Thinking of purchasing a Pimax Crystal for FSVR. Already have a Pico 4, its OK but as I am playing FS more and more in VR, hardly ever in monitor mode, a DP tethered hi-res VR would greatly enhance the VR experience. I have heard rumours about conflict problems relating to the GeForce RTX 3090, which is what I have? Any advice please?
Probably depends on you PC specs.
Thanks for reply. PC Spec Intel i9-11900K, 32 GB Ram, Founders GF RTX 3090, Fast Gen4 NVMe M.2 SSD 2GB, 1000w PSU, Fast 1gig Virgin Broadband, on Win11 with all regular updates. On Pimax website this is well above the minimum spec for the Crystal, although I would not like to run FSVR on that minimum spec.
I can’t comment on the 3090, but as for the Pimax, the glass lenses alone are worth it for me. Even if you have to run it at a slightly lower resolution, there is ZREO screen door effect that plagues any headset using fresnel lenses. (My previous headset was a Valve Index.)
I did ultimately need the lighthouse faceplate, as the inside out tracking did not work well for me.
For me the inside out tracking of Crystal works perfectly for seated experiences like flight simming. After completing Half Life Alyx on my old Reverb G2 I no longer play the room scale VR games.
Hi,
I have the Crystal with a RTX 3090 and love it.
There were some issues with the RTX 3090Ti, but not with the straight RTX 3090. Don’t know if these issues still exist with the Ti card.
Not rushing into buying the Pimax Crystal as it is not cheap. My present Pico 4 VR uses pancake lenses, as I believe the Quest 3. I did consider the Quest 3, but not much difference with the Pico 4 in FSVR. Seen most of VR Flight Sim Guys You Tube vids, and the Pimax Crystal is still tops with him. Ok the Somnium VR1 or Varjo XR4 are in the very top, but are not really consumer priced VRs.
You have probably seen my thread on G2 to Crystal.
I’d definitely recommend having the Apache Comfort strap and facial interface kit on hand before taking delivery. If you are a Bert it’s required. If you are an Ernie you may be okay.
The Crystal is very heavy and can be awkward fitting without some work. If the fit is off the optics will be all over the place.
Still make sure you have an easy, good return policy on your purchase. Nothing against VR Flight Sim Guy but that’s just one voice and he’s also a bit “youtuby hypery” if you know what I mean.
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Glad it worked for you. It did not work for me.
The Crystal (and most Pimax headsets) is a “tinkerer headset”. Which means having to spend much time tuning things and finding exactly how to use the software for a better experience.
Based on the previous threads I remember your username from (things like complexity finding the right settings, and the frustration that followed), I would suggest it’s not a good choice for you.
Thanks for reply. You are absolutely right. I have had loads of frustrations getting the settings ideal. I have no intention in jumping in to buy the Crystal, and may decide to leave it. My present VR is a Pico 4, and it gives me a reasonably clear VR image, the framerate is not brilliant but I am used to it. The Quest 3 may perform a little better, but I would hardly see any difference with the Pico 4, certainly not enough to replace the Pico 4. The Pico 4 is tweaked just right with VDXR and OXRTK. In about 3 to 5 years affordable VR headsets will excel in detail and performance comparable to the Varjo XR4 now. Unlike 3D TVs that failed, VR/AR will continue to progress, and become more popular.
There is a problem with the 3090 and Pimax headsets. I have a Pimax 5k xr and when I switched from an AMD graphics card to a 3090 I had to spend quite some time to find a solution. I do use an active display port adapter now which works fine.
I also have a Pimax Crystal that is running on a 4090 TI. I don’t have the same issue there. But the Crystal headset is heavy and you constantly need to have a USB-C cable connected on the side of the headset other wise the battery runs low after 30 to 40 minutes. With the USB-C attached it runs for hours without problems. What’s also noticeable is the smaller FOV on the Crystal compared to the 5xr. Apparently I should get replacement lenses with a wider FOV. I’m waiting for those since over 6 months now.
I don’t have to have the usb-c connected to keep the headset powered. I can fly for hours no problem. Do you have the headset correct connected through a powered USB hub?
Something must be wrong with your Crystal then. I have mine connected via the standard Display Port / dual USB Cable via Pimax hub. I can easily achieve +4h session in MSFS on one battery, as the battery is charging during usage. When the headset is turned off after the session the battery continues charging, so I don’t need to swap it.
I don’t use any side-connected USB-C cable.
Did you mean 3090Ti?
That’s interesting. I do use the USB hub that came with the Crystal. But I have no nerves to deal with their support. So I’ll just keep running it with the USB-C. Mine also discharges the battery when not in use.
No 4090 TI.
Is there 4090Ti on the market?
There is no such thing as a 4090 Ti on the market.
Sorry my bad. It’s a 4090 no TI.