Pimax Crystal DCS Review | You gotta be frikkin kidding me!

Review of the Pimax Crystal in DCS. Whats good? Whats bad, and what is awful? Worth its dime? Do you recognize them old games?
By some kind of chance I got a link from Pimax, so if you wanna buy one use this link
pimax.com/crystal/?ref=apollo
With coupon code : apollo
You’ll get some discount and I get to do more videos, yay us.

[@British_Dragon-Simulations]

I went from a Reverb G2 to a Pimax Crystal and for me this is almost perfect. I plug a USB-C cable in the side and I’ve only ever seen two of the five battery life levels go blank. I’ve never had to change the battery and I went ten hours in DCS in it yesterday. The Almalense app is essential for me in DCS as well. It took me almost two weeks of headaches to get this thing running properly but the clarity is insane. I don’t need to zoom in when I bomb or strafe ground targets now. I still use the long zoom for seeing objects more than a few miles away though. I have it set to 72Hz with Dynamic Foveated Rendering with the Qaud Views Companion app. My GPU never hits 100% and it hovers around 60 to 80% usage. I have DLSS set to Quality but my focus area is set to 160% resolution, peripheral resolution is just 5%. I have the 35PPD Glass Lenses also.

[@marknewellmusic]

Interesting. Thanks for this lengthy insightful post. Helps to get some optimisation ideas.

[@British_Dragon-Simulations]

@@marknewellmusic I'm going to do more testing now but my current settings for the 'Quadviews Campanion App' that works really well for me, from top to bottom are: Horizontal focus size 33% Vertical focus size 32% Vertical focus offset -10 Foveate resolution 160% Peripheral resolution 5% of native resoluti' Foveate sharpness 75 Transition thickness 20% In game/ Sim resolution DLSS Quality 72Hz in Pimax Play settings.

[@marionetteworks]

Have you tried it in MSFS? I have a 5800X3D and 4080 and my Reverb G2 already forces me to lower the graphics to the point where I’d rather play in 4K on my OLED. Does the foviated rendering basically makes the Reverb even as far as GPU usage (and does it work in MSFS)?

[@dalemckenzie2828]

I went from original SDK Oculus. I then went to HTC Vive, then Valve Index, then Pimax 8K X dinas. It worked great for just shy of two years then the cable for video showed as not connecting. Man there was so much back and forth for months trying to resolve it because they were reluctant to provide a warranty replacement. They even tried to say it was because I had upgraded to a 7950 AMD Awhich had integrated graphics which could not be disabled from bios. In actual fact the OS needed a firmware update and the crystal software would probably resolve my problem but that would mean I go without a headset that works even if they replaced on warranty. They did not say as much but when I think they were waiting for new firmware updates for crystal. I had to wait months for a replacement and I suspect that's why. Just rubbish at communicating. Tried to buy me off with poor discounts 50 quid off a new pimax when I would be well over a grand down on the warranty replacement not being sent because of low stock. So they said. Look mate good luck with your purchase. If it lasts more than a couple of years, have at it. My warranty replacement pimax has failed with tye same error of video cable to HMD not working. I've given up and gone to HTC vive Pro 2 until something else comes with a better build quality and 12 K res.

[@axeppo]

Which graphics card are you using, if I may ask?

[@damiengvideos4337]

Yep the Crystal is a really nice upgrade! A couple quick corrections, sorry 😉. The Crystal is 35ppd not 42. The REAL FOV is about 102 not their claimed 125, and the weight with battery installed is 1250 grams. Maybe it's 1000 grams with no battery but it can't be used without the battery. I only know this as I recently did comprehensive testing of the Crystal vs the Varjo XR-4. The XR-4 is better in every area (51/55ppd, 112 FOV, 3840x3744 per eye, 1000 grams, better black levels and brighter screens, more comfortable) BUT it's also $4k!!! So the Crystal really is hard to beat right now for the price...and it does look really really good! Good choice, enjoy!

[@ApollosAWACS]

No worries thanks for the corrections. My FOV is probably just 75 so I'm cool anyways ;) and I did not measure the ppds myself hehe... But the weight I did. My headset, WITH battery is 1000g on the dot. Have a good one!

[@j.r.linden9679]

Why does Pimax claim 125 fov? Also I noticed that the Somnium VR1 has a claimed real fov of 109 for one eye, which at 2880/109 is 26.4 PPD right, why do they claim 35 ppd then?

[@brzijoe6700]

ppd is measuerd in the middle of sweet spot; the rest is distorted from lence, and ppd is lower. You can not just split pixels over angle, as they are not equaly distributed to our vision.

[@damiengvideos4337]

@@j.r.linden9679 Actually the latest testing Artur the CEO of Somnium is claiming I true usable HFOV measured at 120-122 degrees. Some testers as high as 136 but he personally gets 120-122 when with the Crystal, like me he gets 102. So I’m thinking the VR-1 will be even better FOV than the XR-4!

[@damiengvideos4337]

It just occurred to me where you got 42ppd! The Crystal supposedly has lenses that allow it to go up to 42 ppd but anyone that I have seen try them say it's pretty bad and would never use them. Go with the normal 35ppd lenses.

[@dathyr1]

Well your first reactions are the same as when I went from my Oculus Rift S to my Quest 3. Clarity and higher resolution is also so much better with the Quest 3. I am waiting for the video reviews for the PIMAX Crystal light devices. The prices for these are much better for my pocket book. I may get one of the Crystal light headsets in the future. I don't need all the features the regular Crystal headset has to offer and the price we have to pay. I just do SIM racing and a few VR sport games Thanks for the great video and take care.

[@ApollosAWACS]

Coo! Yes I would also like to check out the 'light'. I don't know if I will be contacted by Pimax to try it out, but you'll sure find out if I do. If you buy any other products from them you can still use my promo (check below) to get a discount. Race on!

[@keithbriscoe99]

You sounded impressed with the sound - looks like you have just the standard audio (non DMAS). So, how would you compare Pimax audio (standard) with the Reverb G2?? I happen to have G2 and I'm very happy/satisfied with audio; but planning to get Crystal Light - just don't know if I should also upgrade to DMAS for audio. Thx.

[@ApollosAWACS]

Yes! Well sound is a relative experience and I am an old dude…so LOL, yes so I liked it. But the G2 was good too! As stated in the vid I would have kept the G2 if it didn’t brake down and my DCS VR urge was so great. The weight of the headset is kinda much so the bigger(?) DMAS would make it worse. Good luck with the light!! You can still use my code APOLLO to get discount 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@kasberkhof7958]

That first reaction was mine too. Didn’t want to buy another headset. I have a Pimax 8KX… but damn…. That crispness…..

[@guarenchafa4912]

So one question I have is does the windows desktop load onto this like as if it was an LCD? If so then I assume that VLC runs ok on it?

[@CRAZYHORSE19682003]

What is the black and white game in the lower left corner. I INSTANTLY recognized F-15 Strike Eagle, Blue Max and Flight Simulator 2 or 3 from many hours playing them on my Atari-800.

[@ApollosAWACS]

You mean lower right? That is MICROPROSE Gunship game! The only AH64 sim I could fly reasonably well :P

[@brzijoe6700]

It is great headset. I removed that light blocker around my nose (easy to remove) to peek on keyboard for that 2-3 keys. It helps with cooling too, if it´s not too disturbing for your gaming.

[@ApollosAWACS]

Great tip! I will try this for sure

[@EazyE11]

I sold mine last year for the Aero after the price drop and dont regret it. Has the software improved since then? Because the eye tracking was nowhere near consistent.

[@ApollosAWACS]

I can't compare since I didn't try back then, but the tracking seems fine to me. Then again I'm 50+ years old and eyes aren't as good as they were :) I was a bit keen on the Aero alos but backed down when I heard some stuff about product not going to be sold any longer yadayada. I did not want to go throuhg what I did with the G2, when support stopped...

[@RocketToTheMoose]

Ah yes, the original Strike Eagle game and Mieggs field. I was there too.

[@marknewellmusic]

1min 40 secs - that rise up through the cloud layer was so good graphically... when did DCS get that good looking for clouds?

[@ApollosAWACS]

Since I have had Oculus2 and G2...I dont know LOL, but probably with the DCS 2.8 update (November 2022)

[@marknewellmusic]

@@ApollosAWACS Nice, thanks for replying so fast. I haven't had a proper look at DCS since about then so looks like some serious work has gone into the engine and not just the recent multi-threading. Looking forward to diving in on my new build with some Apache antics. 👍

[@plazma1945]

LOL :) I went back to G2 waiting for the Light version of the Pimax

[@ApollosAWACS]

I would too if my G2 would wake up, but it is dead ;(

[@stuartsherman5975]

Looks awesome. Great review. What cpu and gpu are you using? Keep up the great videos.

[@ApollosAWACS]

Thank you! I think its fun doin 'em. I am using ASUS GTX 4090 and a i9 13900K on 3.0 GHz

[@stuartsherman5975]

Thanks for the quick response. Will a rtx 3090 run the pimax,?

[@Acepilot235]

@@stuartsherman5975 The jump in performance from the 3000 series to the 4000 series isn't that much, you should be fine.

[@jimnycricket2322]

I just pulled the trigger on a crystal sim last week. I've been using a Samsung Odyssey since it was release. So I'm interested to see the difference

[@ApollosAWACS]

Cool! Never tried the Samsung Odyssey myself. Please tell me the difference when youre settled.

[@Chicane62]

i think once the canopy drawing gets implemented in the f4 there will be more of that for the knee board........hopefully anyway

[@ApollosAWACS]

In two weeks? ;)

[@jamesmanning8767]

The crystal is not 42 PPD at 1:17. It is 35 PPD, same as the light.

[@ApollosAWACS]

You are probably right! I took the specs from Pimax and someone pointed out to me the same thing, but also that it will magically be more with the optics

[@Baseline204]

For taking notes you can use a virtual Kneeboard like Openkneeboard or VRK - a virtual reality enabled kneeboard

[@ApollosAWACS]

I will make a note of that, thx!

[@CanardSwe]

I use openkneeboard with a cheap wacom tablet. It is amazing with the endless notes/template feature for filling out 9-lines etc.

[@JAXviation]

Nice review!

[@-Sunny--]

The quality on the stream also looks like 2.0 now!

[@sirbum69]

the crystal now has pass through just dbl tap the side of the headset after you have updated the firmware and the software. You have to turn it on i think in the software but its there now. Not the best pass through as its black and white but at least you can somewhat see

[@ApollosAWACS]

Yeah! Gonna try that 2night.

[@marcusdamberger]

I was going to say the same thing, they just put out the new firmware update a few days ago. I've yet to take the update. But if you switched over to AIO mode (switch) you were presented with the passthrough for boundary setup, so that was a sneak peak at what it would look like. They use two of the front cameras, one to each eye, so its in stereoscopic. I wonder if they are ever going to come out with the mixed reality camera faceplate like they did with the lighthouse. I would hope they could include lighthouse tracking with it, but I suspect not as the front connector probably doesn't have the bandwidth to do both?

[@OverkillSimulations]

LOVE THE SPACE ODYSSEY REFERENCE LOL!!!

[@CelloChu]

Do you think that controllers are necessary?

[@ApollosAWACS]

Not if you are only going to fly DCS, no. Works great without a tracking stations as well.

[@stevie01159]

So what sort of graphics do you need to run this thing?

[@ApollosAWACS]

I have gone nuts and gave my greatest intrest the lot. I have an i9 and a RTX4090 with a lot of memeory and some SSDs. And som a nuclear plant to drive it and luiqd cooled CPU.

[@andrewstokes9096]

Do you wear glasses to read, if so try using them with the headset, I thought the picture was pretty good without them but fuck me drunk, the clarity with my reading glasses on blew my mind.

[@ApollosAWACS]

My doctor tells me I should but...yeah soon. And then I will try the "fu*ck me drunk" thing!

[@streetmachine8211]

Awesome!

[@Schwing27]

unfortunately for me i found it to be extremely uncomfortable and heavy so i had to return mine.

[@CelloChu]

Thanks a lot

[@ApollosAWACS]

No worries! You can use the coupon code 'apollo' to get a discount :)

[@dalemckenzie2828]

Good luck with tech support when it breaks... and it will!

[@ApollosAWACS]

／(=๏ x ๏=)＼

[@jf4872]

Not for $1500+ it isn't. No way in hell. My Quest 2 is plenty sufficient.

[@ApollosAWACS]

My G2 was too. But it broke and I saved some money and leaped for it. Still like it :)

[@QuietTiger1968]

F15 on the C-64 rules!!!

[@ApollosAWACS]

The best!

[@Munky332]

Its just a shame their Quality Control and Customer Support is such a giant pile of dogshit. Something *every* reviewer seems to completely fucking gloss over. So, I'm going to ask the big question: Did you pay for this headset entirely yourself, were you sent it for review, or do you have *any* sort of partnership or agreement with Pimax for this review? second question: have you looked at other *actual* not-paid-for/sponsored reviews of the Pimax?

[@ApollosAWACS]

I haven't been in contact with their (in?)famous customer service...yet? So I can't say. And also to answer your question: I have paid for it myself, no partnership or anything. Just me wanting to tell my view to my community. With the attention the video now has gotten, I might as well would've gotten something from 'em but no. Not a dime, call or email. Second answer. No I have not. At least I don't think so, I wanted my reaction and review to be me so I din't want to be colored. I certainly looked up written reviews and talked to friends that got a headset and so on before commiting, but nope. I might make video Called: "Pimax What the frikkin frakk?" But hopefully not...

[@Munky332]

​@@ApollosAWACS I'm not trying to shit on it, its just Pimax are *known* for paid/compensated reviews. Their business practices are shady. I was fucked with their 5k+, I went through *four* headsets over a 2'ish month period trying to get a good one. They all had issues -- bad LCDs, Bad cables, the works. It was always a fight with them trying to return. Luckily I went through amazon and was able to return it a bit easier, but the communication from them was abysmal at best. They tried to charge me after all was said and done for "restocking and management fees" I did a chargeback and fraud claim against them to block them from doing that again. My buddy decided to give the 8KX against my advice -- he got burned HARD as he bought directly from them, with a bank that doesn't have as generous of protections as USAA. Within the first week the thing went dead, Fought with CS the full 9 yards. He did a charge back, but it took MONTHS before he got his money back. Personally I went with a Reverb at the time but its been shelved, and Now I'm rocking a Quest 3 until something better comes along. The only thing I would add to the Q3 is better panels (3k HDR OLED), eye tracking, and a way to go direct-video display port over USB-C, when wired.

[@ApollosAWACS]

Hey no worries! @Munky332 I actually got contacted by them about affiliation just now. I hear you, but I want to see this side of the business as well. So I jumped on it, can bug out whenever I want and I do not need them, the money or the clicks or whatever. But it is gonna be fun to explore! I will be true to me, and if they don’t like it, I’ll drop. Still now not received diddlysqwatt yet.

[@lambertabdola4744]

another fake review where they handpicked the headset and sent you the only oone working

[@ApollosAWACS]

LOL, I first bought mine with NO affiliation then did this vid which got many views THEN they contacted me. Otherwise I would’ve, of course, mention the link and stuff in the vid. If they send me any stuff in the future I’ll will say that they did.

[@B76SkyWarrior]

Yawn

[@ApollosAWACS]

Perfect insomnia-video then! 😆

[@dharkbizkit]

iam not sold. the weight is a big negative, extra cost for the lighthouse plate, regular controllers bad compared to index, warping towards edges due to aspheric lenses. as someone who doesnt play sims much and spends more time in rpg, combat whatever games, its something that sounds good at first, but has to many downsides.. but what else is there? beyond: realitively smal fov, no eyetracking but high res, thus performance problems probably. and with no eye relief adjustment possible and me needing -7dpt insets which already add so much thickness to the lenses of my index, that my eyebrows collide with the inserts even on max settings, it dont see a way that the beyond will work out. the aero? very smal Vfov, like looking through a letterbox, already canceled production. quest3? no DP connection, even with cable, you will have compression and latency...