Oculus Rift S - Worth it, or not?

[bellabichon]

Hi all,

 

Now that I have a rig that can actually handle the games, I've been looking into PCVR, specifically the Oculus Rift S. I'd like to try out Beat Saber, Half-Life: Alyx, Skyrim VR, and a bunch more. My price range is around $500 CAD, so it seems the most reasonable option for me (it's also $100 off on Amazon Canada right now, which is nice). From Linus's review and others, it seems the on-headset tracking is nearly as good as lighthouse, and the ease of setup is a big plus for me. 

 

So, are there any Oculus Rift S owners (or prospective owners) willing to weigh in? I understand that the display resolution and refresh rate aren't the best, but the features seem unbeatable for the price. 

[TheBean]

if you ignore the facebook controversy, its basically fantastic. but because of the FB issue, I would steer away personally and wait for more headsets to become cheaper.
 

From my breif experience with HTC and with oculus, the HTC headset is far better, but the oculus controllers are literally the best (ignoring valve index because price). So I would go with oculus only if FB change their policies (or if you are willing to mod the oculus to de-facebook it). 

[Cela1]

While the Rift S works nativly with PC, Oculus have shown a clear 'you are the favourite child' preference to Quest / Quest 2. Supposedly getting a 120Hz option soon^TM, alongside having a larger resolution would have me seriously considering a Quest 2.

 

- A Rift CV1 owner

 

Edit: There Is also a new Vive headset on the way (rumoured to be a Quest 2 competitor), but nobody has any idea how far off that is.

Edited March 8, 2021 by Cela1

[bellabichon]

7 minutes ago, Cela1 said:

While the Rift S works nativly with PC, Oculus have shown a clear 'you are the favourite child' preference to Quest / Quest 2. Supposedly getting a 120Hz option soon^TM, alongside having a larger resolution would have me seriously considering a Quest 2.

 

- A Rift CV1 owner

 

Edit: There Is also a new Vive headset on the way (rumoured to be a Quest 2 competitor), but nobody has any idea how far off that is.

Hmm. Feels weird to be paying for all that extra hardware when all I'm really going to use is the PC functionality, but the higher resolution and refresh rate are certainly tempting. Do you know if I would be able to connect the Quest 2 to my PC? It seems like the only option is a USB-C cable, and my GPU doesn't have a USB-C port (and the one on my motherboard is finnicky as all hell). 

[Cela1]

1 minute ago, bellabichon said:

Hmm. Feels weird to be paying for all that extra hardware when all I'm really going to use is the PC functionality

Unless you are buying from a retailer (which is perfectly ok), the base Quest 2 should be the same price as the Rift S.

 

2 minutes ago, bellabichon said:

Do you know if I would be able to connect the Quest 2 to my PC? It seems like the only option is a USB-C cable, and my GPU doesn't have a USB-C port

Oculus Link doesn't use the port on your graphics card, it uses a standard USB-C port ( or potentially USB-A with connector).

However, if you have doubts about Link, or only have USB-A ports, then I would probably just stear clear of the Quest lineup then.

[WaggishOhio383]

10 minutes ago, bellabichon said:

Hmm. Feels weird to be paying for all that extra hardware when all I'm really going to use is the PC functionality, but the higher resolution and refresh rate are certainly tempting. Do you know if I would be able to connect the Quest 2 to my PC? It seems like the only option is a USB-C cable, and my GPU doesn't have a USB-C port (and the one on my motherboard is finnicky as all hell). 

Yes, you can connect the Quest 2 to your PC and play full-blown PCVR. You don't have to (nor do I think you can) plug into your GPU though. And while the official Oculus link cable is USB-C to USB-C, you can also buy a third-party USB-C to USB-A cable, as long as it's rated for USB 3.0 with 5 Gbps transfer speed. And you'll need an open USB 3.0 port on your motherboard as well of course.

 

I've personally really enjoyed using my Quest 2. It's nice having the flexibility to play PCVR or break free of the cables and play native games on the headset itself. And if you have good upload speeds on your PC, you can even stream the games wirelessly through the remote desktop app (costs $20, so around the same as a third-party link cable).

[Cela1]

28 minutes ago, The_Vaccine said:

the HTC headset is far better, but the oculus controllers are literally the best (ignoring valve index because price)

Yup. My controller rankings would go:  Vive < WMR < Oculus < Index

[Treebsquire]

I've used all major VR headsets since the first rift hit the market (bar Pimax / Vive Pro) and the Rift S is still my favorite all rounder for the price.

 

The only real challenger is the Quest 2, but even then you will definitely need a better headstrap and the link cable (if you have slow wifi and can't use virtual desktop) which adds to the price. I did actually buy a quest 2 (again) last week, as decided to get one to use as a standalone for fitness. Using the two side by side for PCVR, I actually prefer the picture on the Rift S (with SS). Mostly because there is a bit of artifacting and noticable input lag on the Quest 2 and that's with 500Mb broadband in my office where I play. It's noticable even with the link cable however if you're a first time buyer, it's unlikely you will notice it. Playing games wirelessly is amazing though. It's tough to decide between the two as to which is a better recommendation for PCVR for a first timer. I would say Rift S but could understand if people think Quest 2 is the better option.

 

Sorry that doesn't help much but, If your question is whether or not the Rift S is worth it for the price, then I'd ssay 100% yes. I would also highly recommend getting Viveport as well. It's essentially Netflix for VR games. There are hundreds of Oculus games on there and loads that are well worth playing (Westworld, Paper Beast, Pixel Ripped, The Room, The Wizards, I expect you to die, Superhot VR, Arizona Sunshine, Moss and loads of others).