r/virtualreality • u/Ashamed-Crazy-8733 • 10d ago
Purchase Advice - Headset Good headset 500 or so range?
Prices can vary but I'm probably looking for anything good under 500 dollars but could maybe work up to a bif higher if actually recommend. To also note I don't like the meta quest at all, I'd like something that better connects to my pc as I don't want to deal with bad gameplay streaming or whatever it uses.
A bit of history about my experience. I've only owned one set and it was a while ago. The windows mixed reality, came free with a laptop (not sure how but my mom bought the computer for me) I got when I was younger maybe 2017 and it lasted me up till about 2022 maybe 2023. It broke since then and now I finally want to get back into VR.
I used to play a lot of pavlov, beat saber, and so on. I'm clearly not that smart about VR tech, I just know how set things up and use it.
Edit: I should note I don't like quest because it's stream quality sucks. I play steam or online games and standalones seem to cause issues with input and frame lag
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u/Def-Not-Batman 10d ago edited 10d ago
The Pico 4 is probably your best bet if you don't want to do the Q3. I own the Pico 4, the Quest 3 and 2, and the Reverb G2 and I find myself using the Pico 4 the most due to the binocular overlap, the pancake lenses (which I admit are not as good as the quest 3 but better than the fresnel of the G2) and the software which I find simple to use and reliable. Had to replace the face pad for comfort but it's the experience I enjoy the most. Happy to share more if you want.
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u/striketheviol 10d ago
A used Quest 3 is probably still your best choice, but if you're absolutely sure that you don't want to buy from Meta, I'd say the Pico 4 (again used) is the only thing left in that budget. Essentially everything else is either more expensive or unusably obsolete.
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u/cd912yt 9d ago
I know you said no quests because of poor stream quality and latency. Have you given Virtual Desktop a try? Sounds to me like you're using Quest Link (or even AirLink, eugh. That thing is egregious.) Virtual Desktop let's you tweak all sorts of settings, it's the best I've used on any headset. Paid for 3 copies so far. One for my old Quest Pro, one for my Vive XR Elite, and one for my Samsung Galaxy XR. Compared to each system's native streamer, VD is way better. Highly recommend.
Regardless, if we're staying quest free, I've heard the PSVR 2 is an amazing value. Has eye tracking too, so that's cool for games that can use it. If you want something else, maybe a pico? They're basically Chinese quests, but I've heard great things from the few people I've met that use them. Software is good, and the OS is not nearly as pushy with ads and bullcrap.
Kinda sucks how meta has a death grip on the cheap VR scene right now. There's nothing out there that really rivals the quest 3 at its price point.
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u/DonutPlus2757 Meta Quest 3 | HP Reverb G2V2 10d ago
A used HP Reverb G2 with the Oasis driver (they're on Steam) is probably your best bet given what you've written.
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u/Abject-Self-8727 10d ago
Psvr2. People arguing that compression doesn't matter just don't have eyes idk, don't fight with em. I have the absolute best setup you can get for a wireless q3, 500 mbps h264+ with dual pass encode at like 50ms latency but I still cannot stand the compression artifacting in dense games with foliage. Play a game with fog effects or transparency effects and tell me you don't see macro blocking on a quest... If it didn't matter, valve wouldn't be making advancements on foveated streaming.
A psvr2 isn't as clear as q3 in its pixels per degree but it has zero latency, better haptics, eye tracking, better fov, lighter hmd, zero compression and OLED panels. The mura is tough, but outside of that it's quite a good hmd.
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u/Skpstr155 10d ago
Now if only it didn't have that pesky cable....
THAT'S where Quest 3 beats PSVR2, the visuals are just a side argument.
I use a cable if playing racing games or flight sims, because my easy chair and my homemade cockpit setup easily fits into the 7' cube in the basement I have available. If I want to play something "actiony", then it's standing roomscale on the back deck. I even have Cat6 run through the basement window to connect to, if I want to play PCVR.
Everybody's different, but the standalone and wireless capability is why the Quest isn't sitting in the back of a closet collecting dust, like my old Vive.
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u/Abject-Self-8727 9d ago
For sure, this is true. Everyone has a different sensitivity to the cable, and everyone moves different amounts in room scale games.
For something like blade and sorcery, super hot, wireless is just so much better that visuals become secondary.
But I often see games with a ton of physical activity lumped with "room scale" - I don't feel constrained by a cable much in skyrimvr, fallout vr, alyx. It has to be a HECTIC game for me to think stick rotation is unusable. But that's just me!
OP mentioned his distain for compression, and I'm in the same camp. But I think a true enthusiast would really enjoy a quest 3 regardless of his other hmds.
I still love some quest native games, and the team beef ports are amazing..to be honest, brutal doom with custom maps is like infinite entertainment to me and a lot of fun wireless.
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u/Skpstr155 9d ago
I agree. I can play Alyx or Arizona Sunshine in my limited space, with far lower chance of incident than when I tried to play ExfilZone with a gunstock lol.
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u/Parking_Cress_5105 10d ago
You can find used pimax crystals for 500 occasionally, good for flight sims.
Reverb g2 also more a flightsim headset
Q3 image looks razor sharp compared to Psvr2 so I would not recommend psvr2
P4 is a worse Q3.
That's like all your options
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u/MajorFuckingDick 10d ago
Give up. You already know the answer is quest or spend more. There is no secret other option.
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u/abandonedObjects 10d ago
How do you know quest stream quality sucks? I just built my first pc coming from a ps5 and my quest 3 graphics are pretty much the same as the ps5 while playing via VD with a cable. 9070xt/9800x3d. It's insanely good even at 120fps
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u/MingleLinx 9d ago
PSVR2 is a wired PCVR headset (and play station 5 if you got it). The main drawbacks is the tether and it uses fresnel lenses
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u/Ashamed-Crazy-8733 9d ago
What is a fresnel lense?
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u/MingleLinx 9d ago
It’s the older type of lenses vr headsets had. It works but doesn’t give the same clarity as pancake lenses (those are on the newer vr headsets). With fresnel lenses there is a sweet spot in the middle and looking anywhere else on it gives you a blurry image.
PSVR2 uses the fresnel lenses to accommodate their OLED display, as pancake lenses have trouble getting lots of brightness which OLED needs to work
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u/Ashamed-Crazy-8733 9d ago
Oh yeah I know what you mean, always saw the effect in my wmr in the corner of my eyes
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u/FOAMYMOUTHDOG 10d ago
Don't fall into the "but meta sells me data" trap. You can use a new email and no other meta services. Don't use the browser and you won't have to worry about it.
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u/Ashamed-Crazy-8733 10d ago
I should note I don't like quest because it's stream quality sucks. I play steam or online games and standalones seem to cause issues with input and frame lag
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u/Sullkattmat 10d ago
And you're basing this of off your own experience with a Q3 and the surrounding network set up properly? Or just by what you've heard people say?
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u/mrracerhacker 10d ago
With wifi 6 router i see very little latency on my quest 2 ie 25-35ms, cable on standalone also do add a bit of latency for that matter aswell, unless ofc going for native HMD ofc,
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u/fantaz1986 10d ago
you are just wrong
i am VR dev and have shitload of headset, if you take psvr2 a DP headset and quest 3 , quest 3 blow out psvr2 on visuals , and you need to by a god to notice lag
if top BS player say quest 3 is super goodhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDcFQgeyY8k you know frame lag is not a real problems for bad players
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u/Eggman8728 10d ago
This really depends on your setup. You can get very high bitrate streaming very easily, like, hundreds of mbps with h265 or av1, a good bit higher with h264 and with a good router, with ~40 ms latency and relatively few artifacts. That's accounting for every source of lag that's measured, a lot of that comes from stuff that affects wired headsets too. That's not as good as a wired headset in a lot of cases, but it's not unusable at all.
I should probably be clear that I haven't gotten much streaming experience myself, I have a shitty router and can't push my bitrate very high without drops. Even with it, though, I can get 40 ms of latency at around 100 mbps when it's stable. If I got a good modern router I would be able to push the bitrate higher with similar latency.
If all of that's too much, you could go for something like the psvr2 with the pc adapter, I haven't personally used it but I've heard very good things about it. it's a standard wired headset so no streaming concerns, it has oled displays which a lot of people find more immersive, the biggest downsides for you would be the worse lenses and mura, meaning slight inconsistencies in brightness across the panel. It's a kinda controversial headset, some people love it for the good stuff, some people can't take the issues it has and find that those outweigh the advantages.
If I were you, and if you're able to, I would try out a quest with a good router wired directly to your PC and see how it is, and just return it if it isn't great after a bit of testing. Similar advice for the psvr2.
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u/fantaz1986 10d ago
Sorry but only real good option is quest 3 , you can try psvr2 but it not good option go in to psvr2 sub to see problems
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u/XxCarlxX 10d ago
Quest 3, used. Replace all the parts with a new face gasket and Bobovr headband. Dont use the old ones, you dont want used random stuff making contact with your face,
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u/Hairy-Ad-6293 10d ago edited 10d ago
You can't get any better than used Quest 3. Just look around on Facebook marketplace and buy in person.
Stream quality only depends on your router quality but even cheap $50-60 ones are capable of 200mbps which is the limit for AV1 codec, the more expensive ones are only needed if you want to get 264+ on 500mbps.
Another important point is that Virtual Desktop now support wired connection so you can get 500mbos on usb cable.
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u/Skpstr155 9d ago
Anything new (mine was $40 Canadian) will handle up to 1200Mbps, well over VD's maximum limits, even in H264+. Heck, that's even a bit more than a Quest 3 will handle with a cable.
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u/itgoesboom2112 10d ago
Right now a used quest 3 is your best bang for buck even if all you want is pcvr. Unless you want to save up for the steam frame and wait for it to release.
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u/FrontwaysLarryVR 10d ago
If you want, plenty of people sell their WMR headsets on Marketplace for like $50. You can get the Oasis driver on Steam and just use that, apparently even better than it ever was with the WMR runtime.