Pimax 5K+ spotted after a 16 month hiberation.... First impressions

[anton_Chez]

Well, it's here. The Pimax 5K+ headset I backed on Kickstarter in October 2017 has finally made it from the depths of hell and everywhere else in between to my house in Australia. What a ride it's been.

To start, the box is fairly nice, nothing too fancy but definitely of Rift quality, nothing flimsy or cheap. The smell is actually like a brand new paid of shoes! I'd say that's the padding. Anyway who cares about the box, hey?

Upon fitting the strap, I was horrified at the comfort. Only after I messed around with it a little bit did I feel I could actually make it work. It's not as intuitive as the Rift but it's workable for me at least. One thing that's immediately struck me is I've nearly got my nose poking through the lenses from the inside out. My face is literally ON the lenses. We are going to have to order custom cushions. It's insane that they've left this unaddressed. I think additional face cushions are a stretch goal reward but I've not see them being any different to the standard one. We need thicker pads, Pimax. I have a small face and a not so overly large nose and I'm struggling. If it turns out my IPD is able to have the lenses moved to the outside of the headset I might just get away with it.

The strap does tighten on your face pretty well. I did not expect that based on other feedback. It's not ski mask type like the Rift but it does have the ability to stick to my face and feel pressure so there's some modular possibilities there especially for larger faces that won't need to tighten the straps as much. Between the side and top strap you should be able to get the HMD sitting nice and flat on your face without any tilting at least while sitting down.

I've yet to power it on so I'll go and do that now. One thing you'll notice is you need an additional power point for this. It comes with an external power source that plugs into the PC side of the cable. It isn't recognised by the PC unless you power it on.

 

[RobertR1]

The fit on my head is fine thankfully and no issues with sweet spot or such. The lack of build in audio is a bit annoying as the unit is pretty expensive for what you get.

I'm running the following:

• PiTools at 1
• Steam SS @ 130%
• Rate set to 72hz
• Disabling ALL PiTools features gave me the best performance and it hovered around 72fps but with some drops into the 60’s during a lot of action but it was not stuttering or jarring. The gameplay remained smooth
• Hidden Mask. I don't know what setting does? Any clue?
• Enabling ALL tools gave me 30fps with a lot of drift and shimmering
• Don't think FFR works for AC and others have mentioned the same

Have you managed to get the drift under control when racing? I keep having to recenter the unit a fair amount. I don't have any light houses. How did you calibrate for 3DOF to control the drift?

 

[bluey]

Hi Anton I have CV1 a the moment but am thinking of upgrading to Pimax5k. My main sim is RF2 my pc is7700k oc to 4.7 and1080ti does pimax work good with RF2..

 

[anton_Chez]

Hey bluey. Yeah you should be fine with that hardware. I'll share my settings on rF2 once I dial it in a little more. It tends to be heavier than the other sims in performance because it requires parallel projection to be enabled which costs you frames. But I've already got it playable and looking great with the 1080Ti so you should be good to go!

Rob, what do you mean for enabling ALL TOOLS? I always have hidden mask on, it says that it enhances performance, perhaps it does something to the image that isn't in the FOV? Not rendering it at full quality or at all? I've always left it on and never tried it off. What GPU are you running? I think I remember you saying you bought the 20 series? 2080Ti? I would struggle with 130% SteamVR SS @ 72hz. I think I wrote down that I'd get a stable 72 at 110% but only with Small FOV. Are you running normal FOV?

I've not properly looked into FFR and had to look up what it actually was when I saw the term being thrown around on the forum. I guess it's a welcome addition and if it's enabled in ACC at least that would be awesome.

The drift. I did get it Tuesday night in Raceroom while doing a fun league race. It was driving me mad. You don't notice it actually moving but after a few minutes your view is all out of whack. I've used it for quite a while over the weekend, did some races in it on Monday night even and didn't even see it. I don't think it even happened. So far, since it happened, I reran the room setup with the HMD exactly where I use it. Before I had it calibrated at the desk and then moved it into the seat. That said, it didn't show up the other times, so who knows what causes it. I've since had a base station delivered today so I am in the process right now of setting it up and testing it out. They are a pain in the ass to connect, I might be a while getting it all organised! I didn't do anything special initially to calibrate it to counter the drift especially because it didn't show up until much later. I must have spent 5-6 hours with it before it showed up.

 

[RobertR1]

Yeah I got a 2080ti. Honestly between 100% and 130% I can’t tell the difference so I’ll likely drop it down. That’s at 72hz and Normal FOV. With pitools at 1 and steam at 100%, I can prob run at 90hz.

Did you re run the pitools calibration or steamvr or both?

FFR for AC does nothing. Actually hurts fps. Hopefully it does work in ACC because that game needs it!

 

[anton_Chez]

Yeah you can actually use it, you have the 20 series. I got the 1080Ti so I'm waiting to test it out. The Steam resolution settings are not as dramatic in the Pimax as it would be say for Oculus running 1.4x SS rather than the stock values. That makes a world of difference. On the Pimax the screens are so nice and sharp already that running super high res, or in your case even just a little bit, is probably a waste of the resources. It actually looks AWESOME (to me) just at 1.0 and pretty much whatever res gets you a stable frame rate.

How good is it not running like perfect 72hz and it still being smooth and barely noticeable (given that it's only a couple of frames at a time and not chunks) when it slightly misses sync? I love it. The Rift was horrible when it wasn't absolutely locked. This gives tonnes more leeway for extra graphics settings.

I think I just ran the SteamVR calibration while sitting in the seat. I'd recommend if you can't see much difference for that extra 30%, and you already obviously get a pretty locked 72hz, I'd turn to the graphics options and just crank whatever you can up. I swear I can barely tell between even a solid smooth 64 compared to 90hz. I mean I've been running 90 for 2 years with the Rift and I can use 72hz absolutely perfectly, it looks like it's supposed to.

 

[RobertR1]

Yeah I'm surprised how well the 72hz work. I can't tell the diff between that and 90hz and I'm generally decently sensitive to FPS hits.

I'll re-run the calibration in PiTools and steamVR tonight to see if that helps with the drift. Really don't want to have to keeping adding more accessories.

I'll test out hidden mash/FFR/smoothing individually tonight and note any impact I can tell.

 

[anton_Chez]

I cannot for the life of me install this base station. It's actually impossible. The PC will not recognise it not in bluetooth (SteamVR says the bluetooth service is unavaible) and not physically plugged into the PC via USB. I've tried 2.0 and 3.0 ports. I've tried power cycling it. I've shut down and re opened SteamVR. I've installed the beta. I've reinstalled the regular version. I've restarted the PC. I'm out of ideas. How can real life be THIS hard? A base station, really?

 

[Steve D]

I cannot for the life of me install this base station. It's actually impossible. The PC will not recognise it not in bluetooth (SteamVR says the bluetooth service is unavaible) and not physically plugged into the PC via USB. I've tried 2.0 and 3.0 ports. I've tried power cycling it. I've shut down and re opened SteamVR. I've installed the beta. I've reinstalled the regular version. I've restarted the PC. I'm out of ideas. How can real life be THIS hard? A base station, really?

I might well be wrong mate but I think you might need two base stations to complete the SteamVR set up. After that I've read that you can disconnect one.

Other than that have you tried cycling through the channels, A, B & C. As I only dabbled with the Vive Pro for a couple of days when it was launched, before returning it, I can't recall what they are specifically, (think B was Master / Host) but worth a shot just in case you get lucky and the Pimax can pair with one from the off.

 

[RobertR1]

I might well be wrong mate but I think you might need two base stations to complete the SteamVR set up. After that I've read that you can disconnect one.

Other than that have you tried cycling through the channels, A, B & C. As I only dabbled with the Vive Pro for a couple of days when it was launched, before returning it, I can't recall what they are specifically, (think B was Master / Host) but worth a shot just in case you get lucky.

That would really suck because it would really add to the cost of getting a Pimax...

 

[anton_Chez]

You can run it with a single. I just can't even get the PC to acknowledge the hardware, AT ALL.

 

[rikirk]

Having a awful week with the Pimax in not recognizing the lighthouse (Vive) with support spending hours in TeamViewer. Will get back as soon as I have something solid.

For sure you don't need two lighthouses to establish communication with the hmd via pitool. One in channel A is fine, while working.

 

[bluey]

Hi Anton. Check out I racing foruum. VR Jeffery Ford pimax 5k thread. .There is a way to fix the problem. Something about deleting some files in documents.. And reseting other things

 

[anton_Chez]

Thanks guys will have another crack tonight. @rikirk Bloody hell sounds like what's happening to me. I can't believe it's such an issue. I'm going to try on my other PC. Installing SteamVR on it right now.

 

[rikirk]

@anton_Chez did it work?

So far my experience with Pimax it's negative, to use a kind word, both in terms of product design and customer support.

Yesterday I had to give up a race here on RD because of the inconsistent tracking with the lighthouse.

No clue if it is due to hardware failure or software compatibility, but 6 hours of their technician running testing tools didn't help.

More important they don't acknowledge the fact that the product is defective and they don't offer any solution or escalate the case.

I am under the impression they are just a bunch of kids burning easy money made in flashy road shows. There is no structural organization within the company. Note that I have some insight because I discussed some collaboration with them to support their launch in the states over a year ago, but decided not to follow up due to the lack of commitment from one of the founders.

The fact they raised so much capital despite the Oculus/HTC benchmark it's saying a lot of how our economy is working based in expectations rather than results.

For now will go back to the trustworthy Vive and power up some oversampling since I overshot getting a 2080ti to be used for the 8k...

 

[anton_Chez]

I can understand that. For me, my experience has been nothing but positive and encouraging after the product actually made it's way into my hands. My build quality is representative of a finished, polished product. I've picked it up multiple times after reading how bad some people have found theirs and I just can't find any area that looks half baked or amateurish. It's weird. I haven't tried the audio jack yet but my headphone plug fits in there and doesn't seem to be loose.

The support I cannot speak of as I haven't used it yet. I know many have had trouble with it. It's a shame because Pimax is not a fresh start up, they have been in the business for a while now and should have that side of things sorted. Especially with their knowledge of the amount of defective models that people have received. I haven't had a problem with mine, however. No screen issues, no build quality issues.

It's a shame. I plan on testing my base station tracking out today and hope that it solves my issue with motion. I look forward to jumping into it every time and dread race nights that I cannot afford to risk using it on, as that means I have to go back to the Rift. I'm close to being able to use it full time, however. I think I'll order a VR cover for the face cushion and take off my home made mod once it gets here. That mod has made it completely usable however and it's not really bothered me since I did it. Eyes just need to be slightly further away from the lenses as I find they touch slightly and dirty the lens.

 

[anton_Chez]

(pasted from the Discord for those having deja vu....)

So against advice from others, I've just mounted the base station right next to the Oculus sensor on the monitor rail of the chassis. I've got 6DOF working fine but the bouncing is still a slight issue. You get used to it after a while but it definitely is more uncomfortable racing with motion than without. How are you guys' experience with heave and other HMD's like the Rift or O+? I forget what it was like with the Rift. I still have it installed and it's just a matter of plugging it back in to try, but I don't think I want to.... If I remember right, there was more bouncing with the sensor static, off the rig than when I moved it onto it. I'm hoping for a more stable image with the base station now mounted as well. If it hurts the device, whatever. I don't even care if I have to buy a new one every year. If it makes the ride smoother it's worth it.

I realise there is head movement in a cockpit with the weight of your helmet and the load placed on the car but still, a little bit of shaking is OK. It's already better than with 3DOF static, I've now gone 6DOF mounted. I don't think it gets any better than this from here so fingers crossed. The HMD seems pretty firm on my head too, so I think it's just one of those things. Worst case, turn heave down and smooth it a tonne. I've even added a 'small bumps' effect that Henk suggested a while ago. I wonder if that was even on when I was driving before? Hopefully it was, might just be a case of turning that effect off.

I actually did 2 races at Phillip Island last night with the 3DOF fixed, and motion running, albeit at around .75 intensity. It was actually alright but PI I think is not that bumpy.

 

[RobertR1]

Looks like I need to RMA mine already. Audio port is loose. Audio cuts in n out need to wiggle around the headphone jack and hope it doesn’t move again. Tried with 3 diff headsets. Built in mic is also useless.

Build quality and QC on these is non existent. No way I’d recommend this at the current stage and price.

As soon as someone comes out with a high fov unit, Pimax will find it difficult to compete. The “normal fov” setting in the Pimax which is 150degress vs 110degrees for all other units. The higher fov is so immersive that you really feel like putting with all the issues just so you can keep that fov. It also enhances the sense of speed.

 

[anton_Chez]

I had the audio cutting too but I tested my earbuds in my portable amp and it seems they cut there too so it might be my cable rather than the HMD. I haven't had any other issue with the build quality so far and that might not even be an issue with the HMD itself, either. I'll try again tonight with another set of earbuds. The finished product needs to be finished properly for people ordering from the website now. I can understand a few hiccups for the backers, which always would be expected to end up with a worse product in the end compared to the commercial release. But they NEED to fix these issues. There is no more excuses anymore. They've spent all of those with the backers, from the delay after delay after delay, to the build quality issues, the screen issues, the postage issues, the face cushion issues not fitting half the user base, the who knows when delivery time frame of the other items backed and purchased (base stations in particular).

I've been one of the lucky ones (so far) that has had minor issues with comfort (I say minor because I fixed it, otherwise it was borderline unwearable) and maybe this audio issue, which I can avoid all together as I see the jack as a bonus rather than a requirement. I already have had an extended headphone cable wired to the cockpit seat and was using that or wireless (which is horrible on W10) until Rob you actually alerted me that there was in fact an audio jack available!

The mic for me was completely fine. I mean more than fine. The Rift mic is borderline godlike and the Pimax one to me sounded very similar when I did some test recordings while racing. Completely acceptable for my use being Discord and Teamspeak while racing, as I do not need if for production or anything like that. The audio also is good enough to not need the amplified headphone jack on my sound card, the loudest volume probably is too loud for continued engine noise so there is some headroom there. I also like to listen to music while I'm racing, but only at a soft volume as to not drown out the voice comms or the engine and tyre noise.

Looking forward to trying this moving base station. Let's see if I break it.....

 

[rikirk]

Well, mine (8k) is in the shipping box still waiting for a response from Pimax. Without tracking from the lighthouse is useless for racing. Such a bitter taste after over a year of continued delays.

 

[anton_Chez]

It's not tracking at all? I still have to work out the quirks with the base station. I had tracking today but since I moved it, it's failing to consistently pick it up. I wonder if I have it too close? I know that when you turn them on they can't be too close to each other otherwise it won't track. After it is picked up by the base station, I think I can move them closer without a problem. Had to run without tracking tonight because ran out of time to fix it. But was still OK and I was running full motion on a bumpy track, too.