Nvidia or AMD for 3D?

[HammerSaints]

Hi all.

I’m new here and to 3D and will be getting a 3D TV after Christmas, the LG 42LF652V.

I will be connecting it to my PC via a HDMI 1.4 cable and into either an Nvidia GTX 960 or a ATI R9 380.

My primary reason for getting a 3D TV is for Blu-Rays but I recently found out that one of the few games I play, World of Warcraft has a 3D mode and I would love to try that out.

So for World of Warcraft and 3D PC gaming which would you recommend, Nvidia or AMD?

Thank you.

[cybereality]

Either will work (mostly). With Nvidia you get the Nvidia 3DTV Play software, and with AMD you would use the TriDef DDD Ignition driver. Nvidia is typically more restrictive, and certain TVs won't work for no good reason, while AMD HD3D supports all displays that adhere to the standard HDMI 1.4a 3D. Keep in mind that certain games will support one or the other natively, while most will work with both through injection (not developer controlled). So, for example, Max Payne 3 supports Nvidia, while Tomb Raider supports AMD natively. For WoW, it looks like it may be an Nvidia feature. If you use AMD, you can still play but there may some some weird things that aren't perfect.

[HammerSaints]

Taking into consideration what you posted and looking at this post comparison from 2011 http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/tridef-st ... 85-22.html I would think AMD would be the safe choice even if WoW is natively Nvidia.

But would you recommend one over the other based on software, drivers, current support by AMD/Nvidia e.t.c?

Thank you.

[cybereality]

Well if you were getting a computer monitor, I would recommend Nvidia. That is because the 3D Vision 2 glasses, and monitor choices, are second to none.

However, for an HDTV, you are using the TV manufacturer glasses and really the only difference is the software.

I think it could go either way. Personally I'd say the AMD route may be a safer bet (in the event your TV is not compatible with Nvidia 3DTV Play) but the choice is yours.

[HammerSaints]

Ok, Thanks.

Sorry for all the questions as I really know nothing about all this and will be getting the graphics card before the TV so need to make sure.

I spoke to someone from Nvidia earlier and they guarenteed me that my LG 42LF652V works with 3DTV Play.

This is an answer I received from someone else online "AMD 380 only works with Ignition, while 960 will work with both Ignition and 3D Vision. I suggest getting 960, and using 1080p EDID modification for passive 1080p HDTVs, rather than inferior 3DTV Play. Note that for 1080p gaming, 3DTV Play has more lag than Optimized for NVIDIA GeForce (enabled with EDID mod)

Does that make sense to you?

Thanks again for your help.

[cybereality]

Ah, yes. That makes sense. I didn't Google the model number, but now I understand.

So that TV is passive 3D (FPR) which means it can accept an interleaved 3D signal, in addition to HDMI 1.4a 3D (which is what I was talking about above). That means with an Nvidia card you can use BOTH TriDef and Nvidia drivers.

The EDID hack makes the computer think your TV is a different model, one that supports the regular 3D Vision driver (as opposed to the 3DTV Play software). Which allows you to run at 1080p 60Hz (normally it's restricted to 24Hz for movies).

So an Nvidia card may be a better option for you.

[HammerSaints]

Thank you.

GTX 960 ordered.

I do have one last question if I may?

I have just read a webpage from 2010 that says the EDID hack only works via DVI Mode and that you have to sacrifice the HDMI connection and it's audio.

I planned to use the HDMI and it's audio. I was going to go TV - HDMI - GTX960 | Sound Card - Optical cable - 5.1 surround Speakers So the HDMI carried the audio from the PC to the TV, will I not be able to do this now or has a fix been found since 2010?

Thank you.

[cybereality]

Honestly, I would not bother with the EDID hack.

It can mess up certain features (if your real TV has different modes than are in the "fake" EDID you flash it with), and you could also potentially brick your TV if you do it wrong.

[HammerSaints]

This one doesn't flash the TV.

When you connect the TV to the PC the driver downloads the TV's EDID to the PC and stores it there.

What this mod does is you take a different EDID and replace the TV's downloaded one on your computer and trick the PC into thinking the TV is a different one, in my case the Acer HR274H.

The Acer HR274H EDID apparently allows audio through HDMI and runs 3D games better than 3DTV Play.

At least this is how I understand it but remember I knew nothing 4 days ago

Thank you for all your help.

I would never have got here iif it wasn't for your thoughts.

[cybereality]

Ah, OK. Have fun!