Pimax Crystal BMS experience
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The MFD and DED is very clear and even better then on your 2d monitor
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For BMS I have no performance issues what so ever
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For tracking I had zero issues with a lit room or not
For now the Crystal has the best resolution offered on any consumer VR headset.
Other experiences that I had were positive the weight was a little issue but I got use to it. The comfort level is medium.
All in all it is a good headset, and now with the DFR and eye tracking I am even getting 80+ FPS in DCS world with everything on high and even with 8X AF and 2X AA.
Also please note that you will need a very beefy PC to push that resolution.
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@Snake122 Is that where you can see your hands and move them around to flip switches?
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@MailMan No. “Passthrough” is not supported right now. Pimax has said that they plan to do a faceplate that will support that, but not sure of if/when.
What I think we have talked about before on Discord is that I personally chop my facial interfaces on my sim VR headsets so I can look under. I haven’t done this with the Crystal yet, but it appears to use the same facial interface as the 5K/8K X. But the need for it isn’t as big since the Crystal is so clear, I see the MFDs just as clearly as a monitor now. I only miss it to locate physical buttons/switched in my cockpit. But I added more drawer bumpers to my MFD and ICP buttons and am now fine for the most part. It would be amazing if we could support OpenXR in BMS for things like DFR, but also PointCTRL so I wouldn’t need physical buttons/switches anymore besides some of the few that are often used without looking at them.
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@Archer Would you be so kind to share your specs?
Anyway i’m already preparing my battlestation which would consist of a 4090 for the GPU, when it comes to the GPU i’m in doubt between 13900k or 79503xd (supposing that i’m not overkilling with those CPU).
What is your suggestions?
A couple of questions, how would you rate spotting with PIMAX? What is your FPS in ground and ir air in BMS?
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@williang83 i7 13700K, MoBo Asus extreme Edition(might be little different I can’t remember) 64GB DDR 5 6000, 4090 OC couple of M.2 SSD
With the CPU I saw there was no difference between i7/i9 so I went with i7, Some one commented on my YouTube channel that i9 would’ve been better but I am yet to see any benchmark that would show me other wise when it comes to gaming.
Spotting with Pimax Crystal is a solid 10 for me. Actually in BMS it’s just feels like everything is magnified and spotting is like cheating.
FPS on the ground between 80-90 and in the air solid 90.
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@Snake122 So, if I were to buy one, you would suggest the Crystal?
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@Snake122 And I have a NVIDIA 3080TI. Will that suffice?
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I very much like the Crystal and am getting actually slightly better performance than my Reverb G2 somehow on my 4090. I think for BMS and it’s lower VRAM usage and 3080Ti is about as low as I would go with the Crystal, might give you some problems on some other apps and force you to use DFR if you do DCS etc.
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@Archer Hey dad time for an upgrade:
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I’m so glad I returned my Crystal earlier this year. Never buying from Pimax directly again. When Amazon carries this, I will consider getting it.
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@Arty Sure but which GPU will push that resolution with even eye tracking and DFR?
I think Crystal is the best option right now if you have a 4090.
Pimax software and firmware has improved a lot since last year.
Super Crystal might not be out till another year.
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@Archer
The hardware is good, if you get a good one. Unfortunately, it seems like the hardware is hit or miss, which shouldn’t be a problem for a high-end device pushing the limits, but the bigger problem is that their customer support is downright atrocious considering the market they are targeting.I hate to say it but I bought a Quest 3 which is about half the price of the Crystal and I know if it conks out, I just need to walk into my local Curry’s (PC store here in UK) and I can walk out with a replacement unit. I waited 3-4 weeks and still didn’t have a replacement Crystal when I initiated my refund request.
While I’ve definitely noticed a difference in the FOV, I have actually seen an improvement in what I can see with the Quest 3 compared to the Crystal… albeit I’m comparing the Quest 3 with a defective Crystal unit.
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@Atlas Yeah I agree 100% Pimax customer service sucks. In my experience after they determined that my headset was bad, the process moved really fast. From them sending me the Fedex label to getting a new set was like 8 business days.
I think amazon is the best way to go with that. People have the same horror stories about Vajeo Areo too.
The last firmware update made it even more stable and I feel like I am getting more FPS now. The battery life is more then 8 hours with the powered USB hub, and you have 2 batteries.
I will be getting the wide FOV lens soon. Also the new comfort top strap is working great.
I might pre order the Crystal Super with both Qled and micro Qled
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@Archer
If I had gotten the replacement in 8-10 days, then I would’ve been happy. But no, I even had to request a refund 3x before they acted upon it. If I had gotten my refund processed as soon as I said so, I would be in a slightly better mood with regards to Pimax but having to escalate each and every refund request was just taking the piss.They need to either tighten up their QC so less and less headsets go out faulty or sort out their customer service so that any issues are dealt with swiftly and smoothly. Ideally both.