First timer in VR world - Which one to choose?

[Vnavspeed]

I just built a rig as stated in my signature with 9800X3D and RTX 5070Ti GPU

 

Looking to switch to VR world and based on my tiny research, i want highest possible FOV and image clarity. 

 

Don't know which VR is my solution

 

Quest products

Valve index

Oculus 

HTC

Pimax products

 

So what would you recommend based on my expectations?

[Phantom711]

Oculus doesn‘t exist anymore and is now Meta with the Quest product line.

HTC has a new headset but with outdated lenses technology.

Pimax is a player as well.

There is a new MeganeX also and some other exotic choices. 
 

it also depends on your budget of course.

Quest3 is the go-to bread-and-butter headset nowadays. Oh and there’s the Pico 4 unless you are in the US. Pimax Crystal Light would be the other option if we want to stay sub-1000$/€.

[Vnavspeed]

15 minutes ago, Phantom711 said:

Oculus doesn‘t exist anymore and is now Meta with the Quest product line.

HTC has a new headset but with outdated lenses technology.

Pimax is a player as well.

There is a new MeganeX also and some other exotic choices. 
 

it also depends on your budget of course.

Quest3 is the go-to bread-and-butter headset nowadays. Oh and there’s the Pico 4 unless you are in the US. Pimax Crystal Light would be the other option if we want to stay sub-1000$/€.

Trying to stay under $1000 if possible and looking for the highest FOV

[Qcumber]

51 minutes ago, Vnavspeed said:

I just built a rig as stated in my signature with 9800X3D and RTX 5070Ti GPU

 

Looking to switch to VR world and based on my tiny research, i want highest possible FOV and image clarity. 

 

Don't know which VR is my solution

 

Quest products

Valve index

Oculus 

HTC

Pimax products

 

So what would you recommend based on my expectations?

I would also factor in eye tracking as it can give a big performance boost. 

[Zligor]

And stereo overlap. High fov usually sacrefise stereo overlap. Something in between could be the solution. 

[Nodak]

Under $1000 you can throw the wide FOV requirement out, not happening with any latest gen HMD.  Over I'd wait just a bit, the Pimax Supers are shipping in two days, in another week we should be seeing actual flight sim users with initial impressions and reviews to follow.  It meets both requirements on paper at least so far.

[Tensorial_Architect]

On paper, the Pimax Crystal Light would seem like a clear winner for price range you indicate. But that is, ... on paper. In real life, Pimax headsets and their accompanying software (Pimax Play) suffer from a number of quality control issues. Pimax as a company in some ways almost resembles a Ponzi scheme, ... they release numerous headsets all promising wonderful performance but when you actually get your hands on them, most are in various stages of being half-baked. They are also not very good about following up and correcting lingering issues down the line.

Having used all the headsets you mention and considering your $1000 budget, my recommendation is the Quest Pro. (New is about $850 while a lightly used model on Ebay will run you $500 or so.) You would not think it to look at the resolution specs but the in-headset view turns out to be extremely good with its pancake lenses (close to the Varjo Aero, Pimax Crystal, and Somnium Ultimate) and it is far easier to run at 72 Hz with the 5070 Ti you plan than those higher resolution headsets. The Quest Pro does feature true eye-tracking and you can use this feature with the software created by MBucchia (Quad Views) to further increase your frames per second. The Quest Pro also offers exceptional hand tracking (which you can also add custom Github software to further increase), ... so much so that you do not need the various finger pointing devices you will sometimes see mentioned here in the forums. The Quest Pro also has no need for base stations (like the Valve Index and Varjo) and its hand controllers are much better than those that come with the Quest 3.

Either the Quest Pro or the Quest 3 will serve you well. Both have a large user base and both are friendlier for new guys like yourself to get up and running. Both also work well with the RTX 5000 series of GPUs (where as Varjo, Pimax, and Somnium experienced teething problems).

In the end, despite how much I dislike the little weasel Zuckerberg, the Quest Pro or Quest 3 will just provide a better newbie experience for a guy such as yourself.

Edited April 5 by Tensorial_Architect

[Aapje]

I agree with @Tensorial_Architect that if you are new to VR, you should weigh quality control, usability and how easy it is to get support very heavily.

Also, if you are new you don't actually know what you really want, so it is better to start with something a bit more affordable, and to learn from that before you commit to something more expensive.

[diego999]

4 hours ago, Tensorial_Architect said:

On paper, the Pimax Crystal Light would seem like a clear winner for price range you indicate. But that is, ... on paper. In real life, Pimax headsets and their accompanying software (Pimax Play) suffer from a number of quality control issues. Pimax as a company in some ways almost resembles a Ponzi scheme, ... they release numerous headsets all promising wonderful performance but when you actually get your hands on them, most are in various stages of being half-baked. They are also not very good about following up and correcting lingering issues down the line.

Having used all the headsets you mention and considering your $1000 budget, my recommendation is the Quest Pro. (New is about $850 while a lightly used model on Ebay will run you $500 or so.) You would not think it to look at the resolution specs but the in-headset view turns out to be extremely good with its pancake lenses (close to the Varjo Aero, Pimax Crystal, and Somnium Ultimate) and it is far easier to run at 72 Hz with the 5070 Ti you plan than those higher resolution headsets. The Quest Pro does feature true eye-tracking and you can use this feature with the software created by MBucchia (Quad Views) to further increase your frames per second. The Quest Pro also offers exceptional hand tracking (which you can also add custom Github software to further increase), ... so much so that you do not need the various finger pointing devices you will sometimes see mentioned here in the forums. The Quest Pro also has no need for base stations (like the Valve Index and Varjo) and its hand controllers are much better than those that come with the Quest 3.

Either the Quest Pro or the Quest 3 will serve you well. Both have a large user base and both are friendlier for new guys like yourself to get up and running. Both also work well with the RTX 5000 series of GPUs (where as Varjo, Pimax, and Somnium experienced teething problems).

In the end, despite how much I dislike the little weasel Zuckerberg, the Quest Pro or Quest 3 will just provide a better newbie experience for a guy such as yourself.

 

This is good advice.

[Habu_69]

Bigscreen Beyond v2 is worth considering. High res/very good graphics, decent FOV. Negatives are somewhat over your budget, unimpressive binocular overlap, glare (which truthfully did not bother me in DCS).