VR Hardware Suggestions?

With the advent of VR being a possibility for TU, I thought it was time to consider upgrading my VR setup. This could also serve as a good thread for VR newcomers to see what Headsets are recommended by users.

My setup is the literal bare minimum, it’s a used First Gen Vive with one Lighthouse and a really gummed up controller… so literally anything is an upgrade at this point. I’d love to hear what headsets other members have, and any recommendations (or warnings to steer clear).

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i only have past experience with the rift s and it’s pretty good, but the software is terrible and they force you to sign up with facebook to even use it

i bought the valve index recently and it works perfectly for everything, the finger tracking is great for social games if you’re into that type of thing and 144hz makes a huge difference

if you don’t mind the facebook thing i’ve heard using virtual desktop or a link cable with the quest 2 works great for pcvr so i’d go with that if you’re not trying to spend $1000 on a vr setup

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I’ve heard the Index has pretty bad light-smearing / god rays on the lenses, how noticeable is it? Is it something like the screen-door effect where you get used to it and start to look past it after using it?

i haven’t noticed that at all

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I believe god rays are an issue with fresnel lenses in general, not just a specific headset, so it’s not really something that can be avoidable completely.

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I’ve had Vive, Vive Pro, Rift, Go, Quest, and Quest 2. The Quest 2 is, by far, the best headset I’ve owned.

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Yeah, they’re on my OG Vive, but I read that the Index had it worse somehow. It could’ve just been people who were adapted to one headset having to adjust to the Index (making the god-rays seem worse).

ive noticed that a little bit but it’s practically unnoticable unless you’re looking at something really bright on something really dark

even then i’ve been able to completely get used to it and i hardly see it anymore

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Agreed, but I haven’t had as extensive experience with other headsets. I’ve owned an Acer WMR, Oculus Rift and a Quest 2. I’ve also experienced the Vive and Rift S.

The Quest 2 is just fantastic. If price is a big factor I think it’s a no brainer. The Oculus Touch controllers are perfect to me, I can’t stand WMR controllers and I do not like Vive wands at all. Also Oculus Dash is fantastic and Air Link worked pretty much flawlessly with my stock ISP router. I can never ever go back to wired.

The only thing that drives me nuts is the mandatory Facebook account, and the idea of Facebook cornering the VR Market. I still buy 90% of my VR titles on Steam. I do recommend replacing or getting a cover for that god awful default foam facial interface, and any of the cheap amazon head straps make it WAY more comfortable.

I have the free silicone face mask that Oculus was giving away and I’ve got the Elite Strap

quest 2 is definitely super good, totally great with the price tag and you can play games with oculus link or whatever

i’ve played with the original vive and the rift s i believe (i might try the quest 2 soon…) , i own the index myself and i can confidently say it’s the best one i’ve used

quest 2 is the no-brainer if you’re on a budget, but if you can drop the money i would totally go for the index . those are basically are the only two headsets you should be considering! (aside from the reverb g2 i suppose? its basically just the valve index but different…)

very eager for vr in tower… i’m so excited to goof around in my condo but in vr…

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I mean, yeah, index looks awesome but you can get a quest 2 for less than half the price and play all the same games and more, and also wirelessly.

the index also has the lack of ties to facebook, directly supported with steam (no third party applications), incredible steam support, arguably better controllers, higher fov, etc

quest 2 is definitely a bang for your buck but i personally feel like the index is better for ease of access, overall compatibility, great displays and easily one of (if not the) winner for exclusively pcvr

it really just comes down to how much you’re willing to spend on an hmd

Yeah that’s the reason I’m not really considering a Quest 2 over the Index. The Quest 2 sounds great on its own merits, but I just don’t think it’s for me.
However, I do think the Quest 2 is probably going to inspire Valve to push PCVR into a more affordable range (which is honestly the biggest obstacle for PCVR now). I’m hoping the Index 2 is around the corner, mostly so the Index can lower in price lol

That being said, the SteamVR platform allows for interchangability and there’s a lot of weirder smaller VR headsets like Pimax and the uncanny valley that is the Decagear (I do NOT think facial recognition is the future of VR). So there’s options out there to get the Index Knuckles with a different display.

the Decagear Nightmare Video

Express yourself in VR with real-time facial tracking. DecaGear's FaceFlow. - YouTube

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Yeah, Facebook could definitely be a deal breaker for some and I had actually forgotten about the fov. However, the Quest 2 does directly support SteamVR and has the exact same level of steam support. I personally love the Touch controllers. Quest 2 has way better ease of access and better compatibility.

So, really the only things going for Index are a slightly better display, better fov, and no Facebook.

Quest on the other hand. I can natively play Quest games (duh), Rift games (no need for ReVive), and SteamVR (no compatibility tweaks necessary). I can also play all those games wirelessly and even in a different room than my PC. No base stations to set up. Playspace takes, quite literally, seconds to set up and can be moved just as quickly, so I could be playing in one room and then, without taking the headset off, walk into other room, press 2 buttons and I’m up and running again. You honestly sound like you don’t really know much about the Quest. It’s the most compatible and easy to access headset out there

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Refer to my post above this.

embarrassingly i will admit that i didn’t know that steam natively supported the quest 2… my fault ;;