We may need to wait a few more months for the 3-D experience to enter our living rooms via stereoscopic televisions from likes of Sony and Panasonic, but you can dive into the third dimension on a laptop right now.
Asus' new G51J 3D is the first consumer notebook to incorporate graphics-maker NVIDIA's acclaimed 3-D viewing technology, dubbed 3D Vision. It's been available for desktops a while, but there have always been plenty of barriers for consumers to negotiate, such as ensuring their PC has a 3-D compatible NVIDIA graphics card, procuring NVIDIA's active shutter glasses and transmitter (which sell for at least $200 on their own), and finding a 120-Hz monitor (there aren't many around, and they're typically pretty pricey).
The $1949 G51J 3D combines all of these hardware elements in a single package and comes with the necessary drivers and a few pieces of 3-D software pre-installed. In other words, it's 3-D-ready right out of the box.
In fact, I was watching stereoscopic test videos-a music concert and a spot for a Nürburgring race documentary-stored on the hard disk within minutes of booting up. The sensation of depth was immediately evident; not quite as natural as the images I recently saw on a prototype Sony 3-D television, but still quite immersive, and at least on par with 3-D movies I've seen in theatres.
Of course, finding your own 3-D content will be tricky. Blu-ray discs with 3-D versions of major studio films will likely start arriving in the next few months, but Asus' notebook doesn't have a Blu-ray player. And unless you happen to have a pricey 3-D camera (like Fujfilm's $700 FinePix REAL 3D W1), the 3-D still image viewing software won't do you much good.
That means that the primary means by which users will take advantage of the notebook's 3-D capabilities will be through PC video games. Hundreds of existing PC games are compatible with NVIDIA's 3-D technology. I tried a few-including Call of Duty: World at War and Resident Evil 5-and the 3-D effects were satisfyingly immersive.
A word of caution, though: Unlike the 3-D technology used in televisions and theatres, NVIDIA's hardware allows users to control depth of field. Cranking it up creates images that appear exceptionally deep, but can also result in double vision and eye strain. Adjusting to the more intense effects seen even at mid-range levels was a bit like acclimating to exceptionally loud music; it can take a while.
Three-dimensional functionality aside, the G51J 3D packs a fair bit of power, though at least one key specification will likely disappoint.
Its Intel Core i7-720QM 1.6-GHz processor is a monster, one of the most powerful mobile CPUs around, and its NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M board is just about the best single-card mobile graphics solution around right now.
These components, combined with an average but acceptable 4GB of memory, ought to suffice for most gamers. I noted a bit of frame stuttering in Call of Duty, but nothing that made me want to stop playing. The Resident Evil 5 benchmark test (which is pre-installed on the hard disk) came back with a solid "B" ranking and an average frame rate of 30.4 frames per second.
However, I wasn't particularly impressed with the screen. I think most PC gamers are likely looking for a monitor with a resolution a bit higher than the G51J 3D's 1366-by-768 pixels. Plus, they're probably hankering for something bigger than this laptop's decidedly average-sized 15.6-inch screen.
And, despite the none-too-big display, it's still a pain to lug around. Tipping the scales at 3.5 kilograms, it's not the sort of notebook one tosses into a bag and forgets about.
These complaints aside, it bears stating that the G5J1 3D is by no means a bad laptop; it's simply singular of purpose and geared for early adopters. If you want a portable, ready-to-play 3-D PC gaming rig, this is your best-and, realistically, only-option. For everyone else, it's a mere curiosity, and perhaps a harbinger of stereoscopic computers to come.