First iZ3D Three-Dimensional Gaming Monitor Reviewed (Verdict: Jason Can't See In 3D)

The iZ3D is a 17-inch LCD monitor that's actually composed internally of two displays, the combination of which lets you see games in 3D. How does it do it? Well, by connecting with an nVidia Geforce 7600 GT with two DVI outputs, the iZ3D takes in two separate desktop signals and places them a certain distance, or "degrees", away from each other. By wearing the included glasses—which look more like sunglasses than the cheap paper ones—you can see rockets, text and enemies pop out of your screen.

How did it look? Well, pretty damn good and pretty damn three-dimensional. However, after spending hours tweaking, testing and fiddling, I found out for a definite fact that I cannot see in 3D with this 3D monitor and 3D glasses. But my girlfriend definitely could. Intrigued? Read on for more.

I followed their setup instructions to the letter, and configured all the nVidia graphics settings and monitor settings correctly. After donning the 3D glasses, seen above, all I saw was a fuzzy 2D image thanks to the image offset, but no 3D. Was there something wrong with the setup? No, I don't think so. My girlfriend could see the 3D images just fine. Even after tweaking everything, I, on the other hand, could not. So to review the games, I let her do all the fragging. I still kept on wearing the glasses though.

In Unreal Tournament 2004, things were definitely in 3D. The bots jumped out of the screen, text was raised higher than the background, and weapons were floating in midair. Imagine what you'd see when you go to the 3D rides like Back to the Future in Universal Studios in LA. For myself, all the 3D glasses did was ruin my sense of depth perception. When pointing out that I couldn't see something in 3D, I jabbed my finger into the monitor. Luckily, nothing broke.

In another bundled game, Balance, you roll a ball around a series of mazes. Both the ball and the maze looked 3D, which was actually pretty neat, but looked less cool than Unreal Tournament.

It's easy to turn on and off the 3D-ness of the display. You assign the 3D to a hotkey so you can easily hit 3D mode when you're in game, but exit it when your boss comes in and you have to switch to Excel. Then again, your boss wouldn't buy you a $1299 3D monitor if you're an accountant anyway.

So really, this 3D monitor is only good if you're a gamer and can stand wearing the glasses every time you play. If you are a gamer and you do other things besides gaming, like web browsing or chatting, we'd recommend you get a regular LCD to supplement this. Thanks to the doubled-up internal LCDs, the regular Windows desktop looks kind of fuzzy when compared to my Dell 1907 19-inch LCD. Good for gaming, so-so for other stuff.

The only caveat is that you should definitely make sure you can see the 3D before buying the monitor. If you can't, all it will do is give you—like it gave me—a headache. – Jason Chen

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