Absolutely Rooked.Com, at least I won't be bored!

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
I couldn't take it any longer, I held off as long as I could. I'm now the proud owner of a Valve Index. It's a substantial upgrade from the Vive (not tried the Pro) and the controllers are absolutely fantastic. At the moment I'm trying to get the lead extended which I'm finding problematic but I'll get there..... damn DP cables and their complexity.

It didn't stop there though. I think I was bitten by something as I then splurged on a set of rear floor standing speakers (had fronts for a few years now without the rest of the surround). Thought I better add a little more purpose to the front so also ordered up a centre speaker..... then thought I should balance it out with a subwoofer...... then a glass floating shelf for the front speaker..... new cable for the lot of it...... a 1" masonry bit to batter holes in the walls.

After all that the £80 or so for the DP booster was a drop in the ocean so just got that too, along with some cables and connectors to play with (got to love that Amazon return policy).

My card is absolutely on fire. I'll probably be eating canned food for the foreseable but at least I'll be adequately entertained :cool:

Oh..... 144hz definitely works for the ole sickness. I don't really notice much of a difference at any rate but my GF is no longer ready to hurl after a few minutes in a car. Well done Valve. 17Gb/s though, that's going to take some throughput to get that running wirelessly.
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
I couldn't take it any longer, I held off as long as I could. I'm now the proud owner of a Valve Index. It's a substantial upgrade from the Vive (not tried the Pro) and the controllers are absolutely fantastic. At the moment I'm trying to get the lead extended which I'm finding problematic but I'll get there..... damn DP cables and their complexity.

It didn't stop there though. I think I was bitten by something as I then splurged on a set of rear floor standing speakers (had fronts for a few years now without the rest of the surround). Thought I better add a little more purpose to the front so also ordered up a centre speaker..... then thought I should balance it out with a subwoofer...... then a glass floating shelf for the front speaker..... new cable for the lot of it...... a 1" masonry bit to batter holes in the walls.

After all that the £80 or so for the DP booster was a drop in the ocean so just got that too, along with some cables and connectors to play with (got to love that Amazon return policy).

My card is absolutely on fire. I'll probably be eating canned food for the foreseable but at least I'll be adequately entertained :cool:

Oh..... 144hz definitely works for the ole sickness. I don't really notice much of a difference at any rate but my GF is no longer ready to hurl after a few minutes in a car. Well done Valve. 17Gb/s though, that's going to take some throughput to get that running wirelessly.
MAN! So jealous! Were you able to use your current satellites or did you have to buy Valve's ones?

What kinds of games you playing on it?

I think I'll hold off for another generation perhaps, still using the original Vive, but the Valve would be my pick out of the current lineup.
 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
Yeah I'm just using the old gen ones. I didn't want to upgrade them just yet as they don't work with the original vive (Which I've kept)

I've been messing around with just about my entire library haha

Dirt Rally
Project Cars 2
Poker Stars VR
RaceRoom
Assetto Corsa
Cloudlands MiniGolf
Beat Saber
RecRoom
Trials of Tatooine

Still got a good few to try out.

I'm yet to notice the blacks by the way. The screen is very bright and vibrant. More comfortable than the vive and is balanced better on the head. I'm going to attempt a suspension setup from my livingroom light if I can get a cable extension working. That should make a HUGE difference to the experience as I'm all over the wire in RecRoom. The more I use the controllers the more I like them. The only downfall is their size. They are FAR too small for my hands so the grip feels awkward and I have to arc my thumb back for the controls. If they do an XL size I'll be all over them haha.

The interesting stuff is when you have a decent gaming laptop and a desktop in close proximity. I had both headsets running and me and my GF were in the same virtual worlds. Basically any multi-player game works brilliantly. Unfortunately I wasn't forking out for games twice so I was limited in the experience (All games would run on my account shared until it came to a pause/save/stop point in any of the games, at which point it locked out.) Beatsaber in multiplayer is hilarious..... especially when your 5'6 GF is using your 6'5 avatar and looks like gollum standing next to you!

Fortunately, the free stuff will work just fine. Poker Stars VR for example. We both went into the same room together while actually sitting next to each other. Surreal experience. Really good too as we got to have a fair bit of time in the game without being rude with each other IYSWIM.

Having compared the Vive to the Index, it really is a proper step up. I don't know what the next generation is going to offer though. I don't think there will be anything to add to the visuals anytime soon as I think it's more than maxed out what's there GPU wise when you push it. The next step, I think, will be a good wireless solution. I think Valve has an opportunity here. It won't come until 2020/2021 and they have said that it will come before the next gen so I think we are in for the long haul. Wireless is likely the next leap before a true next-gen headset.

To be fair, I think that's a reasonable expectation given the cost of the hardware. It's really expensive so should be considered an investment for a few years.
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
Yeah I'm just using the old gen ones. I didn't want to upgrade them just yet as they don't work with the original vive (Which I've kept)

I've been messing around with just about my entire library haha

Dirt Rally
Project Cars 2
Poker Stars VR
RaceRoom
Assetto Corsa
Cloudlands MiniGolf
Beat Saber
RecRoom
Trials of Tatooine

Still got a good few to try out.

I'm yet to notice the blacks by the way. The screen is very bright and vibrant. More comfortable than the vive and is balanced better on the head. I'm going to attempt a suspension setup from my livingroom light if I can get a cable extension working. That should make a HUGE difference to the experience as I'm all over the wire in RecRoom. The more I use the controllers the more I like them. The only downfall is their size. They are FAR too small for my hands so the grip feels awkward and I have to arc my thumb back for the controls. If they do an XL size I'll be all over them haha.

The interesting stuff is when you have a decent gaming laptop and a desktop in close proximity. I had both headsets running and me and my GF were in the same virtual worlds. Basically any multi-player game works brilliantly. Unfortunately I wasn't forking out for games twice so I was limited in the experience (All games would run on my account shared until it came to a pause/save/stop point in any of the games, at which point it locked out.) Beatsaber in multiplayer is hilarious..... especially when your 5'6 GF is using your 6'5 avatar and looks like gollum standing next to you!

Fortunately, the free stuff will work just fine. Poker Stars VR for example. We both went into the same room together while actually sitting next to each other. Surreal experience. Really good too as we got to have a fair bit of time in the game without being rude with each other IYSWIM.

Having compared the Vive to the Index, it really is a proper step up. I don't know what the next generation is going to offer though. I don't think there will be anything to add to the visuals anytime soon as I think it's more than maxed out what's there GPU wise when you push it. The next step, I think, will be a good wireless solution. I think Valve has an opportunity here. It won't come until 2020/2021 and they have said that it will come before the next gen so I think we are in for the long haul. Wireless is likely the next leap before a true next-gen headset.

To be fair, I think that's a reasonable expectation given the cost of the hardware. It's really expensive so should be considered an investment for a few years.
Just awesome!

I would be out buying the Index as we speak, but I've got so many major outgoings for the next few years that I can't really justify the spend atm, hence why putting it off until next gen.

But VR is a huge win for me, I know a lot of people don't see it as such an important technology, but for me, it's the mutts nuts for gaming and media. It's just so immersive!

My hope is that the music world starts to invest heavily in it, things like live concerts or music videos would be incredible in VR.

I like sticking on the headset and lying in bed watching movies also, find it more engaging than watching on a screen.
 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
VR has completely enveloped most of my spending to be honest. I've never been a gamer, anytime I fancied a bit of button bashing I would play a console (I have a PS4 and an XBox360). Since getting VR a couple of years ago the XB hasnt' been switched on and is currently tucked away in a cupboard. I think I turned the PS4 on once, I basically never use it.

Unfortunately, there are HUGE cost implications......

Initially I wanted a laptop for high performance gaming with a view to VR. Those cost lots of money.
Got the Vive in 2017 and I was immediately as hooked as it gets for me with gaming.
Found Project Cars and thus dug out my Force GT Steering wheel and pedals.
The little fold away table wasn't cutting it so I got a foldable racing chair (cheap and cheerful playseat challenge)
The above seriously added to the experience and the whole lot would fold away while still attached. Very convenient.
I started experimenting with scaling etc and decided it was time to invest in a proper PC rather than relying on a laptop for everything.
Cue my current desktop build.... which, for me..... ££££££ssssss
After that everything was coming together nicely but the experience with plastic toy pedals and steering wheel wasn't cutting it.
As I always do, I started at the lower end of the tier looking to see what was available. Wasn't long before I ended up with the Fanatec Forza GT racing kit though :cautious:
The podium wasn't quite out yet or I would probably have had that so I should count myself lucky haha.
That's had me happily ticking along until the index came out where I've just sank my wallet again.

Keep in mind, prior to VR, my biggest outlay for gaming was a PS4 :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

Something I didn't mention before, the hype is real with the "spearphones" on the Index. Very, very innovative and they have completely pulled it off. I would need a decent set of cans to match the sound and the experience with them on your head is lacking compared to the freedom with the speakers.
 

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
Looks interesting, will give it a play tonight and see what it's like. £15 to buy if it's good so reasonably priced.
 
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