Trying to decide Quest 2 or Reverb G2

[Auger]

With all the Black Friday sales going on I'm seriously considering replacing my Rift S. DCS is running pretty smooth with the Rift S, but to be honest I'm starting to tire of the screen door effect and these old eyes need better clarity.

Was flying on a MP server yesterday, I was in a Harrier and had been chased by a Mirage who must have been bingo weapons and turned for home. I had no missiles left but decided to turn and pursue with the hopes of getting a gun kill. I knew where he was via the map and we were at the same altitude, but damned if I could see him until I was just about in gun range. Made the kill and it was my first gun kill. Was great fun, but decided then and there that a new VR headset was in my future.

My thoughts for the Quest 2 is... it's cheaper and easier to setup. I would have it connected to the PC for DCS, but I also like the idea that it can be used in the living room for other VR games. I'm not sure if this is correct, but I've read that because of the battery you only get a couple hours of playing time and that the cable does not power/charge the headset while playing. Is this correct? If so it would be a deal breaker as I sometimes spend 3 or 4 hours on MP servers.

The Reverb G2 appears to have better clarity and colors. The downsides are the setup, I'm not tech savy, so all this talk of WMR, debug tools etc, etc, leaves me scratching my head. Also heard the G2 needs some horsepower to run well (my system specs below) and that the controllers feel cheap compared to the Oculus controllers... and I do use my controllers while in game. And if a better graphic card is needed.... I refuse to pay the inflated prices for the 3000 series cards. Would have to wait for a price drop and that could be a couple years down the road.

Sorry to be verbose, but cant seem to make the decision one way or the other. I surely dont want to make a $400-$500 mistake.

System specs.

i9 9900k 3.6g

32g mem

RTX2080 16g

Know this topic has been batted about quite a bit and I've read most of the threads, but still would appreciate some input.

Thanks

Edited November 24, 2021 by Auger

[AlpineGTA]

First of all, I would say spotting aircraft in VR can be difficult in any headset. Perhaps slightly better in some than others, I'm sure other people will comment/have their opinions on that.

Regarding the headsets, I went from a Rift S to a Quest 2 to a Reverb G2. The clarity of the G2 was very nice but I hated having to use the mixture of Steam VR and Windows Mixed Reality software to get it to work. The Oculus software is much simpler and easier to use. I eventually returned my G2 after reliability issues. I went through several cables and two headsets. Having said that, I believe the reliability is now much improved with a new cable design.

I'm now using my Quest 2 and really enjoying it. The clarity is much better than the Rift S, with virtually no noticeable screen door and, in my opinion, not much less than a G2. I find most of the cockpit instruments clear and readable enough, only slightly less clear than the G2 but much better than the Rift. The standard head strap is horribly uncomfortable though, the elite strap makes it much more comfortable, if still not on par with the comfort of the G2.

Regarding the Quest 2 battery life, use it with a powered USB hub and it will stay charged absolutely fine and you can fly in DCS for as long as you want.

[Drac]

Should not have any problems running the G2.  Your system is more powerful than mines and the G2 runs great for me.

[eaglecash867]

Your system will do just fine with the G2.  Its actually less taxing on your system than lower-resolution headsets because you don't have to do nearly as much supersampling to get a decent image.  The setup process really isn't as scary as it is sometimes made to sound on these forums.  Once you have WMR enabled on your machine, you just need to download Steam VR, along with a second Steam program called "Steam VR for WMR".  Once you get those installed, running the G2 is no more difficult than plugging the G2 in, waiting for WMR to recognize it and run (which all happens automatically), double-clicking your DCS icon like you've always done to start DCS...and that's it.  Steam VR will start automatically and next thing you know, you'll be sitting in the DCS hangar.

[dburne]

Reverb G2 hands down.

[TZeer]

I have tested both. But not on the same system.

G2 on a 2080Ti powered rig, Quest 2 on a 2080 rig.

Although the clarity on G2 was better in the sweetspot, the size of the sweetspot was terrible. Your eyes had to be dead centered, and constantly using your head to change focuspoint.

Over time it was tiresome on the eyes. Almost felt I was crosseyed when using the set sometimes.

 

After testing the G2 I gambled on the Quest 2, due to recent positive feedback on the softwareupdates, and improved visual quality in the headset. Although it's not quite up there with the G2 in clarity in sweetspot (but not far behind), it felt less stressing on my eyes. I think mainly due to a much better (larger) sweetspot then the G2.

But as stated above, the standard strap is terrible!

[dburne]

Black Friday / Cyber Monday deal on HP Reverb G2.

Fantastic price for a fantastic VR headset for flight sims especially.

https://www.roadtovr.com/best-hp-reverb-g2-black-friday-2021-sale-cyber-monday-deal/

 

[Steel Jaw]

Black Friday in Canada means a whole let less, exceptionally lame here.  Aint no deals to be had in VR.

[chlywly]

I have both. The G2 is far superior for simulations, the Q2 is far superior for everything else. That is all.

[neoshi]

I was also considering the G2 vs Q2 because of all the deals. For your system, OP, you can use either like others have mentioned. The feedback I got from Reddit and other places (because I intend to also use it outside of the sim realm) was that the Q2 ended being more user friendly and had a lot more features that the G2 didn't have. Also, there are just some games you want to play wirelessly. The charging situation was also a worry of mine, but like alpine mentioned, a powered USB hub for when you're sitting will work and a battery pack for when your wireless will also work. Ultimately though, I made the decision based on two more important factors for me... my system is still a Sandy bridge i5-2500k/GTX 1070 setup (i did pick up a 3070 TI FE for MSRP, but contemplating what to do with it still since 12th gen Intel CPUs are somewhat problematic +DDR5 & mobo cost, and Ryzen is due for a new gen), and I was able to get the Q2 for practically just tax from Amazon. I got it when it hit $249 along with a $50 future Amazon credit for Amazon sold and shipped items, bringing it down to $199+tax. At that point, I was able to also apply for an Amazon Prime CC (instant approval), which gave me a $200 Amazon GC bonus, which was then utilized for the Q2. Lastly, using a referral before I activated the Q2 also gave me $30 in the Oculus store (if you end up getting the Q2 and need a referral for the credit, you can use mine and let me know if you need me to walk you through it: https://www.oculus.com/referrals/link/ne0shi/). So, I suppose one could really see this as $tax-$30 Oculus credit, but I discount the Oculus credit since that is mostly used to buy games or apps I would not necessarily need to buy (except maybe Virtual Desktop). It was just hard to beat that vs the $399 G2 deal (now expired I believe and $550). 

My biggest worry now though is that the battery in the Q2 will likely be donezo in 2 years. A solely wired headset wouldn't have problems, but a wireless battery powered one certainly does. Also, there's issues like the Q2 stock strap is a recipe for headaches, so you're going to have to spend another $30 or so for a better strap at the very least. Battery and all that you could use an existing battery pack and USB-C cable as long as they're properly secured. On the flip side, the G2 also might be obsolete in the same timeframe because new products like the professional Quest headset is slated for next year or something and other manufacturers could also be developing the next gen as well. To me though, that meant that spending as little as possible was still the best option for me. So you're going to have to really think about your own future needs here as well.

[Auger]

Thanks for all the replies. So far it looks like the Quest 2 would be the better choice as I need to consider that all the Oculus games I've already bought would be useless with the G2.

Two quick questions...

Will the Oculus Link cable, connected to the back of my PC keep the headset running/charging for marathon flying or do I need a second USB cable connected to a hub?

Watching YT videos I see a couple people say that while connected to the PC there is compression going on that makes the Q2 look worse than the G2 or even Q2 stand alone. The comments were on reviews of about a year ago, so wondering if that compression problem has been fixed.

[neoshi]

I feel like the recent Airlink updates (especially with sharpening and ASW) have really made both Virtual Desktop (even with SSW) and the link cable a bit moot, but I do need to still utilize Virtual Desktop in some cases. VD does look slightly better to me, but they're so damn close that in game, you can't really tell. Text in the cockpit might be a different story but i haven't fully tested that yet. I tried it a bit in Elite Dangerous and I really don't see a need to use the link cable. Then I utilize the usb-c port solely for power from a battery. Having a wifi 6 router (Asus AX86U is my recommendation) and having the PC wired probably helps as well. Plus, not having the cable despite being in a chair saves me the trouble of my kid walking around behind me tugging on it (3 year olds yanno?! "OOH DADDY WHAT'S THIS??")

I've been following these guys here to see how well Airlink has been working with DCS, and it looks positive. I think your question may be better posed in that thread to see what updates they've experienced since they've mostly come from link cables: 

 

 

 

Edited November 26, 2021 by neoshi

[chlywly]

Keep in mind, through VD or cable the Q2 will discharge at a high rate. It truly stinks for SIMS... nothing you can do. The battery discharges quicker than you can charge it, plugged in. In some sense you're better off doing VD with a spare battery plugged into the back. Will give you more mileage.

Edited November 26, 2021 by chlywly

[cdrkrotchetyusn]

My Quest 2 stays fully charged, or will charge back up from nearly depleted, while using the Oculus Quest 2 Link cable, or my 10000 maH cell phone battery pack.  When using Virtual Desktop, the Link cable serves to keep charging the Quest 2.  Using Air Link, my Quest 2 will go from 20% charge to fully charged.

All while flying DCS.

The secret?

a Gen2 USB 3.1 card in the back of my PC.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B087G7T234/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Baldrick33]

G1 and Quest2 owner here and I concur with everything Werewolf-fs says. G1/2 for simulations, Q2 for other stuff.

[wormeaten]

Price is similar if you take into consideration that you will invest in better audio and head strap for sure and that is an additional 100 to 200$ on starting 300$. So major advantages will be wireless and multifunctionality. Maybe your 2080 will be better Q2 because of the easy setup and more Hz options.

If you are planing a GPU upgrade in the next year or two then maybe you should wait with G2 not because it is bad, just the opposite. G2 is a better option for flight sim-only usage but next year we are expecting some new VR HMDs like Arpara, Varjo Aero is still out of the league.

Bobo VR M2 PRO is a hello strap with an additional battery and costs 60$. Give you around 5 hours of WiFi play and have an easy magnetic swap battery so if you buy an additional battery for 30$ practically you have endless power by swapping and recharging batteries. Comfort will be similar to Rift S but without cables. Audio is the same as Rift S.

Maybe you should think about waiting one more year because next year is a gamechanger in VR and GPU as well. VR with Pancake optics and GPU with the most significant GPU jump in performances. For example, you will get in 7600XT same powerful GPU as today is 6900XT approximate within today's market price of 6700XT. Similar is expecting with Nvidia so you could get 4070 in similar price as 3070 but performances similar as today 3090.

Think about it do you need it right now ar you can with 2080 and Rift S to wait another year?
On other hand, for Rift S you can easily get 200 to 250$ on eBay. So maybe Q2 will be easy to archive and you will wait for the Arpara AiO version to be released next year.

[vladimusmaximus]

Although in general the G2 is superior for sims, the elephant in the room for DCS is that there is a really terrible cross-eye (eyestrain) issue which never gets fully resolved with constant tweaking of their WMR debugger tool. It's a serious known issue, and no one has really figured it out. I can barely stand 20m without eye-strain. Not present in the Quest2.

[Baldrick33]

48 minutes ago, vladimusmaximus said:

Although in general the G2 is superior for sims, the elephant in the room for DCS is that there is a really terrible cross-eye (eyestrain) issue which never gets fully resolved with constant tweaking of their WMR debugger tool. It's a serious known issue, and no one has really figured it out. I can barely stand 20m without eye-strain. Not present in the Quest2.

It seems a bit variable. I got through four Reverb G1s under warranty, one of which I needed to adjust using the WMR tool, the others including the current one. I did try a G2 with DCS and saw no issue. Maybe the elephant in the room is the reliability of the headsets and cables. The Quest 2 seems pretty solid in this respect.

[dburne]

My G2 still doing very well for me. 

[Steel Jaw]

On 11/29/2021 at 4:59 AM, Werewolf_fs said:

Both are great VR viewers but right now G2 wins in everything for simulation and DCS in particular.

 

Except price.

[dburne]

56 minutes ago, Steel Jaw said:

Except price.

 

True but really what you get with the Reverb G2 it is still a good bargain. Especially as compared to other native PC-VR headsets.

[Werewolf_fs]

hace 58 minutos, Steel Jaw dijo:

Excepto precio.

 

On black friday the G2 in Europe were at € 399, there were even offers at € 379, little difference over the Q2 € 349...

[Lucidus]

I changed Reverb G1 to Quest 2. G1 has little better image quality but tracking is better with Quest 2. When I use Quest 2 for sims I keep it in charger (normal 2m usb cord) using airlink so battery is full all of time. I changed because Reveb cord didn't last in my use. It was two times in warranty. We used it with room-scale too (I have 8 year old boy) and that was the problem, not sims. G2 may have better cord. 

Quest 2 works wireless so I recommend it if you play others than sims too. Reverb G2 is better if you play only sims. What comes to price you must remember that Quest need external headset or head strap because sounds are lousy. I think without charger or external battery you can play about 2-3 hours with airlink so head strap with battery may be a correct choose.