I'm personally glad that I bought the Valve Index. Yes, the headset is wired only but the controllers are fantastic in my opinion & their battery life is a good few hours, recharging doesn't take too long either. My one gripe is that a lot of the higher tier VR games seem to be Meta Quest exclusives which I feel is unfair - Lone Echo I & II, Asgard's Wraith I & II, Assassin.'s Creed Nexus, Batman Arkham Shadow to name a few....

There is no overall "best" VR headset. The best VR headset for a specific individual depends on that individual's preferences and needs. You could make reasonable arguments for why several different VR headsets are the best choice, depending on personal preferences.

The thing is... if you're new to VR, you don't really know what you want in a VR headset until you've spent some time playing VR games in a VR headset and learned about the attributes of your VR headset and how it compares with the attributes of other VR headsets.

So I'd suggest just getting a more basic VR headset that does most things adequately, but don't spend "too much" on it yet, learn more about what things you want in a VR headset, and then you'll have a much better idea of what kind of headset you might want to upgrade to at some point you decide is best years into the future.

For a cheap entry-level VR headset like that just to introduce you to VR... the Meta Quest 3S is a decent choice. Only $300 and comes with a highly rated Batman VR game most people say is awesome.

If money isn't an issue for you, the Meta Quest 3 is probably the next cheapest headset that's overall decent value for the price ($500).

And you can connect both of those to Steam using the Steam Link app to play Steam PC VR games wirelessly on your VR headset, assuming you're running a Windows OS and meet the Steam Link system requirements.

The best one is valve index ofc but it cost alot.

I've been playing VR since 2014 and I changed headset more or less every 2-3 years. I have the Quest 3 at the moment and is for sure the best till now. Haven't tried the Pico or Valve ones. Apple Vision Pro does have much better passthrough and better dpi on screen but obviously is not a candidate for PCVR.

Batman Arkham Shadows is the first game I am playing standalone on Quest 3 (because no PC Version exists for that game) and even then, it is really fun and playable. If you don't have a powerful PC or plan on gaming while travelling, the standalone capabilities of the Quest 3 might interest you.

Originally posted by Kouki:

The best one is valve index ofc but it cost alot.

Fresnel lenses and no inside-out tracking for over $1000 + controllers with rings, sure it's the best 🤣

Right now I'm using the PSVR2 headset. I know it doesn't make much sense unless you also own a PS5 but you can buy the headset and the console for the same price as a valve index so that's something to think about. Not having base stations is a huge plus but there have been some bluetooth hiccups which I think are getting better.

Originally posted by Saucy Stan:

Right now I'm using the PSVR2 headset. I know it doesn't make much sense unless you also own a PS5 but you can buy the headset and the console for the same price as a valve index so that's something to think about. Not having base stations is a huge plus but there have been some bluetooth hiccups which I think are getting better.

Buying psvr2 for pc gaming is only a slightly better idea than buying Apple vision pro for pc gaming.

I still use the Valve Index and it's my favorite kit I have tried. I like the controllers, tracking, FOV, built in off ear audio, and comfort. It could use a screen update though and it's an expensive wired kit.

for me it is the google cardboard

If you have a good PC capable of 60+ FPS in VR, and the money, the Index is still regarded as the best 'all round' PC VR Headset in regards to FPS, FoV, Clarity, sound and Mic quality. While a Vive pro 2 has better Visuals, it falls short in other aspects.

If you're either too broke or lacking in the PC Department. Meta Quest 3 is the way to go (Or a 2 if that's out of your price range as well)

As someone who tried both PSVR2 (and returned it) and then Meta Quest 3, I whole heartedly recommend the Quest 3.
I used it wired, with some tweaks on the Oculus Debug tool and I had a blast playing Half-Life Alyx, Half-Life 2 VR and Elite Dangerous. Not to mention, the headset itself has some pretty fantastic games. Can't wait for the game to come out so I can experience it as well :)

As for PSVR2.. It has those Fresnel lenses which made it very hard to adjust the headset to give the most clarity. Not to mention without the features it has on PS5 the quality is quite bad. Lots of blur and chromatic aberration to hide low res caused by the old OLED tech.

I'm on my fourth headset since 2018 and Quest 3 is my recommendation. Great wireless and wired options, and access to the Meta store which has it's own exclusives. Probably the best lenses and clarity I've had thus far as well.

All for a very competitive price. Exclusive PCVR headsets like the Index exceed the price and deliver arguably about the same, if not lesser quality, IMO.

Originally posted by HoopTheLoop:

Originally posted by Kouki:

The best one is valve index ofc but it cost alot.

Fresnel lenses and no inside-out tracking for over $1000 + controllers with rings, sure it's the best 🤣

I'm guessing you prefer Quest headsets since you like inside-out tracking and hate fresnel lenses... so I'd like to say that Quest 3 pancake lenses have their own drawbacks. They make the display really dim, for one thing. Of course they also reduce god rays and lens glare, so that's nice.

And while inside-out-tracking IS more convenient and allows you to take your VR headset into new places to play very easily, it also is arguably not quite as good as base station tracking.

If I had a huge room available with base stations so I had no need to take the headset out to a garage or something to play in a different or larger area, in theory, base station tracking might theoretically be better than inside-out tracking. So it depends a lot on a person's situation and preferences.

And the Quest 3 has other problems too like ♥♥♥♥♥♥ looking washed out colors. The colors are really bad even for an LCD display.

I'm not trying to say the Quest 3 is bad... I actually bought one recently and I like it. I'm just saying that, as I mentioned earlier, there typically is always a drawback with these things, so you shouldn't be acting like things like fresnel lenses and base stations are crap, because they have their advantages, and some people might find them either acceptable or even preferable to the alternatives after considering the benefits and drawbacks of the different options. (Fresnel lenses, for one thing, allow a lot more light to reach the eye and result in a much brighter looking display than Quest pancake lenses).

Also, a fair amount of reasonable people might not be entirely comfortable with the privacy implications of having a headset covered with high resolution cameras and microphones in their homes, particularly given Meta's track record when it comes to privacy issues and the fact the operating system lacks transparency about its data collection due to not being open source.

Originally posted by temps:

Originally posted by HoopTheLoop:

Fresnel lenses and no inside-out tracking for over $1000 + controllers with rings, sure it's the best 🤣

I'm guessing you prefer Quest headsets since you like inside-out tracking and hate fresnel lenses... so I'd like to say that Quest 3 pancake lenses have their own drawbacks. They make the display really dim, for one thing. Of course they also reduce god rays and lens glare, so that's nice.

And while inside-out-tracking IS more convenient and allows you to take your VR headset into new places to play very easily, it also is arguably not quite as good as base station tracking.

If I had a huge room available with base stations so I had no need to take the headset out to a garage or something to play in a different or larger area, in theory, base station tracking might theoretically be better than inside-out tracking. So it depends a lot on a person's situation and preferences.

And the Quest 3 has other problems too like ♥♥♥♥♥♥ looking washed out colors. The colors are really bad even for an LCD display.

I'm not trying to say the Quest 3 is bad... I actually bought one recently and I like it. I'm just saying that, as I mentioned earlier, there typically is always a drawback with these things, so you shouldn't be acting like things like fresnel lenses and base stations are crap, because they have their advantages, and some people might find them either acceptable or even preferable to the alternatives after considering the benefits and drawbacks of the different options. (Fresnel lenses, for one thing, allow a lot more light to reach the eye and result in a much brighter looking display than Quest pancake lenses).

Also, a fair amount of reasonable people might not be entirely comfortable with the privacy implications of having a headset covered with high resolution cameras and microphones in their homes, particularly given Meta's track record when it comes to privacy issues and the fact the operating system lacks transparency about its data collection due to not being open source.

Never noticed the headset being too dark

Pro Beat saber scene is the best metric for controller tracking and most people at the very top use Quest 2

"If I had a huge room available with base stations so I had no need to take the headset out to a garage" so it's for very specific user base with no friends

The colours are the same as on a normal LCD screen, so completely fine for an average user

"I actually bought one recently" having a hard time believing this but idk

That last part is just complete jester talk, your smartphone knows everything about you + assuming valve doesn't collect your data the same way. Meta owns instagram and whatsapp too, you gonna tell people to stop using those as well? You're grasping for arguments because you've spent 4x as much as quest 3 costs on a worse headset, the only thing it has better is the controller tracking but as the beat saber scene shows, it doesn't make a difference for anyone outside of people who like to hold their controllers behind their head/back (so nobody, why would you do that). Also, every single time you see someone complain about VR controllers on steam it's either index users or the fossils that are the vive wands, check for yourself if you don't believe me.