An vr headset for pc/console gaming?

I have never used any vr products in my life and now I'm looking to buy my first vr headset, which will be mainly used for pc/console gaming and watching movies on my pc/tv. The games I will be playing will be. but not limited to: Half Life - Alyx, Skyrim, beat saber, Resident Evil VII and a few other titles.

Oculus quest 2 seems like an affordable option, but I'm a bit uncomfortable with a mandatory facebook account to use it. What is the purpose of this? Can facebook/government know what you watch/play with this product? And what is with the different storage capacity on each model? Does it store the games in it?

And as for hp reverb g2, it's a bit over my budget and I have seen some reviewers mentioning the controller issues?

As for the Valve index, it's way beyond my reach with that price and stock level.

Can anyone recommend which one is best for me? Thanks.

 

The only console that supports VR is the Playstation 4 and 5. Currently you need Playstation VR for that to work, although Sony have announced they will release a new VR headset specifically for PS5. There are ways to use the Playstation VR on PC, but none of them are official and it's definitely a diluted experience.

For your use case I would suggest an Oculus Quest 2, aside from ""console gaming" (which you can't do with any headset other than Playstation VR) it meets all your needs and is extremely well priced.

Quest 2 is an excellent product, I use one personally. I won't attempt to answer your concerns about Facebook, that's a personal choice and one that imho people get irrationally sensitive about. If you already have a Facebook account then there is plenty of information about how Oculus access and treat your data. If you don't have a Facebook account then creating one is (imho) no different to creating a Steam, or Epic, or Apple, or Stadia account to buy and play games. Admittedly you do need to use a ''real'' profile on Facebook (or risk being deleted), but there are plenty of ways to secure your privacy.

As for how Quest 2 works, you should definitely do some more research - there are HEAPS of great YT reviews and VR websites out there.

These are ones I personally use:

UploadVR: VR/AR News, Reviews, Guides, Analysis
VRFocus – The Reality of Virtual Reality
Road to VR - Virtual Reality News

Virtual Reality Oasis - YouTube
ThrillSeeker - YouTube
Adam Savage’s Tested - YouTube (search channel for VR)
SteveKnows - YouTube
Tyriel Wood - VR Tech - YouTube
Cas and Chary VR - YouTube
UpIsNotJump - YouTube

I think you answered your own question

 

If your totally new to VR there are a few things to take into consideration since there are a fair few options floating these days but its also one of those things which doesnt make too much sense without actually experiencing it first hand, it can be pretty hard to portray in words. (at least for me lol)

I play lots of competitive / fast pace VR shooters and racing SIM's and the most important thing I found wasnt the quality / fidelity of the panels but the quality and accuracy of the tracking system, when tracking glitches it immediately breaks the immersion (the whole point of VR) and often causes nausea for those without VR legs.

I personally dont believe the inside out tracking system (reverb G2, quest2) are at a level to totally immerse me and Iv already had a few friends return the G2 headsets and swap them with an index (baller$ lol) because the tracking system (amazing visual quality though)

I havnt gotten to try many of the newer headsets but iv tried the vive, rift, DK2 and quest1 and the vive was the one I ended up going with due to the lighthouse tracking system and I have no intent to replace it till something like the index becomes domestically available (mainly due to warranty stuff) but its not the best for watching movies or SBS 3D content. I have about 4500hrs on my vive currently.

Definitely check out those links The Beast posted as they are great sources of info and reviews and you will soon learn there is no perfect solution yet and many companies have different ideas on where VR tech should be heading so you will generally have to compromise something unless your pockets are bottomless. Another option if you willing is to check out gumtree or ebay for 2nd hand vive/rift kits as they will generally go for around the $300 mark.

 

All the games you mentioned will be best on a light house based VR system. But if G2 is over budget, you are pretty limited there.
I'd wait and save for G2, accept the occasional tracking issues, and call it a day. And keep an eye out for cheap second hand deals in the meantime.

 

I don't know about that. Quest 2 has the ability to do PC VR wirelessly through Virtual Desktop, and it's pretty transformative to play something like Half-Life Alyx in full PCMR glory without a single wire attached. For many people the untethered experience far outweighs tracking accuracy of light houses. I can play those games and rarely if ever notice any tracking issues, but you CANNOT play them without being aware of the cable hanging off your headset, at least not without rigging an elaborate overhead pully suspension system.

EDIT: This point is well made in this new video about Oculus Air Link from Virtual Reality Oasis (which I watched after typing this post).

Oculus are working on an official version of what Virtual Desktop provided called Air Link, so it'll be the first main stream PC VR headset to go untethered at an affordable price.

Quest 2 is about to enable 120Hz support as well, which is kind of incredible.

 

Another vote for quest 2 here. I hadn’t touched VR until a few months back when I found an ozbargain deal for around $430 (64gb - amazon us).

Created my Facebook account (real name) since I didn’t have one, and gradually built a little collection of games in the built in oculus store (probably should’ve got the 256gb version in hindsight), it’s ridiculously fun and portable, I’ve been showcasing it to friends and family when we visit.

Then i upgraded my home wifi6 router and moved onto half life alyx wirelessly via virtual desktop (see comments about airlink above), amazing game, no issues.

I can’t see myself upgrading to anything more expensive right now, this just works and I cringe at the thought of having those room trackers or wires attached.

 

Or maybe go for an original HTC vive second hand until you know if you like it or not.
And then move up from there

 

Air Link is now out, I'm using it on mine already. The new update is staged at what seems a random rollout to different users. Also once you have the update you need to go turn it on under experimental features in the headset and also in the beta settings in the oculus software on PC. The only real differences between Air Link and Virtual Desktop seems to be Air Link can use ASW (https://www.oculus.com/blog/introducing-asw-2-point-0-better-accuracy-lower-latency/). Virtual Desktop seems to have slightly better picture quality.

If the OP intends to wireless stream PC games, keep in mind a dedicated fast wifi router positioned nearby is recommended. I stupidy purchased a wifi 6 tplink dirt cheap (dedicated to use for VR) thinking it would be ok to use a cheap AP with just 1 client (the quest 2 headset) only to find out it can't handle wifi6 at high PPS/bitrates without it's CPU hitting 100% and dropping packets, switching back to 802.11ac resolved the issue for me (in HL Alyx).

One thing to take into account with tracking systems - do you want a dedicated area that requires setup, or would you prefer to take your headset to other places to play? I must say HL Alyx is a very different experience when you play it inside a large garage and can actually physically walk around . Alyx isn't a particularly hard game either, I had no trouble headshotting enemies in the distance, apart from my arms getting tired after a while holding them up to aim. I'm not sure you would detect tracking issues unless you are used to something better. I also have a Oculus Rift retail (my kids now use it as a hand-me-down) with external tracking and it doesn't seem to be any better.

Yes it does for Native games you can purchase on the store, these require no PC to play. It also supports both wired (via USB-C cable) or Wireless PC gaming.

 

Thanks for replying fellas, now I have some ideas about the it. But what I mind the most is if facebook can access your account and know what you play or watch with your headset?

 

Are you worried Facebook's going to know you're doing extra curricular activities with your headset?
Hunting Blondies in VR so to speak?

 

Its facebook... if they dont already know then they sure will after you buy one lol
I was seriously considering one of the Rift series headsets to replace my vive at one stage because I like the controller ergonomics way more than the Vive wands but when the info went live about how they will be managing their VR headsets moving forward I instantly turned off their products line as that was a compromise I wasnt willing to make.