r/SimRacingHardware • u/MrHoldmyVino • 3d ago
Which VR Headset
Hello everyone,
I have a Ryzen 7 9800X3D, an RTX 4090 and 64GB of RAM.
I mainly want to play iRacing and LMU in VR, and occasionally AC Evo as well.
I might also use the headset for flight sims, but nothing else.
I don’t really mind whether it’s wired or wireless.
Which VR headset would you recommend for my specs?
Budget: up to €1,500
Thanks in advance!
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u/Active_Assignment_65 3d ago
I’ve got a quest 3 for exactly this, I use a power injecting pc link cable that keeps the headset fully charged whilst using, upgraded head strap for comfort and correction lenses so I don’t need to wear my glasses, so far the longest stint I’ve done is just under 6 hours without a break and it was plenty comfortable.
Yes there are lighter options, but I tried a few different options like quest 2, Pimax and apple vision and quite liked the pancake lenses of the quest 3 so when I saw someone selling the 256gb quest 3 for $150 (aud) on market place I snapped them up.
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u/VehicleNo6581 1d ago
Dont take any VR headset that compress the video if your gonna play pcvr. Quest 3 is bad advice
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u/Active_Assignment_65 1d ago
So what’s your advice?
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u/VehicleNo6581 1d ago
As someone who bought the quest 3, any vr headset that does not plug directly into the gpu will have a lot of shimmering and artifact especially in iracing because of the compression sadly.
Unless you want to play standalone games, i think its a waste of miney, weight and quality to have a full second pc on your face.
I believe that the primax crystal light is the better option
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u/Active_Assignment_65 1d ago
That’s a fair comment, I was put off the primax by the nearly $1400aud price tag, so I’ll take a second hand $150aud quest 3 and it’s shimmer for now.
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u/VehicleNo6581 1d ago
Very valid reason. Same reason why I have a quest 3 haha. But if he has a 1500€ budget and he intends to use it often, i think the price tag is worth it for him.
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u/BunkerBogeyman 3d ago
I have similar (not quite as good) specs as I have a 5080 and a 7800X3D with 32GB of RAM. I have a BSB2 and I love it but I believe the dream air is considerably better in terms of the lenses and the visuals.
If I was buying now, I would be trying to save a bit more cash to get the dream air so that I wasn't wondering if I should have got it. Even If I'd have to turn settings down to get it running nicely.
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u/landing_page_throw 3d ago
Ive been pondering the same question and today I decided to sign up for the steam frame. If it wasn’t for the massive amounts of quality control issues I read about pimax I would have considered them for a dream air slam. But for that kind of money I don’t want to be reading about this many issues.
Currently using a quest 3. Which is fine and steam frame will be more of a side grade I’m afraid but running quest 3 on godlike resolution through VD is beautiful enough for me to be honest. Just hoping the steam frame will offer a bit better pcvr experience as an device and ecosystem.
Only reasons im on a waiting list for the steam frame right now is because my gf wants her headset back. And im tired that the frame degradation issue on the quest 3 still isnt fixed. So I have to switch codecs about every 30 minutes which is really annoying during an endurance race. Using some software to automate the process but its still very immersion breaking.
Would love to find a store near me that has a pimax dream air slam on display and that I could test before purchasing but I can’t. So I might as well be on the waitlist for a steam frame I guess.
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u/Yggdrsll 3d ago
I'm also going steam frame, because I want a headset that "just works" which is exactly what the steam frame is offering. I'm coming from a HP Reverb G2, and I'm tired of spending an hour figuring out why my game is crashing or why steamvr is crashing. Pimax has consistently had software and QC issues, so they're not even an option for me. Maybe if I still had the time to mess with it, but I'd rather just stick with a Frame.
Big screen beyond 2 has always sounded great, but I don't have the lighthouses or knuckles controllers (I went CV1 Rift instead of Index) and I also want the refresh rate and FOV of the Frame. I do wish stock was a better, but my brother got one and trying his convinced me it's worth the wait.
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u/landing_page_throw 3d ago
Yeah a team mate of mine has a bsb2 with the lighthouses. And he does 3h stints with it and is very happy with it. But the lighthouses is just a no go for me. Technically you can mount them on a cheap tripod or something like that. But no, I don’t like the idea of more clutter around the house.
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u/racing-inchident 2d ago
Do not under any circumstances buy a dream air or any pimax headset. Garbage quality that will break eventually. They couldn’t even get me a working headset after two and I just gave up.
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u/la_car_guy 2d ago
I have a BSB2, but recently bought a Dream Air. The image quality of the Dream Air is really good and definitely an improvement with the higher resolution, but I couldn’t run it without major compromises in fov and settings with my 5080 and 9850X3D. My buddy still had to compromise with his 5090. I decided to return it and stick with my BSB2 because I can run it at max settings without issue and it’s honestly just a lot more comfortable to wear (I forget it’s there)… and it seems to be built better.
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u/MrHoldmyVino 2d ago
Hi everyone, thanks for all your input!
Unfortunately, a headset that requires base stations is out of the question, as my rig is far too cluttered and I definitely want to use the controllers for flight simming as well.
So at the moment, I’m torn between the Quest 3 and a Pimax Crystal (Light or Super). The Dream Air is unfortunately too expensive, and I don’t think my system would be able to handle it anyway.
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u/Repulsive_Whereas259 1d ago
I have a quest 3, iniu link cable and vd beta, set at god mode, and 90fps on 5090 9900x3d and no stutters crisp smooth racing in Iracing, I really don't need to upgrade, its amazing, don't listen to people telling you its poor latency, blurry etc, due to dp direct link have they even got it a quest 3 and have they even set it up right, pimax head set will blow the quest 3 out the window, but so will the price.
The quest 3 is great right now until I pull the trigger on a pimax next year.
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u/WhiteSSP 1d ago
I have a reverb g2, rift CV1, quest 3, and Crystal Light. The PCL is what I prefer for sim racing and flight sims. Quest 3 is good, but I prefer as good of visuals as I can get. 9950x3d, 4090, 48gb 6400c32.
Quest 3 has better tracking and edge to edge clarity, but the pixel count and lack of compression on the PCL beats that out for sim racing IMO. Tracking while seated in a room with only a single overhead lamp is adequate on the PCL, quest 3 may be better for flight sims though if you’re dogfighting (I haven’t played DCS since getting the PCL so I’m not sure on how it would do if I needed to turn and look behind me).
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u/DifferenceLive3832 21h ago
Dream Air SE Slam maybe? Has proper eye tracking for iRacing, no base stations required, should be within the budget and has Displayport. I don’t have it but am happy with my Dream Air so far. Maybe save for the latter as your system allows you to make use of it. Definitely go for a Displayport headset. If you want to first check whether vr is for you you might want to try a used HP Reverb or PSVR2 with pcvr adapter.
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u/Routine-Opposite8958 21h ago
I would go for a cheap HP reverb G2.
It is legacy hardware, so it can be found for bottom dollar
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u/sYnergon 3d ago
imo dream air = best. For your budget best fit is bsb2