Plz suggest budget rig for 3d gaming

[kriss332]

Hey guys, m new to 3d era as well MTBS3D. M hav planned for i3-530, basically for gaming. Is theh ny specific GPU required for 3d ? I wanna use HMD for better immersion. I dont bother for good looks of HMD. Let it be heavy or bulky. Just i need good quality image. Not interested in head tracking. Plz suggest for a range upto 300$.
What do u suggest out of a HMD & 3D monitor, which is a better choice?
Many thanx in advance.

[cybereality]

If you are looking to get an HMD for $300, then only really the VR920 is worth looking at. Its the only headset on the market with any kind of modern support for 3D drivers. You can use it with the iz3D driver. It works ok, and I had a lot of fun with it at first, but after I got a 22" 3D monitor I barely use it anymore. Although the 3D effect is really nice (and ghost free), the virtual screen size is not very large and its not nearly as immersive as you would imagine it to be. I would estimate the screen size appears like a 14" laptop screen at a foot or two away. Also, with a native resolution of 640x480 its not as detailed as you would like. Because of this text is hard to read and its difficult to navigate Windows with it (so you constantly have to switch between HMD and monitor to play games). Its not exactly a bad buy for the price, but if you have more money to spend you might be better off with a 3D monitor. The monitor can also have a much higher resolution and is overall a more comfortable experience. Personally, I use the Zalman Trimon which I think offers very good bang-for-the-buck. It seems harder to find the 22" model anymore (they were selling for $300) but they also have 1080P models in 21.5" and 24" but they are around $400-500. They will also work with iz3d drivers, but have the added benefit of working with the DDD drivers and also 3D Blu-Ray using PowerDVD10 or TotalMedia Theater 3.

In terms of graphics card you want something decent, but you don't need the super high-end. Keep in mind that to render in stereo there is usually a drop in performance of 30-50% versus 2D. For if you see a benchmark online that says a card will get 90FPS, it will only get like 50FPS in 3D. I use a GTX 285 and it works great for most games at moderate to high settings. Something like the GTX 465 would also probably be sufficient (and help with 3D Blu-Ray playback if you are interested in that). For CPU, anything dual core 2.4Ghz or better will probably work. RAM is not so important but its cheap so you probably want at least 4GB. Other than that you may want to do some research into OSes depending what solution you go with. I remember the VR920 had some compatibility issues with Windows 7 and 64-bit but I am not sure if they fixed those. The Zalman Trimon should have better compatibility.

[Dom]

Did you consider getting a 3d ready projector? I really want a HMD display but am waiting for something everyone else thinks is worthwhile using like 24/7. You may want to choose a polarized setup like the Iz3d monitors that are somewhat ok and still selling or Zalman Trimon too. The glasses won't cost as much. Like Cybereality said Vuzix HMD are the only company that sells decent HMD displays for around 300-400 dollars. They actually use these head displays in real office VR programs and research with the P5 glove.

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[kriss332]

thanx alots. like cyberreality said for VR HMD, u hav used it. does it give an immersive feel like being in that world? coz since on a monitor, the issue is of small screen. u cant hav a feel of being surrounded by the game,as u c the world around u 2. but in HMD i feel immersion wud b good.sorry, though i hav never used it. u said the screen appearing is just like 17'' monitor, disappointing! which 1 is better (real feeling) according to u? its better 2 go for 3d monitor if HMD doesnt stand upto expectations.but u know what, the curiosity of having HMD is carrying me away, & may b i land up disappointed after buying HMD. i dont hav a huge pocketmoney, thats y m digging forums and yor minds too, sorry for that. or shud i just wait for some more time for better HMD product (a bang for buck) ? how do u feel in comparing both products - HMD or Monitor? i'll go accordingly. thanx

[cybereality]

Personally I think a 3D monitor is a better use of your money but an HMD is cool for novelty factor. You can check a review I wrote about it here:
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