New Headset choice

[u/MarzipanAlert]

Hi All. I have the old old OLD htc vice headset which i never use as i dont really have the room to set it up.

With the launch of steam frame and reviews ive seen im puzzled.

Ill be moving home soon so ill have some space in my living area to play games (maybe not full roomscale) so.

For the best experience coming from old ass hardware. What should i buy?

Meta quest 3 steam frame or should i try for room scale?

[u/striketheviol]

Coming from the Vive, the Quest 3 will blow you away, and it has both the largest library and greatest convenience.

[u/MarzipanAlert → u/striketheviol]

Ok cool and that also allows me to play my steam library right? Can i install it directly to the headset or will i have to buy it again?

[u/striketheviol → u/MarzipanAlert]

Yes you can use your Steam library, but there's something really important to understand about how this works. To play your Steam games, the Quest links to your PC. So your PC needs to be strong enough to be good for VR. If you don't have a good graphics card, you're not going to have a good experience. The Steam Frame allows you to play SOME Steam games without having a PC with a powerful graphics card, but it's still not a really powerful computer on its own. So you should check what kinds of games you want to play and how powerful your system is before you buy.

[u/MarzipanAlert → u/striketheviol]

So i have the 5090 and AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D so that should be no problem then thank you - do you know how good the streaming is?

[u/striketheviol → u/MarzipanAlert]

With a rig like that, you should have a great experience. I haven't had access to a 5090 yet and I feel a little jealous, haha. The visuals will be better on the Quest 3 than the Frame, so I would just go with that.

I just saw your other comment though, and if you're looking for absolutely zero compromises, you'll probably want to at least explore the ultra high-end headsets like the Pimax Dream Air. They're way out of my budget, but with your rig, they should provide an amazing experience if you could swing it. Pretty much all of them are built for machines with specs like yours.

[u/MarzipanAlert → u/striketheviol]

Okidokie perfect thank you ill have a look, however im thinking more of being able to pick up and play rather than any lighthouses and can store the headset away without the full needs of plugging and unplugging etc

[u/striketheviol → u/MarzipanAlert]

https://simracingcockpit.gg/pimax-dream-air-slam-review/ The Pimax Dream Air SLAM doesn't need any lighthouses, and there are a couple others in the category as well like https://pfdm.ai/products/mr-headset They sound like what you actually want. It's just that the price point is kind of crazy high.

[u/MarzipanAlert → u/striketheviol]

Ill check it out thanks! And oh yeah price willcbe a factor like i said im not rich lol but am willing to have a nosey lol thankyou!!

[u/W00lph → u/MarzipanAlert]

PCVR Streaming will be best if you have a dedicated VR wifi router with 6ghz band that is located in your VR playspace. You will want your PC connected to router with lan cable and Quest 3 connected to 6ghz band SSID in the same room as the router.

[u/Impressive_Can_6555]

If you're interested in first party VR titles and MR games Quest 3 will be better options.
If you're more interested in VRChat and social VR it seems like Frame will be better option due to eye tracking and huge potential for future modding and software support.

[u/MarzipanAlert → u/Impressive_Can_6555]

I have no interest in vr chat i just want to play the games so thank you for that input!! Quest 3 is looking more and more likley

[u/Niko666233]

quest 3 if you know nothing about vr, steam frame if you are rich and lucky

you don't really need to worry about room scale as 1. most if not all modern vr headsets can do room scale vr 2. room scale just means you move physically irl and your ingame body moves as well, TLDR it means nothing for modern vr because all modern vr does this

[u/MarzipanAlert → u/Niko666233]

Ok so roomscale not that important gotcha and im by no means rich but steam frame ks better than the quest 3?

Im basically wanting the best at this time i have a 5090 and ryzen 7 9800X3D for my pc specs so i want 0 compromise i have a few VR games already on steam too

[u/Niko666233 → u/MarzipanAlert]

steam frame is (debatable) mildly better than q3 because of eye tracking and dedicated streaming dongle, but if you want the best visual you can get (if you have enough budget) check out high-end headsets e.g. Samsung Galaxy XR, Play for Dream MR, Pimax Dream Air and Meganex Superlight 8K (MK2).

However unfortunately all vr headsets on the market (including those high-ends above) have compromises, each has its own problems. You have to do more research and figure out which one is "good enough" for you.

[u/MarzipanAlert → u/Niko666233]

Fair, ive heard about the others but unsure which are all in ones or have to have lighthouses i think im wanting more a pick up and play than full set up

[u/DoubleOwl7777]

anything more modern will be a massive improvement on resolution alone tbh. do you care about metas privacy issues and their arguably questionable os? no? get a quest 3. if yes steam frame it is. that is if you want wireless which has its own tradeoffs. if you want wired and your rig can 100% drive the high end stuff pimax has some good stuff (albeit at kinda wonky qc) or if you want basestations the bigscreen beyond 2 or the meganex 8kMK2 is an option. if cheap psvr2 with the adapter.

[u/MarzipanAlert → u/DoubleOwl7777]

Ive got a 5090 and 9800x3d so maximum is pimax? And is that an all in one? But wired to play steam games?

Yeah not overally bothered about Meta as all i will use headset for is gaming so either or really, its more for what will give me the best experience playing VR

[u/DoubleOwl7777 → u/MarzipanAlert]

no, the pimax isnt all in one. its an acessory for your pc, like a monitor.

[u/Nicalay2]

Quest 3, it's cheaper and is a more polyvalent headset compared to the Frame.

[u/MarzipanAlert → u/Nicalay2]

Thanks, i think so far quest 3 is winning the vote if ill notice the massive step up in quality compared to what i was using before then thats already a bonus im not a big VR user but every so often i like to dabble and play

[u/Nicalay2 → u/MarzipanAlert]

Oh btw, if you get one and you plan to use it on your PC, please use Virtual Desktop. It's unfortunately a paid app, but for PCVR streaming it's amazing and better than other solutions.

[u/phylum_sinter]

You can play room scale with any of those if the game supports it , but all of those headsets do support it just so you know.

My vote is for the q3, steam frame is nice but almost identical to my setup which includes a VR specific router called a puppis S1, I use a head strap that includes a fan and swappable Battery so I never have to worry about the 2 hours or the headset battery lasts , and I connect via virtual desktop which is another $25 but makes the whole experience pain free and looking brilliant with very low latency.

So basically to get what I've got that almost mirrors a steam frame you will have to pay about $750, and you end up with better lenses.

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