To 3D or Not - Eye strain on 1080p vs 900p

Hi there,

I'm looking at two M17x R3 systems. The specs are 2630QM and 3D with GTX 580M and 2630QM with 900p screen and GTX 580M. The 3D one is about $350 - $400 more than the 900p.

Should I go 3D or go with the 900p screen? I like the lower resolution. I could never get used to 1080p screens on 17" screens before. Another benefit of the 900p screen would be that I would be able to max out games for many more years compared to 1080p screen. Is 3D really worth it? Is 3D going to be such a jaw dropping experience? Does it cause headaches? bad for the eyes? What you guys think? Any help regarding this would be great!

Thank you

 

Do not get the 900p screen. It is of much lower quality than either of the 1080p screens.

Personally, I don't think 3D is worth it at all. That is why I got the non-3D 60 Hz 1080p screen. Given that you seem committed the the 580M, it's not that much of a financial jump from the 60Hz to the 120Hz screen, so you might give it a shot. Or, you can do as I did and get the 6990M with the 60 Hz 1080p screen and save a bunch of $.

 

3d is fun. And kind of experimental. You might find yourself not using the 3d feature much but it's always nice having the extra option. Keep in mind optimus doesn't work on 3d machines.

 

I haven't tried 3d on an m17x specifically, but i have tried it both in home and store environments on a variety of very nice LCD and plasma tvs, and I personally have never been able to watch 3d with shutter glasses (consumer type) without getting a headache from the flickering.

3d at the movies with passive (polarized) glasses does not give me a headache, fwiw.

I too went with the 1080p non-3d screen with a 6990 for the combo of good screen and saving $$$ while getting 98% the performance.

 

it gave me headaches after 30min+, but that could just be me.

 

Follow the 20/20/20 rule, every 20 minutes look away from your screen for 20 seconds at something 20 yards away and that helps reduce eye strain. Or just get yourself some PC glasses.

Also reduce the brightness level of your screen and increase text font size to reduce eyestrain and also supposedly play in a well lit room. However that's what Eye Docs recommend to most people but I don't use this as I have been gaming since about 8, I have gotten used to playing in the dark with small text font sizes. 1080p will reduce the font size a tad but you can always increase it.

 

3d maybe fine down the line, next 1-2 models, so Dell can work out the kinks and improve on the technology. for now, i rather not have 3d, especially when you need to wear those goofy glasses.