Want to get in to VR, what headset?

[cHk4]

Hi all, I’m looking at getting in to VR. I guess mainly I want to try racing sims, things like half life and what not.

Headsets and what not seem to be a minefield and I have no idea what to go for. What would you recommend? I guess ideally looking for hood frames and res. Budget around £500~.

Thanks

 

[lokiss]

Bit of a hard call, with VR headsets jumping up with new arrivals over the coming months. Right now with the PC you have if you want the best visuals in those racing games, you opt in with either a G2 or a Pico 3 link, which both sit within budget. It's easy to recommend both those if you ignore what the near or medium term future might bring. Personally i favour the Pico over the G2, because of the performance ratio with a 3090. The Pico plays nice with frame rates with the visuals up high, the G2 struggles in DR 2.0/ACC or dips under at times in a maxed out sol AC/AMS2 or Pcars2. If you plan on getting a 4090 though, 100% the G2, it'll eat both ACC and DR 2.0 (finally)

Worth saying though that both of those headsets are current/old tech. Though there are valid reasons to still buy them, you aren't getting the newer technologies and form factors available in the likes of the recently announced Pico Neo 4.

 

[cHk4]

Bit of a hard call, with VR headsets jumping up with new arrivals over the coming months. Right now with the PC you have if you want the best visuals in those racing games, you opt in with either a G2 or a Pico 3 link, which both sit within budget. It's easy to recommend both those if you ignore what the near or medium term future might bring. Personally i favour the Pico over the G2, because of the performance ratio with a 3090. The Pico plays nice with frame rates with the visuals up high, the G2 struggles in DR 2.0/ACC or dips under at times in a maxed out sol AC/AMS2 or Pcars2. If you plan on getting a 4090 though, 100% the G2, it'll eat both ACC and DR 2.0 (finally)

Worth saying though that both of those headsets are current/old tech. Though there are valid reasons to still buy them, you aren't getting the newer technologies and form factors available in the likes of the recently announced Pico Neo 4.

Hi mate, thank you for the reply. I will be getting a 4090 so I will have a Google for that. With headsets coming out in the not too distant future would you say it would be worthwhile waiting? If so other than the pick 4 what should I keep my eye out for? Can be a little bit more than my budget if it’s worth it.
Thanks again.

 

[Tykey]

Hi all, I’m looking at getting in to VR. I guess mainly I want to try racing sims, things like half life and what not.

Headsets and what not seem to be a minefield and I have no idea what to go for. What would you recommend? I guess ideally looking for hood frames and res. Budget around £500~.

Thanks

If you intend to mainly use racing sims then the pico neo 4 (systemactive are taking pre orders, i'm not sure when they will be shipped but wouldn't imagine it would be too long), or the hp reverb G2. if you intend to play some games where you move around a bit like HL2VR/Half Life : Alyx etc then consider a Meta Quest 2 as it does wireless very well (assuming your network setup meets certain requirements). The Pico 4 can do wireless too, the G2 can't. All 3 are great options imo.

 

[ShiWarrior]

do you want wireless connection or not bothered?

will you be exploring other options other than sim racing ?

do you want it portable to take on holiday/friends with you ?

 

[cHk4]

If you intend to mainly use racing sims then the pico neo 4 (systemactive are taking pre orders, i'm not sure when they will be shipped but wouldn't imagine it would be too long), or the hp reverb G2. if you intend to play some games where you move around a bit like HL2VR/Half Life : Alyx etc then consider a Meta Quest 2 as it does wireless very well (assuming your network setup meets certain requirements). The Pico 4 can do wireless too, the G2 can't. All 3 are great options imo.

Thanks mate, I'll wait for a moment and take a look at these when them come out I think.

 

[cHk4]

do you want wireless connection or not bothered?

will you be exploring other options other than sim racing ?

do you want it portable to take on holiday/friends with you ?

Honestly mate I didn't even think about that, I think wireless would be pretty epic. I would defo be doing more than sim racing and I'm not too fussed about taking it places, happy to have it at home.

 

[andybird123]

I would potentially wait for more info on the pico4 pro, or failing that if you really need it now then a HP G2

If I didn't already have a G2 I'd be getting a pico4

 

[ShiWarrior]

Honestly mate I didn't even think about that, I think wireless would be pretty epic. I would defo be doing more than sim racing and I'm not too fussed about taking it places, happy to have it at home.

Either the pico neo 3 link
Or pico 4 if its any better, neo 3 has a DP port

 

[bigmike20vt]

I would potentially wait for more info on the pico4 pro, or failing that if you really need it now then a HP G2

If I didn't already have a G2 I'd be getting a pico4

Ideed. I have a quest 2 and a reverb G2 (version 1)

for pure PC gaming the G2 is significantly better than the quest - and the version 2 that you get now fixes most of the issues mine has.

put the quest 2 offers standalone and that is a huge bonus.... some games dont need the best visuals and the ability to takign into any room and play wireless is significant

BUT the issue with the quest 2 for me is the usb connection to PC. its just not as robust as a proper display port connection.

The pico 4 looks amazing....................... but it would appear that has gone all in on wireless and may not have ANY physical connection to your pc. a ballsy move for sure and if it works that is fantastic.

but until i see it for myself i am in the dubious camp. i have tried using VR over wifi on my quest 2 and whilst it works, its not rival to a tethered connection.

IF i am wrong and the pico4 has the option for a wire i would say buy that and feel fairly confident that for its price you wont go far wrong. but if it doesnt support a tethered connection - esp for cockpit experiences where the cable is no problem........................ for me its a big concern.

 

[andybird123]

Ideed. I have a quest 2 and a reverb G2 (version 1)

for pure PC gaming the G2 is significantly better than the quest - and the version 2 that you get now fixes most of the issues mine has.

put the quest 2 offers standalone and that is a huge bonus.... some games dont need the best visuals and the ability to takign into any room and play wireless is significant

BUT the issue with the quest 2 for me is the usb connection to PC. its just not as robust as a proper display port connection.

The pico 4 looks amazing....................... but it would appear that has gone all in on wireless and may not have ANY physical connection to your pc. a ballsy move for sure and if it works that is fantastic.

but until i see it for myself i am in the dubious camp. i have tried using VR over wifi on my quest 2 and whilst it works, its not rival to a tethered connection.

IF i am wrong and the pico4 has the option for a wire i would say buy that and feel fairly confident that for its price you wont go far wrong. but if it doesnt support a tethered connection - esp for cockpit experiences where the cable is no problem........................ for me its a big concern.

They do a wireless dongle for the pico4
If I use the Q2 with PC I typically use airlink - the latest Q2 update actually broke the USB connection for me completely - how did you try airlink? Did you have a dedicated router for it or just your normal wireless router shared?

 

[bigmike20vt]

They do a wireless dongle for the pico4

Sure............... but if your main use case is seated then the wire is no problem. like i said, if it is completely latancy free without any visual or other performance drop, then bring it on. Maybe i am a luddite but i just do not trust wireless over a good wired connection generally. i even had ethernet installed through our house and a switch installed under the stairs when we had the house rewired. I would need to experience this wireless adapter before spending my money on it.

 

[andybird123]

Sure............... but if your main use case is seated then the wire is no problem. like i said, if it is completely latancy free without any visual or other performance drop, then bring it on. Maybe i am a luddite but i just do not trust wireless over a good wired connection generally. i even had ethernet installed through our house and a switch installed under the stairs when we had the house rewired. I would need to experience this wireless adapter before spending my money on it.

I didn't find the USB cable on the Q2 to be completely latency or artefact free either, it's not a direct headset connection like a G2 sure, but comparing the Q2 to the Pico I would not have any problems taking the Pico.

(I ran a new 50m ethernet from the top floor to the computer room yesterday so I'm right with you for the most part)

 

[bigmike20vt]

I didn't find the USB cable on the Q2 to be completely latency or artefact free either, it's not a direct headset connection like a G2 sure, but comparing the Q2 to the Pico I would not have any problems taking the Pico.

(I ran a new 50m ethernet from the top floor to the computer room yesterday so I'm right with you for the most part)

agreed..... with the Quest 1 i wondered if the usb tethered connection to a pc was an afterthought, after all it was not supported right away and it was John Carmack iirc who said it *may* be possible but was not certain. AS a freebie bonus extra that users were not expecting, the usb tether is fantastic......

however when the Q2 was announced i thought almost for sure it would have a proper tethered connection....... esp as it was clear by then that the rift standalone device was done for and the quest was going to be the only PCVR headset that oculus/facebook/meta were going to offer.

But obviously i was wrong.... its a real shame imo.

I dont suppose the new quest pro is any better in that regard either? (not that i would buy one anyway)

 

[ShiWarrior]

The pico 4 is usb C like the quest 2
But it has a wifi 6 built in, the dongle is extra for more wireless connections

 

[Zig13]

I'd recommend that anyone who wants to try VR now and doesn't want to wait gets a second-hand Rift CV1.
Complete kits sells for only about £140-£160.
As the first mainstream VR headset it was a premium product at launch and it still feels premium now in many ways.
Compared to other options, it is very comfortable, has excellent sound, and it's tracking is only matched by the likes of The Index/Lighthouse tracking (as everything else on the market is inside-out tracked).
The resolution and clarity less good compared to the competition - it suffers from god rays and the "screen door effect" (i.e. you can see the gaps/grid between pixels) but it has deep blacks due to OLED and individual panels for granular IPD adjustment.

Even if you end up replacing the headset within a year, there are ways to use the controllers with other headsets or even stick the controllers on your feet and use them for full-body tracking!

 

[Ravenger]

I'd say a CV1 gives a very poor impression compared to even a second hand Quest 1. The low resolution and obtrusive screen door effect really doesn't do VR justice, plus it can be a pain to get the sensors working. It's far easier to get a Quest 1 or 2 up and running.

I say this as someone who still has a CV1 (now boxed up), and has an Index, Quest 1 and Quest 2.

CV1 tracking with 3 sensors was absolutely incredible though, and the headset was amazingly lightweight and had great sound. It's just the setup and the display quality really don't cut-it these days.

 

[BigBANGtheory]

I'd recommend that anyone who wants to try VR now and doesn't want to wait gets a second-hand Rift CV1.
Complete kits sells for only about £140-£160.
As the first mainstream VR headset it was a premium product at launch and it still feels premium now in many ways.
Compared to other options, it is very comfortable, has excellent sound, and it's tracking is only matched by the likes of The Index/Lighthouse tracking (as everything else on the market is inside-out tracked).
The resolution and clarity less good compared to the competition - it suffers from god rays and the "screen door effect" (i.e. you can see the gaps/grid between pixels) but it has deep blacks due to OLED and individual panels for granular IPD adjustment.

Even if you end up replacing the headset within a year, there are ways to use the controllers with other headsets or even stick the controllers on your feet and use them for full-body tracking!

So I would not personally as that setup doesn't meet my minimum bar for VR, which we could debate about at length BUT given the OP is looking at a 4090 GPU.... yeah context and all that.

Dude you are in the market for either top end VR now which is the Vario Aero or HTC VP2 but probably more the PiMax 12k OLED whenever that comes, should be now but is late.