Pimax 5K+ review from a long time Rift user

hansangb · February 10, 2019

So many many months ago, I wrote a detailed Rift vs Vive review. I ordered both and decided to keep Rift. Then I tried the original Odyssey and decided to return it to keep Rift. I'm not returning the Pimax5K+.

I only got to play with it for about 25 minutes or so. But the wider FOV and clearly better resolution makes it a keeper.

The setup sucked. Pimax's FAQ etc is all over the place, common for a company not used to having to have all the backend stuff squared away. They've been busy shipping the units. So it took me about an hour of poking around trying to figure out what version of PimaxTool I needed to download.

So when it comes to setup, RIFT wins *hands* down.

Software, again Rift wins. The PimaxTool still has a problem where the colors are all washed out.

Comfort? Rift has a slight edge, but I attribute it to my being more familiar with it. It's not uncomfortable by any stretch of the imagination.

FOV...of course Pimax wins. As does clarity.

The Pimax has a 3.5mm slot for you to plug in your headphone of choice. But I do miss Rift's built-in headphones.

The wider FOV isn't noticeable until you notice it. It's very similar to trying to describe what VR feels like. It's just more natural. If I try my Rift again, I think I may feel a bit claustrophobic. It's subtle, but it's noticeable when you, well, notice it. But that's the whole point. You're *not* supposed to notice it if it's "natural"

Sooooo, is it better in terms of resolution. YES!! I didn't notice the difference between Odyssey (original) and the Rift. But there is clearly a difference with Pimax5K+ . For example, when I look at the right MFD on the Hornet, the BRA can be seen EASILY. With Rift, I have to lean in a tad or look closely. FPS was about 50-60'ish.

Anyway, it was a quick jump but I won't be able to try again until next weekend. Stay tuned for more information. And I'll try to get a GoPro hooked up if I can. I may have to rig up a jig to keep the GoPro in place.

So far, I'm liking what I'm seeing.

etherbattx · February 10, 2019

Pimax 5K+ review from a long time Rift user

nice writeup. thanks.

is the fps performance the same as the rift?

Sunshadow · February 10, 2019

Nice review. What about the clarity of distant objects compared to the Rift? Are they still blurry/muddy, or is the resolution high enough? Sold my Rift, because other planes/objects in the distance looked like a blurry cloud.

Jyge · February 10, 2019

I would be interested in comparisons to Vive Pro or Odyssey+ as they actually put out more pixels per inch as 5K...

hansangb · February 10, 2019

I would be interested in comparisons to Vive Pro or Odyssey+ as they actually put out more pixels per inch as 5K...

I don't think that's right. O+ is 1440 X 1600 per eye. Vive Pro is about the same I think.

5K+ is 2560×1440 per eye. So it's about 1.3M more pixels.

Performance is on par with rift as far as I can see. With ASW, Rift was alwys locked at 45. I don't remember what it was w/o ASW.

Next weekend, I hope to reconnect the Rift to take the same flights and spot the differences in resolution etc. I'll place planes at known distances with quick mission.

hansangb · February 10, 2019

Nice review. What about the clarity of distant objects compared to the Rift? Are they still blurry/muddy, or is the resolution high enough? Sold my Rift, because other planes/objects in the distance looked like a blurry cloud.

Again, a quick test, will do more thorough testing next Sunday (I hope). But on the Instant machine, the runway was clearer to me. But I'll do some more testing next week.

Jyge · February 10, 2019

I don't think that's right. O+ is 1440 X 1600 per eye. Vive Pro is about the same I think.

5K+ is 2560×1440 per eye. So it's about 1.3M more pixels.

Performance is on par with rift as far as I can see. With ASW, Rift was alwys locked at 45. I don't remember what it was w/o ASW.

Next weekend, I hope to reconnect the Rift to take the same flights and spot the differences in resolution etc. I'll place planes at known distances with quick mission.

Look at the vertical value 1440<1600 and 200° FOV means also less horizontal pixels for the 110° area in relation...

etherbattx · February 10, 2019

Pimax 5K+ review from a long time Rift user

how can pimax display more pixels with the same performance?

are they using a more modern rendering tech stack and more efficient drivers?

Icebeat · February 11, 2019

how can pimax display more pixels with the same performance?

are they using a more modern rendering tech stack and more efficient drivers?

Because DCS bottleneck is not in the GPU but in the use of one CPU core.

capthaltli · February 11, 2019

Can you share your settings for PIMAX 5K+, DCS PD, PiTools render %, and SteamVR settings?

I have my 5K+, but don't find the clarity much better than my rift, but my settings could be too low.

hansangb · February 12, 2019

Will do later this week. Probably like Sunday.

Boris · February 13, 2019

I'm very surprised to read that you find the performance to be on par with the Rift.

I'll also be curious to see your settings.

Lehmen · February 13, 2019

I have my 5K+, but don't find the clarity much better than my rift, but my settings could be too low.

Clarity is not that much better, especially if you if you turn on any kind of antialliasing. You still need to be quite close to an object to figure out what it is. VR zoom helps, of course. There is a very long way to get comparable image in VR as on 4K screen. Currently we are around 1980x1080 screens or so.

sea2sky · February 13, 2019

Currently we are around 1980x1080 screens or so.

Oh :), that is way too optimistic evaluation. I would not even think about upgrading my rift is that was true.

Harlikwin · February 13, 2019

Oh :), that is way too optimistic evaluation. I would not even think about upgrading my rift is that was true.

Yeah, my rift was a significant step down from my 1080p screen in terms of visual quality. But its all a PPD thing. The monitor is 1080p with a 30-40 degree FOV (as a very wild guess), while the rift is slightly lower but with a 100 degree FOV, so the PPD is much lower.

Jabbers_ · February 13, 2019

Performance is on par with rift as far as I can see. With ASW, Rift was alwys locked at 45. I don't remember what it was w/o ASW.

I have a review in the works and did not come up with the same results here, at all... then i looked at your specs and realized why you did.

Harlikwin · February 13, 2019

I have a review in the works and did not come up with the same results here, at all... then i looked at your specs and realized why you did.

Tease...

hansangb · February 14, 2019

I have a review in the works and did not come up with the same results here, at all... then i looked at your specs and realized why you did.

Yeah, I was thinking I had headroom that could be spared. Can't wait for your review. Always the right mix of informative and funny. Kind of like "This Old Tony" on Youtube. That guy is a SUPERB youtuber/teacher/machinest. With awesome YT videos.

hansangb · February 17, 2019

OK, I made three changes to my system. Updated DCS to 2.5.4.27314 (but not the hotfix yet), updated to the latest NVidia, and changed the Nvida control panel to BALANCED instead of PERFORMANCE setting. And updated to the latest PiTool & SteamVR.

And my FPS dropped to high 30's. So one of the above is the culprit.

HOWEVER, I also took time hook up my Rift again. And I *NEVER* understood what people were saying whey they said "looking through a scuba mask" Since I started with DK1, DK2, then CV1, I guess I got used to it. But after using 5K+, HOLY COW is Rift claustrophobic. It looks EXACTLY like I"m looking through a scuba mask! :) Like I wrote in the first post, FOV is something you don't notice until you notice it!

As for visual clarity, I'll write it up after I get back. But there is a noticeable difference for me. I think I found a way to compare Rift vs 5K+ so that everyone will know what I'm talking about. So stay tuned.

Simon1279 · February 18, 2019

Oh :), that is way too optimistic evaluation. I would not even think about upgrading my rift is that was true.

Currently i own OG vive, rift and Samsung odyssey plus, rift and vive are now collecting the dust since the day the odyssey plus arrived, there's no comparison in therms of clarity and resolution, comfort wise i would stick to rift, but about sound quality, image quality and so on, the odyssey plus has no rivals compared to all of my other hardwares, i'm curious about Pimax, but now i'm too used to basically no SDE anymore, better clarity, better colors, better resolution, for me SDE was something totally unacceptable.

dburne · February 18, 2019

Currently i own OG vive, rift and Samsung odyssey plus, rift and vive are now collecting the dust since the day the odyssey plus arrived.

There is this thing called Ebay…

:smilewink:

Mango · February 18, 2019

but about sound quality, image quality and so on, the odyssey plus has no rivals compared to all of my other hardwares, i'm curious about Pimax, but now i'm too used to basically no SDE anymore, better clarity, better colors, better resolution, for me SDE was something totally unacceptable.

That's intriguing. SDE is by far my biggest gripe with VR today!

pegon · February 18, 2019

SDE is a threshold thing. On the 5k+ I only notice when I look for it. In pitool there are 3 basic settings for brightness, mine is set to "low" as it looks better. So maybe if you see it, you can try my setting.

Pinello · February 18, 2019

OK, I made three changes to my system. Updated DCS to 2.5.4.27314 (but not the hotfix yet), updated to the latest NVidia, and changed the Nvida control panel to BALANCED instead of PERFORMANCE setting. And updated to the latest PiTool & SteamVR.

And my FPS dropped to high 30's. So one of the above is the culprit.

From the hardware thread:

https://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=3797666&postcount=11

The Falcon · February 18, 2019

in terms of fps, how much did you lose by switching to pimax?

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Pimax 5K+ review from a long time Rift user

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