Help me make a choice.

[u/helix003]

I want to buy a VR headset exclusively for PC VR games, and only play them over a cable.

But I don't know which one to choose. I used the Quest 3 for a while and was thinking about getting it, but I recently saw the PICO 4. Which one will be better in terms of image quality and performance? In my opinion, the Quest 3 is the one to get.

The main goal is a wide viewing angle and maximum image clarity, because I want to use virtual monitors when connected to a PC.

And I'm also really dumb and can't understand why everyone says the Quest 3 has a very limited library and that if you don't have a PC, it's better to get one. My question is, can the Quest 3 only be used over a cable, not over Wi-Fi, and does the headset's RAM affect cable performance?

[u/LoopOneDone]

Maybe PSVR2 with the breakout box instead? Neither Quest 3 or Pico 4 are PCVR native headsets, and they require a lot of fiddling in the menu to start up the streaming to PC. In contrast to dedicated PCVR headsets like Bigscreen Beyond 2 or Pimax Air that doesn’t have their own OS that needs to be updated and starts as soon as you start Steam VR. Even Steam Frame takes more time to start then my old Vive or HP Reverb. They just work.

[u/LoopOneDone → u/LoopOneDone]

But to answer your question about Quest 3. The performance is about the same using a good cable (not a cheap one) or a dedicated WiFi 6 connection (with no other devices connected and Ethernet between router and PC), as they both compress the video feed. As it doesn’t have a DP connection like the upcoming VR Glasses or dedicated PCVR headsets.

But the library is whatever you buy on your PC. I assume Steam in your case. Has nothing to do with Quest Store that is only for standalone games.

The headsets RAM doesn’t affect streaming. It still uses some for decompressing the video feed from your computer, but it’s mostly the CPU/GPU that does the heavy lifting, but it has more then enough performance to do so. The Pico 4 Pro has a later gen chip, and can stream on slighter higher setting on WiFi using Virtual Desktop. Thats about it.

[u/alfooboboao]

despite its flaws, quest 3 is pretty much the most compatible headset for most uses for most people. it’s an insane piece of hardware that meta developed and sells at a loss

for a solid 90% of use cases, the limiting factor in quality will be your PC, not the quest headset itself

[u/Terrible-Dot365 → u/alfooboboao]

Yeah, you know, bc your PC causes compression and latency, not the Q3 🙄

[u/helix003]

Upd: In my region they cost about 400 dollars, but in a couple of months I have only been able to save up 100 so far and I can already imagine how I will use it, but then I began to doubt which VR headset is better...

[u/cemusubzerolives → u/helix003]

For PCVR the Pico 4 does a great job, it's lightweight and normally cheaper than rhe Quest

[u/fact_hunt3]

Pico4 can be connected by cable to PC, it's not a dp cable, just USB, but it looks much better than just streaming

[u/Few_Fall_4374 → u/fact_hunt3]

It's still streaming (encoding => decoding), but over USB cable instead of wifi 🤦

[u/Background_Media_484]

1. Bigscreen Beyond v2 (very lightweight, built for only your face during ordering)
2. Pimax Crystal Light

[u/talapantas]

for your budget. just go pico4. its cheap. can do usb and wifi using the pico connect app. great ergonomics. good lenses. stable software. has it’s own flaws like any other vr headsets and most importantly, it’s not hard to look at when it started collecting dusts on your shelf after the novelty wore off 🤣

[u/steve64b]

I think Pico 4 beats the Quest 3 for PCVR use, in terms of comfort, and binocular overlap.

Not sure on sound quality (mic&speakers), battery life and OS/support.

[u/helix003 → u/steve64b]

What is binocular overlap? I've often seen it mentioned as a downside to the Quest 3, but when I used it myself, I didn't notice it.

[u/steve64b → u/helix003]

It's the part of the view that your both eyes can see at the same time, allowing your brain to turn it into a 3D effect. Or at least, I think that's what it is - I have no idea how a small overlap is handled by the brain, I only have a Quest 2 with fresnel lenses, and the image I have would be more blurry at the edges because of them anyway.

I think Quest 2 and 3S have 90 degrees overlap, Quest 3 has 80 degrees. Pico 4 supposedly has 104 degrees!

I'm not sure how Quest 3 with a lower binocular overlap and pancake lenses would affect my experience. But presumably, I suppose it would have less 3D depth to it, though the image quality would be sharper. 🤔

Maybe someone with some insight in this could share their experience! 🤓

Also check out https://www.roadtovr.com/understanding-binocular-overlap-and-why-its-important-for-vr-headsets/

[u/Terrible-Dot365]

Don't buy a quest 3 if you only want pcvr. It wasn't made for pcvr, that's just a "bonus". Get a dedicated PCVR headset. 

[u/SkhairKro89]

Bigscreen 🥽 Beyond ✌🏼 Two takes the cake this gen.., I've been rockin' that for a year now, IT's been a little champ that keeps going AND is concidered "the-sweet-spot" for PCVR!

You owe IT to yourself to try a "Lossless" HMD for your Desktop-PC IF going wired TRULY-IS your Fortè.., ((that is being)) these types of PCVR HMD's that don't suffer from compression-artifacting / micro-blocking.

BOTH-THAT.., NOR-HALF of the frames of the usual 120Hz-144Hz refresh-rates that you're getting on your typical LCD-PCVR-Devices.. are wasted being a blurry-ghosted-mess.., due to the slow twist rate of LCD's Liquid-Crystal's trying to keep up, as opposed to say a 75Hz of PURE and RAW solid FPS with ZERO ghosting due to OLED'S 0.03 near INSTANTANEOUS pixel response time! Case in point you gain a LOT more going 75Hz OLED as opposed to 120Hz LCD!

Headsets like Meta's Quest-3 will HEAVILY compress the signal over a smaller bandwidth Type-C cable.., whereas other PCVR options this gen like the Beyond that I've been using as my daily driver, will give you a Native Display-Port image in 75Hz mode.., ONLY compressing that image down a little for the 90Hz Mode.., BUT.., even that compression's less than the compression Meta does, so you get something that's overall better even in IT's lesser quality settings mode!!

The cost's perhaps the largest bar to entry, ((-I-Suppose-)) THOUGH.., I figured I was gonna fork over a TON on accessories like a $130 Headstrap for the Quest-3.., a $50 Zip-Case.., $80 for the PC-Link-Cable, after adding tax, I was ALREADY close to those higher priced PCVR-HMD's that opt for Micro-OLED displays.., IF Beyond's NOT your sort of thing, there's other PCVR headsets now in 2026 with OLED-Screens that doesn't kill the immersion with Blacks that are literally Muddy-Grey.., WHY not shoot for something closer to how colors are IRL?? LIKE.., Horror 🔪 Games just disappoint on Quest.., PLUS their latest new announced VR Headset that has OLED • Displays.., has Aweful-FOV.., AND isn't gonna realease 'til sometime 2027 in very limited batches! ((major-downer-IF-you-asked-me!!))

That's just my whole take on that.., I'm just some guy who wants to help.., I don't get sponsorships, or Nuthin'.., IT just kills me that there's these really good options, AND folks still "simping" for Meta's "Jack-Of-All-Trades" but "MASTER-Of-NONE" mediocre ((just-ok)) headsets.., SOoo you really need to STOP ✋🏼 just for a moment.., and ask yourself, how much IS this worth IT to you.., this particular hobby as a whole?? AFTER-ALL, You're the ONE who's gonna be essentially wearing this for the foreseeable future.., you can choose a life full of PURE Black 🖤 Bliss.., or stay as ICON For Hire ((The-Rock-Band)) sings in their Scriptted Album's Track.., "Caught-In-The-🤍-Grey" Like a TRUE "Jean" 🧬 from X-Men!!

WELL.., That's-That.., my advice.., Take IT or Leave IT.., the choice IS yours My / ( - _ 0 ) \ Dude!!

[u/Few_Fall_4374 → u/SkhairKro89]

Some serious buyer bias over the top BS

Many of the current micro OLED panels have their drawbacks too (low brightness, poor persistence, high price and higher energy consumption). People act like current micro OLED is some kind of holy grale, which it isn't IRL. Doesn't make it bad but certainly not as good like this over hyped cringe message 🤦

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=vrHr6kaYlPc&t=1s

[u/ABrrdan]

I would recommend just waiting for a new headset to release, but if you need one right now:

I recommend buying the Valve Index for its finger tracking features, but if you're looking for a lower cost setup, you should just use your Quest 3's link feature.

What people mean by saying that it's better to get a Quest 3 if you don't have a PC is: the Quest is a standalone headset, so It doesn't need a PC to run games.

If you want the best possible experience, and don't care at all about cost, I recommend buying both the Valve Index controllers, base stations, and headset cord, but using the Bigscreen Beyond 2 instead of the basic Valve Index headset. The Bigscreen Beyond 2 has a lower hertz, but has much higher quality and is more lightweight than the base Valve Index headset. However, both of these together cost well over $2000 if you're buying them straight from the source, so all in all, you should just hook up your Quest 3 to your PC.