When the Oculus Rift S affords a reasonably darn nice VR expertise for £399 / $399, is there actually any purpose to spend upwards of a grand on a headset just like the £919 / $999 Valve Index? Probably not if, like the remainder of us, you don’t have a spare mattress full of money squirrelled away in your again bed room. However, in case you do fall into the class of loaded people who need the best possible VR headset you should buy immediately, then the Valve Index is certainly the headset to go for over the equally priced HTC Vive Cosmos Elite.
For starters, the headset itself is simply much more nice to make use of and put on for longer intervals of time. That’s partly right down to the thick material padding across the face and headband, however the Index additionally affords the best quantity of adjustment out of all the massive PC-based VR headsets you should buy for the time being.
There’s an interpupillary distance slider beneath the primary show (which you don’t get on the Rift S), an enormous, simple to succeed in dial on the aspect of the headset that permits you to transfer the show nearer or additional away out of your face (which is on the Rift S however not on the Vive Cosmos), and a decent and tactile rear dial that adjusts the circumference of the scarf. There’s additionally a somewhat beautiful, premium-feeling velcro strap on prime of the headset (a sentence I by no means thought I’d write), supplying you with loads of choices to get a cushty match.
The rear dial adjusts the circumference of the headset’s major headband.
That mentioned, it’s nonetheless a comparatively top-heavy headset for somebody with a smaller than common head like myself. Most of the strain tended to fall on my brow, for instance, and there have been events after I may really feel it slowly slipping down the entrance of my face, leading to a barely blurry-looking display even when the rear dial was at its tightest setting.
It didn’t take a lot to repair – shuffling it again up my head often did the trick for one more half hour or so – however I’d think about that these of you with even smaller heads than mine could discover it extra problematic. The excellent news, at the very least, is that it didn’t give me almost as a lot of a headache afterwards because the Vive Cosmos Elite, and I used to be typically ready to make use of it for about an hour or so earlier than I needed to take a break.
Technically, the Vive Cosmos Elite has the next decision show than the Valve Index, coming in at 1440×1700 per-eye (making for a mixed decision of 2880×1700) in comparison with the Index’s 1440×1600 per-eye decision (or 2880×1600). In observe, although, these additional 100 pixels actually don’t make a lot of a distinction in the case of the general readability of the display, and each headsets seemed simply as sharp as one another.
You can even alter the interpupillary distance of the Index’s lenses utilizing the slider beneath the headset. The different button helps you to shortly entry the Index’s dwelling menu.
Instead, the Index units itself aside with its wider subject of view of 130 levels, and the choice to push its refresh price all the best way as much as 120Hz or 144Hz for the smoothest potential expertise. The Vive Cosmos Elite, alternatively, is proscribed to simply 90Hz, with a subject of view of 110 levels.
The wider FOV makes an instantaneous influence the second you place the headset on. There’s nonetheless a little bit of a black porthole impact on the very aspect of the display, however I wasn’t capable of see something limiting my view on the prime or backside. I wouldn’t go as far as to say it was a transformative expertise, admittedly, however with the ability to see extra of the world round me was positively a bonus after I was nosing across the detail-packed environments of games akin to Half-Life: Alyx.
The larger refresh price choices, in the meantime, will solely make themselves obvious in case you’ve bought a strong sufficient graphics card to drive these sorts of body charges. Of course, in case you’ve bought a grand to spend on a VR headset, chances are high you’ve in all probability bought a reasonably highly effective PC to go together with it. However, would I say that the RTX 2070 Super I’ve used to check all three of the massive PC headsets during the last month made the Index really feel noticeably smoother total? Probably not, however then I’m additionally not somebody who can actually see the distinction between 90Hz and 120Hz on a excessive refresh price gaming monitor, not to mention a VR headset. Again, although, it’s good to have the choice all the identical, and it offers it extra room to develop and enhance over time once you subsequent come to improve your PC.
The large dial on the precise aspect of the headset helps you to transfer the show nearer or additional away out of your face.
The Index can be a smidge simpler to get occurring the setup entrance as effectively. It nonetheless wants two exterior base stations to be plugged in at reverse corners of your play house to be able to observe your actions, however the SteamVR 2.zero trackers that come within the field with the Index aren’t simply newer than those that include the Cosmos Elite, however additionally they include their very own stands and swivel brackets so you possibly can angle them in the precise route much more simply.
I additionally had fewer issues getting it to work with SteamVR as effectively. It nonetheless threw the odd tantrum each every so often, admittedly, saying it had encountered a essential error and wanted to both stop or restart, however on the entire I used to be capable of get it working a lot quicker than the Vive Cosmos Elite – in all probability as a result of I wasn’t having to cope with HTC’s Vive Console software program on the identical time.
The Valve Index controllers are implausible. They’re mild, tactile and have the very best finger monitoring.
The actual jewel within the Index’s digital crown, although, is its wonderful Index controllers. These are arms down the very best VR controllers round. Not solely are they mild and tremendous snug to make use of because of their tactile buttons and further band of padded material that wraps round your knuckles, however additionally they supply essentially the most correct finger monitoring. In Half-Life: Alyx, for instance, it knew precisely the place every particular person finger was on the controller no matter whether or not I used to be urgent or touching its rear set off button – a feat that’s merely not potential on both the Oculus Touch controllers, the Vive Cosmos controllers or the outdated Vive wand controllers that include the Cosmos Elite.
That additional material band additionally means they don’t instantly fall to the bottom in case you ever unintentionally loosen up your hand for a second. Whereas I used to be at all times aware I had two massive maraca-like objects in my hand with different VR headsets, the Index controllers simply felt like a pure extension of my hand, which is strictly what you need in case you’re after full and complete immersion.
The Index comes with two SteamVR 2.zero exterior trackers, and their bundled stands make them a lot simpler to angle than those you get with the HTC Vive Cosmos Elite.
The Index has the very best built-in headphones of any VR headset as effectively. Much just like the headphones on the Vive Cosmos and Cosmos Elite, they’re off-ear jobs that don’t want to the touch your face so as so that you can hear what’s occurring, however the high quality of the sound is noticeably richer and extra detailed than its Vive counterparts. There’s a heat and fullness to its music and dialogue that feels such as you’ve bought two correct PC audio system suspended off your ear lobe, enhancing that sense of immersion even additional. The Vive headphones nonetheless do a reasonably respectable job, however they’ve bought nothing on the Index ones.
Overall, then, the Valve Index is completely the gold customary of VR headsets proper now. It’s not utterly excellent, as I really feel there’s nonetheless extra it may do to accommodate folks with tiny noggins like myself, however its correct monitoring, very good controllers and headphones and normal ease of use make this the VR headset to purchase in case you’ve bought the cash to spare.
Indeed, it’s just about a no brainer for these shopping for within the UK for the time being, because it solely prices one other £20 over the Vive Cosmos Elite headset and comes with infinitely higher package besides. Those within the US, alternatively, are dealing with a rise of one other $100 over the Cosmos Elite, however as I discussed in my Cosmos Elite review, I believe that is cash effectively spent, if solely since you get these beautiful Index controllers with it, that are an enormous step-up from the outdated Vive wand controllers that include the Elite. In reality, I’d even go so far as saying they’re essential in case you’re trying to play fast-paced motion games akin to Half-Life: Alyx nowadays, because the Vive wand observe pads simply aren’t match for goal anymore.
The Index has wonderful built-in headphones so that you don’t want to connect a separate headset.
That’s to not say that everybody must spend nearly a grand to get an incredible VR expertise, although. It is, in any case, a heck of some huge cash, and also you merely don’t must spend that a lot when the £399 / $399 Oculus Rift S does such a bang up job on the different finish of the value spectrum. Sure, it’s not as superior or as succesful because the Valve Index, but it surely positive does excellent, tracker-free VR for lots much less.
Plus, you get a much bigger library of VR games with the Oculus Rift S, because the Valve Index solely helps you to play games which are appropriate with SteamVR. Yes, a lot of the best VR games are multiplatform, however there are a couple of Oculus exclusives akin to Robo Recall, The Climb and Lone Echo which are effectively value enjoying and might’t be discovered anyplace else. As a end result, I’d nonetheless advocate most individuals go for the Oculus Rift S in the event that they’re trying to get their first VR headset, however in case you’re a VR veteran searching for absolutely the cream of the crop, or certainly the best VR headset for Half-Life: Alyx, then it merely doesn’t get any higher than the Valve Index.
