Zalman ZM-M220W Black 22" 5ms Widescreen 3D LCD Monitor 400 cd/m2 1000:1 Built-in Speakers - Retail

Best 3D monitor on the market period.

Reviewed By: cybereality on 8/31/2009

Tech Level: high - Ownership: more than 1 year

Pros: This is hands-down the best 3D monitor money can buy and a pretty decent 2D monitor as well. It works using polarized glasses, same as in the movie theater (in fact, the RealD glasses you get in the movies will work with it). The picture quality is nice and sharp, colors pop, with almost no ghosting what-so-ever. The 3D effect is simply amazing, it has to be seen to be believed. For the price and the quality I would definitely choose this over the Nvidia 3D Vision. It has great driver support, works with Nvidia drivers on Vista (for free) and also with Nvidia/ATI and XP/Vista using either the IZ3D drivers or the TriDef drivers. I have used lots of 3D solutions: anaglyph glasses, shutter glasses, HMDs, polarized projection, etc. and in terms of home solutions it doesn't get much better than this. For the price this is selling for it is a steal (I paid over seven bills when it first came out). Been using it for a year and I have no complaints. You will not be disappointed.

Cons: It is an interlaced solution so in 3D mode you lose some of the resolution. In practice I hardly notice this at all, but if you are trying to read small text in 3d that can be a problem. The image is also a tad darker in 3d mode, but that goes the same for any 3D monitor. The viewing angle is also somewhat limiting. So while it looks great if you are sitting right in front of it, you cannot move around too much or you lose the 3D effect. Other than these minor issues I have had no problems at all.

Other Thoughts: If you have seen any of the recent 3D movies in the theaters you will have a good picture of what 3D games will look like on this monitor. I have played Half-Life 2, Crysis, Bioshock, Unreal2004, and many other games and they all look sick with this kit. Even old titles like UT2004 take on new life in stereo 3d. Its like you are in the game. Rockets wizzing past your face, explosions and debris flying out of the screen, large spanning vistas in vivid detail. This is what PC gaming is all about, you will not get this experience on the consoles. Be the envy of all your friends and get something that not everyone has. Really you can't go wrong at this price.

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