$499 VR Headset VS $1599 VR Headset // What's The Difference? (Quest 3 & Pimax Crystal)

VR is more affordable than ever, with headsets like the Quest 2 and Quest 3 working as fantastic entry points to the medium at around £299 - £499 depending on which version and spec you go for, but high end VR is still available and new headsets are dropping all the time. Today I'm testing out the $1599 Pimax Crystal alongside my current daily driver, the Quest 3, to see if someone like me, who has never been overly concerned with the highest clarity or best specs, can really see the $1000 difference between these two devices. I originally intended to test Half Life Alyx, Skyrim and Kayak VR but I ran into some technical difficulties with the Pimax Crystal that ate into a lot of my recording time. Ultimately I walked away today convinced that the Pimax Crystal is a truly stunning piece of VR hardware but ultimately there are still lots of issues that need to be overcome, and some cheap feeling accessories that need to be replaced, before I could comfortably justify the additional cost.
All Pimax Crystal VR gameplay & Quest 3 VR Gameplay in this video was recorded on the same PC, the PC has a 4090 GPU and an i9 12900k processor, the Quest 3 PC VR connection was wireless via virtual desktop and the Pimax Crystal was running wired with the Pimax software.
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#Quest3 #VR #Pimax #MetaQuest3 #QuestAmbassador #VRGameplay #QuestCreator #ExploreWithQuest #MixedReality
- Best VR Headset 2023
- New VR Headset 2023
- Quest 3 vs Pimax Crystal
- Pimax Crystal Through the Lens / Quest 3 Through the Lens
- Quest 3 Wireless PCVR
- Quest 3 Virtual Desktop
- Cheap VR Vs Expensive
- Cheapest VR Vs Most Expensive VR Headset
- 4090 VR Performance
- New VR Games 2023
- Best VR Games 2023
- VR Games Coming Soon 2023
Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
3:33 - Half Life Alyx Quest 3
13:04 - HLA Through The Lens (Quest 3)
13:47 - Technical Difficulties
15:20 - Half Life Alyx Pimax Crystal
21:51 - HLA Through The Lens (Pimax Crystal)
26:51 - HLA Through The Lens (Quest vs Pimax)
27:20 - Skyrim Pimax Crystal
29:59 - Skyrim Through The Lens (Pimax Crystal)
30:37 - Skyrim Quest 3
34:26 - Skyrim Through The Lens (Quest vs Pimax)
34:58 - Summary

[@claybomb1064]

I have both of these headsets, I had the cash and I don't have a life or a girlfriend, so I bought the crystal The clarity is amazing, but honestly now that I have a quest 3 I'm regretting my crystal purchase. cheers beardo

[@toututu2993]

Yea most of the pcvr is overpriced like hell. Just need to wait for $600 self tracking pcvr headset with pancake lenses with a displayport connection

[@TRX25EX]

Exact same situation with me, Q3 is like Porsche car, Crystal is like Ariel Atom car, one can only be useful on track, other useful on every way while good enough on track

[@nikolibolokov4521]

Your not on your own I have no life or girlfriend either

[@xxjohnnyxrocketxx]

Bought my Crystal on Amazon, returned it. If you get it seated just right it is very clear. However for some reason it was slightly distorted for me and gave me massive headaches. My Q3 and Index did not do this to me. Pimax has a lot of work to do to get me to buy another one of their headsets.

[@supersprit5733]

Finding your Life should be your goal, give up Internet for 2 years, stay away from everything( especially from all people) then your Life will find you. Don't allow society, relationships or anyone to dictate your lif You are boss of ur life take charge of it. don't give a shit to whole world (n what others say). Start living it's never too late.

[@SChristianCollins]

I think the biggest reason for "muddy" visuals on Quest 3 in a game like Skyrim is due to the video compression required to play wirelessly. Highly detailed scenes (such as a forest) take the biggest visual hit compared to interiors, city streets, etc. In addition, games that use deferred rendering (e.g., Skyrim, Asgard's Wrath, Lone Echo) have a lot more shimmering in the image, which also stresses the video compressor. Half-Life: Alyx uses forward rendering for a much smoother image that compresses better.

[@chromaticgrey4360]

That's definitely it. The compression in scenes/games with a lot of foliage and detail really make the compression stand out and look very blurry. The pimax has better colors, blacks, and more resolution of course. If the q3 had a display port, it would not have the issue. It still wouldn't have the black levels, but the clarity would be near on par.

[@betonman9]

with like 700mbit bitrate skyrim looks fine in forests....

[@jeanroger3506]

I usually play skyrim with wired link because of that

[@wingsoficarus1139]

Yep, which lets be honest isn't luckily the biggest moment right now in VR since those games are still are the more niche side and are the minority for VR games right now, but No Mans Sky(one of my favorite chill sorta games) is literally unplayable because of how much it stresses the Oculus Link cable. Its a shame.

[@desmond3245]

When I play Dirt Rally 2.0 I need 300mpbs bitrates on VD to not see the red tint compression artifacts. For most games I only need 150mpbs.

[@Delver639]

Meta should have done something to allow the use of Thunderbolt/USB4 on their headset, thus making it possible to tether the Quest 3 to be used with no compression. With modern accessible hardware finally bringing Thunderbolt/USB4 to the masses, that would make a huge impact in the market. Adding a small chip to deal with TB4/USB4 and bypassing the compression stage in the pipeline would make PCVR even more appealing and accessible, maybe saving battery and allowing higher graphics settings in games

[@Nobody-Nowhere]

You can use dynamic foveated rendering on Skyrim to get it running well, as crystal has eye tracking.

[@bigbangerz5856]

yeah he could if he wants to, and some dark scene comparisons, situations where u get reflections in the pancake optics, off ear audio etc I guess we'll see if he comes back to it for a more detailed look or if it was 'a Meta Content piece designed to put the Quest3 in a good light' I hope not as there is enough of that nonsense on social media already. Quest 3 is better value though for most users I think we can agree on that...

[@vicktorfilmbusker5492]

Thank you for covering the crystal! I've been disappointed how most vr channels have largely ignored this hmd. I'm a proud crystal owner and I absolutely love it. I agree with you that the controllers feels cheap though, but other than that, I think everything is perfect. When I first plugged it in, it was working right away, plug and play. I've actually had lots of more issues with my quest and virtual desktop than with the crystal. You should try the eye tracking enabled dynamic foveated rendering for skyrim without vr toolkit but just with pimax play, and you'll have much better performance. The eye tracking with both auto ipd and dfr is one of the most impressive features of the crystal imo.

[@TonyDrecaps]

Well said

[@Snack.Dragon]

How about mura effects on Pimax, do you see it same Q3 with mura layer in white background ?

[@vicktorfilmbusker5492]

@@Snack.Dragon I haven't seen any myra at all. However, I have noticed other small imperfections and artifacts on occasions. Strangely enough, even with such extremely high resolution, a slight screen door effect can appear on some white/bright uniform areas. Although, this seems to be very unpredictable, because sometimes it's not there in places I thought it would be and vice versa. The second thing is chromatic abberation, which is quite noticeable in sharp gray lines like menus and such. Though, this is an optic artifact and can be reduced to pretty much nothing simply by correcting the hmd's position on your face. For me, that's the only weakness in the image of the crystal, while the clarity sweet spot is huge, the "optical sweet spot" is small, and if you're a bit off it'll affect the colours and it feels like you're changing the white balance. Anyhow, with the eye tracking on, the hmd will tell you when you're wearing the hmd correctly, so it's not really an issue.

[@Helltech]

Also index controllers (and basestations) take the crystal to the next level.

[@tigerman7038]

i really have hopes for the new crystal light, what we need as everyone else has said is a cheap headset with high resolution, pancake lenses and direct pc connection, in my case with or without insideo uot tracking, as i have already steam base stations. we need an headset that can beat q3 specs at the same price range, even without stand-alone features, wireless thing can be a big plus but not mandatory in my hopinion, a linked headset is lighter on your neck and much cheaper, and doesn't suffer from compression, it is lighter for the pc too as it doesn't have to compress the video. Wireless can be an extra piece, that maybe you can put on your pants, like the vision battery so it will not hurt your neck, i'm very sensible to weight.

[@Haruchai01]

Really appreciate the video. Having read, and heard about, the Pimax this is the first time I have seen a direct comparison. Very interesting. 👍

[@didrickkazowski2340]

Exactly the review I was looking for. Thanks!

[@kaneblaireau4864]

I’ve got my Q3 brightness down around 30%. Your eyes adjust to the overall brightness and the darks look better!

[@eeeeyuke]

Also, night mode with warmth about 1/3 of the way up gives more realistic colors.

[@GodslayerXUL]

This hub is optional. The standard way to connect the Crystal is to use the rather simple single cable with one plug for the Crystal and 3 plugs for the PC (1xDP, 2xUSB). It's really not complicated at all. I also have to say my experience with software was a lot better than your's. The new Pimax software is rather easy to use. Yes, at first you probably should install the latest firmware (as you also do for other devices). But after that it's very simple to load up games. I had no issue with HL:Alyx. Just worked out of the box. So did every other game so far, except Lone Echo (which sadly has a color space bug for non-Oculus headsets and looks a lot darker than it should). The software part was my biggest fear before buying the Crystal, but it turned out to be pretty alright. I agree on the controllers, though, they really should have been on Quest level at least.

[@directorscut4707]

Lone Echo 2 has that bug too? :(

[@therealbagface9388]

Its garbage,FANBOY.

[@TrevorJones1]

My Crystal has 1dp and a single usb.

[@vicktorfilmbusker5492]

I had the same experience. I honestly think that setting up a quest and virtual desktop from scratch (making a meta account etc) is a lot more fuzz than installing pimax play and plugging in a couple of usb cables. Also, if you don't have a dedicated router very closer to your place space, it's kind of nd of a pain to play pcvr with on a quest, and the compression and latency kind of kills it for me.

[@WigganNuG]

@@vicktorfilmbusker5492 Yea, but wired PCVR is literally useless unless your just interest in flying and racing. Roomscale wired PCVR is not going to be an acceptable thing for most people. Its fucking stupid. And watching people play roomscale VR games seated in fucking chair makes me want to club a baby seal!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@vroitwyrd]

"Still a pretty standard consumer" - PC has a 4090 GPU and an i9 12900k processor

[@GirlOnAQuest]

I have 2 4080's better then a single 4090 :)

[@axev133]

It's like watching a comparison of a Volkswagen with a Porsche. They both move you from A to B, but the Porsche is way faster and driveable but costs three times as much. Yeah right... FYI I have the Pimax Crystal i.c.m. I9-13900K and RTX4090. I had no issues with the Pimax software and I mainly use this VR set for flight simulation (DCS/MSFS2020). I can't run sims on cheap VR sets anymore because I'm spoiled with the clarity of the Crystal now. I do agree that the controllers of the Pimax aren't what you might expect, but for flight sims, I don't use them anyway.

[@howdareyou5800]

It's more like a Toyota vs a BMW Jaguar is the apple vision

[@feeshifeeshi]

Loved the vid, nice to see an honest opinion!

[@eldenringer6466]

Thank you for covering the crystal!

[@masamasa1815]

In any tech sector that moves quickly don't spend huge amounts of money unless you have a ton of disposable income. It doesn't matter if it's a TV or a VR headset next year the new latest and cutting edge will come out and the resale value of your cutting edge tech will be far lower and you'll be left wishing for the new features. In my opinion the VR space moves far to fast at this point to be spending thousands of dollars on a headset.

[@toututu2993]

Yea right now most of the pcvr offering is not just expensive, but also lack updated technologies that will become obsolete within 2 years. I'm not saying that they have to charge their headset as low as Meta Quest. They just need to add all the latest techs in their rediculus $2,000 priced headset

[@user-wp3zh9xy7g]

Exactly im still rocking a samsung odyssey I bought used for $180 in 2017. The image quality still looks good when I crank the resolution scale past 200% Once Aero quality headsets are 500 used ill upgrade.

[@batterynerd8779]

That‘s true. But the bottleneck is actually the PC. The VR headset is just a display. If you get a crystal light for 699$ it‘s really a good price.

[@TonyDrecaps]

Very good honest comparison

[@TrevorJones1]

Oh hey, try AirCar on the Crystal and prepare to have your jaw drop. Just make sure to go into the ini file and disable AA if your perfomance isnt good enough. (AA isnt really necessary at the 5100 pixel native resolution and is known to tank performance for little discernable benefit)

[@Nobody-Nowhere]

I think air car even supports foveated rending, it should run really well on a 4090.

[@TrevorJones1]

@@Nobody-Nowhere ha, most things run really well on a4090.

[@_bob_8170]

Great content Ben. Peace out

[@metalceesie219]

To compare,you better had to use the link cable with the right settings in the debug tool(990MBS SETTING,LINK SETTING ON QUALITY) with the quest 3..Then you had way less compression in a game like that and looks way better...Try it!But great video!

[@maegnificant]

You can use 200mbits of AV1 encoding without a cable. Looks better.

[@metalceesie219]

@@maegnificant no with big open games you have more compression then with the link cable with the right settings

[@maegnificant]

@@metalceesie219 i will try that when I get my cable

[@betonman9]

no it doesnt...av1 looks like shit in skyrim open areas....@@maegnificant

[@wingsoficarus1139]

@@metalceesie219 The link cable also has compression issues too unfortunately. Luckily, its only noticeable with games with a ton of visual effects or foliage. No Mans Sky is near unplayable for example on some planets.

[@gamermovil_com]

This is a joke right? Comparing a full installation Pimax Crystal setup time to get into the game, to a already configured wireless network and router for Quest 3 as "seconds", it's just bad journalism. If you wanted to be fair, compare how long it takes to get Crystal to connect to PC from the first minute install, to setting up a brand new Oculus Quest 3 from the moment you turn it on, then you install the router, configuring the router, setting up correctly virtual desktop / oculus service, and play the game. That would be a close comparison, because once you have set up Pimax, the time to get ready for HL Alyx would be minutes at most, similar to Quest 3.

[@CondemnedToBeMe]

I love this kind off content btw!

[@Glowbox3D]

I think there is a clear winner here in my eyes. Beardo. For being able to play with all these really nice toys. :) Cheers!

[@samcurmudgeon]

Don't forget that Pimax's "customer service" makes Dell, AT&T, and Comcast customer service look good.

[@netgeek3010]

Was about to say something similar they have the worst customer service period. I could not get my Primax 8K working with my 3090Ti and that I requested a software update but even then it was a microcode update and was hit or miss and required approval first. I gave repeated requests and no email response for my brand new Primax 8K. Someone online said just upgrade to the 4080 should fix the issue? I am not about to throw away a 1500 dollar card to dump another 1300 to not even sure will fix the problem setup. I have owned my Quest 3 now for over a month and it just with updates gets better and better. The through the lens technology is fantastic like really amazing and the lens clarity and FOV is way better then my HP Reverb G2 the nonsense that HTC Vive Pro 2 has 120 degree FOV is completely wrong the Quest 3 has at least 110 degree FOV and is better then the Pro 2. It also works fantastic wirelessly even boosted the frame rate to 120hz no problems.

[@Paulie8K]

Great video. I have Quest 2 and recently got a Quest 3. I also have a gaming rig with an RTX 3080. The dedicated PCVR headsets are impressive but I'm so spoiled by being completely wireless and despite the fact that I'm a big flat screen gamer, I find myself using VR more for the social apps such as VRC, Horizon, Big Screen etc. I have HLA and still only on chapter 4 after 3 years. I'm hoping that valve is making a stand-alone upgrade to the index as that's something I would be interested in.

[@ZerocoolsPropsandCollectibles]

Get a cheap wifi 6 router I played thru most pcvr games wirelessly on my quest and quest 2.

[@LouRaX]

im using the quest 3 only via cable for PCVR... there is no compression no lag no battery problems

[@Paulie8K]

@@LouRaX nice. To each his own. I actually have a third party link cable but barely use it. I just do Virtual Desktop or now Steam LInk for PCVR. Mine also doesn't play and charge at the same time so my Q3 has to be fully charged for me to justify using the cable.

[@LouRaX]

@@Paulie8K you need a PC with a PD Port or like i i own a amazon combine charge cable that works via USB 3.0 but does have a 2nd port usb-C to connect to a power outlet... it just combines the USB Data with the USB POWER from the brick

[@Paulie8K]

@@LouRaX I see. My desktop doesn't have a PD port but I have a Alienware also with a 3080 (long story) and in the back it has a USB C I believe thunderbolt port that can be used for external GPUs. Maybe I'll try to see if that can play and charge as to your original point, compression is a non issue on the wire which I do like.

[@666Azmodan666]

I've had pimax for years and starting a game involves turning on pitool (because I personally turn it off, which is not the default setting) and selecting the game title, so I'm not complaining. The fov in the Crystal is still low compared to other Pimax models. Now it's black friday and crystal costs 1300...

[@TrevorJones1]

yeah but compared to a Quest 2 it's like 20% bigger.

[@666Azmodan666]

@@TrevorJones1 20% creates a wow effect, now think what the almost 50% larger fov, i.e. 170 in Pimax 8k, does. Personally, when I play at 170 and switch to 150, I feel a lot of discomfort and lack of immersion.

[@jason002YT]

Great info here!

[@Bell_Arclide]

I think it was a little unfair to compare the set up times between the two when you already had the quest 3 set up. Its a little disingenuous to say that it took 40 mins to set up the Pimax and only seconds for the Quest because if you were also setting up the Quest for the first time there are also like 40 mins worth of updating and downloading the virtual desktop software for the first time

[@NextWorldVR]

No. No it wasn't. The Quest 3, is wireless, doesn't really require setup, The Pimax I had, was a nightmare to setup EVERY SINGLE TIME I used it. The software is primitive, finicky, and actually unpredictable.

[@demonpride1975]

i have used both, and honestly it may surprise you the conclusion i came to, the crystal has a sweet fov black levels and speakers. problem is that it took me a while to set up everything. i had similar problems with the software. but the fov is a huge upgrade. the quest 3 while not as black, has decent speakers, black levels are fine nothing spectacular. but the controls on the quest 3 are far superior. i found the tracking on my quest 3 to also be a bit better. the problem being tho, that i don't see the pimax price being justified for only 3 things that may be slightly better.

[@supersprit5733]

Aero selling @999, when Pimax stocks pile up they will also sell below 1000( if they care business). Interesting to see somnium and Aero 2 Headsets.

[@Zerinth]

@@supersprit5733 are both of them a decent upgrade (fov and display clarity) on the reverb G2 ?

[@supersprit5733]

@@Zerinth G2 is good what it offers for its price. But it's lens is outdated, quest 3 lens changed the equation now, G2 has small sweet spot.if clarity (& resolution) is your priority crystal, aero and Big screen beyond are in top of the list, if price is constraint go for quest3 it's an all rounder.

[@roberthartmanleonard3349]

The mixing of wireless with wired makes me question the usefulness of this comparison. This video looks only at image quality, but it ignores the fact that the Quest 3 is connected wirelessly. I previously used the HP Reverb G2 with Index controllers and I switched to the Quest 3 for wireless PCVR. It's hard to quantify how annoying a wired connection can be. It's even harder to make the apples-to-oranges comparison between image quality vs the immersion loss caused by a tether. But, for me, this has been the most important trade-off I've needed to consider. I have an RTX 3080 so I can't use AV1, but I have a dedicated Wifi 6e connection for the Quest 3. I've tried both H.264+ at 500 Mbps and HEVC 10-bit at 200 Mbps, and both show *significant* compression artifacts in Skyrim. Due to snow and fog, Skyrim is a torture test for compression algorithms. Compared to the G2, the image quality is much worse, but this is entirely due to compression. At the end of the day, I prefer the Quest 3 due to the wireless capability. Due to the loss in quality caused by image compression, you should compare wired vs. wired and wireless vs. wireless (yes I know the Quest uses compression when wired; but that would be a more apples-to-apples comparison). Also, when discussing a wireless PCVR setup, it is important to discuss the bit rate and compression algorithm used. I'm curious to see what I'm missing out on by mot having AV1. I'm also curious to see what the compression will look like when the Pimax Crystal Wigig adaptor releases. A final note: Remember that KZbin adds it's own compression artifacts to videos. If you decide to make a video looking at image compression, I suggest using zoomed-in still images in the video.

[@nese1]

I don’t play skyrim, but the games I do play (half life alyx) has completely lost all compression artifacts after using av1. I also use wifi 6e router and my graphic card is 4080, so the experience for me is seemless. This of course might not appeal to many people since the cards with dual av1 encoders (4070ti and up) will cost a lot of money.

[@ghostazp3377]

I agree the setup time is was a dealbreaker with the reverb g2. Quest 3 so easy

[@Weeem]

I just transitioned from Rift S to Quest 3. It doesn't have the black levels of my OLED TV (and I guess PIMAX) but the fidelity and new lenses make it a huge upgrade from the RIFT S. The plus being I can take it anywhere as its not longer bound by a cable to the PC (unless I want to). The only negative I've experienced is the short battery life on the Quest 3. I can stretch it to 3hrs and it's good that it makes us take a break in long gaming sessions, but the 2hr+ recharge it too slow imo. Reminds me of old RC cars where the play time is short vs the recharge time. Make it feel more of a toy than a serious gaming device.

[@matthewtrow5698]

Interesting video, because it really is all about that $1000/£1000 price point difference, which is nuts. For me personally, I went from having experienced the Rift DK1 in 2013 and trying to get Half-Life 2 working, to buying a Quest 3 recently and playing Alyx. "Ok, it was worth the wait - OMG, it was worth the wait". Before this, I decided at that point to watch VR from the sidelines until a standalone headset came out. I was tempted by the Valve Index, but nearly £1000 - and still tethered? Fairly easy to resist that. So I really appreciate seeing this type of head-to-head comparison and I'm glad I waited 10 years before trying VR again. Incidentally, I sold the DK1 on eBay for double the price I got it, in early Jan 2014, so that was a win.

[@johncrichton4341]

I feel that about my Pico 4 - it's not perfect in any of the main areas - but I plug it in, it runs, no bother with reflections/tracking etc. I can O/C in Steam by over 150% with no problems.

[@boitmecklyn4995]

My mum uses an ultrawide monitor just to see text better and I am thinking of getting her a quest 3 to see if it'll make her work on a PC easier because you can have a larger screen appear over a physically large screen. Games are secondary.

[@zombygunslinger]

I just got a Quest 3 after using a Reverb G2. It is a lot easier to set anything up and being able to play simple games, like Beat Saber, wirelessly without even remote desktop is great. I haven't had success with Virtual Desktop, it seems to have terrible lag and stuttering, I may have to do some troubleshooting, but with a cable it's great. I'm glad there are companies pushing the envelope, but I'm pretty happy with the quest 3 so far. On the subject of controllers, the controllers on the G2 had a very weak implementation of rumble/haptic feedback. The Quest 3 controllers have much better haptic feedback.

[@x_flies]

I like this guy. Saved me a lot of money and got me into VR.

[@yokoh691]

great way to get through the lens footage is by having the phone focused before smoothly bringing the camerea to the lens, dead center,steady and bring down the contrast when fully focused. youll get amazing results

[@psyedk]

really cool vid man it's distracting listening to all the 'VR Pros' talking about supposed perfect PPD values and comparing FOV of different HMDs and all that crap but comes down to it there's a sweet spot of quality at a price, and as you go up double, triple that price, unfortunately the quality doesn't increase in step 🤔🤔🤔

[@jimjack3447]

great video thank you

[@onikaze8445]

I either missed or you didn't mention what those settings were, like wireless/wired, airlink or Virtual Desktop, bitrate, compression method(.264, av1) , etc. specifically for the skyrim portion. I think the foveated rendering , which already downgrades the image at certain point coupled with the compression/bitrate could have a compounding effect. Perhaps turning the foveated off in the ovr setting for the q3 might improve it a bit esp since you didn't think it was working in the pimax for a more apples to apples comparison.

[@Steve-ei2vh]

I own one and when asked in setup, how high of the floor, the best way is to put the head set on the floor and input zero (0) then it will automatically no how high the head set is when you are wearing it and scale accordingly. the floor will be perfect every time and so will your height very quick to set up.....

[@lowdownbrown2002]

What's up Beardo? Love your channel. I have a question. When you have three monitors up on the quest three, is there any way to remove the Task Bar . Is there a way to set it where it only comes up when you move the controller around. And if anyone in the community knows anything about this I appreciate the response.

[@nihilichen]

your question is very unclear but I can try to answer with two things: - you can use WIN+P to access projection settings and choose only monitor which is recommended for VR - if you go into your taskbar settings, you can choose to show the taskbar on only one display by unticking "Show my taskbar on all displays"

[@adamsteinbacher2629]

Still rocking my HP Reverb G2 and still loving it. Just don't play enough VR games or as often to require an upgrade yet.

[@jamieh8240]

I own both the Reverb G2 and Quest 3 and it took me several months to start liking the Q3 over my trusty Reverb. I hate the Reverb's controllers which wasn't too much of an issue as I mainly play flight sims where controllers aren't needed but for games like Alyx they just weren't up to the task unless the lighting in your room was absolutely spot on. Even though the resolution of both headsets are on par with each other, the lenses of the Reverb have such a small sweet spot, the headset has to be pushing down on the bridge of my nose to be able to see everything clear. I never noticed this until I started using the Q3. Its lenses are crystal clear no matter where it is sitting on my head. The only downfall of the Q3 was battery life which is around 2.5 hours. Once I replaced the headband with an aftermarket one (not Meta's) I'm now getting around 4.5 hours use before recharging. What really tipped the Q3 in front was Steamlink. I find it's so much better than virtual desktop and it really changed my mind on the Q3 for PC games.

[@adamsteinbacher2629]

@@jamieh8240 I have since upgraded to the Quest 3 as well! Turned out I had some Best Buy gift cards to spend, so I jumped on it! Love it so far. The edge to edge clarity from the pancake lenses and the color reproduction is definitely a leap over the G2. I don't really use it too often without a link cable so the battery life hasn't bothered me. I did upgrade the headstrap to the Kiwi Comfort Strap and it's awesome!

[@mithrillis]

I think at this point, direct output wired headsets still have a significant visual advantage over streaming headsets even with similar display quality. Even with a Reverb G2 (similar display resolution to Quest 3) you can notice much cleaner textures and better distant objects vs the Quest 3. But you can get very close with wired oculus link at maximum bitrate. Using commonly available home Wi-Fi (5G without 6/6E) you will still notice frequent compression artefacts. Maybe in a few years, the average home Wi-Fi speed will be sufficient to support better wireless experience, and we will have better device-side upscaling or even frame generation to reduce the data needed to be transmitted.

[@dharkbizkit]

well, i have no experience in that department so iam going off reddit post. and people there basically say: even when wired, with maximum allowed bitrate of 900(?) you will still have strong compression artefacts in foliage heavy games like skyrim because smal moving parts like gras and leafs, are the arch nemesis of compression. so if one is sensetive to that sort of thing, theres no way around that on the quest 3, just because meta decided not to go with displayport via usb protocol like playstation or the aero, which to me, sounds like an intenational downgrade to not make this a perfect pcvr headset, because then the meta store would sell less

[@bluebell1]

Great video Ben! I think the Pimax looks great but it just too big, requires a beast of a PC and too much monkeying around.

[@pathetic_pigeon8977]

its crazy that the video shakes now so much because the quest 3 tracks so good i guess the older quest 2 videos would not shake like this one does

[@theayatollahofrockandrolla]

Where's that GTA that was promised? I'm not even going to look at VR till it comes out.

[@user-wp3zh9xy7g]

Rockstar makes alot of promises they cant keep. The GTA 5 VR mod is pretty good though.

[@richardnoall3758]

Great review. Pimax seem to have gone hell for leather on the display aspect and then bolted everything else on afterwards (and poorly). Meta have gone for the whole experience and done pretty well in my opinion.

[@nosaj9167]

I had vr for my ps4 I am getting quest 2 in a few days I can't wait to try it

[@kangjames2492]

I have the crystal and I absolutely love it. It is my favorite vr purchase to date. I've had no problems connecting and playing games. Watching movies is phenomenal also. The sound is ridiculously awesome. One doesn't have a way to determine what a 1000 pounds difference should represent. I also have the Aero, the 8kx, guest 2, G2, psvr 1 and 2. The pimax crystal is absolutely the best. Playing games in 3D is like playing on a 4k screen!

[@LimbaZero]

What is your opinion of crystal vs aero?

[@johnnyalbrecht41]

I wanne buy crystal i need the best resolution how is the pimax is its stronger build? Sorry for my englis

[@user-wp3zh9xy7g]

The Crystal wasnt on my radar but if its better than the Aero ill have to look into it.

[@Drksyder]

it’s definitely better then the aero

[@kangjames2492]

@@LimbaZero The Aero graphically is nice but the crystal out classes it because of the colors, black levels and sharpness. What killed the aero for me was the vertical fov and the bad overlap though. The aero isn't a bad headset though but I would chose the crystal every time.

[@rottieman]

Whats the face gasket youve got on your quest 3?having trouble with comfort on my q3 as it feels like a heavy brick digging into my cheek and brow...and yes i own a halo headstrap🤷‍♂️

[@Zerinth]

quest 3 would be acceptable for most as most are vr casual gamers. easy to setup and run wireless etc. But for PC vr enthusiast money doesnt matter too much always want the best experience (duno if pimax crystal is the way to go there). Appreciate the amount of effort you put into this video.

[@damuffinman6895]

Speak for yourself

[@bjrnchrstn]

After 2 minutes of video your conclusion was clear already.

[@sparky1570784]

thank you for the video. ive been waiting for a video between the q3 and crystal for a while now. now i just wish i could find a proper one between the index and the crystal. curious if the crystal is a upgrade from the index

[@Nobody-Nowhere]

Its a huge upgrade from Index, index has half the resolution of Quest3. So Crystal has 4x the resolution of Index, plus way superior lenses. Crystal is 8.3MP per eye, Index is 2.3MP per eye. Index is kinda outdated at this point.

[@TonyDrecaps]

Its a huge upgrade. Double resolution, better colors, eye tracking. The sound and FOV are similar

[@stevebobowski3507]

For me it was more about who i gave my money to and I wasn't about to be a Zucker if you catch my drift.

[@amuria55]

Its a "you get what you pay for" type of thing I guess then. I'm k for now with the Quest 3, its very clear, having lots of fun. Eventually gonna go with another headset, but the Bigscreen beyond is the one I will eventually get, because I don't want anything heavier than the Quest 3. Each person has their preferences I guess.

[@frallorfrallor3410]

agree meta quest or bigscreen beyond these ones is honestly only 2 brands worth considering, but simple to use meta quest is huge selling point

[@mickking7364]

It’s clear that you had a preference from the start. Usually comparison videos start from a level playing field, this one certainly didn’t. Thank you for your views.

[@JPWestmas]

Congrats you now know what the color black is. :D Seriously thanks for the comparison though, these seem hard to come by.

[@dllsmartphone3214]

my main reason to buy the quest 2 over any other headset was the fact that you dont need external cameras and cables. walking freely around my space is a minimum requirement for me when using vr. and that there are still "up to date" hardware that still need cables connected to the headset and external cameras is just a shame! and most of them cost also more... i will buy myself the quest 3 for chrismas :-)

[@vicktorfilmbusker5492]

Same reason I originally bought a quest 2. However, with a wire pulley system installed in the sealing, the cable is unnoticable on the crystal, and you don't need any base stations or cameras. Also, it's going fully wireless soon with a little wigig module wich will be released in a couple of months from now.

[@jazldazl9193]

Nice compare dude! 34:30 on shows the Quest gives little away in performance. The convenience of the Quest will surely rule until the next best thing. That Pi Max set up sure looked like a bummer!

[@therealbagface9388]

I bought one dude- you will spend 3/4 of your time troubleshooting I promise. Returned and kept my Varjo 💯

[@qualar]

​@@therealbagface9388Troubleshooting what? I am running the Q3 via Airlink perfectly.

[@ZerocoolsPropsandCollectibles]

@@therealbagface9388 Totally gave me flashbacks to the psvr cable system.

[@cheeeeezewizzz]

He needed to update and check how to plug it in is all. Mine worked the first time I plugged it in with no issues. Lots of other people have the same experience.

[@patfish3291]

HL scared me with my old Vive way more than with the Q3 because of the OLED Screens

[@barnold62]

I like sims and I tried them both and the crystal just blows you away with the clarity and colors. If you are playing standing up and moving around then I go with another. I still think the Varjo is #2 headset if you can get one and have the video card to run it.

[@firestuka8850]

Really, this reinforces the quality of the Quest 3 for its price. Simply, if you want VR, you use the Quest 3. If you are a person who has an RTX 4090, then you're probably going to pay for premium, regardless of price, then the conversation for/against top shelf is irrelevant. Simply: 90% of us would get a Quest 3 and be happy. Done. Going for $1100 more for a slight visual upgrade, for me, from a 3070 to a 3070ti is not worth the price jump. This is a good way to show us and reinforce the ease of access to VR for most of us. Thank you, Benjo.

[@Madeyes6]

Every time I watch someone review VR headsets they go on about the setup for PCVR systems. Why? Why is it such an issue? It’s a one time thing. You set it up & you’re done & until you buy a new PC or headset you never have to touch it again. For that you get better tracking, no battery issues, no lag & generally a much better headset. Yes you’re tethered but for anyone who’s used a PCVR for a long period of time it’s never an issue. It may get a little inconvenient now & again but it’s a lot less inconvenient as having to recharge your headset. In fact one of the thing I don’t like about the crystal is the fact it has batteries. No PCVR user cares about the setup time. I wish you’d all stop going on about it. As to issues setting up with the game. I bought the game, downloaded it & stated playing immediately. You don’t have to set the headset up each time you start a game so it has nothing to do with the actual review.

[@nekron75]

With the new Pimax Crystal Light costing only 799$ (local dimming version, excl. taxes), I think this comparison does change somewhat. I has no wireless though and no option to add it later so there's that.

[@NextWorldVR]

I got a Pimax 5K after they updated to 120fos, but the Software for it was so primitive, I spent far more time trying to get it to work than actually using it,... I will get one again when i hear it has 'gotten there'..

[@KusholaCam]

PSA: My quest 3 left controller broke after 10 days of use. I've since returned it

[@The_Supreme_Savage]

How 🤨

[@warmad2596]

For the Quest 3, when you play as PCVR, will it matter if I have a 4090 or not or does ituse the Quest 3 hardware? To note, I know absolutely nothing about VR and starting my journey to learn how these work. Just recently learned there are PCVR headsets and then the mixed reality ones which it seems like it stores the game or streams it to the headset itself? Again, not a clue how they work so assuming the Quest 3 and other mixed reality headsets are like game consoles with their own hardware and software.

[@joseroncero8379]

It will use your video card, so Steam games will look better than Quest 3 games. However, you’re still limited to the display resolution and video compression from either link cable or wireless connection.

[@warmad2596]

@@joseroncero8379 Sweet! Thanks for the info.

[@andysonofbob2599]

Need to up bitrate when using Link. 500 doesn't cut it for Skyrim. You will need to copy and paste at least 750 to the Debug Tool. I use 800. Obvs not as clear as DP but it's way better than the default.

[@FromDesertTown]

Remove the light guard on the Quest 3 to get the approximate FOV of the Crystal (since you can pull it closer to your eyes using a halo strap like your BOBOVR).

[@devinchristopherson1871]

Go to the middle and just get the valve index 😊 hasn’t done me wrong yet

[@manuelkimpel3788]

You should try the Varjo Aero which has similar amazing crisp image quality like the pimax crystal. The cable setup is just less painful than the Pimax because its a native PCVR Headset so you are not going to run out of battery which means no charger has to be plugged.. :) But i have to admit that the FOV and the colors are much lower. But that didn´t bother me after 10 mins of gaming. I guess you can use the Valve index controllers with the pimax crystal and they are thebest hand controllers i used so far. You dont even have to hold them on your hands because they sticked to your hands.which was very comfortable for me. Thankyou for the video! :)

[@danielrogersilva9701]

Parabéns pelo vídeo irmão

[@RafaPolit]

This was useful. How about the Quest Pro? It could help a bit on the black levels, while having similar resolution to the Quest 3. Do you think it's worth the extra $380ish (as of today) bucks? Thanks.

[@Golgafrinchamdent]

34:30 Side by side, I actually like the Quest better. Was there any input lag at all? I do RC flight simming... and RC helis are TWITCHY. They really need to react like it already happened.

[@JoshxMemes]

What accessories do you use on the quest 3?

[@Nathdood]

One thing I noticed is that the controller tracking seems very smooth on the Pimax vs the Quest But 1k better? Not sure about that. I love my Quest 3

[@netgeek3010]

Did you crank up the refresh rate on the Quest 3?

[@OperatorPuski]

The warping on the crystal is from the canting or tilting of the lenses. Pimax is notorious for this as it is a cheap way to gain more FOV. Quest does this also just not as much

[@potatoglizzy3212]

I'm someone who on average spends about 30 hours a week in VR playing racing sims (you could say an enthusiast) and have been in the market for a headset to upgrade from my trusty Valve Index for the past year. The Crystal almost had me, until I saw the size of the damn thing. Spending sometimes 6 hours of a day in VR there is no amount of money you could pay me to have a brick that large strapped to my head. Regardless of image quality there is just too much wrong with the Crystal to warrant the price. Bigscreen beyond almost had me, but OLED scares me due to screen burn in, the small FOV, god rays and lack of ability to share the headset, again, put me off. I have now ordered a Quest 3 after doing lots of research and I honestly can't wait to get my hands on it. The price, visual quality, plug and play nature and small form factor just can't be beaten, even for nerds like me who basically spend a full working week playing fake cars with lenses glued to my eyeballs

[@Mi_kid05]

Honestly im kinda shocked that to me both headsets looked better (more graphicsy/realistic/viberant) when looking through camera recoding of the lens than in the captured footage. And it makes me curious if adding reshade with a fake bloom filter and fake hdr and possibly even an intelligent depth of field shader could achieve that look without ruininv the games

[@Ni5ei]

Always wanted to experience the wide FOV of a Pimax. Unfortunately I don't know anyone near me who has one.

[@natemck7131]

Half life has monsters? I thought it was a puzzle game. We need this for PSVR2!!!!!!!!

[@jamierichards925]

HL a puzzle game 😂were you been since 1998

[@ipadize]

9:02 Beardo squashes that poor little fella and doesnt even use it to heal himself. 😭

[@inabearsuit2425]

so my question is whats the difference between air link and virtual desktop??

[@jokalee]

Some people swear that you get higher quality than with Air Link though I've seen some videos that show otherwise.

[@antjones2281]

Cool ! you got a Crystal. Regarding the Q3 its pretty ahocking how good it is. I was expecting Q2 to Q3 to be akin to moving from a switch to a switch OLED, the Quest 3 is truly like a full blown switch two upgrade. That being said the Crystal is like a PS5. Its big its chunky but man is it powerful. Just like with the switch 2, I think it will probably shock people how close its graphics get to playing in the same graphical ballpark as a ps5, for a mobile chipset. But at the end if the day nobody will mistake a Switch 2 for a PS5. Just like nobody will mistake a Q3 for a Crystal. I have both, a switch and a PS5 they serve different purposes and i love them both. I also own both a quest 3 and a Crystal, and the Crystal wins for simulators and Virtual Desktop 3d gaming (desktop version) but the Quest is amazing for evrything else.

[@lorsch.]

What do you mean by 3D gaming in virtual desktop? Flat games on a virtual screen? Or do you get 3D working for flat games somehow?

[@hoihoi13]

I play pcvr mod via virtual desktop with a quest 3. Is it worth an upgrade to crystal in your opinion?

[@CH-oj7kv]

I could see the difference, but I could not see $1000 worth. I can say that I get frustrated easily too. The slow startup would absolutely prompt me to sell the crystal almost as soon as I unboxed it.

[@runnerrunner7979]

Is battery life on the quest not an issue when using the link cable ?

[@christophermorton914]

How much does a Quest 3 cost if you want better storage, better battery life, a charging station and for it to feel comfortable on your head?

[@cheeeeezewizzz]

about 800-900 usd

[@mikegc3816]

Hi Ben, do you have a list of mods that you used for skyrim - thanks

[@henrymonroy9533]

btw, Beardo, congrats on vr presenter of the year

[@tattoomaniacsalina]

thanks

[@davefulford8890]

I think you would need a fibre optic link cable to get the best resolution. I've tried the various WiFi link methods and they are poor in comparison.

[@gluehoof573]

I'd love to see a like for like comparison, i.e. wired vs wired and wireless vs wireless _when_ Pimax finally releases wireless. If it's already got the hardware and it's literally just a software/firmware update required, then that is a huge red flag. It means that they have to downscale the visuals _so_ much to get wireless working practicably, that they haven't dared enable it yet and piss off users and turn away potential users. My bet is they're hoping for a miracle that can improve it enough from where they've gotten to so far.

[@carlparker7588]

What everyone really wants to know is how the crystal standalone mode looks

[@iliketurtles7947]

cool now do vs bigscreen beyond

[@viktorianas]

For those who want EVEN MORE bang for your Buck, Pound or Euro or Yen or any other currency, PICO 4 is still the KING 👑(unless you are deep in Metaverse ecosystem already).

[@chotus69]

Why are you not using eye tracking foviated rendering with the crystal?

[@luavawawu]

if the quest 4/5 have bigscreen form factor, that would be pretty neat.

[@mbaxter22]

They need to move the processing and battery into a hockey puck that goes in your pocket. The headset itself should only contain the audio and video components. The cable between the puck and headset would be threaded down your shirt.

[@luavawawu]

Yeah, that would be neat. I use AR glasses for work, that's how they are set up@@mbaxter22

[@wolfgaming5592]

What about bigscreen beyond? that's in the middle of these two I feel but is it worth twice as much as a quest 3? great content :)

[@MasterRuss]

If you don't care about MR and your main focus is PCVR then sure but the Big screen Beyond also doesn't come with controllers or headphones. It also requires lighthouse tracking. So the actual price of the Beyond is closer to the Pimax Crystal.

[@toututu2993]

Beyond is another outdated overpriced vr headset that have too much requirement that is almost a joke in a lot of ways. Sorry Bigscreen but why do I need an Iphone to take picture of my face?

[@RidgeXR_2]

@@toututu2993 In order for you to get a custom interface. Beyond requires one. Android phones don't have the required hardware to make a sub millimeter accuracy face scan. iPhones do.

[@toututu2993]

@@RidgeXR_2 Wow that's lame. I guess Bigscreen Beyond is only for business men who live in a condo alone, creedy, hate other people with lots of money, and happenes to be an Apple fan.

[@QiVR42]

@@toututu2993 The bigscreen beyond is not made by Apple, that is the Apple Vision Pro. The Bigscreen Beyond is a completely different headset and nothing to do with Apple.

[@dsjf]

I have both headsets (mainly for simulation, especially Pimax). My problem is that since I've been using the Crystal, I hate it more and more when I put on the Quest3, even though it's not a simulation. I can't help it. and it's getting worse! :)

[@Privat846]

I had vr 2 for ps5 and i had problems to find find the sweetspot, is it better with the meta quest 3?