Best Bang for the buck solution for ATI / AMD mobile GPU
Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 3:06 pm
I am a long time lurker but didn’t post anything so far (except a couple of goof ups at the chat board . The 3D bug bit me few months ago when I got hold of some anaglyph glasses. I definitely knew about 3D but never considered it to be a serious option (unless you are willing to pay huge bugs). I found anaglyph quite impressive for viewing stills and short videos but I immediately knew that to be able to enjoy 3D fully, I need some real setup. I discussed it with my wife and she suggested to get a 3D TV. But IMO these 3D TVs are overpriced. So I started looking here and there.
I wanted to use my laptop with ATI mobility 5870 card as the source player so my options are limited in terms of 3D monitors. The laptop has only two video outputs, a VGA output and a HDMI output (which I think is HDMI 1.3).
Also I have very limited budget (around $800 because of my self-made logic of 3DTVs being overpriced ). This becomes even a bigger problem as I am not from US and shipment charges the country where I am living are quite high . Anyway I will list down what I have found so far and ask question parralelly as below(I will highlight questions):
For 3D Monitors:
1. CRT monitor with ED glasses: This is not a real option in my case because I cannot find a good (and cheap) ideal CRT monitor (i.e. with min H-sync, Vsync e.t.c) in my country and I know if I don’t get it right, ghosting can be a big problem.
2. IZ3D monitor: Although it’s officially discontinued but I can still get a new IZ3D monitor in around $320 (including shipping) from ebay. This seems to be the best budget option but problem is ghosting. I have seen in different forums that it’s a big problem so I am really hesitant about it.
3.Zalman Monitor: Available at around $540 (21.5"). No ghosting here but the viewing angle is very limited. This can be a problem as I would not be able to watch movies with my wife . But still if the price of this monitor would have been something like IZ3D one, I would have bought. But with $540, I think why not go for a 3D projector! I will discuss it later in the post.
4. Acer HS24H / HN27H: Not really available for international shipping, I mean maybe I can find it on some online shop but the price is very high. Also I don’t know if it will work with my laptop VGA / HDMI1.3 output or not
5. Viewsonic V3D241m: Same as above.
6. Samsung monitor/HDTV T27A750 and T27A950: Available at ebay for $940 & $980. Looks are really cool but the price alone is a deal breaker for me (not to mention that I don’t think it will do 3D with my laptop)
So in terms of 3D monitor IZ3D and Zalman monitor are possible option for me. So guys what are you recommendation. Yes I know its ultimately my decision but I want to know if the ghosting in IZ3D and viewing angle in Zlaman are really that bad.
If you say yes then I will move to next section, that is to get a “best bang for bug” 3D projector.
3D DLP projector:
This is fairly simple or is it? Lets have a look:
1. Acer H5360 / Optoma HD66 / Viewsonic 6531W: These are the top contenders and I think fairly equal in terms of performance (although if I get in detail specs there are few difference). I can have Acer H5360 for $635, Optoma HD66 for $730, Viewsonic a bit more than HD66. What I don’t understand is why Acer is cheaper than Optoma/Viewsonic. I it the segments of color wheel, speed or anything else.
Also as Acer H5360 is not supported on AMD official page, according to some posts, will I need driver file from one of the supported projectors?
I found some posts where a guy had both Acer and Optoma projectors and compared them side by side. But the posts were inconclusive. Can somebody elaborate on this. I mean do the extra $100 on optoma really worth?
2. Optoma GT720, Benq W600+, Optoma Pro 350W: Not considering those as they cost around same as Acer H5360/HD66 and reviews are not clear. I would like to know the impression form somebody has got one of these here in MTBS.
3. XGA projectors: These are the main ones that are making me hesitate to go for top contenders. Just because of the reason that I can find really good deals on Ebay for some of these. For example Viewsonic PJD6211 (refurbished) for around $410 e.t.c. So I keep wondering how big is the difference between XGA and 720P. Can someone please help me here?
Ok now assume I got my DLP projector so next are glasses. Currently I am eying those cheap blue “ultra clear” glasses, which will cost me around $200 for two pairs. I have heard good things about those. Whats your opinion. In case you guys say its not ok than I will go ahead with optoma glasses (cost around $275 for two pairs)
Lets move further to the software. This is the most confusing part for me. I think I should devide it in two sections:
Software for 3D movies:
1. Cyberlink power Dvd10 mark II ultra super –whatever: I was very happy to find a thread in which somebody with ATI card mentioned powerdvd10 with 120hz page flip mode works very good for him. But when I red further, I found that this mode is no longer ther. I checked it further and its for sure that the only mode that exist now in powerdvd10 are anaglygh, HDTV checkerboard, Interlaced modes, Nvidia mode and few HDMI1.4 mode. Does this means that powerdvd10 is no longer an option for me? Or can I still use some other modes (I mean will the mode “HDMI1.4 HD TV - 720p 60Hz” work with my Hdmi 1.3)
2. Stereoscopic player: Suitable for 3D videos/dvd but no Blu Ray. As I will be using my Laptop so I think I will manage to find a workaround. As per my knowledge “software page flipping” mode is to be used with dlp projectors. I have seen threads which say that because quad buffer has not been enabled by ATI, there are sync issue with software page flipping. I want to know if quad buffer is still not activated in latest ATI drivers. Also how big the sync issue is is. Is this unbearable? For example how many times will I have to press re-sync button during an average movie.
Also can somebody please tell me will quad buffer even work (with registry hack or updated drivers) with my mobility 5870 card.
In addition there is another output in stereoscopic player which is called “Open GL Quad Buffer”. Is it possible to softmod my card to professional card and use this output?
I know that if quad buffer is not available then there is a workarround by using ED dongle and interlaced output from software. But I would like to avoid it because i think interlaced output will affect picture qulity.
Software for 3D gamming:
I will have to go with IZ3D with its “120 hz stereo” output. But again as per my last info this has some sync issue until the quad buffer is activated (or registry hack is successful) . Here also I want to how much problematic it really is.
Finally the screen:
This is my last priority. If everything is working then I may buy a good quality screen. Until then I plan to project on a wall or on blackout cloth
In the end If the projectors turns out to be more expensive, I may revert to my wife's suggestion of 3DTV.
Thank you for bearing with my really long post.
UPDATE Jun 24, 2011:
I finally went ahead with Optoma HD66 + DLP glasses, and so far I am loving it. Please see post number 10 for more details.
I wanted to use my laptop with ATI mobility 5870 card as the source player so my options are limited in terms of 3D monitors. The laptop has only two video outputs, a VGA output and a HDMI output (which I think is HDMI 1.3).
Also I have very limited budget (around $800 because of my self-made logic of 3DTVs being overpriced ). This becomes even a bigger problem as I am not from US and shipment charges the country where I am living are quite high . Anyway I will list down what I have found so far and ask question parralelly as below(I will highlight questions):
For 3D Monitors:
1. CRT monitor with ED glasses: This is not a real option in my case because I cannot find a good (and cheap) ideal CRT monitor (i.e. with min H-sync, Vsync e.t.c) in my country and I know if I don’t get it right, ghosting can be a big problem.
2. IZ3D monitor: Although it’s officially discontinued but I can still get a new IZ3D monitor in around $320 (including shipping) from ebay. This seems to be the best budget option but problem is ghosting. I have seen in different forums that it’s a big problem so I am really hesitant about it.
3.Zalman Monitor: Available at around $540 (21.5"). No ghosting here but the viewing angle is very limited. This can be a problem as I would not be able to watch movies with my wife . But still if the price of this monitor would have been something like IZ3D one, I would have bought. But with $540, I think why not go for a 3D projector! I will discuss it later in the post.
4. Acer HS24H / HN27H: Not really available for international shipping, I mean maybe I can find it on some online shop but the price is very high. Also I don’t know if it will work with my laptop VGA / HDMI1.3 output or not
5. Viewsonic V3D241m: Same as above.
6. Samsung monitor/HDTV T27A750 and T27A950: Available at ebay for $940 & $980. Looks are really cool but the price alone is a deal breaker for me (not to mention that I don’t think it will do 3D with my laptop)
So in terms of 3D monitor IZ3D and Zalman monitor are possible option for me. So guys what are you recommendation. Yes I know its ultimately my decision but I want to know if the ghosting in IZ3D and viewing angle in Zlaman are really that bad.
If you say yes then I will move to next section, that is to get a “best bang for bug” 3D projector.
3D DLP projector:
This is fairly simple or is it? Lets have a look:
1. Acer H5360 / Optoma HD66 / Viewsonic 6531W: These are the top contenders and I think fairly equal in terms of performance (although if I get in detail specs there are few difference). I can have Acer H5360 for $635, Optoma HD66 for $730, Viewsonic a bit more than HD66. What I don’t understand is why Acer is cheaper than Optoma/Viewsonic. I it the segments of color wheel, speed or anything else.
Also as Acer H5360 is not supported on AMD official page, according to some posts, will I need driver file from one of the supported projectors?
I found some posts where a guy had both Acer and Optoma projectors and compared them side by side. But the posts were inconclusive. Can somebody elaborate on this. I mean do the extra $100 on optoma really worth?
2. Optoma GT720, Benq W600+, Optoma Pro 350W: Not considering those as they cost around same as Acer H5360/HD66 and reviews are not clear. I would like to know the impression form somebody has got one of these here in MTBS.
3. XGA projectors: These are the main ones that are making me hesitate to go for top contenders. Just because of the reason that I can find really good deals on Ebay for some of these. For example Viewsonic PJD6211 (refurbished) for around $410 e.t.c. So I keep wondering how big is the difference between XGA and 720P. Can someone please help me here?
Ok now assume I got my DLP projector so next are glasses. Currently I am eying those cheap blue “ultra clear” glasses, which will cost me around $200 for two pairs. I have heard good things about those. Whats your opinion. In case you guys say its not ok than I will go ahead with optoma glasses (cost around $275 for two pairs)
Lets move further to the software. This is the most confusing part for me. I think I should devide it in two sections:
Software for 3D movies:
1. Cyberlink power Dvd10 mark II ultra super –whatever: I was very happy to find a thread in which somebody with ATI card mentioned powerdvd10 with 120hz page flip mode works very good for him. But when I red further, I found that this mode is no longer ther. I checked it further and its for sure that the only mode that exist now in powerdvd10 are anaglygh, HDTV checkerboard, Interlaced modes, Nvidia mode and few HDMI1.4 mode. Does this means that powerdvd10 is no longer an option for me? Or can I still use some other modes (I mean will the mode “HDMI1.4 HD TV - 720p 60Hz” work with my Hdmi 1.3)
2. Stereoscopic player: Suitable for 3D videos/dvd but no Blu Ray. As I will be using my Laptop so I think I will manage to find a workaround. As per my knowledge “software page flipping” mode is to be used with dlp projectors. I have seen threads which say that because quad buffer has not been enabled by ATI, there are sync issue with software page flipping. I want to know if quad buffer is still not activated in latest ATI drivers. Also how big the sync issue is is. Is this unbearable? For example how many times will I have to press re-sync button during an average movie.
Also can somebody please tell me will quad buffer even work (with registry hack or updated drivers) with my mobility 5870 card.
In addition there is another output in stereoscopic player which is called “Open GL Quad Buffer”. Is it possible to softmod my card to professional card and use this output?
I know that if quad buffer is not available then there is a workarround by using ED dongle and interlaced output from software. But I would like to avoid it because i think interlaced output will affect picture qulity.
Software for 3D gamming:
I will have to go with IZ3D with its “120 hz stereo” output. But again as per my last info this has some sync issue until the quad buffer is activated (or registry hack is successful) . Here also I want to how much problematic it really is.
Finally the screen:
This is my last priority. If everything is working then I may buy a good quality screen. Until then I plan to project on a wall or on blackout cloth
In the end If the projectors turns out to be more expensive, I may revert to my wife's suggestion of 3DTV.
Thank you for bearing with my really long post.
UPDATE Jun 24, 2011:
I finally went ahead with Optoma HD66 + DLP glasses, and so far I am loving it. Please see post number 10 for more details.