Pimax Crystal VR Headset | My Views & Opinion after 60 DAYS | Pros & Cons
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- Опубліковано 9 лип 2024
- Is the Pimax Crystal the VR Headset for you? After 60 days use, I share my personal views on the strengths and weaknesses, tested in Microsoft Flight Simulator.
REFERENCED LINKS
Pimax Crystal: pimax.com/crystal/
Pimax Crystal: pimax.com/crystal-orders/
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Very clear and well rounded review, well done! Just what I needed to make my decision especially helpful talking about use with glasses. Thanks for this content!
Thank you for your video, I picked up this headset yesterday secondhand for a really good price as i also wanted eye tracking to take advantage of Foliated Rendering.
Caveat- i only use PCVR for sim racing when i want total immersion.
My sim rig is hooked up to 4090 + 7800x3D with a 57 inch Double 4K (7680x2160) ultra wide display.
For PCVR, I had low expectations after owning a HTC Vive Elite XR, Quest 3 and PSVR2 which i think is not good enough for Sim Racing, just too many compromises.
It took me 45mins to install and dial everything in and once up and running, my jaw dropped when I fired up ACC and Auromobilista 2.
I finally realised where PCVR is heading for sim racing - road to 90% realism.
I am glad the newer version of this headset is now cheaper so more people can experience this.
The clarity is soooooo much better than my previous headsets (HTC vive Elite XR, Quest 3) and I am possibly one of the worst offenders who chases frames and ultra high res graphics.
I know newer or upcoming PCVR headsets are going above 5760x2880 with an even bigger FOV, no idea how people are going to drive those headsets. This headset kills my 4090 as there so much to render. so your PC rig matters and you either need to use upscaling (DLSS or FSR) or compromise on graphics quality).
Battery issue that everyone complains about, i followed an advice from YT who suggested to plug a USB cable into a fast charge adapter and connect it to the hidden usb c port above the left lens, it works, my battery hasn’t drained at all after a 3hr session and still with 5 bars.
I think the new Pimax Crystal Light will be a great purchase as long as you have the right PC setup and know your way around settings in Pimax Play. I will try Open Composite / XR next.
if that works, i will offload this headset and get the newer version without the battery for better ergonomics.
Wow,… I have my Crystal for 14 days now coming from Reverb 2…and I couldnt agree more on the who,e video.. excellent, I only have to fiddle with the settings in NVidia and MSFS more…will have to watch your settings videos!
Thanks man and greetings from Germany,
Very honest and in-depth review thanks Mark
Spot on Mark. I have the same concerns but feel that the image quality eclipses those concerns. I am anxious to test the wide FOV lenses when they come out. The extra vertical FOV is very good and seems to transform the experience compared to the Reverb G2. I don't find the weight an issue for me but the adjustment knob on the back causes me to have to lean forward a little to keep from catching on my chair headrest. The price of early adoption I guess but I am glad to play in the realm of early adoption if the cons don't outweigh the advantages. Happy simming. It is a great time to be in the hobby.
My favorite UA-camr, love from Scotland 😊
Thanks for the honest review.
Good, balanced assessment of the Crystal, and some food for thought for those of us who are considering buying one,
Jerry
Thanks for sharing all this mate. Like everything VR, Pros/Cons will vary, and are always subjective imho. Still, always good to hear your honest opinions. Once the Crystal is fully functional (incl wireless options) and available from my local Amazon store I'll def consider getting one. Thanks again mate and best cheers from Australia.
great video as always !! Thanks
Thank you, sir!
Many thanks for the video Mark. Coming from a Pico 4, and thinking of my next headset. IS THERE ANY SCREEN DOOR WITH THE CRYSTAL ?
Excellent review. Kind of confirms my concerns. In particular the weight.
But as I am working hard to bring flight sim hardware to the market I now know how incredibly hard it is to put something together that is suitable to ship to customers.
So I am less inclined to be hard on Pimax than I used to be.
I must say the weight is of no big concern…
Honest and balanced video. The headset isnt any where balanced in my opinion. Its 75% front heavy by weight test. Well done Mark.
Hi Mark and I agree with pros/cons that you pointed out in the video and I’ve had my Crystal for 2 months. Since I recently purchased a high- end PC which includes a 13900 K CPU and RTX 4090, I can deal with the cons and willing to give Pimax the time that they need to deliver the features that they promised and work out the bugs. With the clarity that I’m experiencing with the Crystal compared to my Reverb G2, the immersion factor has been stunning! Thanks for another great video!
I have same setup as yours Mark 10900k and 4090TUF, I was having 50fps in MSFS but with extreme jittering, little google search I found out that I have to turn off HAGS for VR, I love how this headset is so clear, took me awhile to setup for sweetspot on my head though.
My system is exactly the same specs as yours. Thanks for your previous video on settings for Crystal, it helped me a lot. I just need the FOV to be released and I think my frame rates will improve...on a side note, I think the whole reason they decided to go with a new version of MSFS in 2024 is becuase the current version is so CPU and GPU intensive and they have figured out a better way to do it, and therefore reach a larger market. My internet connection is fibre to the home 1 G/s.
I just ordered the crystal and I got an email from them that they are shipping the version with glass lenses and they did extra quality control before shipping it out. I'm excited for it to come in. For me this headset will be a pure sim headset because it's too big and heavy for anything else. I'm also expecting there to be starting headaches but right now there quite a few tutorials on how to get it running so hopefully it won't be a huge headache...
Great and informative video Mark. Thanks for this.
I’ll hang on to my G2 for a while still. Having AM4 5950x and the RTX3090. Will skip current generation cpu/gpu and let’s see what the VR world might have been bringing in by then
Fair enough 👍
After trying diferent settings without any result I changed Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling and set it to off. Now is fine. I have been playing the sim with Pimax Crystal using the mouse and the controlls the last week and it works perfectly.
Great review Mark! Very professional and neutral! 👍
Thanks! 👍
I feel like I'm watching Mike Ehrmantraut in an alternative reality where he didn't go bald and became a nerd instead of a high stakes hit an. 😂 fuckn love it tho, keep it up
Thanks, Mark. I love my HP Reverb g2 and dont see much sense in going for the Cristal by spending crazy money for the extra quality. I'll give it a few more years for the technology to bring down the price, size, and even better emersion. I'm 70 years of age, so my next headset will be my last.
.
I also come from the G2, and it’s all the money worth 🙃
Why do you say that? You're going to live another 30 years! By then, headsets like the Apple Vision will be everywhere and able to run MFS 2040
Then im 93 ;-)
@@Buddy308
You got 20 more generation atleast left not 1 more😢
I may consider VR if and when I get cataract surgery eh :) In the meantime a 65 inch TV will have to do eh! Thanks for posting and stay well Mark!
Excellent video, Mark. I have the same experience as you, except that for me the weight of the headset is no problem at all. I come from 3 years using the Reverb G2, and I don't REALLY notice a lot of difference tbh. And the G2 without the counterweight that I bought through a third party vendor was BAD. But like you said, I think your head size has quite a bit to say with the Crystal.
Take care ! Greetings from Norway 👍👍👍Btw, we run more or less the same specs. I have the i7 13700k though, and faster memory.
I'm surprised by your statement about the battery life. I would imagine that you would be running the latest public firmware release, and after installing that release I found that battery life is not an issue at all. Even after several 6 hour sessions, charge loss was only 1 bar. Due to the fact that as long as you are using the Pimax Hub, the battery is now continuously being charged, even if the PC is turned off. I have been an entire week now without needing to remove the battery from the headset for any reason.
I play DCS on high settings with a 3080 and 3000x3500 and it looks so good with 55 to 65 fps
Without eye tracking
The jury is still out for me....one thing is sure the HTC Vive pro is one of the most comfortable HMD'S out there. Maybe I should take out the crystal lenses and put them in my VIVE pro2...hmm🤔 , did the same with the vive pro and it was amazing 😉
I tried with 2 other wired mouse (older). Same problem. May be I can buy a new mouse (wired) and see if the problem persist. Now I have a new wired mouse conected to the PC, the problem is still there. I tried the controlers to interact with the cockpit and its works fine with the menus but not with the buttons in the cockpit (all this with the sim window deactivated)
I have a 3090 , should I buy this headset?
Does anyone in the Dorset area have a pimax crystal I could have a look at. I had and sold a G2 as i could'nt read the instruments.
i have preordered the Crystal Light. I own a RTX 4090 with AMD 7800X3D CPU. Should work I think.
thank you for your helpfull video. Yours are fare out the best on the internet.
I got exactly the same rig. And I've just ordered the light too. Fingers crossed it works well for us.
@@andyakarudolfhessiansack7936 I am damn excited to try out. Lenses are also ordered.
Thanks for the video. I currently use a Quest 2 and prefer to fly using ASW enabled (motion reprojection) as it makes ground objects so much clearer and smooth. Can you please comment on your experience using the Pimax Crystal during flight, and whether motion reprojection works well in the crystal? Thanks
Motion reprojection or motion smoothing as Pimax call it is not yet fully implemented in the Crystal. They are working on it. It is there but not functioning 100% yet.
Thanks for the follow up Mark, much appreciated. Glad to hear Pimax is working on it. Cheers
Great video, very informative. Would like to know however, if you had your time again would you buy it now?
Mine is a load unit direct from Pimax
I've been pondering if I made a mistake with my Quest Pro, which I bought which the price dropped this spring, since the USB-C is such an important bottleneck, even on a high-end system.Your video makes me realise that pretty much all VR headsets are a compromise somewhere, so it's great that there's all these choices. I'd be curious to see if my 4080 could push the higher resolution of the Pimax Crystal without having to drop too many settings, since it wouldn't be grinding away at compressing a low-latency video feed to send via USB-C. Thanks for the video!
I bought a Quest Pro recently as well and I'm sitting here wondering the same thing
Very nice and informative review. I missed one thing though: how easy is it now to install this vr set? Is it plug and play or is it still a lot of hassle? And I guess it's not wireless? I own the pico 4 and using it for dcs. I like it a lot, but the vr image quality is not near that of using track ir. Hoping that with eye tracking, the image quality of the pimax would be much better
Set up is great
@@SimHangerFS thanks for your quick response!
Nice review. In other words....an extremely niche product that will not have many sales. Pimax needs to pivot to survive in VR hardware
They need to dump the Aspheric lenses and go to pancake lenses.
When the first similarly priced high res microOLED comes out in 2024 (or even similarly priced headsets with high res QLED screen come out), there will be absolutely no reason to buy Pimax as this visual quality is the main selling point and there are so many negatives. They absolute need to pivot and need to do so fast. And yes, pancakes are a must.
@@dtz1000 I'm not so sure about ditching the aspherics. Pancakes are pretty-much the only reason I can't go with the BSB; such obvious glare would annoy me.
@@soots-stayingoutofthespotl5495 No glare that I noticed on Quest Pro. BSB did a bad job.
As I said in your recent review on the Tobii eye tracker 5, I don't fancy having a brick strapped to my face so I've decided to go with the Tobii. What a revelation! So simple and unobtrusive and it gives me exactly what I need for flightsimming - better periferal visibility and being able to see my flight panels and controls. I've only got a Ryzen 5 CPU and an NVidea 3060 GPU but it works beautifully with my set up. Although the Tobii seems expensive, compared to the cost of VR headsets and the neccessary high spec supporting hardware, it's a bargain!
Agreed! I really like the Tobii
Got to try a Crystal out recently, the weight put me off, outweighing any clarity. I’m looking for another headset, but it won’t be a Crystal.
That means you gotta weak neck bro
As a vr enthusiast you have to exercise neck bridges at least 30 minutes each day. Mike Tyson did it, you can do it too.
We have to get you training on that neck, you will have a neck like Mike tyson soon
@@lowrider2756funny we both thought of mike tyson for having a strong neck
trying to see if a 4070 can run this thing. i just want a really good headset that looks good. i still have the first gen vive. I want a headset i can read text that is not right infront of me
Does a counter weight help? Also does the Sim version have the ability fir the higher ppd lenses
The sim version headset is unchanged from the standard one.
Hi Just a quick question . Do you think the Reverb g2 will be good with my 4080 for decent performance and image quality? Thanks
Yes I do. 4080 plus G2 is a good fit
why are you guys from the uk so good at explaining and reviewing :D
I'm British, and he sounds South African to me (although I know that the SA and Australian accents can be mistaken for an English accent, particularly by Americans). You might have been thrown by the fact that he states he's in the UK; he may well have lived here for a long time. Anyway, wherever he's from, he's good at presenting content! I'm new to the channel myself actually, and having quickly browsed the back-catalogue of videos I've immediately subscribed.
Well, i can use the mouse and the keyboard but as soon as i start moving my head, the picture start ticking or jumping. it seems that the system is not able to update the picture. when i deactivate the sim windows on the desktop, In VR the picture is fine, but then i cannot use the mouse . The only way to use this is to reduce the resolution a lot in OpenXR toolkit, but with big loose of clarity. I tried with DLSS in balanced mode and reduced resolution (2535 x 3000) and i got a better picture but not so good as with 3500 x 4144 resolution.
You may find the problem is with the mouse, especially if it is wireless, known Pimax issue
I agree it’s heavy. I prefer my G2
Another big issue I think is the swappable lenses mechanism and the very sensitive contacts that need to be in exactly the right position for eye-tracking to work. It can be very frustrating to swap lenses.
I haven’t tried that. I only had one set of lenses with my unit and they were already fitted.
Thanks for the review. I heard you say that you thought that minimum GPU spec. to run at high resolution is the Nvidia 4080 but you are using a 4090 GPU. How did you arrive at your minimum GPU specification? Could you give me your rationale? Thank you!
Hi, that is my recommended spec, but not the minimum. You would need, in my personal opinion, at least a 3080ti or 4070ti to crank up the graphics to a level which would make upgrading from something like a G2 etc worthwhile. Otherwise the performance hit is too high, resulting in the need to lower display settings.
Hi, thank you for the detailed review. I recently purchased Quest 3 and while the thing works, the IPD range on Quest 3 does not go beyond 70. My (phone app) measured IPD is 72.5.
Quest 3 leaves me with eyestrain, I almost feel like I'm cross-eyed.
What's the IPD range on Pimax Crystal?
58-72
@@SimHangerFS Thank you, order in :)
My god 72.5!! You are a cyclops!
Mark, are you pre-warming up your Pimax batteries on that heater for extra longevity? :)
🤣
I’ve got a i9 10900, a 3090, and a g2. I’m thinking about change the gpu for a 4090 or the headset for a primax cristal. I can’t do it at same time. Will I improve my visuals with my current configuration and a primax, or should I change my gpu first to feel the new resolution?
I've not got a Pimax Crystal, but I do have a Reverb G2 and a Quest Pro, and had a 10850K, 3090 set up and also have a 13900K, 4090 setup.
Your PC is FAR more important to your VR experience than the headset. In your situation I'd rather have a 4090 over any headset upgrade. Most people understand this in relation to monitors, they wouldn't buy a 4K monitor if their GPU could only run games at 1440P but for some reason abandon this principle with VR headsets, where it actually matters much more.
With a VR headset, due to the fact you don't view the displays directly but rather look at a greatly magnified, stereoscopically constructed image through the lenses, you need to correct for barrel distortion to run the headset at its proper resolution.
For example, your Reverb G2 is 2160 x 2160 per eye, but you are supposed to be running it at around 3100 x 3050 per eye to correct for barrel distortion, which you absolutely won't be acheiving currently in MSFS with your current setup, meaning you don't even really have a Reverb G2 when playing MSFS as you need to run an uncorrected, subsampled image, at least in MSFS.
A 4090 would allow you to run your G2 as intended and give you a much better experience over all. I no longer consider a 10900K, 3090 a useable experience in MSFS compared to a 13900K, 4090 setup. The smoothness is a night and day difference.
So basically, if its an either/or choice, focus your money on your PC not these high end ultra high resolution headsets, because you're not really experiencing the headset if you don't have the PC to run them, and you'll notice a far bigger upgrade improving your PC.
@@kevinbrook7033 thanks for you sincerely answer, lot of people suggest that 3090 is still enough to move primax, as I supposed it could but not in a comfortable experience. Thanks.
@@alvarocortes9448 it will run on a 3090 but you'll need to run it a resolution below what is optimal which means you're no longer running the Crystal.
With my 13900K, 4090, compared to my 10850K,3090 in 3DMark and VRMark my fps is 85 percent faster in flatscreen and 101 percent faster in VR. My VR benchmark FPS slightly more than doubled.
That level of performance boost is worth far more than an increase in resolution but worse performance imo.
GPU first, then headset would be my recommendation…😊
Maybe I missed it in the video but I'd like to ask: What is the FoV? The most important thing to me, is getting rid of the "goggles effect" where it's quite obvious you're looking through a set of goggles. I remember that Pimax was trying to achieve something similar to normal human FoV. Which iirc, is something like 220 degrees. Did they ever manage to do this, in a good VR head set? If not, I'll be waiting to get into VR until this is achieved. For me that would give maximum immersion and almost fool me into thinking I was there. So many head sets fail in this regard, and it's too easy to notice the black on the sides of your vision.
FOV covered here at 02:56
@@SimHangerFS Interesting that you were able to get only 103 degrees horizontal. I believe Pimax is advertising 120 degrees. Having a brick on my head but only having 103 degrees seems lackluster.
It is!@@JozefTrubac
I just got my Crystal. My eye lashes are touching the lenses and there is still light bleed on both sides.
Has anyone recently had any issues with the game not showing up on the screen. I just get a waiting message when switching into VR
No, works perfectly, sounds like your OpenXR needs checking. Are you using the right one?
How does this compare to the Quest Pro? I'm looking for a very good headset but I don't want to spend $1500 unless I really have to.
I can’t compare as I have not tried the Pro, but based on other reviews I would plumb for the Pimax.
Will Prescription lenses for Primax Crystal work with eye tracking?
Yes
After watch your video I decided I will not spend my money in Pimax, it's too expensive for a bad build quality. Thanks for the video
Fair video. I have the almost same experience. I have Cristal for 30 days and come from G2. Significant progress of video quality (G2 was very good but this is next step up). This is the most important for me. I made cca. 10 flights (cca. 15-16 hours) plus 3-4 hours for testing and adjustment in MSFS (45FPS) and DCS (90FPS) but my battery is always full (all green bars). I was not replace battery or charge battery not once in charger except first time before plug it in. All is connected as recommended in manual. IPD adjustment button for me is not problem , size and weight too. It will be better that is smaller and less weight but after several minutes you use to it. I have 5800x3d and 4090 but for 2-4 years when come next generations of CPU and GPU it will be possible to adjusted it on full resolution and it will not be obsolate.
Help ! Just got a new Pimax Crystal. But I have a problem. I bought the sim from Microsoft and it is loaded on my PC. But I cannot figure out how to tie it's ".exe" file to the Pimax software, now called Play. I do know about the three files one has to add. But Pimax apparently no longer uses PiTool and I see no way of importing or linking the simulator software to the Pimax software. And nobody including Pimax explains that part. Everybody skips over that part and it is critical. Do the three added programs or the Pimax Client register it automatically if you start it manually ? I did get Google Earth VR working out of SteamVR. So once I link the .exe file I should be good to go. How do you do that !!! I have had an Oculus Rift from day one so I am familiar with all this.
Check out this video. It explains nearly all you need plus links below to the third party apps. ua-cam.com/video/P5QH_N_uygA/v-deo.htmlsi=qvB2XFMdtcgzJJLD
@@SimHangerFS You and virtually all the UA-cam video producers are gaming NERDS whose knowledge base is solid. But you guys all skip over virtually all the fundamentals. There in nobody that even discusses how to launch the friggin; programs after loading the 3 programs. Then there is the compatibility chart. Where is that mentioned. You do not necessarily need all there programs for some apps. And most of us had no idea Pimax was made for the use of Steam only and the three programs are needed to get around it. And SteamVR does NOT even load if the headset is not attached. Then most people do not even know that Steam and SteamVR are two different programs. And if you already have Steam loaded you have to load it over itself with the headset attached to get SteamVR to load. That's the only way these days. Took me 3 hours to discover that. Then Pimax does not use PiTool anymore and there does not appear to be any program import in the new way. This is why I am now at 10 hours and still don't have MS store bought MSFS running in VR. The link you show above is basically worthless in this regard. Many buyers are NOT gaming Nerds like you guys. Oh yes, here is another one for you. OpenComposite won't even download unless someone who has done it before shows you how to do it. The main link is broken. It hangs up in your browser and the incomplete download must be deleted there. This the nightmare I'm talking about with Pimax and UA-cam bloggers who skip the fundamentals because they have been playing with this stuff for years.
@@mesillahills or you didn’t watch my previous videos on the Pimax…. ua-cam.com/video/P5QH_N_uygA/v-deo.htmlsi=yjIVtKPQUIfbQYzi
What announced features of the Crystal remain to be added or fully developed as of September '23?
Primarily the stand alone option. Plus the wider FOV lenses.
@@SimHangerFS
Once those lenses are developed, do you think they'll be the standard basic lenses or an extra-cost option?
By "stand alone," do we mean making the connection to the computer wireless or the ability to play some games without a computer?
@@Buddy308 I suspect an extra cost and yes you can load games straight into the headset once it is enabled.
Is there a passthrough feature with this headset? If yes, how well does it work?
Yes, works okay. More 2D than 3D image.
I'm surprised by your statement about the battery life. I would imagine that you would be running the latest public firmware release, and after installing that release I found that battery life is not an issue at all. Even after several 6 hour sessions, charge loss was only 1 bar. Due to the fact that as long as you are using the Pimax Hub, the battery is now continuously being charged, even if the PC is turned off. I have been an entire week now without needing to remove the battery from the headset for any reason.
Thanks, I must be missing something. Best I have achieved is about 5.5 hours.
5 hours is pretty good, they advertised 6. As a DCS simmer though it can be 3-4 max, regardless of firmware and hub. I think there are still major issues with it.
I’m on latest firmware beta. It’s better but I’d prefer not needing to depend on batteries, imo the hub should keep it 100% charged
I have given up on VR because I cannot get decent quality on my Quest 2. I have a 4090 GPU and had hoped for better results. Do the videos I see on UA-cam reflect the quality when actually in VR. i have been told that what you see on YT is most of the time not as good as the actual VR flight. I'm not getting that quality. I considered buying a much better VR headset but scared to spend the money for fears I won't be happy with the resolution. Wish there was a way I could get someone to set it up on my PC as I'm not sure I've got all my settings correct.
Check this video. It may help ua-cam.com/video/dkt2M0olZTs/v-deo.htmlsi=rbS_5xePs16gQQay
It's got two big problem for me, weight and audio. It's way too big and the battery needs a bypass so you don't have to use it (or deal with it's weight). I know some people are like "but the battery adds balance..." . If it wasn't so front heavy it wouldn't be a problem. The audio is buggy and sucks. I far prefer my headphones which have much much better sound. I'm look at the BSB and Varjo now. Pimax's biggest issue it's they made one headset trying to appeal to everyone, which makes it tough make it great for anyone. They need two separate products, one for standalone and one for pcvr.
Will you be reviewing the Meta Quest Pro anytime soon by chance?
No plans currently…a bit pricey for me.
@@SimHangerFS I would really appreciate it if you could provide an update to what kind of hardware I should be looking at buying today (in USD if appropriate). I saw your last update was about the Reverb G2 but that was about a year or so ago now. Perhaps you may find some time to update us on your thoughts on a moderately priced VR sim setup at a good value for an entry level person like me. I'd like to get into iRacing as well and hope my VR setup can do double duty. I really appreciate your content and value centric viewpoint!
No point reviewing Quest Pro as Quest 3 will be just as good or better and is just around the corner.
@@dtz1000i don’t think so. Because Meta is not stupid and there is a normal LCD Disaplay without Locsl Dimming and perhaps only a single Panel that reduces the resolution a lot. And off course the open design is possible the best feature on the pro.
@@ThePape78 Local dimming has been pretty useless, at least it has been in the games I play. I used to think it was a big selling point of the Quest Pro until I actually used it.
Curious. Did you end up buying a unit yourself ? if not, could you elaborate why? Thanks for the review.
I still have the loan unit, Pimax said I could hang on to it for a bit longer before returning it. 😀 There is only really one major downside for me, that is the weight and subsequently the comfort. The headset it self is great and the visuals amazing.
@@SimHangerFS I just got mine, it's initially a frustrating experience, but eventually, it worked as intended. I didn't find comfort to be a big issue, it's there but not much. I am very concerned about the long term reliability of this product. I had quest 2 for about 2 years with zero issues. How is the product doing now, reliability wise? thanks.
@@enggood5097 mine is still working without issues.
How is it vs Pico 4? Is it night and day or more like incremental difference?
Visuals are much clearer on Crystal, but I love the Pico 4, best all rounder.
@@SimHangerFS thank you. Waiting for my 4090 to arrive then will order Pico and get this all set up. Dream come true!
@@SimHangerFS Do you honestly think the Pico 4 is a better all-rounder than the (recently price-slashed) Varjo Aero? Despite the smaller FOV, I'm beginning to think the latter is possibly the best compromise for people looking to jump into higher-end PCVR flight-simming right now.
@@soots-stayingoutofthespotl5495 I actually do, the Aero with base station, sound and controllers is nearly x3 the price of the Pico. The Aero is better, but not at that price in my personal opinion. I just can't get past the letter box FOV.
What headset will be your daily driver going forward?
Pico 4
Reviewing VR headsets in your undies is the future!
PS My Crystal stills blows me away.
😂 whatever works for you
Hello Mark did you stop making videos on XP12 ?
Hello, how are you? Yes unfortunately I just don’t have the time to cover both sims, there is just too much to cover.
I am a XP simmer and enjoy very much your videos...I am a real C172 pilot and I would like to keep watching good videos from you @@SimHangerFS
Not sure it's a con. Motocycle helmets weigh more than that. I'm speaking from ignorance of course (I have not worn this or any other unit that weighs that much), but wouldn't it feel more realistic to have something that heavy for more realism? Am I missing something?
Great Review! Three comments, one question; 1. Pimax recommends a RTX 2070 (9107) as a minimum GPU, 2. You recommended a RTX 3080 (17694) as a minimum GPU, 3. I have a RTX 3060 Ti (11933). [All numbers in () are 3DMark Graphics Scores]. Any thoughts on giving my 3060 Ti a go?
It will definitely run the Crystal, but you will need to turn down the resolution, you will not see the full benefit of the display…until you upgrade your GPU .
why do you ignore DCS, sir? seems missed opportunity for review... 😞
Sorry, just not enough hours in the day to cover both sims. 😢
Would they have chosen Lighthouse tracking as default, the SoC would be unnecessary, as well as the batteries which would have shaved off a few hundred grams.
Someone with enough money to buy a chrystal and a 4090 on top of pro grade flight/driving controls has surely some money left for one or two Lighthouse base stations.
Its heavy weight makes it impractical for anything besides seated sim gaming in a fixed installation anyways, so LH tracking should have been the logical choice.
Integrated LeapMotion would have made sense in a sim setting where your hands usually are on flight controls/steering wheels and not in VR controllers.
But since it lacks peripheral USB ports, adding a LeapMotion is not even an option without adding another cable. Greatly missed opportunity there.
While it has excellent display resolution, lens quality and a nice integrated audio solution, it is technically a design and engineering failure.
The picture i get in my pimax is really fine, but i cannot use the mouse or the keyboard. I don't know why. Here is my
system :11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-11700K @ 3.60GHz
32 GB RAM
Msi GeForce RTX 4080
Corsair RM (2021) PSU 850 W.
There is a known issue with some wireless keyboards & mouse.
I wish I could understand computers better. If only I could hire a mentor to help me maximize my setup. I’m running all the good stuff. More money than brains when it comes to wrapping my newbie mind around all this stuff. FYI…DCS fan here.
Ask a nerdy kid in your family :)
@@marionetteworks lol, been there, done that. Ironically, the boy isn’t as experienced in VR. And, he’s too busy for dad.
In an e-mail from Pimax Tech Support of today they say I raise a legitimate point. They claim it will be fixed in their next update. I pointed out to them that there is no app linking in their present software. Maybe you can begin to see my frustrations. If you can't link it, how in the hell do you make it run. While it may be possible, it certainly isn't obvious like it was before.
Jeez you are a real moaner!
@@andyakarudolfhessiansack7936 Read the date before you run your ignorant mouth. That was about 12 updates ago. Further I am not the only user who has called their software :"clunky". To a certain extent it still is that way. I would not buy their product again for that reason. As a multiple brand owner, I speak from experience. Best picture, maybe. Best software, definitely not. Last time I checked they would still not even take a credit card for software purchases. This is how backward they are. I have to use a big magnifying glass to read some things in their software windows. And I have good eyes. Even the font color has no contrast to the background color.
There are so many negative reviews about this headset. It comes loaded with compatibility issues. For its price, this headset should be trouble free. I don’t mind the battery issue, but I do mind software issues.
The battery is the biggest negative for Sims / PCVR
The gov blows on it. Its like 100 if that
like wearing a truck on your head with a clean windshield. 🐸👀😵🤳
I don’t understand how your able to wear glasses. If I tighten it down my glasses would easily hit the lenses and potentially damage both. Very risky. There is hardly any room as well. So I’m quite sure how your able to accomplish this…
I am wearing them quite comfortably.
Apparently Pimax takes real good care of you UA-camr by sending you free stuff. Meanwhile they are slow as molasses at fulfilling promises made to PAYING customers. Thee Pimax Crystal is an overpriced by about $1000, but what would you know about that being that you likely got yours for free. By time you pay for the upgraded speakers, Top Strap, Big FOV lenses etc. the price is upwards of $2,000. All those accessories should come free at the ridiculous price of this large hunk of plastic and stupid batttery design. I bought my Crystal in November 2023, they promised the comfort top strap with the purchase. I wrote their support team...twice now since the purchase ,still no head strap.
So sick of these paid reviews.
No reviewer addresses the obvious.
Hey Pimax! Send me one of these units. I promise I can make a review without powering it on not even once!
You will not like it but...
So sick of these inane comments from people that clearly haven’t even watched the video. Go check out the Disney channel
@@SimHangerFS Then stop spamming then with movies that nobody needs. You posted several on this crappola Pimax and nobody needs more of the same info on this ONE KILOGRAM (not Kay Jee... KILO-GRAM as in 2 frigging pounds on your neck for NOTHING but some more rezolution but downsampled or low settings because uh oh no hardware!).
I am not subscribed to Disney... I am subscribed to your channel so as long as you have comments open take it up for better or for worse!
Enjoy your "free", expensive, backwards, neck breaking useless toy.
@@zaeluthanks for responding. In the video I list numerous negatives as well as the weight issue and I say it is too heavy for me. I also detailed a number of QC concerns I have with the Crystal. I was genuinely trying to present a fair and balanced review. I’m sorry you feel it was biased. As stated in the video the headset is being returned to Pimax.
@@SimHangerFS I feel reviewers are at least pushed into making more than one movies about it so the bad points are lost into a see of neutral points and some good points. I did saw you said it weights a lot but I find naming one kilogram "1 Kay Gee "as an euphemism. I had motorcycle helmets that were lighter than that and they were considered on heavy side for the job.
And the main issue I have with this particular headset from Pimax and nobody dares to address it's the convoluted and hidden optics it has to have to achieve that mediocre FOV but with a shape of a hammer shark. Everybody posts only glimpses of what is a huge fat problem with this headset right off the bat. The pixels that are found on the extreme edge of the supposed big screens have to take a path of a magic bullet to reach the eyes and the only way to achieve this is by either not displaying them or not having them from the get go. Which is a scam.
I have a Pico 4 and you know Pico 4. Everybody thinks you can see screendoor effect in Pico because of the lenses. No... it's because you actually lose a lot of pixels from the rendered image as you don't have them in the FOV. In the case of Pimax Cristal this must be even more horrendous. And nobody raises this problem that will destroy this backwards headset. It is a wrong path and Pimax should stop shoveling more rubbish like this into the market.
Anyway... Cheers!
@@SimHangerFS I'm not sure what he's getting at tbh. Anyway, the following is a fairly pointless statement because I'm not, but if I was rich I'd just buy a load of headsets and send them to you to try-out for an extended period, with no obligation to the supplier. I say that, but what I like about reviewers who don't own half-a-dozen top-end headsets is that their thinking is more like the average person, who has limited funds and just wants to buy 'the best' headset for them, and can't keep chopping and changing every other day. Can't you just outright ask the likes of Meta to borrow the latest units if you can't buy them? This is a high-quality channel, so surely they'll be able to see that and want to play ball?
The best VR headset on the market is still hot, uncomfortable, a pain to setup, plug in, put on etc. No thanks. Tobii Eye Tracker 5 is my preferred.