This video is a short version of Kippenoma’s recently revised, written VR guide that you
can find in this video’s description for more information. You can also join the Virtual
Reality Discord to ask any questions you still have after watching/reading the guide.
The best VR headset for you depends on your budget.
The cheapest is the Oculus Quest 2. There are cheaper and older options, but honestly
the Quest 2 is such a great device for the price that you’ll probably regret going
for anything else in the budget market. It is a fully self-contained device. That
means it’s got its own built-in battery pack, its own ‘computer’ inside it, AND
it doesn’t need any external tracking devices. You can enjoy the Quest 2 without ANYTHING
else in the room with you, what so ever. You don’t even need a computer to be able to
play all sorts of games and experiences on it. The battery generally lasts 2-3 hours.
But you can buy battery packs if you’d like it to last longer.
The built-in computer isn’t as fast as a desktop PC can be though, so if you have a
powerful PC then you can link it up to the Quest 2, either using a cable or wirelessly
via the Virtual Desktop program. Either of these will allow you to run games with cutting
edge graphics like Half-Life Alyx. And even games supported on the Quest 2’s hardware
will look better running from a proper PC. It’s just an excellent all-round budget
device, with many features that more expensive VR headsets don’t support. The Quest 2’s
display is high-res and runs at a comfortable 90 hz, too. And the controllers are good.
To better line it up with your eyes for a clearer display, it supports a physical IPD
adjustment with 3 different settings. Due to the way the inside-out tracking works,
you’ll want your room to be brightly lit and preferably with posters and other mess
on the walls to help it to track your location. If you want to game in the dark then you’ll
need infra-red lights, which this headset can also track.
The one big downside is that you require a facebook account to use the Quest 2. And it
has to be a proper account, not some throw-away with a fake name that you made just to be
able to use your Quest 2 because that’s against the TOS and you could end up getting
banned. And if that happens, it will lock you out of using your headset, and you’ll
lose all of the games on your account. As you can imagine, this has been a controversial
topic. I’ve already mentioned a battery pack to
improve how long you can use the Quest 2 wirelessly, but you might also want to invest in a replacement
strap to substantially improve how comfortable this device is to use- Oculus produces their
own ‘Elite Strap’, though there have been some reported issues with its build quality,
so just know that there are other third party replacements available which may be even better.
And invest in some rechargeable AA batteries, since its 2 controllers use one each. The
Quest 2 itself is charged using a USB-C port on the side of the device.
Moving up the pricing tier, we get to the HP Reverb G2, which has been made in collaboration
with Valve and Microsoft. In case you didn’t know, WMR headsets have traditionally been
the cheapest and lowest-specced VR headsets that you can get, but the G2 is like the ‘next
generation’ of WMR, featuring improved tracking and higher specs; the audio and visuals are
among the best you can get! It uses the same speakers as the Valve Index, which are widely
regarded as THE best audio for VR. And visually, it uses high-quality lenses, and the display
itself has brilliant colour accuracy and is very high resolution. The controllers are
still a bit sub-par compared with the Valve and Oculus offerings, but are still an improvement
when compared with the bulky first gen WMR controllers. They still require 2 AA batteries
each, though. Like the Quest 2, it has inside-out tracking,
which means that you won’t need base stations dotted about your room to use this product.
But it means the tracking won’t be so good- it relies on cameras in the headset, and gyroscopes
in the controllers to know where they are and where they’re pointing, so if you lower
the controllers down to waist level and look up then they might be become a bit jittery
and inaccurate. While it’s still early days, tracking is apparently more of an issue with
the G2 than with the Quest 2, despite both using the same tracking methods. And you’ll
need a dedicated PC to be able to use the G2 as there is no built-in computer. And it
needs to be plugged in at all times. Using this over the Quest 2 will give you better
audio and visuals, but the software might not be as polished, being a mixture of WMR
and SteamVR. SteamVR’s fine, and is where I spend most of my time in VR. But my experiences
with WMR have been buggy and unpolished. It WORKS, but wasn’t enjoyable when I tried
it earlier in the year as it felt somewhat neglected by Microsoft. I’m really hoping
that they’ll give it some love in time for the G2’s public release in December.
If you’re going to be using VR in a seated position, like for racing or flight simulations,
then the G2 is a great choice, thanks to its high quality, high resolution visuals. But
if you want the best tracking, the Valve Index is still a better choice.
Which conveniently moves us onto the final, and most expensive headset: the Valve Index.
The visuals aren’t quite as colourful or as high-res as the G2’s, but it’s more
immersive thanks to the wider field of view, and the refresh rate of 144 hz is higher which
will make motion feel more fluid. The Index uses the same great audio as seen on the G2,
and it comes with Knuckles controllers which feel more natural to use than the usual oculus-style
ones. Unlike the Quest 2 and the G2, this one uses base stations for tracking. These
are a hassle to set up around your room, but once you’ve done it, you will get the most
reliable tracking available for VR. So you’ll have to decide on whether you can be bothered
with this aspect of the experience.
So those are the best headsets at each given price-point. But there are other devices which
may be better suited to you if you want something more specific.
If you care a lot about deep, dark blacks then you’ll want a VR headset that uses
an OLED panel. The HTC Vive Pro’s a good option for this- the display won’t be the
sharpest, but the deep blacks will make for an immersive experience, and the device supports
a wireless add-on if you want to go cables-free. If you really, REALLY want the highest field
of view you can get then the Pimax Headsets are worth considering. The visuals on these
will stretch into your peripheral vision more than with other devices, which does make the
experience more immersive. But just be warned that the rest of the device might not be up
to the same high quality as seen in the other products in this video, so more so with these
than with the others, be sure to look up reviews before you buy to ensure the headset comes
with everything you want from it. If you’re on a super-tight budget and simply
can’t stretch to the Quest 2, then older WMR devices, as well as the Rift-S and original
Quest are still options worth considering. These have been discontinued now, but if you
can get them cheaply enough then they’ll still allow you to get the full VR experience.
Just know that you need a facebook account for the Oculus products, and that out of the
WMR devices, the Odyssey + is the best to get.
Once you’ve chosen the headset for you, you need to consider if your PC is fast enough
to power it. The short and simple is: the faster, the better. There is a general ‘baseline’
you should be aiming for- and that’s a quad core CPU and a graphics card at least as powerful
as the Radeon 480 / Geforce 1060. But these are all components from several years ago
now- most modern parts you can buy in late 2020 will be far more powerful than those.
And it’s smart to get something better than the minimum, since the faster and more consistent
your system’s performance is, the better your VR experience will be. Especially if
you have a high refresh rate headset like the Valve Index, or a high resolution one
like the Quest 2 or G2. These will generally require a bit more power to unlock their full
potential. Though also remember the Quest 2 doesn’t need a PC if you’re happy with
its built-in performance and supported applications. It’s a little bit unfortunate that the budget
PC component market has been stagnant for so long. It does mean you can buy a minimum-spec
PC super cheap these days, especially on the second-hand market. As far as new components
go, any Intel 10000, or Ryzen 3000 series of processors will deliver a good experience.
And for graphics cards, this is one of the worst times I’ve ever known to buy a budget
GPU. The newest generation of cards have just come out, but they’re only at the ultra
high-end and since they’re being sold out faster than can be restocked, they seem in
no rush to launch cheaper cards for the budget market. Below 200 dollars, your options are
extremely limited, either not being particularly fast, or not having enough VRAM for VR. I
would personally recommend buying second hand for the best bang for your buck, but if you
have to buy new then, to simplify: any Geforce 2000 series or newer will have plenty of power,
as will a Radeon 5600 or above. The 6000 series is just beginning to come out now, though
only the 6800 is out at the moment and, as you’d expect given its price, is easily
powerful enough to run VR. So that’s it for 2020! Have fun.