Valve Index or Oculus Rift S (and motion sickness)

[Rainman2020]

Hi, my name is Randy Flowers. 58 year old kid in Dallas Texas. This is my very first ever sim racing forum post! Sorry, it's a long post that has been building up for the past month! Thanks for the help in advance

About a month ago, i saw by mistake a Jimmy Broadbent video of him racing a 60s grand prix car around spa and he was wearing a VR headset, and i was instantly pulled into the sim racing rabbit hole! OH NO!!! My main desire is to get into sim racing using VR, and i have never yet used VR at all for anything.

I do get motion sick as a rule in life. I get sick in a car backseat, but not if i am holding onto the steering wheel and driving. I am super concerned that i will get motion sick and it will keep me from playing in VR. So, i am thinking of doing all the normal stuff, using a fan, doing it in short stints and stopping immediately when feeling sick, using a wrist band TENS unit thing like the Emeterm electrode stimulator, etc, but i am still concerned that it may be hard for me to 'get my VR legs'.

I am thinking of going straight for the Valve Index so that i can run at 120fps/hz and hopefully that will be my best chance of being able to handle VR and not get sick.

I found Jeff Ford at www.fegpc.net (who has built a ton of sim racing rigs), and he is helping me put my computer upgrade, rig and sim gear together and building it for me! He actually recommends the Oculus Rift S as his favorite VR headset, and he says that preventing motion sickness is much more about keeping the Rift S at a constant 80fps than it is about getting the fps up to 120fps. I would definitely rather spend only $400 on a Rift S if that will work great for me, but i have read forums that swear by the Valve Index as having solved their motion sickness issues (when they were coming from a Rift), and it seems like the superior headset for graphics/sound and comfort.

I know i need a computer that is capable of running either the Valve at a steady 120fps or the Rift S at a steady 80fps, and Jeff assures me that the following rig he is putting together will do that...it is:

i5-9600KF OC'd to 4.7-5.2 (he says done this way it is comparable to the i9-9900K for much less money, he adds the OC for free)
RTX 2070 Super (he will OC this also)
16 GB DDR4 (he will OC this also)

As a backup, if i do get motion sick with VR and just can't get past it, then i will be able to smoke a new 1440p/144hz 32 inch monitor i am also getting, so i can use that as my backup and still be able to Sim Race, but i WANT TO USE VR!

Note that i am wanting a really good VR resolution/graphics too and do want to be able to see the dash board numbers clearly, etc. I have also heard that the graphics are much better with the Valve, that the Rift S sound is terrible (do Rift S owners all play with separate headphones on?), and that the Valve is much more comfortable.

A final note is that i wear glasses (John Lennon types), and wondering how that will affect the Valve or the Rift S.

So...my questions are:

1) Which headset would you use between the Valve Index and Rift S and why?
2) Will using the Valve Index at 120fps be a big help to possible motion sickness compared to the Rift S at 80fps?
3) Will i actually be able to run the Valve Index at 120fps, or even the Rift S at 80fps, with the above basic computer rig?
4) How good will the graphics be on the Valve Index vs the Rift S (and will the above rig be able to run the graphics at good looking settings in VR and out of VR)?
4) Will i be able to wear John Lennon style glasses with both the Valve and Rift S just fine?

Thanks!

Randy

 

[5-Card-Major]

I have an Index and love it.

The advice you have received about maintaining a steady frame rate being more important than a higher frame rate is , in my experience, correct. But that's no reason not to go with the Index - you can choose 80, 90, 120 or 144 FPS on the fly in settings.

I run almost exclusively 90 FPS as I can't sense the improvement at 120 and maintaining 120 is 'challenging' in modern sims (i9 9900k 5.0Ghz OC and OC 2080Ti).

Resolution is better on the Index so reading car dash is not a problem. Monitors look better than any VR but the VR immersion outweighs that and the Index is good enough (it's really very good) that you soon accept what you see as, well - real! Glare is not an issue.

My advice would be don't wear your glasses - it won't be comfortable and you won't be able to get the VR lenses close to your eyes and this might increase the likelihood of motion sickness. I tried wearing my glasses at first and it was a nightmare - headaches and mild motion sickness. You can get prescription inserts for all headsets now from a variety of vendors - I got mine from VROptician and am very happy with them. Mine arrived about a month after I got my Index and since then I've not had headaches or motion sickness.

The hardware you have suggested will work but you'll have to compromise with settings. In VR you always need to compromise with settings. The Rift is easier to drive than the Index as you would expect - less pixels and less frames. There is no hardware configuration that will allow you to race on all sims, in all condition, with any size of field. It all depends on how much you are prepared to compromise - and how much £$€ you are willing to invest.

BTW - my backstory is similar to yours - stumbled across VR Sim Racing and immediately needed to try it. 18 months and a few grand down the line I have no regrets - the experience is amazing!

" ...prescription inserts for all headsets now from a variety of vendors - I got mine from VROptician and am very happy with them... "

I only need glasses for reading, and up to about 8-9 feet for TV viewing. Do you think I'll need the VROptician prescription lenses for VR?

When I was at their site, it was stressed that they wanted my distance prescription...With the implication being that close up reading glasses not needed for VR?

 

[GagarynGaribaldi]

" ...prescription inserts for all headsets now from a variety of vendors - I got mine from VROptician and am very happy with them... "

I only need glasses for reading, and up to about 8-9 feet for TV viewing. Do you think I'll need the VROptician prescription lenses for VR?

When I was at their site, it was stressed that they wanted my distance prescription...With the implication being that close up reading glasses not needed for VR?

If you need glasses to watch a TV 8-9 feet away you will benefit from corrective lenses in VR. That's pretty much the distance that you focus at in VR - despite the lenses being less than an inch from your eyeball.

 

[Rainman2020]

If you need glasses to watch a TV 8-9 feet away you will benefit from corrective lenses in VR. That's pretty much the distance that you focus at in VR - despite the lenses being less than an inch from your eyeball.

I need glasses for anything up close at 58 years old, but am fine seeing things like the TV 6 feet away, so maybe i won't need to get the VROptician lenses?

 

[GagarynGaribaldi]

I need glasses for anything up close at 58 years old, but am fine seeing things like the TV 6 feet away, so maybe i won't need to get the VROptician lenses?

You should be fine. I've worn glasses for over 40 years - initially for distance but now need them for close up too - I wear varifocals. My VR lenses are made to my distance prescription.

 

[Rainman2020]

You should be fine. I've worn glasses for over 40 years - initially for distance but now need them for close up too - I wear varifocals. My VR lenses are made to my distance prescription.

So, you do not think that i need to pre-order some VROptician special lenses for the Index, given that i see OK at about 6 feet away? Just have trouble reading things up close. My vision is not perfect at 6 feet away, but i never watch TV with glasses on, only when working on the computer or reading, etc.

 

[5teveC457]

So, you do not think that i need to pre-order some VROptician special lenses for the Index, given that i see OK at about 6 feet away? Just have trouble reading things up close. My vision is not perfect at 6 feet away, but i never watch TV with glasses on, only when working on the computer or reading, etc.

You should be fine. I never needed glasses up until a few years ago and now only need them for reading, while my distance (anything more than a few feet away) is fine. I have no issues at all when using my Rift S without glasses and everything looks clear.

 

[GagarynGaribaldi]

So, you do not think that i need to pre-order some VROptician special lenses for the Index, given that i see OK at about 6 feet away? Just have trouble reading things up close. My vision is not perfect at 6 feet away, but i never watch TV with glasses on, only when working on the computer or reading, etc.

Only you can decide that. If your 6 foot vision is improved with lenses then they would be beneficial in VR as I explained.

You need to decide if 'fine' means fine, or if 'not perfect' means would benefit from correction.

 

[DirkW]

I use glasses in the Rift S. It's no problem as long as the glasses are small enough to fit in the headset frame. I recommend putting some kind of adhesive protection film on the headset lenses to avoid scratches if the glasses touch them.