VR Stuff advice.

Vince · 26 Nov 2019 at 14:38

Ello,

I'm wanting to buy me some VR "stuff" to play HalfLife when it is released. I have almost pressed go on a full Vive setup for like £350 second hand but before I do is the Vive going to be decent enough?

also assuming I don't need some sort of super computer and a TR1950x @ 4.1, 64gb ram and a radeon 7 is going to cut it?

What's worth buying and what isn't? This will be my very first foray into the world of VR and things.

Whats the difference between the Rift S and the Vive? Rift doesn't seem to have the little base stations what does this mean?

Yea ive given up! So many things I don't understand. Somebody tell me what I need to buy. Whats the absolute best then 2nd then 3rd?

drakulton · 26 Nov 2019 at 14:48

Have you tried VR? See if you can have a go on a headset and see if you can get on with it. Some folks start to feel queasy in VR without doing a rollercoaster ride.

Vince · 26 Nov 2019 at 14:51

drakulton said:
Have you tried VR? See if you can have a go on a headset and see if you can get on with it. Some folks start to feel queasy in VR without doing a rollercoaster ride.

Bah never tried and would rather just try it after I buy, if im going to look an idiot it's going to be in the comfort of my own home

drakulton · 26 Nov 2019 at 14:56

Well at least you're honest.

If you're going to splash £350 on a system then you might as well get a brand new Rift S which has inside-out tracking instead of external sensors.

Vince · 26 Nov 2019 at 15:01

drakulton said:
Well at least you're honest. If you're going to splash £350 on a system then you might as well get a brand new Rift S which has inside-out tracking instead of external sensors.

Is the rift really the best all round proposition then? How does that work in terms of Steam? I guess I can still just buy stuff from the store? Is the inside out tracking as good as the little lighthouse things?

melmac · 26 Nov 2019 at 15:04

I wouldn't buy a Vive or original Rift now.

Tell us your budget and then we can tell you what headset to buy.

ShiWarrior · 26 Nov 2019 at 15:51

i havent enduldged into VR yet, but ive also assumed
Valve Index is the best at present, followed by Rift S

SupraWez · 26 Nov 2019 at 16:22

Value for money the Rift S, although the Quest now with Oculus link can be used as a desktop VR headset, not sure how that compares to the Rift S.

Having used both a Rift CV1 and S the main difference is that SuperSampling isnt needed with the S, therefore it takes less GPU power to get a better experience.

Vince · 26 Nov 2019 at 16:30

melmac said:
I wouldn't buy a Vive or original Rift now.

Tell us your budget and then we can tell you what headset to buy.

The budget is whatever it costs to play at a decent level. I'm not massively fussed so long as I get a decent experience. If that means spending £500 then ill do that. 1k though to play half life might be pushing it, unless of course people tell me that nothing comes close.

Zeeflyboy · 26 Nov 2019 at 16:58

Rift S I think there could well be some black Friday deals rocking around...

Put simply your main options for full VR games like Half life (as opposed to seated sim type games where there are a few more good choices) are Index, Rift S, Oculus Quest with Link. Could Argue Vive Pro too, but why you wouldn't just buy an index is beyond me unless you really hate LCD). Pimax is another option but I don't personally know that much about them.

Index will arguably give you the best experience... Downsides are it costs as much as a Rift S + Quest + some games, and requires base stations so not as portable as the other two. Also some complain about the loss of deep blacks with the LCD vs OLED.

Rift S is probably the best bang for the buck as long as mobile VR doesn't interest you. Haven't tried it but apparently the LCD screen is notably sharper and less screen door than the Quest, despite the lower overall resolution (due to the sub pixel arrangement). Very easy setup now with no external tracking sensors required so quite portable with an appropriate laptop for example... Poor audio compared to the old model which can be fixed with headphones and same deal with LCD blacks.

Quest is arguably now the best overall value proposition if you have any interest in being detached from your computer. With link it will give you most of the experience of the Rift S albeit at 8hz less. Currently the link image is a bit softer than it needs to be... I have hope that will improve during the beta as VD already manages to get a sharper image and that's working wirelessly. On top of that you then have the option to completely detach from your PC, either for mobile games/apps or using 5.8ghz wifi you can actually play your PCVR games pretty damn well with a little extra latency (for me currently about 35-40ms).

drakulton · 26 Nov 2019 at 17:31

Zeeflyboy said:
Rift S I think there could well be some black Friday deals rocking around...

the Rift S is now down to $£349 until the 2nd of Dec.

melmac · 26 Nov 2019 at 17:47

Vince said:
The budget is whatever it costs to play at a decent level. I'm not massively fussed so long as I get a decent experience. If that means spending £500 then ill do that. 1k though to play half life might be pushing it, unless of course people tell me that nothing comes close.

in that case get the Rift S or the Quest.

Vince · 26 Nov 2019 at 18:47

What I am reading from all this is just grab a rift s and if I like get the Index? Might just order that up tonight.

danoliver1 · 26 Nov 2019 at 19:24

Another vote for rift s here too. Its much better than the vive or cv1 (ive owned all three). I also found the rifts reprojection much better than steams implementation so if framerates do drop it wont be as puke inducing.

Zeeflyboy · 26 Nov 2019 at 19:55

Ah yeah, so already £50 off the rift S at the moment everywhere... for £350 it’s a very good deal I reckon!

Vince · 26 Nov 2019 at 19:58

Right thats sorted it I shall get the Rift S - What sort of other requirements does it have? What else do I need?

ShiWarrior · 26 Nov 2019 at 20:40

Vince said:
What I am reading from all this is just grab a rift s and if I like get the Index? Might just order that up tonight.

i would say, if you get the Rift S, then dont bother with the index, not worth the upgrade FROM the Rift S (no idea though, what do people think?)

i would google comparisons between Rift S and Index

do you have a large play area?

ShiWarrior · 26 Nov 2019 at 20:43

oh and dont forget to order through cashback website, they got Black Friday deals on as well

drakulton · 26 Nov 2019 at 21:11

Vince said:
What else do I need?

You need to have a passion for what you are going to be doing in VR. It's easy to fork out big money on the best headset and all the peripherals, and when you first look round, it all looks amazing.
And then after a while you get used to the amazing and then you're thinking what next?

ShiWarrior · 26 Nov 2019 at 21:15

good point !

ive actually just watched this, and i found it good, worth watching whilst your waiting for it to arrive

as im thinking about getting VR one day in the future, now i know you cam make a boundary, and see the real world through your headset etc