Whether it's for immersive VR gaming, education and research, 3D design, or development, VR has gained momentum and is piquing the interest of tech enthusiasts everywhere. But which headset is right for you?
Virtual Reality Buying Guide: Which Headset is Right for You?
- Thread starter SamiHA
- Start date
Quest 2 is amazing tbf, I've enjoyed countless hours on mine so far.
The Valve Index is a bit too old right now, you are better off waiting for the new version to come out before committing to such an expensive piece of hardware.
As a side-note, the Quest 2 now supports 120Hz. Not sure if there are native games/apps that use it yet, but Virtual Desktop allows you to play PC VR games/content at 120Hz.
As a side-note, the Quest 2 now supports 120Hz. Not sure if there are native games/apps that use it yet, but Virtual Desktop allows you to play PC VR games/content at 120Hz.
QuantumPhysics
Posts: 6,306 +7,258
I bought a Quest 2. I use it specifically to play DCS world.
The view quality is amazing and what I truly love about it is the fact that it's self-contained to just 3 parts: headset and 2 controllers. I can pack it up and take it anywhere and using the $10 USB cable I bought on Ebay, hook it to my gaming laptop or just use it as it is to watch videos if I were on an airplane or train.
I am disappointed the USB C cable isn't able to keep it charged while playing. I'm also disappointed the Quest link cable is sold for $80 and doesn't come with the kit itself.
For just $299 it's actually an amazing product.
For the serious gamers, you need the Index - or go cheaper with the Reverb.
The view quality is amazing and what I truly love about it is the fact that it's self-contained to just 3 parts: headset and 2 controllers. I can pack it up and take it anywhere and using the $10 USB cable I bought on Ebay, hook it to my gaming laptop or just use it as it is to watch videos if I were on an airplane or train.
I am disappointed the USB C cable isn't able to keep it charged while playing. I'm also disappointed the Quest link cable is sold for $80 and doesn't come with the kit itself.
For just $299 it's actually an amazing product.
For the serious gamers, you need the Index - or go cheaper with the Reverb.
I haven’t seen any issues using rechargeable batteries on the Reverb G2, they last about a week or more with average to high use. In fact, it does not go through them anywhere near as fast as my previous Windows Mixed Reality headset, which had to be recharged every two or three days.
I have both a Rift S sitting around and a quest 2. I refuse to link the quest 2 to a personal facebook account so I use a developer account and a generic facebook "test" user. This, unfortunately, does not let you buy oculus store software, but you can sideload other software such as ALVR which wirelessly connects to steamVR on your PC.
ALVR isn't as good as virtual desktop sadly, but it may get there someday. Either way, I plugged my Rift S back in the other day and it was such a better experience than trying to stream wirelessly over the network. I hear its better if you get the quest a dedicated router. Haven't tried usb link yet.
I will probably try to get a reverb or index in the distant future. Wireless headset is nice, but not enough for the tradeoffs of quality and needing facebook IMO.
Just some feedback, may be nice to provide info about FoV for each headset (though easy enough to find elsewhere).
ALVR isn't as good as virtual desktop sadly, but it may get there someday. Either way, I plugged my Rift S back in the other day and it was such a better experience than trying to stream wirelessly over the network. I hear its better if you get the quest a dedicated router. Haven't tried usb link yet.
I will probably try to get a reverb or index in the distant future. Wireless headset is nice, but not enough for the tradeoffs of quality and needing facebook IMO.
Just some feedback, may be nice to provide info about FoV for each headset (though easy enough to find elsewhere).
Compatible cables aren't really that expensive and I also didn't have an issue with the recharging. Maybe you have another issue.
Here's a tip: set the brightness somewhere between 90 to 95 (personal preference, find your sweet spot). The blacks will look a bit better (less typical LED grey), the bright scenes will be easier on your eyes (less eye fatigue) and the battery will last a few minutes longer (don't expect much).
I'm not sure if such a small change will extent the life of the backlight, but it might help.
I also have a relatively cheap external battery pack (10.000 mAh) with quick charge 3.0 that I connect to a 1-2m cable that I can put in my pocket (or next to me on the couch/chair) and it extends the playtime by several hours.
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QuantumPhysics
Posts: 6,306 +7,258
Geralt
Posts: 1,387 +2,213
Nope, that damages the eyes in the long run.
The problem isn't rechargeable batteries. It's rechargeable batteries that are less than 1.5V.
The only thing that happens is that your eyes get tired. This can be mitigated by playing responsibly and blinking a lot
Rayneofpayne
Posts: 502 +415
As long as you don't mind artifacting from the stream compression
Rayneofpayne
Posts: 502 +415
The Quest 2 ends up being more expensive, games take up alot of room so you really need the 256gb version, on top of that the given strap is terrible, so you'll be forking out for the battery(because you want more than 3 hours) premium head strap so all in all it ends up more expensive than the G2. There is also the Facebook problem. There is also artifacting from the compression of data through the type c cable or wireless which kind of makes the whole hook it up to PC redundant as you wanted better graphical fidelity.
Honestly your better off either excepting it as a plain mobile headset or just waiting for a better alternative.
Honestly your better off either excepting it as a plain mobile headset or just waiting for a better alternative.
Rayneofpayne
Posts: 502 +415
As long as you take breaks and blink you are fine, of you don't blink you will harden your corneas but the same thing happens from staring too long at a normal monitor.
The major thing your eyes need is fresh cool air otherwise they get irritated, hence why they say you need to take breaks, it's pretty much all typed in the health warnings people ignore and don't read.
there is no artifacting and compression is not noticeable at all as long as you keep the bitrate high 25-40mbps. I recommend an wifi6 router.
I own the 64GB model and had no issues regarding space, because the games are relatively small 2-4GB most games will download within a couple of minutes on a fast internet connection. The 256GB is just a waste of money and just a ploy to make more money per unit.
So far I don't have an issue with just 64GB after installing multiple games. I might buy a larger capacity headset from the next generation as games might start getting bigger by then. Even so, really big games should be fine to be played on PC wirelessly.
DAOWAce
Posts: 325 +64
First tried the Oculus Rift S because VR became affordable with it.. returned almost immediately because Oculus doesn't care about your IPD. ( https://palmerluckey.com/I-cant-use-rift-s-and-neither-can-you/ ) They still don't with the Quest 2, which would've had OG Rift IPD adjustment, but instead was cut down to only 3 levels before release.
Now a year later I ordered an Index, finally, and got to experience the atrocity that are the base stations and their motor whining noise. May give more accurate tracking compared to built-in, but wow was it such a downgrade from the Rift in terms of accessibility. My room isn't setup for that and I can't change it, and with only 2 stations I lose tracking in certain positions. AND THE NOISE, UGH.
The IPD is still too low for my hammerhead shark face (I'm around 74, max is 72) even with the foam trick, so I can't get both eyes in 100% focus (more like 100/80), and there's still a lot of haloing and glare. Everything outside the direct center of my view is also really blurry; no idea if that's normal or if it's a side effect of my astigmatism, but either way it's still not a great experience.
And then I hear rumors of the Index 2, finally, after all this time. Sigh.
Can't easily return the Index, so, I'm basically out of $1,000 instead of only $300. Really should not cost this price anymore, but Valve is Valve.
Now a year later I ordered an Index, finally, and got to experience the atrocity that are the base stations and their motor whining noise. May give more accurate tracking compared to built-in, but wow was it such a downgrade from the Rift in terms of accessibility. My room isn't setup for that and I can't change it, and with only 2 stations I lose tracking in certain positions. AND THE NOISE, UGH.
The IPD is still too low for my hammerhead shark face (I'm around 74, max is 72) even with the foam trick, so I can't get both eyes in 100% focus (more like 100/80), and there's still a lot of haloing and glare. Everything outside the direct center of my view is also really blurry; no idea if that's normal or if it's a side effect of my astigmatism, but either way it's still not a great experience.
And then I hear rumors of the Index 2, finally, after all this time. Sigh.
Can't easily return the Index, so, I'm basically out of $1,000 instead of only $300. Really should not cost this price anymore, but Valve is Valve.
I've been playing with a WMR headset Samsung Odyssey +, and so far I'm pretty impressed. I got it during a pretty good sale, think I paid 300-350 CN for it. Haven't used any others so I don't really have any comparisons to properly judge by, but I'm happy with it.
But the one I'm waiting for is the upcoming PS VR version 2. IMHO it's going to be a game changer if Sony does things right. Just like how the PS3 was also a dedicated Blu-ray player and made it the default next gen format due to it's high market penetration. A great quality next gen VR from Sony with quality games backing it up could do the same for VR.
But the one I'm waiting for is the upcoming PS VR version 2. IMHO it's going to be a game changer if Sony does things right. Just like how the PS3 was also a dedicated Blu-ray player and made it the default next gen format due to it's high market penetration. A great quality next gen VR from Sony with quality games backing it up could do the same for VR.
One of the first things I researched when looking at a VR headset were the IPD limits. Pretty sure that is your problem not Valve's. For your IPD the original Quest should have been a better fit, people with 74+ seem to say it works very well for them.
As for the noise, it was something known. If it's louder than normal then try to RMA it. Most people don't notice them ingame.
As for you having room for only 2 base stations... not really Valve's fault
Rayneofpayne
Posts: 502 +415
There is, Alyx and several darker games makes it very obvious, even with the higher bitrate, you cannot get around it, artifacting is present and noticable.
Rayneofpayne
Posts: 502 +415
Depends on the games you are buying, smaller lighter experiences don't take up much room larger games however do. There are more than enough YouTuber reviews talking about the issue.
Out of curiosity, what games are really big for the Quest 2? 10GB or more.
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