What would be the best VR headset for BMS my hardware could handle?
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Just upgraded my GPU to a RTX 3090 (was wanting a 4090 but the price on those jumped up to over $2500 when they’re even in stock so forget that). My CPU is a Ryzen 5 5600X, I have 32 GB of RAM and for flight sims (only) I have Windows 10 on a 2TB M2 NVME drive.
So what’s my best option here? Also, would a CPU upgrade increase my options?
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@charlesray said in What would be the best VR headset for BMS my hardware could handle?:
Just upgraded my GPU to a RTX 3090 (was wanting a 4090 but the price on those jumped up to over $2500 when they’re even in stock so forget that). My CPU is a Ryzen 5 5600X, I have 32 GB of RAM and for flight sims (only) I have Windows 10 on a 2TB M2 NVME drive.
So what’s my best option here? Also, would a CPU upgrade increase my options?
What is the VR budget? As for the CPU more is almost always better, but I would just use what you have now…
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I strongly recommend the Pico4. best bang for the buck right now, great Pancake lenses and with 3090 you will have goo frames even at Godlike settings in Virtual Desktop (I have a 3090 as well, and good point, it’ll also fit the next BMS version )
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@charlesray budget, if you intend to do other more traditional VR games/experiences too, issues with Social Media companies would be helpful here also.
As @I-Hawk says, if outside North America, Pico4 is a great choice if you don’t have issues with ByteDance. On the flipside Quest 3 is a great choice in North America if you don’t have problems with Meta, especially if you have a home cockpit setup with its color passthrough.
If on a budget and going for a mostly sim experience, finding a used HP Reverb G2. I really enjoyed my for sim headset for awhile. My Quest 2 though is my VR specific games with better controllers and tracking. I love my Pimax Crystal if it is in your budget. Right now I can’t recommend the wide view Pimax like the 8kX due to too many visual issues with the wide view. But hopefully the next update with OpenXR support will help that.
I haven’t tried the Varjo Aero but it’s another great high-end option.
Right now, you system is plenty, especially with the VR perform improvements brought by @Seifer in the latest update.
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@Snake122 said in What would be the best VR headset for BMS my hardware could handle?:
@charlesray budget, if you intend to do other more traditional VR games/experiences too, issues with Social Media companies would be helpful here also.
Well I said “best” in the thread title since I’m not really setting a budget limit, even if it takes awhile to save up for. Pretty much just getting it for BMS and X-Plane. I am leery of any hardware from shady companies, I know Meta has (at least in the past) required owners to be logged into an account to use their own gear (haven’t really followed the story but I’m steering clear regardless). Wary of Pico’s parent company too, but those aren’t even sold here (and I’m not about to pay import fees) so that’s a moot point anyway.
@Snake122 said in What would be the best VR headset for BMS my hardware could handle?:
I love my Pimax Crystal if it is in your budget. Right now I can’t recommend the wide view Pimax like the 8kX due to too many visual issues with the wide view. But hopefully the next update with OpenXR support will help that.
If the update does fix the issues, would that actually make the 8kX the better option? Can’t help but notice it’s actually cheaper than the Crystal-Sim-Flight, despite being a higher resolution.
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@charlesray there are a lot of people that have had bad experience with Pimax support, but honestly with 3 different headsets with them now, I have had good experience and luck with them.
Actually the 8KX and the Crystal have the same number of pixels at 16,588,800 natively. The difference is that the Crystal is on a smaller FOV so you get more pixel density (think normal 16:9 monitor where the 8KX is like a 21:9). Pixel density maters more than people realize in monitors, but really matters even more in VR headsets. That combined with clearer lenses, better QLED panels, local dimming, the Crystal has better quality visuals with only less FOV (and price) as the tradeoff. Right now, BMS doesn’t support wide view VR well either, which is why I sold off my 8KX, but probably will with the 4.37.4. I’ll be getting the “Big FOV” lenses when Pimax comes out with them to get some of that FOV back hopefully. Also throw in eye tracking which can do Dynamic Foevated Rendering for better performance when BMS supports OpenXR.
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@charlesray As I-Hawk said I would go for Pico4, together with RJ-45 to USB-C adapter I think is the best you can get.
- Nice FOV 104º. Nice binocular overlap, much better than Quest Pro for example.
- Pancake lenses. Quite good definition.
- No problems with BMS (HMCS will have problems with Pimax headsets)
- Worth every penny
- Super smooth
- The only thing I can complain about Pico4 is colour rendition, but whenever OpenXR is out it can be fixed with a few OpenXR Toolkit tweaks.
I would invest the rest of the money into a 5800X3D and you’ll have a nice system to run BMS for a long time with mid to high settings.
My experience with headsets and BMS is: Quest 2, Reverb G2, Quest Pro, Pico 4, Quest 3.
Just my two cents!
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@charlesray said in What would be the best VR headset for BMS my hardware could handle?:
Well I said “best” in the thread title since I’m not really setting a budget limit, even if it takes awhile to save up for. Pretty much just getting it for BMS and X-Plane. I am leery of any hardware from shady companies,
If you choose by company stability and support, without having to log in somewhere to use it, take a gook look at the Varjo Aero now that it’s pricing has come down to be realistic. I was between the Aero and the Crystal, they end up being almost identical in price (once you factor in the need for a Lighthouse for the Aero), went with Aero and am perfectly happy…
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@oleuzop said in What would be the best VR headset for BMS my hardware could handle?:
- No problems with BMS (HMCS will have problems with Pimax headsets)
For the record, not an issue with the Crystal
@charlesray unfortunately doesn’t want to import Pico4. I wish we could get them there more easily and not inflated prices. It’s a great headset though! As is @Icer’s Varjo Aero suggestion, look at those too.
BTW my VR headset experience: Oculus CV1, HTC Vive, Rift S, Pimax 5k, 8kX, Reverb G2, Quest 2, Crystal
- No problems with BMS (HMCS will have problems with Pimax headsets)
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@charlesray said in What would be the best VR headset for BMS my hardware could handle?:
Well I said “best” in the thread title since I’m not really setting a budget limit, even if it takes awhile to save up for.
Varjo XR4?
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@Icer said in What would be the best VR headset for BMS my hardware could handle?:
If you choose by company stability and support, without having to log in somewhere to use it, take a gook look at the Varjo Aero now that it’s pricing has come down to be realistic. I was between the Aero and the Crystal, they end up being almost identical in price (once you factor in the need for a Lighthouse for the Aero), went with Aero and am perfectly happy…
That does look promising. What lighthouse do you use with it? And how many?
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@Atlas said in What would be the best VR headset for BMS my hardware could handle?:
@charlesray said in What would be the best VR headset for BMS my hardware could handle?:
Well I said “best” in the thread title since I’m not really setting a budget limit, even if it takes awhile to save up for.
Varjo XR4?
Well, okay, I guess $4000 is probably way too much.
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@charlesray said in What would be the best VR headset for BMS my hardware could handle?:
@Icer said in What would be the best VR headset for BMS my hardware could handle?:
If you choose by company stability and support, without having to log in somewhere to use it, take a gook look at the Varjo Aero now that it’s pricing has come down to be realistic. I was between the Aero and the Crystal, they end up being almost identical in price (once you factor in the need for a Lighthouse for the Aero), went with Aero and am perfectly happy…
That does look promising. What lighthouse do you use with it? And how many?
I use two, but if your VR use is just sitting for flight/racing sims I believe you can just use one centered/45degrees up in front of you. I purchased one with the Varjo (paid too much) and one direct from Steam (Valve Index Base Station 2.0). Not sure what current Varjo price is for the base station, but would just buy from Steam (if still less) if I was to do it over.
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@charlesray said in What would be the best VR headset for BMS my hardware could handle?:
@Atlas said in What would be the best VR headset for BMS my hardware could handle?:
@charlesray said in What would be the best VR headset for BMS my hardware could handle?:
Well I said “best” in the thread title since I’m not really setting a budget limit, even if it takes awhile to save up for.
Varjo XR4?
Well, okay, I guess $4000 is probably way too much.
Yes, and reality is there is (AFAIK) a hefty annual subscription fee for all the XR series headsets. They are not intended for general gaming/consumer use.
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I do have to say, as a Varjo Aero user, I am quite impressed with the Quest 3’s mixed reality possibilities for those of us with physical MFDs/ICPs/etc… Saw the BMS video, then
explaining how to set it up, has me thinking about it. Just being to easily see the KB would be a great help! -
@Icer said in What would be the best VR headset for BMS my hardware could handle?:
Yes, and reality is there is (AFAIK) a hefty annual subscription fee for all the XR series headsets. They are not intended for general gaming/consumer use.
No subscription for the XR4 AFAIK.
@charlesray said in What would be the best VR headset for BMS my hardware could handle?:
Well, okay, I guess $4000 is probably way too much.
I’m waiting for the reviews to see. $4K is a lot of money but if they make it worth the money…
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@Atlas said in What would be the best VR headset for BMS my hardware could handle?:
No subscription for the XR4 AFAIK.
I’m waiting for the reviews to see. $4K is a lot of money but if they make it worth the money…I’ve put myself on the waitlist and they list nothing about a subscription, but the XR4 is also not available for consumers yet. If they don’t require a subscription €4k is still nuts IMO… just to play games anyway. I love my Aero’s clarity but the one drawback is (if I wasn’t already invested it wouldn’t matter) I lose the use of all my physical cockpit equipment (and keyboard). This is why I play BMS 2D only, at least until my two year wait for a Point Control setup is shipped and BMS supports it (and OpenXR)…
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@Icer said in What would be the best VR headset for BMS my hardware could handle?:
@Atlas said in What would be the best VR headset for BMS my hardware could handle?:
No subscription for the XR4 AFAIK.
I’m waiting for the reviews to see. $4K is a lot of money but if they make it worth the money…@Atlas - You are correct! I dug a bit deeper and saw this:
XR-4
Superlative Immersion
Starting at 3,990 €/$.
No subscription required.
No Outside tracking needed (no more need for Lighthouses)
Controllers includedI’ve put myself on the waitlist as the XR4 is not available for consumers yet. But in reality €4k is still nuts IMO… just to play games anyway. I love my Aero’s clarity but the one drawback is (if I wasn’t already invested it wouldn’t matter) I lose the use of all my physical cockpit equipment (and keyboard). This is why I play BMS 2D only, at least until my two year wait for a Point Control setup is shipped and BMS supports it (and OpenXR)…
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Varjo website says they’re available for checkout now. But auto focus passthrough (for your cockpit) actually costs $10,000.
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@Screenfacer said in What would be the best VR headset for BMS my hardware could handle?:
@Icer
Varjo website says they’re available for checkout now. But auto focus passthrough (for your cockpit) actually costs $10,000.Don’t believe you need the 51 PPD Auto Focus Passthrough of the Focal Edition, The standard XR4 comes with 33 PPD passthrough, would guess (Considering the Q3’S VR itself is only 25PPD vs. 39PPD max of the Aero) that it is significantly better than the Q3 but really no idea what the Q3 color passthough is (haven’t looked).