Valve Index VR

gazzamcg

gazzamcg

gazzamcg

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So,I'm in a fortunate situation where I can afford to buy the Valve Index VR.

I'm not upto date with VR headsets, but I see the Valve Index is nearly two years old.

Question is,is it better to wait another 6 months or so, until possibly we will hear news about the Valve Index VR 2 coming out and the upgraded features that it will bring ?
 
I questioned this myself not to long ago and came to the conclusion that it is better to wait.

The Index is still a great headset but being two years old and never dropping in price, plus new better headsets are right around the corner (well, a few months away), I think its better to wait and see what comes to the market in a few months time.

I would honestly say that if you want VR NOW, then the Quest 2 is the better purchase to tide you over.
 
Reppyboyo said:
I questioned this myself not to long ago and came to the conclusion that it is better to wait.

The Index is still a great headset but being two years old and never dropping in price, plus new better headsets are right around the corner (well, a few months away), I think its better to wait and see what comes to the market in a few months time.

I would honestly say that if you want VR NOW, then the Quest 2 is the better purchase to tide you over.
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Cheers for the info.

Aye,I'm leaning towards waiting for the middle of this year,to see what happens.

Although I'm desperate to get into VR gaming,I think it does make sense to wait,especially when it's a lot of money involved !
 
The only problem with getting a Quest 2 is that you will get used to Wireless VR. Once you get used to Wireless VR, it's extremely hard to go back.

The Valve Index is still a great VR headset. If I had one, I wouldn't feel any pressure to upgrade at the moment, but, the question is Would I buy one now?

And No, I don't think I would. Things have moved on.

If have a pretty powerful PC and a decent budget, If I was you, I might consider getting a Vive Pro 2. It has it's flaws as well though.
 
melmac said:
The only problem with getting a Quest 2 is that you will get used to Wireless VR. Once you get used to Wireless VR, it's extremely hard to go back.

The Valve Index is still a great VR headset. If I had one, I wouldn't feel any pressure to upgrade at the moment, but, the question is Would I buy one now?

And No, I don't think I would. Things have moved on.

If have a pretty powerful PC and a decent budget, If I was you, I might consider getting a Vive Pro 2. It has it's flaws as well though.
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Cheers,I will look into the Vive Pro 2.

I like the idea of a wireless headset, too.

But yeah,common sense is telling me to hold on,rather than making an impulsive buy!
 
gazzamcg said:
Cheers,I will look into the Vive Pro 2.

I like the idea of a wireless headset, too.

But yeah,common sense is telling me to hold on,rather than making an impulsive buy!
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Hope you don't mind me asking you a few quick questions?

What specs are your PC? What GPU do you have?

Do you think you will be playing Sim type games (car sims, flight sims, mainly sit down games) or mainly room scale games (FPS shooters, rhythm games, basically standing up games)

Have you ever tried VR before?

And, do you have a facebook account?

The advantage the Vive Pro 2 has is that is that you can buy a wireless adapter for it if you want to go untethered later on. It has the best res and one of the best displays with a good FOV. The disadvantage of the Vive pro2 is that it's more expensive than the Index and how good it is really depends on how well it fits you.

Give me some answers to the above and I can advise better what to do with that money that's burning a hole in your pocket :p
 
melmac said:
Hope you don't mind me asking you a few quick questions?

What specs are your PC? What GPU do you have?

Do you think you will be playing Sim type games (car sims, flight sims, mainly sit down games) or mainly room scale games (FPS shooters, rhythm games, basically standing up games)

Have you ever tried VR before?

And, do you have a facebook account?

The advantage the Vive Pro 2 has is that is that you can buy a wireless adapter for it if you want to go untethered later on. It has the best res and one of the best displays with a good FOV. The disadvantage of the Vive pro2 is that it's more expensive than the Index and how good it is really depends on how well it fits you.

Give me some answers to the above and I can advise better what to do with that money that's burning a hole in your pocket :p
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My desktop PC: Amd Ryzen 9 5950x, 32gb,RTX 2070.Will probably upgrade to the RTX 4 series!

Laptop: Dell Alienware M17 R4,i9-10980HK,32gb,RTX3080 16gb.

It will be room scale games.

I have never tried VR before.Im Autistic so not sure if I will find it overwhelming!

I have a facebook account.

Looked at the Vive Pro 2,they say the controllers are a bit out of date!
 
I've got an Index and a Quest 2.

If the Quest 2 had a lossless wired PC connection, as opposed to using video compressed over USB I'd have no problems getting rid of my Index, as the Index isn't really worth the extra cost over the Quest 2.

The main things I like about my Index are the FOV, which is much bigger than the Quest 2 and the sharp picture which is great for sims and games with complex scenes like Skyrim VR which tend to look muddy over Quest 2's compressed link, though the screen door effect is noticable compared to the Quest 2.

I don't find the Index controllers massively better than the Quest 2's and in some ways they are worse, particually in button layout and the grip mechanic, which very few games manage to get right.

It is nice having both though, as I can use the best headset for the job, but not everyone has that luxury!
 
Also Index and Quest 2 owner.

I haven't touched my Index since getting the Quest. Being back to wireless (I went wireless with my Vive) is the best ever. Playing tea with god wirelessly in a lrage room is mind bendingingly good :)
 
gazzamcg said:
My desktop PC: Amd Ryzen 9 5950x, 32gb,RTX 2070.Will probably upgrade to the RTX 4 series!

Laptop: Dell Alienware M17 R4,i9-10980HK,32gb,RTX3080 16gb.

It will be room scale games.

I have never tried VR before.Im Autistic so not sure if I will find it overwhelming!

I have a facebook account.

Looked at the Vive Pro 2,they say the controllers are a bit out of date!
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Your computer isn't good enough for the Vive Pro 2. If you were getting it, you wouldn't be buying the HTC controllers, you would be buying the Valve Knuckle controllers and using them with it. The knuckle controllers are the same controllers that come with the Valve Index.

IF you planned to mainly play sit down games I would have suggested the Reverb G2 as an alternative to the Index. But, since you have never tried VR before and plan to play mostly Room scale games, I am going to suggest the Quest 2. It's the simplest to get into and is a fantastic piece of kit for anyone new to VR. It's also a great price. And You might not even need to use your PC at all.

As for your Autism, I can't say how you will react, but, autistic users, in general, seem to have a very positive response to VR. Have seen loads of threads on reddit about it.

Lastly, and mainly because you are new to VR, I suggest getting the Quest 2 now and not waiting until some unknown spec headset comes out and some point nearly a year from now.

You will be blown away by how good the Quest 2 is.
 
Ravenger said:
I've got an Index and a Quest 2.

If the Quest 2 had a lossless wired PC connection, as opposed to using video compressed over USB I'd have no problems getting rid of my Index, as the Index isn't really worth the extra cost over the Quest 2.

The main things I like about my Index are the FOV, which is much bigger than the Quest 2 and the sharp picture which is great for sims and games with complex scenes like Skyrim VR which tend to look muddy over Quest 2's compressed link, though the screen door effect is noticable compared to the Quest 2.

I don't find the Index controllers massively better than the Quest 2's and in some ways they are worse, particually in button layout and the grip mechanic, which very few games manage to get right.

It is nice having both though, as I can use the best headset for the job, but not everyone has that luxury!
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The things that would be important to me are FOV and the quality of image!

So I think that would rule out the Quest 2 for me.But interesting you say the Index's controllers are not as good as the Quest 2.
 
GBRusty said:
Also Index and Quest 2 owner.

I haven't touched my Index since getting the Quest. Being back to wireless (I went wireless with my Vive) is the best ever. Playing tea with god wirelessly in a lrage room is mind bendingingly good :)
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Aye,I think wireless is the way to go now?

How do you find the FOV and image quality of the Quest 2 compared to the Index ?
 
gazzamcg said:
The things that would be important to me are FOV and the quality of image!
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I think you need to try VR first before you can make this call. It's a complete different way of playing games and consuming media. I think the Index is great, but, can't stand the SDE and lens glare and the fact that it's not wireless.

I know people who don't use their more expensive VR headsets anymore after trying the Quest 2 for a while, I know others who hated the Quest 2 and went back to, what I would consider, worse headsets.

My point is that everyone reacts differently to different headsets, and until you put on a headset and try it out, you won't know either. However, I think that a lot of people(maybe even most people), especially for Room Scale games, would take wireless and a reduction in image quality over been wired and better IQ.
 
melmac said:
I think you need to try VR first before you can make this call. It's a complete different way of playing games and consuming media. I think the Index is great, but, can't stand the SDE and lens glare and the fact that it's not wireless.

I know people who don't use their more expensive VR headsets anymore after trying the Quest 2 for a while, I know others who hated the Quest 2 and went back to, what I would consider, worse headsets.

My point is that everyone reacts differently to different headsets, and until you put on a headset and try it out, you won't know either. However, I think that a lot of people(maybe even most people), especially for Room Scale games, would take wireless and a reduction in image quality over been wired and better IQ.
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This is dead-on.

Different people like different headsets for different reasons. I prefer using my Quest 2 for PC games that require a lot of movement or turning around, as I can play wirelessly, despite the loss of FOV and the compressed image. It's also better for Oculus exclusive PC games which can have control or performance issues on other headsets. And of course the native games are getting better and I can sit in bed and watch a movie on a huge screen with no SDE or glare.

I prefer my Index for games where I don't have to turn around much and which benefit from the wider FOV and uncompressed images. Skyrim VR in particular. That's the main reason I haven't gotten rid of my Index yet. If Meta's new 'professional' headset has a bigger FOV and an uncompressed wired PC image then I could see myself selling the Index.

Really though for a beginner I would definitely reccomend a Quest 2 over an index simply because it's way cheaper, is really easy to setup and use, and has almost no-sde. The only caveats are it currently requires a Facebook account and that you need a replacement headstrap.
 
Thanks guys,really informative posts.

I think as melmac suggested,I need to try one firstly and see how I get on with it!

The Oculus 2 sounds good,especially from a price perspective.I might order it to try it out :)

But I'm still tempted to wait another six months or so to see what is coming out then.
 
gazzamcg said:
Thanks guys,really informative posts.

I think as melmac suggested,I need to try one firstly and see how I get on with it!

The Oculus 2 sounds good,especially from a price perspective.I might order it to try it out :)

But I'm still tempted to wait another six months or so to see what is coming out then.
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If you get a £300 quest, at worst you'll be able to move it along for £200 i reckon. Or gift you a friend/partner/child once you upgrade and have someone to play with. I plan on getting a new headset eventually but will keep both as my boy will take one.
 
gazzamcg said:
Thanks guys,really informative posts.

I think as melmac suggested,I need to try one firstly and see how I get on with it!

The Oculus 2 sounds good,especially from a price perspective.I might order it to try it out :)

But I'm still tempted to wait another six months or so to see what is coming out then.
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Don't be this guy :p

QtouONl.jpg


VR is in a pretty good place right now.
 
I'd say it's right at the breakout point now. First generation of consoles stage, where it's no longer niche, but actually recognisable, and the games are coming, with plenty to enjoy straight off.
 
not read this thread
but im jumping in now, and saying the index is NOT worth 1K anymore now
they need to drop the price , Deckard (Index 2) im hoping will be out this year, as i want one

Quest 2 is the safest bet , as meta have said they are not replacing it yet, the new headset is going to be a model up from the quest 2, so a lot more expensive
the quest 2 has life left :)
 
Also bear in mind that PC VR games are sort of in the doldrums at the moment.

If you've never played VR before there's a lot of great content out there to keep you busy, but there's not a lot of AAA development on PC, as it's not profitable due to the lower userbase. Plus the graphics card shortage is hitting VR hard, as to get the best out of PC VR you need a monster GPU so it's harder to get into PC VR due to the cost of PC hardware, so there are fewer users to sell games to.

As games are selling way better on Quest 2 (at least 10x the sales of PC VR games) many developers are now concentrating on that platform.

Most of the innovation is happening on Quest 2 rather than Steam VR, and the games are getting better and better. RE4 VR is Quest 2 native and looks and plays better than many PC VR games.
 
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