VR has taken a crazy turn in the past couple of years with the release of the Meta Quest 2. The increase in accessibility has introduced a crazy amount of people to virtual reality, and increased the player base significantly. As nice as the Quest is, there are a lot of PC VR headsets that provide a much higher quality experience, given you have the PC to support it.
Since there’s a ton of PC VR headsets on the market right now, it can be hard to choose which one to buy. Between resolution, refresh rate, field of view, and comfort, each headset has their own strengths and weaknesses. Fortunately, there’s a headset that gives you the best of all worlds, without having to sacrifice too much in any category.
The Valve Index is our pick for the best overall headset, especially for PC VR beginners. Balanced visuals, comfort, and ease of use means that the Index has everything you need out of a general-purpose VR headset, even if it doesn’t have enterprise-grade graphics.
Visuals
As far as the graphics go, the Index is a small step behind top of the line, graphics-focused headsets like the Pimax series of HMDs. The resolution is the biggest step down from other headsets, at only 1440x1600 pixels per-eye. While that number looks pretty bad on paper, it really does not look all that bad when you’re in the headset. It won’t blow you away, but it’s completely serviceable for any game currently out.
However, what the Index lacks in resolution, it makes up for with its FOV and refresh rate. The FOV is roughly 110 degrees horizontally, and it’s a noticeable upgrade over other headsets like the Quest 2 or the HTC Vive Pro. The refresh rate is also fantastic. It’s adjustable in SteamVR, and ranges from 90 Hz to 144 Hz. 144 Hz feels incredibly smooth, and goes a long way to boost immersion.
One aspect of the Index that often seems to be overlooked is the comfort factor. This facet really should not be overlooked, because the Index is, bar none, the most comfortable headset on the market. The weight balance feels really great. While the headset is on the heavier side, the head strap takes a lot of that weight off of your head, and distributes it in an effective manner such that the headset never really feels too heavy on your face.
The one major downside about the Index’s visuals is the dual-layered Fresnel lenses. While they do help keep the headset light, and keep the overall price of the headset down, they are certainly not as clear as aspheric lenses would be. The Fresnel lenses cause volumetric light scattering, which VR enthusiasts call “god rays”. Essentially, god rays are visual artifacts that appear when viewing certain types of lighting in virtual reality, and they look like the rays that appear when the sun is shining through the clouds or fog. They can look cool in some situations, but overall god rays decrease visual clarity.
Comfort
As far as comfort levels are concerned, the Index is the king. The face cover in particular is the most comfortable out of any headset. While other headsets will use foam or leather for the face cover, the Index has foam covered with fabric, which does not feel abrasive like straight foam, but stays much cooler and is more breathable than leather. It’s also attached via a series of magnets, instead of Velcro adhered to the headset, which makes it much more stable and easier to swap out. Another great feature that the Index has is the ability to rotate the display section upwards, which allows you to peek from underneath it to see your surroundings, or comfortably store it on your head whenever you need to take the headset off. For younger players, or people with smaller heads, Valve also includes a foam and rubber insert that can be placed in the back of the head strap for a better fit.
Controllers
The Index costs $499, but there are purchasing options to include two Valve Knuckles controllers and base stations for up to $999. The Knuckles controllers are definitely one of the better controllers for virtual reality, thanks to the inclusion of a physical joystick and buttons, rather than a touchpad like the Vive controllers. Instead of grip buttons, the Knuckles utilize touch sensors that are capable of tracking whether or not each of your four fingers are touching the sensor. The controllers also do away with wrist straps, in favor of hand straps made with the same material as the face cover.
The unfortunate problem with the Index controller is that the joysticks can, over time, begin to suffer from joystick drift. It may be possible to correct this in SteamVR settings, but without proper settings, the joystick drift is incredibly disruptive and makes playing games a real pain. The warranty should cover joystick drift, but given that the warranty period is only for a year after shipment, problems with the controller could surface after the warranty period. The triggers are also susceptible to some deterioration, causing some squeaking over time. Luckily, the speakers are good enough to drown out any noise from some squeaky triggers.
Audio
The speakers are fantastic. They hover over your ears, rather than on them with leather ear cups, which goes a long way towards the comfort factor of the headset. They can also be easily pushed up to the side of the headset to easily be able to hear anything outside of the headset while playing. As far as audio quality goes, the Index speakers are definitely some of the best, and easily a huge improvement over the piped-in audio offered by other headsets like the Quest 2 or the Pimax SMAS head strap. The microphone is also very high quality, especially compared with the Vive Pro microphone. While the microphone is not exactly the highest priority feature for a VR headset, it’s great for streamers and content creators, or those who frequently play online multiplayer games like Zenith or After the Fall.
Bonus Feature!
One last cool feature that the Index includes is the “frunk,” short for front trunk. This is just an empty slot with a USB port on the front of the headset, hidden underneath a magnetic visor. Valve does not produce any accessories for the frunk, nor do they intend to. This feature was included specifically for modders who wanted to create their own attachments for the Index. A great example of this are the excellent Minidex Mods creations. These are 3D printed USB sticks that pop into the frunk, which add either front-mounted fans to keep the headset cool, or a programmable LED strip under the front visor, which might be even cooler.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the Valve Index is an incredible headset that is extremely well balanced compared to most other headsets on the market. While it may not have cutting edge, crystal clear visuals, the visuals are more than serviceable, and any shortcomings are more than made up for by the high level of comfort and extra features that the Index boasts. To cap it all off, the Index only costs $500 for the headset, or $1000 for a full kit. This is an incredible value that is significantly more affordable than other headsets like the Vive Pro 2. The ease of use, comfort, and affordability combined make the Index a great headset for PC VR beginners and enthusiasts alike. Meta Quest 2 users looking to make the jump to PC might have just found their next investment.
Comments