NVIDIA 3D Vision 2 w/ 3D LightBoost Review

NVIDIAs GeForce LAN 6, for those that are not already aware, is a massive LAN party with tournaments, prizes and exhibits run by NVIDIA. If that was not cool enough, they are hosting it on the aircraft carrier USS Hornet in Alameda, California! With NVIDIAs GeForce LAN 6 starting today, NVIDIA was sure to make an announcement, and sure enough they did. Today we are getting a first look at the NVIDIA 3D Vision 2 with NVIDIA 3D LightBoost. NVIDIAs 3D Vision 2 is promised to make an already first-rate and immersive 3D experience even better.

It seems like just a week or so ago that I reviewed NVIDIAs 3D Vision, oh yeah, it was. The main purpose of that article was to show how far the 3D experience had come in the previous 2 years since we first looked at the technology. The large number of games, 3D Blu-ray movies and websites like Youtube and 3DVisionLive.com were some of the new and improved ways to use the NVIDIA 3D Vision kit. Again, I will stress that 3D may not be for everyone; some people for whatever personal reasons are not impressed or interested in the technology. For those that are 3D fans however, the NVIDIA 3D Vision 2 kit could be for you.

The new 3D Vision 2 system brings several new features to the table. First off are the glasses, with 20% larger lenses and a redesigned shape to increase comfort. Next are the screens, growing to a full 27 and integrating the IR transmitter. Finally there is NVIDIAs 3D LightBoost technology which is designed to give a brighter screen and environmental lighting.

NVIDIA 3D Vision 2 still uses the stereoscopic technique for achieving the 3D illusion. For those that are worried that it will not be compatible with equipment already purchased, fear not, the system is fully backwards compatible. The previous versions IR transmitter will work with either revision of the glasses, as will the new monitors. For those with an existing 3D Vision setup, upgrading is just a pair of $99 3D Vision 2 wireless glasses away.

NVIDIA is once again offering a bundle package for the 3D Vision 2 system. The NVIDIA 3D Vision 2 Bundle consists of an ASUS VG278H 27 120hz 3D Gaming LCD and the new NVIDIA 3D Vision 2 stereoscopic glasses. For $699 this bundle will get you a complete 3D Vision experience, using your existing NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 or higher graphics card (a GeForce GTX 500-series card is recommended for the best experience). For those with a 120Hz LCD monitor already, NVIDIA is also offering the 3D Vision 2 wireless kit with the redesigned glasses (and IR transmitter) for the same price as the previous generation at $149.

Lets take a closer look and see if this new 3D Vision bundle is as improved as promised!