What would I need now?

[ivanoff]

In the next week or two I am planning on buying a new computer.  My old one is a Dell XPS 8300 computer which is at least ten years old or older.  The new computer has passed the Steam VR with a 90 percent rating. This came from a person who had bought one.  If I do get this computer, what else to I need. I do have a Samsung Gear headset but I think that would only be for Samsung. I am not really in to a lot of VR games so I do not want to buy the HTC  Vive or Occulus VR.   And after buying the computer I am going to  be carefully what I buy.  What would I need besides the computer as cheaply as possible?  Thanks

[prinyo]

The cheapest options are 400 - 500 USD/Euro.

The best option is Oculus Rift S at 500. You could get a Windows Mixed Reality headset for cheaper but I wouldn't do that.

However at the moment everything is sold out, it would be hard to buy any headset.

 

[Fakefuta]

Get a used Samsung Odyssey off ebay. I got mine over a year ago for 150usd.  The second version isn't as good so get the older first gen one. Rift s is really good too but not as cheap even used. Most people selling never even used it more then a few times. look at reviews but the resolution with a AMNOLED Display its really vibrant and responsive LCD is slower Pixel on off. I added a head strap to mine I wouldn't recommend using it without after having it.  What makes the Rift good is being able to use without pc and build in finger tracking for the 2 games that use it, I use leap motion.

[prinyo]

4 hours ago, Fakefuta said:

What makes the Rift good is being able to use without pc

You mean Quest, I guess.

[Jeff_9]

Windows Mixed Reality

 

Pros

- Cheap way to get into VR.
- Very easy to set up.
- Very portable.

- Will play just about every VR game on Steam including ones that are not officially supported.

 

Cons

- Controller tracking isn't perfect but good enough for most cases. (see example in spoiler below)
- The cables aren't long enough so you'll need USB 3.0 and HDMI extensions for room scale experiences.
- WMR doesn't get along with all USB controllers even with motherboards that are "VR ready". You might have to purchase a USB 3.0 adapter. You might need an active USB hub if your USB port doesn't provide enough power.
- Microsoft.
- Bill Gates.

 

This demonstration shows WMR's tracking limitations:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nuYn8UxOPY

 

[prinyo]

8 hours ago, Jeff_9 said:

- Cheap way to get into VR.

What are the cheapest WMR headsets? The cheapest I could find is 400 usd for headset + controllers.

[Fakefuta]

4 hours ago, prinyo said:

What are the cheapest WMR headsets? The cheapest I could find is 400 usd for headset + controllers.

Wow your right prices are way up on them. Even a used Samsung gen1 is like 380! I bought a Lenovo Explorer for 200 years ago about 6mo after it was out. had a issue with it after 6mo they cut me a check for retail 350 I bought a used Samsung odyssey for 150. None of that seems posible now so I would say just get the Rift then or wait for second gen windows MR I hear thats soon. But I doubt it will be cheaper.

 

On 4/23/2020 at 2:15 PM, prinyo said:

You mean Quest, I guess.

yes lol but that is pricier I think. 

[Jeff_9]

8 hours ago, prinyo said:

What are the cheapest WMR headsets? The cheapest I could find is 400 usd for headset + controllers.

The Samsung Odyssey+ was selling for $279 or less at Microsoft's store, when they were last in stock. They probably sold out for Half-Life: Alyx. Now it looks like it might be discontinued. Microsoft is still providing updates for Windows Mixed Reality, but it's not known what their plans are for the consumer side of their platform. With the economic disaster that the world is now facing, I suspect a lot of plans will be delayed or canceled and prices are going to be out of whack.

[ivanoff]

I have seen reviews for the Dell Visor VR118, but most prices are way high. Walmart had it for 180 dollars but they are out of it.  Some give good reviews but most people give bad reviews.

[urbanliner]

ALVR, Virtual Desktop, and Riftcat Vridge can make the Gear VR work with PC, but I wouldn't recommend it, as you your movements aside from head rotation does not do anything IIRC

[hamfist]

The best bang for your buck is the Reverb G2 right now. It's not cheap but anything less and you'll be wishing you had better resolution. VR isn't something that you want to cheap out on. The difference between a low-tier and mid-tier headset is night and day.

[prinyo]

4 hours ago, hamfist said:

VR isn't something that you want to cheap out on

I agree, that's why I think it is best to wait a month or two for the 8kX to be delivered to more people and get more reviews from a wider group of people. And within several months Pimax should start shipping the better straps.

As I happy user of the 5k for an year and a half I still consider it to be the best possible headset available for customers now, but it requires some modding to get the best of it. Hopefully the changes they have made with the new strap will make it more user friendly.

But it is a better idea to wait for the early orders to be shipped and for more end users to share their experience. This is valid for both Reverb G2 that isn't even shipping yet and the 8kX that just recently started shipping.