New headset : Pimax Crystal

Tykey · 1 Jun 2022 at 14:06

Pimax held a conference at 9pm last night to announce a forthcoming new hmd:

this vid is a summary.

Pimax Crystal specs are impressive : 42 ppd @ 120 fov / 35ppd @ 140 fov, upto 160hz refresh rate, HDR, QLED, pcvr and wireless capability, comes with inside out tracking and q2 like controllers, a faceplate can be bought to allow the use of basestations and knuckles. Q3 2022 launch, $1899.

On paper it looks great but imo the downer is its pimax. Their track record isn't great.

glenimp617 · 1 Jun 2022 at 14:31

$1899 Jesus

I honestly think Sony are gonna pull a blinder this Christmas (or whenever theirs comes out). If it works on PC, then damn!

Specs look good, but yeah, pimax....and that price

Tykey · 1 Jun 2022 at 15:02

TheOracle said:
$1899 Jesus

I honestly think Sony are gonna pull a blinder this Christmas (or whenever theirs comes out). If it works on PC, then damn!

Specs look good, but yeah, pimax....and that price

Yes it's expensive, bit cheaper than the varjo aero (its obvious competitor) though (and much cheaper if u factor in u don't need basestations & controllers). It's by some margin the highest spec hmd so i suppose u get what you pay for. But as yet it's nothing more than specs on a sheet.

Unseul · 1 Jun 2022 at 15:51

TheOracle said:
$1899 Jesus

I honestly think Sony are gonna pull a blinder this Christmas (or whenever theirs comes out). If it works on PC, then damn!

Specs look good, but yeah, pimax....and that price

Psvr2 isn't due until after Christmas I believe.

andybird123 · 1 Jun 2022 at 18:43

I gave pimax $900 and got a paperweight in return, nothing on god's green earth would ever convince me to try them again. Another great big laundry list of "features" that will all be broken when/if you ever get anything delivered.

andybird123 · 1 Jun 2022 at 18:44

tyke_ said:
But as yet it's nothing more than specs on a sheet.

That's actually all they ever do, their actual hardware never matches up with the specs they state

hyperseven · 1 Jun 2022 at 19:18

andybird123 said:
I gave pimax $900 and got a paperweight in return, nothing on god's green earth would ever convince me to try them again. Another great big laundry list of "features" that will all be broken when/if you ever get anything delivered.

Didn't know Chris Roberts was in charge of Pimax.

ICDP · 1 Jun 2022 at 19:33

I am no fan of Pimax and their business practices. I ordered an 8KX when they were on pre-order for release in three months and ended up waiting a year. Also had to wait another 8 months for the deluxe audio updgrade I had paid for almost two years previously.

What I will say is that the Pimax 8KX is a perfectly good HMD, it does exactly what they promised with good clear visuals and excellent FOV. Poor customer sales but good hardware to be fair.

I will keep my eye on this as Pimax are primising a rebate on the full price of an 8KX if you bought one and agree to send it back for an trade-in.

Tykey · 2 Jun 2022 at 11:20

ICDP said:
I will keep my eye on this as Pimax are primising a rebate on the full price of an 8KX if you bought one and agree to send it back for an trade-in.

please note they're only offering trade in against the forthcoming 12K (supposedly Q4 2022 release), the Crystal has no trade in deal.

andybird123 · 5 Jun 2022 at 20:45

ICDP said:
What I will say is that the Pimax 8KX is a perfectly good HMD, it does exactly what they promised with good clear visuals and excellent FOV

For me it didn't, the sweet spot was absolutely tiny and despite them advertising 60ipd the minimum the lenses actually physically went to was 66mm, my ipd is 64 so I could have either one eye or the other in a sweet spot, but not both, which made it impossible to use without raging headaches

Tykey · 26 Aug 2022 at 09:04

it's materialising!

drakulton · 20 Sep 2022 at 21:15

Zeeflyboy · 3 Nov 2022 at 08:45

So did anyone preorder?

I chucked one in, they were only asking for a reservation fee rather than the whole lot upfront so thought I’d take a punt… If they can deliver on the claims it will potentially be a great headset, at least until the index 2 comes out anyway!

Pimax Crystal | Pimax

Crystal

pimax.com

glenimp617 · 3 Nov 2022 at 12:28

Zeeflyboy said:
So did anyone preorder?

I chucked one in, they were only asking for a reservation fee rather than the whole lot upfront so thought I’d take a punt… If they can deliver on the claims it will potentially be a great headset, at least until the index 2 comes out anyway!

Pimax Crystal | Pimax

Crystal

pimax.com

I need to seriously upgrade my GPU before even thinking about my next headset

Zeeflyboy · 3 Nov 2022 at 13:48

For sure - actually a reason I'm thinking the Crystal is probably a better choice than the 12k would be anyway.

Here's hoping that as more of these headsets with eyetracking arrive (there are a few now/soon available), games will finally start natively supporting dynamic foveated rendering which would have more performance impact than eg OpenXR toolkit can achieve with it.

But yeah, I'll be watching AMD's announcement tonight with interest!

drakulton · 3 Nov 2022 at 14:55

TheOracle said:
I need to seriously upgrade my GPU before even thinking about my next headset

And your PSU, and your PSU cables.

It appears that cablemod are launching a braided asbestos range.

glenimp617 · 3 Nov 2022 at 15:36

drakulton said:
And your PSU, and your PSU cables.

It appears that cablemod are launching a braided asbestos range.

Yeah, I don't want to go down the slippery slope. I'm hoping AMD comes out with something which will give me the frames I want using the existing power connectors I have now.

Tykey · 3 Nov 2022 at 15:46

Zeeflyboy said:
So did anyone preorder?

I chucked one in, they were only asking for a reservation fee rather than the whole lot upfront so thought I’d take a punt… If they can deliver on the claims it will potentially be a great headset, at least until the index 2 comes out anyway!

Pimax Crystal | Pimax

Crystal

pimax.com

I very nearly did but....didn't. Like you say it's only $30 upfront which can probably be refunded if feedback is poor in the upcoming Crystal public demo's (scheduled for Nov and Dec). I've decided i'm gonna wait for the 12K as i have an 8KX to trade in so it makes more financial sense in my situation. But if Crystal reviews are really good i could be tempted, on paper it's comfortably the best hmd around at the moment.

Zeeflyboy · 3 Nov 2022 at 15:52

I’m afraid that the 12k will bring any current or near future GPU to its knees in the games I play… my thinking is that the Crystal provides a pretty substantial FoV and PPI upgrade over my G2 or Pico 4, without setting me back 2 GPU generations in terms of performance with dynamic foveated rendering probably offsetting at least some of that extra resolution.

Must admit I’m not a huge fan of that enormous form factor though, how do you get on with the 8KX in terms of becoming what can only be described as a techno hammerhead shark? Do you notice the size of the thing when wearing it?

drakulton · 3 Nov 2022 at 15:56

Zeeflyboy said:
I’m afraid that the 12k will bring any current or near future GPU to its knees in the games I play… my thinking is that the Crystal provides a pretty substantial FoV and PPI upgrade over my G2 or Pico 4, without setting me back 2 GPU generations in terms of performance with dynamic foveated rendering probably offsetting at least some of that extra resolution.

Must admit I’m not a huge fan of that enormous form factor though, how do you get on with the 8KX in terms of becoming what can only be described as a techno hammerhead shark? Do you notice the size of the thing when wearing it?

Twin 4090Ti's in crossfire may help.