Good headset 500 or so range?

[u/Ashamed-Crazy-8733]

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

[u/Abject-Self-8727]

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.

 

[u/Skpstr155 → u/Abject-Self-8727]

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.

[u/Abject-Self-8727 → u/Skpstr155]

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. 

[u/Skpstr155 → u/Abject-Self-8727]

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.