Pimax VR HMD review NDA embargo lifts: not great news for sim racers

[Mascot]

Testers are now allowed to release reviews of the final hardware, and while the Pimax units are undoubtedly a step forward for VR (higher resolution, wider FoV), the bad news seems to be that they're likely to struggle to provide adequate framerates in sim racing (even with powerful 8700k/1080ti combos). Doubts also remain about the effectiveness of Pimax's reprojection/ASW solution.

Assetto Corsa benchmarks at about 1hr 15 mins timestamp:

More reviews:

Foveated rendering can't come quickly enough, it seems.
The wider FoV for better peripheral vision in sim racing is was what got me excited about the Pimax in the first place, but it seems like PC hardware might need a couple more generations to adequately power the displays (or HMD tech needs to find efficiency solutions) before sim racing can truly benefit from this. Maybe one card per eye is required?

Anyone here backing the Pimax Kickstarter or getting ready to preorder?

 

[RobertR1]

The longer nvidia goes dark about filling 2080ti pre-orders the less enthusiastic I become about mine. This launch is quite a mess. I don't understand how a lack of communication especially in the face of severe backlash is a good idea. You can buy plenty of 2080's but why would you want to? i expect a price drop and a game bundle as soon as 1080/ti inventory starts clearing out.

in other news, I was trying to see some auctions on ebay for Pimax sellers and realized what a mess ebay has become. It's clear as day that people boost their bids and then kill the auction when they feel like they can get a sucker to pay a premium.

 

[anton_Chez]

Funny how shitty that is, when a product is sold WAY above the price it should be, just because people want it bad enough...

Wait a minute...

 

[Deleted member 197115]

Good comparison video, discussion
https://forum.virtualracing.org/sho...rs-2-mit-der-Pimax-5k-der-8k-und-der-Vive-Pro
Sounds like the only benefit is FOV, clarity and SDE are essentially the same as Vive Pro/Odyssey.

 

[Michal Burisin]

Don't forget huge sweet spot on Pimax.

 

[RobertR1]

Good comparison video, discussion
https://forum.virtualracing.org/sho...rs-2-mit-der-Pimax-5k-der-8k-und-der-Vive-Pro
Sounds like the only benefit is FOV, clarity and SDE are essentially the same as Vive Pro/Odyssey.

Do you have an Odyssey? I thought I recall you did.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

Do you have an Odyssey? I thought I recall you did.

Yep

 

[RobertR1]

Yep

Sorry If I'm making you repeat yourself but how do you like it? did you have a rift before?

Not sure how much faith I have in build quality for Pimax so was thinking of getting an Odyssey to replace the rift for better clarity, depth and lesser SDE.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

Never tried Rift before.
Very happy with Odyssey, esp. now when all integration issues with SteamVR are fixed and WMR improved their reprojection implementation. I don't think there is a better value HMD on the market at the moment, you are getting Vive Pro image quality with better lenses and inside out no fuss tracking at the fraction of the Pro price.

Amazon has them on sale at the moment, btw
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Odys...id=1538675708&sr=8-3&keywords=samsung+odyssey

or you can wait for Odyssey Plus, not sure when it comes out though.

 

[RobertR1]

Never tried Rift before.
Very happy with Odyssey, esp. now when all integration issues with SteamVR are fixed and WMR improved their reprojection implementation. I don't think there is a better value HMD on the market at the moment, you are getting Vive Pro image quality with better lenses and inside out no fuss tracking at the fraction of the Pro price.

Amazon has them on sale at the moment, btw
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Odys...id=1538675708&sr=8-3&keywords=samsung+odyssey

or you can wait for Odyssey Plus, not sure when it comes out though.

I'm in the UK so gotta figure something out here. Annoying that Samsung decided to skip EU market all together.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

 

[anton_Chez]

The Pimax headsets are next generation headsets. Not perfect by any means and will also be well under powered until we get some better graphics hardware to power them, but definitely next generation. I have never used anything but the Rift, but even the FOV is a game changer. I'll be able to compare when mine eventually gets here, I'll do a post comparing the Rift to the Pimax, most likely the 5K+. I've been leaning back and forth which to choose but I think I'll end up with that one.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

Nope they are not, gain in some area, lost in the other. No real innovations, just bigger screen for wider FOV with essentially same pixel density and inferior LCD screens.
We need to wait over for 3-5 years before next gen comes. This cycle is over.
https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/26/this-vr-cycle-is-dead/

 

[anton_Chez]

Cool

 

[Deleted member 197115]

Oculus, the main VR industry driver, essentially dumped PC market for now. Yes, there is Half Dome, but they didn't even show updated prototype at Oculus Connect, keynotes suggest 3-5 years when (if) it hits the market.
Where all these new cool things like eye tracking and foveat rendering are going come from, Vive?
There is slight chance that MS will try to push WMR further, at least they have money and resources to do that.

 

[anton_Chez]

That doesn't mean that the Pimax headsets are not a massive step from Oculus. The biggest player might have abandoned its most hardcore audience, that doesn't mean that VR is dead. \

I only ever use VR for sim racing and could care less about it otherwise.

 

[Mascot]

Where all these new cool things like eye tracking and foveat rendering are going come from, Vive?

It seems those innovations will be coming from Star VR and Pimax, but as @anton_Chez pointed out, consumer graphics cards are currently behind the curve so there's not much point in higher resolutions and wider FoVs if we can't actually use them effectively.

 

[Jeremy Ford]

Just found this interest article on the Pimax 5k over at Toms Hardware.

https://www.tomshardware.co.uk/pimax-5k-m2-headset-vr,review-34565-2.html

 

[RobertR1]

Thanks for this. I'll get an Odyssey now to replace the rift and then see how PimaxVR matures and pick that up in a year. I have concerns about the gen 1 5k+ units and it being a lottery. I imagine in a year they'll either be a gold standard or a bust. I don't expect much in between.

StarVR is likely not going to be 1k or under anytime soon.

 

[Michal Burisin]

Thanks for this. I'll get an Odyssey now to replace the rift and then see how PimaxVR matures and pick that up in a year. I have concerns about the gen 1 5k+ units and it being a lottery. I imagine in a year they'll either be a gold standard or a bust. I don't expect much in between.

StarVR is likely not going to be 1k or under anytime soon.

Here is video + summary in first post:

PC2
http://forum.pimaxvr.com/t/mrtv-project-cars-2-on-pimax-5k-plus-8k-vive-pro-on-gtx-1080ti/9032

Skyrim
http://forum.pimaxvr.com/t/mrtv-skyrim-vr-on-the-pimax-8k-5k-plus-with-a-gtx-1080ti/9058/3

He is repeatedly saying that it's impossible to come back from 5k or 8k to current gen headsets due to FOV and he can't believe, that he could previously enjoy VR with narrow FOV headsets. I'm in for Pimax once it's available for preorder Many reviews are positive, but let's see what first kickstarter backers say, should be quite soon (first 100 units batch).

 

[Jeremy Ford]

The increased fov is a big deal, but I'm prepared to wait another year or two for eye tracking and foveated rendering which will mitigate the problem of always chasing raw power to overcome this problem. Project Cars 2 at 57 fps isn't acceptable in VR to me. It maybe to Sebastian who's not a sim racer. His subjective view is more borderline of what you can get away with. I accept Reprojection does help at these lower frame rates but it is noticeable. Just looking at this video you can see it constantly skipping a lot frames.