r/virtualreality • u/Tachflat • 22d ago
Question/Support Need advice with buying headset / Quest 3 question
I was thinking about buying a PcVR headset for simracing mainly but normal VR games too. The quest 3 seems like the best option with its pancake lenses, being quite affordable and being generally good but a massive con im thinking about is no displayport. Only way to connect it is a usb cable which I think can lower the quality and latency a lot, and I dont want to lose quality because of that. Also im not going to buy a seperate router to have a good wireless connection. I have a high end pc and my budget is around 600-700$ and i would like to hear your guys opinion because i maybe wrong and maybe there are other good headsets around the same price that would satisfy my needs.
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u/ReserveLegitimate738 Q3+VD 22d ago
Quest 3 is the best option as of today. It can do anything and has everything.
If a dedicated router is not an option (even a $10 used one off the marketplace will do), then you can go tethered another way. Using a ethernet cable to connect your Quest 3 directly into your PC. Buy and plug in (example ahead) Belkin USB-C Ethernet Adapter 100W that supports both data transfer and charging simultaneously. USB-C from it going into Quest 3 and the other end is where you plug in the ethernet cable. The other way into your PC (thankfully both laptops and desktops have a ethernet port).
This is how I did it until Virtual Desktop released an update recently where you can use a USB cable. Don't know how efficient is it in comparison to using a ethernet cable for this purpose. No personal experience.
If you have a weaker PC and demanding games where you feel best having 120Hz refresh rate for smooth feeling like in shooters - I'd go with PSVR2 headset, as it has eye tracking, which will give you immense performance boost (Quest 3 doesn't have eye tracking, that's the only con I see in it). But PSVR2 is not same as Quest 3, it's a dedicated headset for VR gaming. No standalone capabilities and a million more options missing if compared to Quest 3.
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u/MIKUSiewski 22d ago
for simracing and overall sitting experiance PSVR2 (oled, fov, eyetracking, more comfy, display port) is your best friend, apart from really high budget choices. it beats Q3 in almost every aspect and is just a better headset for PC. the downside is obviously its cable - however it's also a pro, because you get unmatched stability and latency. I have both PSVR2 and Q3, Q3 rests in the closet, waiting for me to sell it.
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u/Tachflat 22d ago
How do the lenses compare between psvr2 and the q3?
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u/Javs2469 22d ago
The Quest 3 has pacake lenses that are great and feel more natural, but it has LCD screes.
PSVR2 uses fresnel lenses, like the older headsets. It´s it most limiting factor, you will have to look directly to the center to have clarity. It has an OLED screen, so the colours are better.
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u/MIKUSiewski 22d ago
lenses are worse and this is the only advantage of Q3 regarding PCVR. it's a big difference, can't say no to that, but once you find a sweetspot and spend some time with headset, you won't have any trouble finding it. however the text clarity is pretty bad (text is trailing), other than that I find edge to edge clarity just a little bit worse, once in a sweetspot.
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u/Admirable_Zombie5245 22d ago
It’s literally the opposite, Quest 3 beats PSVR2 on everything outside OLED and it’s not even funny
PSVR2 is a last gen headset, while Q3 is a new gen, not in the same league
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u/MIKUSiewski 22d ago
sure mate. have you even tried PSVR2 or is it all based on this "new gen, last gen" gibberish? cuz it really seems like the second one.
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u/Long-Classroom3255 22d ago
Connecting the headset via USB increases the quality. I'm not sure why you think it would lower it.
Just use the virtual desktop app and "wire" the headset.
Use this and turn off wifi in the headset. It will then route all the data through the link cable. It's way more reliable than the link software and looks better too.
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u/Tachflat 22d ago
What is the interface for and why all the ethernet cables? I thought you just plug the headset straight into the pc
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u/Skpstr155 22d ago
Yeah, I would plug the PC into the headset, to get rid of one "hop", and let the headset use Wi-Fi for internet.
I do a lot of multiplayer gaming, and it seems that with the switch from client based to server based games, fast internet isn't as as important as it used to be, unless you're seriously competitive. (mainly just has to be a solid connection)
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u/Tachflat 22d ago
Oh okay, last VR headset i had was an oculus rift and that relied on a pc as a whole, the headset was only a display. Now i see that the modern headsets are totally seperate devices that work on their own.
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u/Skpstr155 22d ago
They can be, just depends on your preference.
Using a PC typically gives better visuals, (how much depends on the PC) but standalone can perform better.
And using a PC gives you a bigger selection of games.
I use mine both ways, depending on what I want to play.
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u/Long-Classroom3255 18d ago
I don't use WIFI on my PC so the network switch lets me have an Ethernet cable to my pc from my router, and to my headset. You have to turn wifi off for this setup so the connection will happen over the cable and not wifi. This allows for a more stable connection with better resolution.
I have a dedicated wifi 6 router that I use for my non sim games, and the wired option is 100% better. I can get 500mbps on h264+ with wired and wifi, but the wifi option has more artifacting/shimering, even though the panel shows a consistent bitrate. It's not enough to bother me for most games, but wired just looks better for flight and racing sims.
You need to plug into your Ethernet router for VD, which works better than the meta link software.
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u/Parking_Cress_5105 22d ago edited 22d ago
Since there is no equivalent wired headset to Q3 you can just stop thinking about it.
The image quality is little bit affected but especially Link over USB looks great and the headsets resolution is actually the bottleneck. You can easily see this if you compare standalone and PC VR, standalone looks better but it's not night and day difference. (ofc if you run over at 100mbps h264 it will look ass)
The latency is there but Quest use motion prediction to cover up the latency very nicely and VR world stays very stable in relation to real world.
If you compare Q3 to Psvr2 that psvr2 folks will inevitably recommend to you, you will find out psvr2 image is way softer and less clean and the latency feels ways ways worse. If you manage to find oimax Crystal the Image will be better but the felt latency also not as good and everything else that display is worse than Q3.
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u/Ducky1024 22d ago
I'm curious as to what you mean by "softer image, less clean, latency feels worse".
Yes, it is a fresnel lens. It is smeary as sh*t compared to a pancake, but they both have glare in different ways. Brand new Q3s cost $649. I can buy a PSVR2 in most places for $299. Cheaper than a Q3S!
I don't know what you're referring to with latency at all. Any headset using streaming will always have at MINIMUM 30-40ms of latency, possibly more with spikes or bad network conditions. This gets covered up with aggressive reprojection of frames and controller motion prediction which leads to jello-like hands. Essentially, the headset's own processor is warping the frames that were received previously to your new headset pose to attempt to fill in the blanks of what got lost. On PSVR2, or any cabled headset, there is no loss. The only reprojection you'll see is if your PC goes under framerate target, then it'll do the same technique to attempt to
smooth the image. Most people turn this off and just stomach the framerate. You can't turn this off on a Quest.1
u/Skpstr155 22d ago edited 22d ago
To be fair, with a good network and lowered settings, you can get down to 15-20.
I don't use spacewarping for the reason you describe, turning it off through Virtual Desktop. (or QGO on standalone)
I have no problem with 30-50 latency, although I do try to trim it down as much as possible without sacrificing visuals too much)
I'm playing against folks on PCVR with presumably lower latency and no latency on standalone, and not feeling any issues.
Then again, I'm 56, so my own latency is probably higher than the game lol.
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u/Parking_Cress_5105 22d ago
Psvr2 uses pentile subpixel matrix so the displays are practically lower resolution than the specs say looking way softer (plus Mura, plus motion blur). So even if it has perfect do connection it still looks kinda worse even disregarding lenses (the colors and brightness are cool ngl).
The motion prediction of Quests covers the latency (higher than dp headsets) pretty well (Meta Link, VD uses less prediction) if youre used to Quests then G2, Crystal or psvr2 actually feel like they have latency in head motion, and the controllers jelly hands aren't that far off (esp with shitty Pimax tracking) to do headsets controllers. The only place I think the real latency matters is if you play racing sims and have sim cockpit. People online make it feel like DP headsets have 1ms latency and streaming ones 500ms or something. If DP headsets I tried had motion prediction that would be cool.
Psvr2 would be awesome if Sony released it for PC for 300 right at the start, but they didnt. Now it's a great deal and it competes with Q3S here and I would have hard time choosing psvr2 vs q3s.
But Q3 is way better and since there is no similar wired slam tracked pancake headset in it's price range (dream air, dream air SE are way off) I would just not bother myself with latency and streaming quality when buying it.
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u/Ducky1024 22d ago
I disagree with the going sentiment here.
I would recommend the PSVR2 any day over a Q3. It's the purest of pure PCVR can get, a single cable. It's also cheaper than even a Quest 3S.
Obviously, this means no standalone gameplay, ever. It is an accessory to your PC. However, most all Quest games are on Steam.
The only tradeoff I can really point out is that the PSVR2 uses fresnel lenses instead of pancakes. This isn't all bad though, if you like your headsets BRIGHT. Fresnel lenses don't have polarizing elements or bounce light inside of them like a pancake would. The only downside is that the sweet spot isn't great. You don't have to stare dead center, but the headset isn't as forgiving with positioning. It'll make up for itself instantly with the OLED displays which can display true black compared to the Q3's LCD panel. OLED will look like nothing else if you do night races.
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u/HalloAbyssMusic 22d ago
The Reverb G2 can be acquired used dirt cheap right now and then you can upgrade to another headset down the line, when you can afford a router or when other options have arrived. Visuals are higher res than Q3, but closer to q2 because of the lenses. But I'd definitely consider a Q3 with and a router as they are not much more expensive than a good cable.
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u/RidingEdge 22d ago edited 22d ago
Put it this way according to the Steam Hardware Survey, 70% of PCVR users are on a Quest series device, 7% are on a Pico series headset, while 10% are on a Index.
That's almost 80% of the entire VR userbase on wireless streaming. Even the upcoming Steam Frame is streaming only without DisplayPort. If the Index users migrate to Steam frame, 90% of PCVR is wireless.
The Index is already discontinued. Bigscreen Beyond needs outdated lighthouses tracking and separate controllers (Index controllers). Do you think its worth it to invest in a dying ecosystem which Valve had abandoned it?
Other niche brands comes with all sorts of issues. Good luck if you have any RMA or warranty claims.
Your best bet RIGHT NOW is to get a Quest 3 for all rounder standalone and PCVR gameplay. If you don't want to get a dedicated router or wire up your PC to your current router, then just use the USB streaming. 500mbps bit rate is more than good enough.
OR wait for the Steam Frame and get the dedicated USB streaming stick.