lines of the Dell U2711 or HP ZR30w in true 120 Hz capability. Better yet, true 240 Hz so that each eye can live with 120 Hz in a 3D setup! Heh.
Orip - Saturday, August 14, 2010 - link
Seems to be doing whatever the Asus VG236H is doing (except that the 2233RZ is 22" but is also a 16:10).What am I missing?
Orip - Saturday, August 14, 2010 - link
Being keen on the sanctity of my fps I'm still using my good ole' trusted Iiyama CRT.Now that LCDs are nailing down 120mhz I could finally grab one but there seem to be no concensus as to where one's money would be best spent.
The samsung is cheaper by far out of all the 120mhz LCDs out there (atleast in israel that's the case).
A lil' help here would be welcome :)
Thanks! :)
fingerbob69 - Tuesday, August 17, 2010 - link
As the subject line says 120hz ips panels are the way to go; colour reprodution and fluidity of movement... with no issue regarding viewing angles.I have one of those NEC ea231wmi panels and I have to say it's fantastic. I play a lot of fps games and have not noticed any colour distortion, left to right, ghosting or lag and I've had no problem with the anti glare coating. Maybe I'm just too easily pleased!
DarkUltra - Thursday, August 19, 2010 - link
I don't see any black level impressions. Just that contrast is good and MEtro 2033 needs a bump in the gamma setting in 3D mode. Other reviews have found the black level on this monitor bad:The display was equally unable to separate very dark grays from absolute black. As a result, we had a difficult time seeing what was happening in the Blu-ray version of Watchmen’s opening fight sequence.
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/reviews/asus_vg23...
This is not acceptable to me. I don't wanto mess with gamma settings in games and reduce the color representation further. I guess I'll get the LG W2363D or wait for a 16:10 or LED backlit 120hz monitor.
The other 120hz monitors have other issues, AW2310 have blurring and smearing in 2d mode despite the 120hz performance, GD245HQ have serious sharpness issues, the others are "only" 22" panels.