Well we are drifting off to an unfamiliar yet not that unorthodox topic within the PC gaming arena today. Virtual Reality is undoubtedly one of the premium experiences a gamer gets to have. Which is why we thought of presenting the best VR headset for PC-tethered gaming. Therefore let us begin with the Valve Index Review. Valve runs the Steam VR platform as we know. And presently owns the crown for the best VR headset in the industry. Although it is everything but cheap. Before proceeding any further lets glance at the specifications as usual.
Valve Index Specs
- Dual 1440 x 1600 LCDs, full RGB per pixel
- 144 Hz frame rates
- 58mm – 70mm physical adjustment
- Head size, eye relief (FOV), IPD, speaker positions. Rear cradle adapter included.
- Connectivity of 5m tether, 1m breakaway trident connector. USB 3.0, DisplayPort 1.2, 12V power
- Tracking with SteamVR 2.0 sensors, compatible with SteamVR 1.0 and 2.0 base stations
- Dual Microphone Array, 20Hz – 24kHz Frequency response
- Built-in: 37.5mm off-ear Balanced Mode Radiators, Impedance: 6 Ohm, SPL: 98.96 dBSPL at 1cm.
- Camera Stereo 960 x 960 pixels
Upgrades Review
Let’s kick off the Valve Index Review by elaborating the tech specs. Now it gives 1440×1600 resolution for one eye combined with the 144 Hz refresh rate. According to Valve it provides 50% more subpixels than OLED. Although it says 144 Hz it is only an experimented mode, nevertheless it produces 120 Hz refresh rate. They also improved the field of vision by having a dial and slider for lens adjustment. Hence the Valve Index claims a 20% more FOV than the HTC Vive. There is yet another upgrade that should be highlighted while we are on the subject of vision. The display is edged outwards by 5 degrees thereby balancing the outer and inner FOV.
The Valve Index uses the Lighthouse tracking system as the Vive. So you need to mount the laser emitting base stations at the two ends of your room as it allows 10*10 meter play area. It has a wider field of view and smaller size compared to the older versions. But some users have complained about the syncing problems with the 2.0 base stations and the discomfort when setting up. The Valve Index HMD includes two RGB cameras made for computer vision, that shows you the outside world. This also has a built- in USB Type A port which as valve says is a Frunk for tinkers.
You might have possibly noticed that we still didn’t touch a major part of the Valve Index Review. The build quality. You can adjust the device for your head size, face and ear angle. There is a knob on the back allowing you to adjust the range of the display. Also for smaller heads Valve has included a gadget to squeeze at the top so that your head adjusts fine. The head strap does a good job in weight distribution thereby making gaming sessions super comfortable. Additionally the face gasket is replaceable with a magnetic interface for easy cleaning purposes.
Next in the Valve Index Review for upgrades let’s talk about the audio quality and speakers. The speakers don’t touch the ears. According to the engineers it is to make the sound sources appear from the environment surrounding you rather than your head. In short it generates 3D surround sound. They do this without completely shutting off the external noise hence the placement. And all while being comfortable. And the speaker position is adjustable. Most experts praise this placement feature. They say that the level of comfort is far beyond that of the Oculus Rift. Although you should be aware that people in the vicinity can hear everything going on.
Valve Index Knuckles review
Next major part of the Valve Index Review are its knuckle controllers. And the biggest feature is that you don’t need to hold on to them while gaming. There is an adjustable strap-on for changing grip tightness and angle. Finger tracking is one of the most outstanding features of this controller. But this is a matter for game developers to embed this particular feature. The menu buttons and joystick are symmetrically placed at the top end of the controller.
So the finger-tracking option is virtually unnecessary at the moment because most games don’t support this feature yet. Thus a futuristic upgrade to be expected. This is more like the 4K resolution and the Ray-tracing for PC games. So if your VR solely consists of gripping and aiming go for the traditional triggers. However, Vive and Rift games can be translated to Index based on titles with official support. Again some users complain about the lack of tactile feedback of the controllers. You don’t get the feeling that you gripped enough.
At last is the core of the Valve Index Review. The performance of the headset. It is visually insane with the 1440 pixel per eye display. It is better than the Oculus Rift or Vive. The FOV depends on how far the Index’s screen gets from your eyes. As things get further away the aliasing seems to creep in. But when looking up things close nothing compares to the Valve Index display.
Most experts have tested this with a Nvidia Geforce GTX 980ti, 970. But the recommendation is the GTX 1060 or above.
Valve Index games
These are a few games to get started on the Valve Index.
- Aperture hand lab
- Boneworks
- Arizona sunshine
- Pavlov VR
- Vanishing Realms
Expert Roundups
According to TechRadar the steam VR platform where the headset depends has major issues. The common occurrence is when SteamVR doesn’t operate accurately the first time. There can be a variety of errors such as the firmware isn’t updated, although you might have updated it recently. The hardware cannot be detected or been disconnected for some unknown reason. TechRadar stated that they faced the same issue with Vive Pro.
The other fact that must be taken into consideration is a long term placement for the VR kit. Because if you are constantly cleaning the room you’re gonna have to shift the base station all too often and the whole setup process has to be performed all over again.
According to PC gamer the Valve Index setup can be frustrating and annoying for someone who used an inside out tracking system such as Oculus Rift S. With the Valve Index the sensors aren’t in the headset and they are placed in the room. Deviating from this traditional experience might seem frustrating initially, but hey it’s all about innovation right?
Contrary to the Oculus Rift S setting up the Valve Index too is a tedious task. Because it has to be done via Steam on your PC before you put on the headset. It is a mechanical process where steam calculates your room height and setting up the four corners Steam determines the optimum play area. And this might sound old school to Rift S users.
Summary
To summarize the Valve Index Review, it offers the best latest generation Virtual Reality experience for a user. Although some of the new features offers a whole lot of new opportunities for improvement. Like eye tracking or exotic displays for better resolution. The Valve Index price of course is the downside even though the device offers so much value. Tagged $1000 people still tend to stick with Oculus because finger tracking is still not used by game developers.
The Valve Index comes close to the second generation of Virtual Reality, but not quite accomplishes it as a whole. The build quality, comfort and the feels are definitely creditable. So is the speaker placement for which this is widely known. Then again although resolution and refresh rate is marvelous it still isn’t a phenomenal jump from the Oculus Rift S. But for folks engaged in heavy VR gaming owning a decent PC gaming rig and are not on a tight budget this is definitely the one.
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