The oculus has a few advantages over the vive and vice versa.... Pros for the oculus, it weighs considerably less and is much more comfortable to wear for long periods. The eye adjustment also has a greater range. Cons, the sensors need to be plugged into the PC and not just powered off an outlet, so plan on spending another $15 or so to get a USB 3.0 extension. Running all the audio and video over the HDMI cable is handy in the fact that it gets everything down to one cable, but it causes some driver issues, especially since you have to run the oculus app in the background to use it, even if using steam VR home. Its a toss up between this and vive, both have pros and cons.
The Oculus worked as it should however I coul...d not play for more than 10 minutes at the time, I would get nauseated very fast. I don't think that is Oculus issue, perhaps the user need to get some anti motion sickness tablets before playing games.
Much, much better compared to the Quest 2 for PCVR.
Backstory: my controller...s on my Oculus Quest 2 (I’m not calling it meta, that name is garbage) began to suffer from stick drift after 2 years of rather calm and careful use. That kinda goes to show that the build quality of the headset matches the price. Normal fixes using tools at home like rubbing alcohol, compressed air, and toothpicks did to the trick for a little while, until August when the joysticks completely failed beyond repair. I went onto the Oculus website to check for the price of new controllers, and when I found them and looked that the price tag, I frowned. Why are these controllers being sold for 75 dollars per controller? This isn’t even just an issue with the quest 2, I have friends who still have a quest 1, and their controllers started drifting in less than a year. The total for a new left and right controller would have me forking over 150. That’s absurd! So I started doing my research and stumbled upon old videos of the Rift CV1. It peaked my curiosity because I remember seeing a video suggesting buying used CV1s for entry PCVR at a cheap price. So I looked at Amazon and found them for 300+ dollars! For a 6 year old USED headset, it should not be sold so expensive! I asked a friend what his experience with the CV1 was like and where he bought it from, he gave my his review and then directed me to eBay. After looking for a good deal with free shipping, I came across this gem of a deal. Once I got the money, I bought it as quickly as I could. One week later, it shows up and I instantly set it up. Since then, I’ve had nothing but fun with this baby. I could go on and on about why I prefer this to the Quest 2, but my biggest reasons are, comfort, visuals, performance, audio, tracking, and the fact that i hardly ever use the Q2 standalone anyway. The CV1 is COMFY. I cannot stress it enough. It’s so light and the soft interior feels nice on my nose, compared to the hard plastic inside the Q2 that got oily from my nose rather quickly. The foam facial interface also feels much nicer and less scratchy because the headset isn’t sliding down or around my face. The head strap design is both comfortable and aesthetically pleasing. These 6 year old OLED displays also hold up very well! The colors feel much more natural, screen door effect is minimal and easy to ignore (at least to me, your mileage may vary) and it has a slightly better FOV. The biggest benefit is that there is NO video compression because all the power isn’t being pushed through one cable! Finally, I can be immersed in the VR world without seeing weird pixels and artifacts. The IPD slider also works oh-so-well unlike the crappy 3 settings on Quest 2. Performance wise, this headset kills it! I found myself getting much more stable frame rates and more performance headroom than I did on Quest 2 w/link. Beat saber and Echo VR ran ultra smooth with the graphics being tuned relatively high, and i hardly notice any lag, stutter or tearing on this headset. And now onto audio. This has to be one of the BIGGEST improvements from the quest 2. Now, I’m no audiophile, but these sound way better than the built in audio of the Quest. Even with the Bionik Mantis clip-on earphones that I’ve been using for about a year, these built in headphones come out on top. The Mantis sound empty and harsh compared to these, and it does kinda make sense why my ears hurt when listening to higher pitched music/audio. Since I got it, I haven’t cranked the volume higher than the default config, which is around 50. Last but not least, tracking. Until I get an extension cord for my second sensor, i can only really play facing my desk, which is no big deal, but sort of a downer at the moment. The tracking itself though is another major step-up from the Quest 2. It feels so smooth that I’m not used to it, and I miss a few more notes than usual in beat saber because it isn’t as choppy and doesn’t feel forced (it kinda feels like it’s trying to guess where my hand is gonna go, resulting in a movement that feels faster than my real life movement) like the inside out tracking does. In conclusion, this headset is hecking awesome, thank you guys so much for shipping it in great condition, and thank you for allowing me to enjoy PCVR even more at an affordable price!
Product arrived in great sh...ape, save for the HDMI cord being a tiny bit finicky. For the used price, it's the most reasonable way to enter the VR market. Setup was a breeze. Games are a blast :)
So if you’re anything like me, you do extensive research and c...omparisons, forum readin and YouTube watching to make sure you get WHAT YOU WANT. I’ll list out the best things for the Oculus and the competitor (vive)
Oculus: much much more transportable, less wire management, everything plugs directly into your computer. Software integration is seriously on a different level with the oculus store having its own games and intuitive features. Controllers fit very nicely in your hand but unfortunately the vibration Functions for them don’t turn off, be prepared to buy rechargeable 18650 batteries. The 2 sensors included can do 360 tracking, but I highly recommend getting a 3rd sensor for more intense games like “contractors vr” Try and imagine this as the “iPhone” of VR setups.
Now the Vive
The vice HANDS DOWN has better tracking software, wider and bigger sensors obviously mean better tracking. Controllers have a weight to add to the immersion of you holding a gun or sword or something, plus the controllers have rechargeable batteries already inside them so all you have to do is buy a dock or use MIcro USB, I personally don’t like this feature because if you have guests or friends over and the controller batteries are dead / dying, have fun waiting to recharge them unlike the oculus where you open the cover and swap them out. The vive also has much more superior build quality, both headsets weigh the same but the vive.. it just feels right and sturdy when you hold it and put it on your head. It also doesn’t have the black panels on the side of your FOV like the oculus does, so when you’re in game it truly feels like you’re more inside the game. The lens on the vive are designed to combat fog and sweat much better than the oculus, at the expense of
So to summarize it: buy the oculus for versatility, portability, ease of use, intuitive controller design, and excellent software integration, with the 3rd sensor 360 tracking is fluid and beautiful, make sure to pick up ceiling or wall mounts (2x wall mounts for $10, guy laser prints them really well. Bought a set myself) and you’ll be really happy at how the sensors pick you up.
Buy the vive if you plan on never moving it, but be prepared to spend decent amounts of money for extra sensors, which also takes up space on the connector box (which you would have to buy a splitter for more USB port), basically be ready to go through more of a hassle with the vive, with the rewards being better tracking, less foggy lens, sturdier build quality. Aka the android of the VR devices.
A MUST for these two are a ceiling wire harness, $25 and it allows you to move around the room without worrying about busting your ass over the wire. Highly recommend gettin that.
