What VR headset should I get?

carrot1401

carrot1401

carrot1401

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Right, I'm a bit lost with what headset to get and need some advice. Bit of a rundown of specs and requirements:

I have a beefy PC (5800x3D/4090) and play mainly sim racing games (iRacing/rFactor 2) which will be the primary use
I have only a small standing play area (1.8m^2) if I want to try other things
I prefer having a wired decent connection to reduce lag, although wireless for other things would be a bonus
As I have a PS5 I was waiting patiently on the PSVR2 PC adaptor but they're dropping a lot of features for PC, so doesn't seem worth it?
Budget wise was originally £500-£600 so well into Quest 3 area, but also aware of things like Primax are a lot more, but are they a lot better?
I wear glasses so will either need to be comfortable or more likely factor in buying some lenses for headset (not sure this can be done with Primax Light?)

Please feel free to ask any other questions if it will help nail down a recommendation!
 
Do you see yourself playing mainly sit down games like racing sims, flight sims etc? Or do you want to play a lot of room scale games like FPS shooters, sports games, beat saber, games where you move around a lot.
 
carrot1401 said:
Right, I'm a bit lost with what headset to get and need some advice. Bit of a rundown of specs and requirements:

I have a beefy PC (5800x3D/4090) and play mainly sim racing games (iRacing/rFactor 2) which will be the primary use
I have only a small standing play area (1.8m^2) if I want to try other things
I prefer having a wired decent connection to reduce lag, although wireless for other things would be a bonus
As I have a PS5 I was waiting patiently on the PSVR2 PC adaptor but they're dropping a lot of features for PC, so doesn't seem worth it?
Budget wise was originally £500-£600 so well into Quest 3 area, but also aware of things like Primax are a lot more, but are they a lot better?
I wear glasses so will either need to be comfortable or more likely factor in buying some lenses for headset (not sure this can be done with Primax Light?)

Please feel free to ask any other questions if it will help nail down a recommendation!
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With u mainly being a simmer, something like a Pimax Light may offer a very good experience. Note, Pimax aren't the best choice for VR newcomers, sometimes their setup and general use can require some tinkering. A Quest 3 is probably the easiest to get to grips with, will offer good a simming experience but probably not as good as a Pimax Light, it's very versatile (can play any type of VR game, wifi or cabled, plus MR games). I wouldn't discount the PSVR2 considering you have a PS5, Gran Turismo is supposed to be ace in VR.
 
Tykey said:
With u mainly being a simmer, something like a Pimax Light may offer a very good experience. Note, Pimax aren't the best choice for VR newcomers, sometimes their setup and general use can require some tinkering. A Quest 3 is probably the easiest to get to grips with, will offer good a simming experience but probably not as good as a Pimax Light, it's very versatile (can play any type of VR game, wifi or cabled, plus MR games). I wouldn't discount the PSVR2 considering you have a PS5, Gran Turismo is supposed to be ace in VR.
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Thanks for this, I don't mind tinkering a bit to get the best out of something. I do it with my Steam Deck often to get the best out of it! What I don't understand about the Pimax Crystal Light is do I need just the headset, or the headset with lighthouse faceplate (and invest in some basestation stuff!?!?). Does the lighthouse tracking make it better? Do I need it?
 
It isnt the best headset out there, but if it were me looking at my 1st VR headset i would be looking at the quest 3. I dont have one, i have a quest pro (which for a few things may be slightly better for PCVR so it is still a contender if you are happy to go 2nd hand)............ but a quest 3 is the easy answer.

you can go higher end PCVR but you are not doing so for under £600.

I am not sure how well the quest 3 works outdoors. the quest 1 and my quest pro both work outside, but my quest 2 will not!. however once you do garden scale VR it really is something else!.
 
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bigmike20vt said:
It isnt the best headset out there, but if it were me looking at my 1st VR headset i would be looking at the quest 3. I dont have one, i have a quest pro (which for a few things may be slightly better for PCVR so it is still a contender if you are happy to go 2nd hand)............ but a quest 3 is the easy answer.

you can go higher end PCVR but you are not doing so for under £600.

I am not sure how well the quest 3 works outdoors. the quest 1 and my quest pro both work outside, but my quest 2 will not!. however once you do garden scale VR it really is something else!.
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Happy to go over for the Primax if it's worth it and not bothered on garden scale VR as my garden isn't very big! Just need to work out if Crystal Light extra cost is worth it over the Quest 3...
 
Do you travel much?

Q3 is a great entertainment device "on the road". I've used mine quite often when in a hotel room etc. While waiting in the airport (and even in the plane) it's a great source of enterainment.

1.8m is definitely enough to game in as well, I use a smaller space when doing walkabout minigolf in our social evenings on the forum.

As you have a PS5, the PSVR2 should stay a contender, even if they've dropped features.

However, the mobility of the q3 is hard to ignore. I mostly game with mine in either my little garden office, or bedroom, but can easily move to the lounge with a lot more room if there's no one else using it.
 
I've a Quest 2 and a Quest Pro, I've not got the Quest 3, but if I was to get a new headset I'd get the Quest 3 without hesitation, it's still new, will be supported for years...and worst case, if you don't like it will retain most of it's value on the second hand market...
 
ssmacc said:
Fair point, I was looking at the second hand sale price on a well known high-street store, not the buy price...(apologies)

I'd still recommend the Quest 3 though.
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Yes definitely.. it's probably the best all-rounder headset to get.. although there are better for specific purposes if you are happy to spend more..
 
I am trying to hold on to my HP Reverb as long as possible, but Microsoft is abandoning WMR, so I will eventually need a replacement.

A friend of mine picked up a used PSVR headset when he saw that Sony was opening it up to PC. I will see how he likes it once the adapter is available.
 
I went from a reverb G2 to a Quest pro and it was a definite improvement.
that said if you are happy with your HP Reverb G1 or G2, then i would not worry about windows MR..... it will carry on working for the forseeable even if no longer developed.

i am personally expecting big things from the quest pro 2 and the quest 4 so if you can stick with your reverb for another year or so that may be the way to go.
 
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carrot1401 said:
Probably the former
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If you are going to mainly playing sim games and your budget is between £500 and £600 then there isn't a lot of options. The PSVR 2 might be your best choice and hope that they unlock more features later on down the line. The added benefit of getting the PSVR 2 is that you will be able to use it on your PS 5 as well.

That said, the Pimax Crystal light does look interesting. But the good version with the local dimming and controllers is going to push you a good bit over your budget.
 
carrot1401 said:
Thanks for this, I don't mind tinkering a bit to get the best out of something. I do it with my Steam Deck often to get the best out of it! What I don't understand about the Pimax Crystal Light is do I need just the headset, or the headset with lighthouse faceplate (and invest in some basestation stuff!?!?). Does the lighthouse tracking make it better? Do I need it?
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You don't need anything other than the Pimax Light itself, it has inside out tracking meaning the headset tracks itself plus the controllers it comes with. The inside out tracking of the headset is supposed to be ok, some say the controller tracking isn't great, but as you're a simmer the controller tracking isn't as important. Lighthouses offer better tracking but you don't really need them imo for simming, maybe if you're playing games when you move around a lot then yeah. If u decide on a Pimax then try to buy it from somewhere with a good solid returns policy like Amazon.
 
melmac said:
If you are going to mainly playing sim games and your budget is between £500 and £600 then there isn't a lot of options. The PSVR 2 might be your best choice and hope that they unlock more features later on down the line. The added benefit of getting the PSVR 2 is that you will be able to use it on your PS 5 as well.

That said, the Pimax Crystal light does look interesting. But the good version with the local dimming and controllers is going to push you a good bit over your budget.
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If the jump in budget is justifiable I can do it. I don't need the quest 3 battery and wifi, I want a good looking VR for sim racing
 
If you are going to go Pimax Crystal light.. i'd wait for the real reviews before stumping up over £800..

the other consideration is, have you actually done VR sim racing? (i've not read every post so apols if this has already been asked / answered!)

but it doesn't suit everyone, so i would be looking to at least try it for a small outlay, before dropping huge amounts.
 
SimonRigga said:
If you are going to go Pimax Crystal light.. i'd wait for the real reviews before stumping up over £800..

the other consideration is, have you actually done VR sim racing? (i've not read every post so apols if this has already been asked / answered!)

but it doesn't suit everyone, so i would be looking to at least try it for a small outlay, before dropping huge amounts.
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I managed not to throw up playing Trackmania Turbo on PSVR back in the day which I count as a success! I also use to own a Rift S many years ago and played DiRT Rally a bit. Got rid because I found the overall graphical quality (resolution) too low for my liking.
 
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