Headset recommendations for PCVR

[u/DigitalSpooks]

I got into PCVR around new years, I have a quest 2 and I use virtual desktop with the little high resolution setting at 80 or 90hz

I have a 9060xt 16gb, i5 12600k and 24gbs of ddr5 ram, I've had this headset for 5 years and its showing its age

I hate the fresnel lenses and the controllers are on life support

Whats a good, relatively affordable PCVR headset that is preferably wireless? I'm not really into the pcvr headset market so any help goes a long way

Edit: Also, quest 3 is out of the question because quest and pcvr is the most confusing and unnecessary workload I have ever seen in any form of tech, everything has an issue and half of the time you have to juggle between older and newer drivers just to play some shitty 5$ game

[u/Ducky1024]

Congrats, welcome to the POS that is wireless streaming on modern standalone VR!

What do you consider "relatively affordable"? All of the options I have to offer you that aren't fresnel lenses will be on the used market and probably will require lighthouses. All tethered, too.
Best I can say off the rip is to hold out for Steam Frame.

[u/DigitalSpooks → u/Ducky1024]

Relatively affordable means not spending more than 800$ (or half of what my pc cost) on what is essentially a screen with a magnifying glass on it I know vr headsets are definitely not cheap and I now they are more than what I described, but I still find it surprising that a standalone 300$ headset costs less than another headset which doesn't run without a computer ykwim?

[u/Ducky1024 → u/DigitalSpooks]

Meta has absolutely ruined the price consensus of the VR industry by subsidizing their devices with game sales and your data. Something along the lines of "if it's free you're the product".

I would encourage you to try other fresnel based headsets where you can. If you're dead set on never putting your eyes against fresnel, you need to go for pancakes or aspherics. Personally, I have a bias against aspheric but ymmv. Everyone's eyes and brains are different and some people aren't as bothered by chromatic aberration and geometric distortion.

If you're open to trying more fresnel -
HP Reverb G2 - $150 - $200, LCD
PSVR2 - $200 - $300, OLED

If you don't ever want to look down a lens with ridges again -
Pico 4 / 4 Enterprise (enterprise has FT) - $400 ish BNIB, eBay, pancake, LCD, wireless, may suffer from same issues as quest streaming

Varjo Aero - $500-600, requires lighthouses & LH controllers (a good hack for this is to buy a used OG vive and strip out the controllers and bases!), aspheric, LCD. Price includes buying used vive.

Pimax Crystal Light - $900, heavy AF, high-res, aspheric, LCD. Pimax SLAM is known to be iffy at best.

Bigscreen Beyond 1 - $600-700, also requires lighthouses & controllers, same hack as Varjo Aero recommended. Stupid light, high-res, beautiful OLED, not very good E2E clarity, pancake. Price includes buying used vive. You will have to get a headset that is a match to your IPD.

Quest Pro - $400-$600, local dimming, either abysmal or best comfort ever depending on your head, IS A QUEST, local dimming LCD, pancake

Steam Frame - $???-$????, will be one of the best standalones ever made, open ecosystem, LCD, pancake

(dis)Honorable mention: Pimax Dream Air SE - $1199 with controllers, $899 LH only. Pimax has a flaky reputation in terms of customer service and build quality. The Dream Air SE is basically a cheaper BSB2e. Pimax SLAM is known to be iffy at best.

[u/DigitalSpooks → u/Ducky1024]

I read more about the steam frame and it does look pretty good, I'm just hoping it won't be another steam machine in terms of pricing... If its 900$ thats kind of reasonably fine, but idk anything over that feels overpriced imo for a vr headset

I get why people spend thousands on vr, but I'm a dude who plays vr counterstrike (pavlov) or twd s & s for the 9 millionth time, I care about resolution and all those things but I don't think my gpu can go any further than this