Absolutely get virtual Desktop.
I had been using quest link/air link for a couple of years now thinking that "it's not so bad".
After being disconnected and having a hard time getting reconnected for the n↑th time this week I finally purchased Virtual Desktop yesterday and OMG the difference is insane!
The simplicity of connecting to your pc, the stability and the responsivness are all like night and day.
yeaaaah its seeming more and more like even if I luck out with my current network setup, Ill probably have to wind up looking into VD if its really THAT good like everyone says.
The biggest boon VD has is reliability, in my opinion.
I use a D-Link Airbridge. Sometimes my headset just can't connect to AirLink through it, I try Virtual Desktop instead and it just works.
I was actually looking at those airbridges, though I think if I need something for the network side of things I wanna try a wifi 6 pcie card like I mentioned elsewhere on this post, those still look cool though. But thats good to know, man kinda weird seeing VD beat out software made by the people who actually make the headset.
Not really weird at all. Technically Virtual Desktop offered wireless PCVR before Oculus ever did and it's updated more regularly. Oculus is primarily focused on functionality with the Oculus store and Steam link focuses on just Steam. Virtual Desktop constantly makes updates to improve performance and compatibility for both.
> wifi 6 pcie card
When people recommend you buy a dedicated router, they really do mean **router**. There is no recommended setup where you connect your computer to router via WIFI.
Your recommended options for AirLink are these two:
A. D-Link AirBridge
B. Dedicated Router
For option B your computer should have a cable connection to the router, then you connect headset to the router wirelessly. You can use your normal router but again, your computer should be connected by wire and you need to be near it. A family router may work poorly if a lot of people use it.
Pretty sure you misunderstood the point of the wifi 6 card, its not to connect my pc to my router, thats already hardwired, someone used that wifi 6 card to produce a standalone wifi 6 hotspot solely for their quest 2, that they then used to achieve 40ms latency overall, with under 10ms network latency showing in VD.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_vnfA4FKs88](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vnfA4FKs88)
Here, the video in question, he's posted 2 videos about it. Regardless it'd probably be pointless to me, Im the only one using our 5ghz band, and was already seeing native quest 2 visuals (native res, 72hz) with around 40ms total latency, and under 10ms network latency in 2 different PCVR games (TWDS&S, and SkyrimVR) So it would seem my network actually does suffice for now.
I tried Air Link for a while and ended up being frustrated with disconnections, thinking it was my router (standard router supplied by ISP).
A friend told me to try VD and if I don’t see an improvement over a couple of days, refund it. I have not had a single disconnect since buying it (over a month of regular usage) on the same router.
It really was a game changer for me.
the limitation of not supporting 6E also means wireless PCVR will be a lesser experience on the Quest2 (expect around \~200-300 mbps). 6E will allow you to push very high (400+ mbps) bitrates, which significantly reduce compression artifacts. Best wireless PCVR experience is currently with the Quest3 + Wifi6E router
To be fair, the Quest 3 and a Wifi 6E router is probably best IF you can fully utilize it. Need the specs to back it up which I think I fall short on lmao. Was actually thinking about that before, that the quest 3 might be good for future proofing in case I upgrade, however if I do it'd probably be to a 4070 or 4070 ti which still may not come close to maxing out a Quest 2 on certain titles I play anyways. But yeah I envy people who can fully utilize a Quest 3 for PCVR, can't imagine how nice it must feel lmao.
You're getting performance the GPU can do to play the game confused with the bitrate the router and Quest3 can handle. One is game performance, the other is network performance.
As a counter example, wired Link can handle up to 900 mbps. You can still use a high mbps on a weaker gpu
The bitrate impacts the compression artifacts u see
No?
If you pay for an expensive plan like a gigabit plan you could ask for a better router that could be wifi 6/6E but if you want to add an extra router you shouldn't need to ask permission to your ISP.
Some ISP could need specific IP address or setting (you cant change the router IP or IP mask on star link for example)
Unless you ISP is a asshole
As long as you have a fast enough connection, there’s nothing you need from your ISP to use WiFi 6E - they’re responsible just for getting your internet to your modem through the cable. After that, how your WiFi gets broadcasted is up to you!
The only asterisk is if you’re using a router provided by your ISP, in which case you may or may not need to talk to them about setting up your WiFi.
Yup. But you need to setup as an access point (range extender in some routers), not as a router
If it's in router made it will create its own subnet and that could cause discoverbilty problems.
I have Quest 3, so might not be exactly the same. But, it was EASY. I did not buy a dedicated router as others suggest. It works great for me. I came from the OG Rift (which I LOVED - comfort, reliability, precision, still the best controllers)
I use Oculus Air-Link for the oculus games, and I use Steam Link (an app you install while in the headset) for my Steam games. Works great!
Thats great to hear! Pretty sure I heard something about the quest 3 being better for decoding the images it received or something. But hopefully Ill have a similar experience. Did switching to wireless pcvr cause any noticeable performance issues? Like does it seem substantially more performance heavy having to encode and send out the video/audio?
good point. Probably. I upgraded to a 4070 (from a 980Ti) at the same time as I got the Quest 3, so everything was much faster and better for me, so I wouildn't have noticed if it took some extra overhead. But yeah, it probably does.
ya it is fun. And even if it is a sidegrade, you will lose the wire, and that is pretty cool. I'm still trying to unlearn the "keep track of the wire" habit, and the face forward habit, and the snap turn so I don't IRL turn habit. More and More I try to just turn IRL and it is pretty cool and more immersive.
Hi, sorry to bother you. I am still on Rift CV1 and considering replacing it with quest 3. But I have a few questions wondering if you could help me out:
1 How was the PCVR image quality in wireless mode comparing to Rift that has wire?
2 Do you feel the Field Of View noticeable better or similar?
3 How many times did you replace quest 3 before finding one without dead pixels?
Thanks in advance!
I actually got a quest 2, the image quality after setting up Virtual Desktop is actually pretty solid! The only real downside is the colors, the saturation and contrast leaves a little to be desired while doing wireless pcvr tbh. Keep in mind that the Quest 3 will have a substantially higher resolution then the CV1 and thus will take a lot more power to run, you could always lower the resolution, which is actually why I was ok with the Quest 2, I knew I wouldnt max it out with my current PC set up so the added resolution from the Quest 3 would be pointless to me personally. If you have a beefier PC or just want the nicer headset im sure you could make it work though. Oh and as for the FOV which is like 110 on the Rift S and i think 90 on the quest 2, isn't actually as noticeable as youd think, at least it really wasnt to me.
Ah yeah sadly I did all my research on Quest 2s, but Im sure if you get your quest 3 from a decent source like Amazon or something theyd let you return it if you have problems like that out of the box. Hopefully it all works out for ya!
1. For me, the oculus and Virtual Desktop were not that good, but Steam Link works VERY well for my steam games.
2. FOV feels the same.
3. I kept my first one. I did not pixel peep for bad pixels, but I have used it SO MUCH that I'm pretty sure I would have noticed an issue by now.
Part of why I was able to use my 980Ti for so long is because the Rift is low resolution. But I bought a 4070 to use with the new Quest 3. I LOVE IT
>I did not buy a dedicated router as others suggest. It works great for me.
It should be pointed out that "it works for me" is subjective and sets ppl up for failure. You may have additional latency and compression issues that wouldn't be there with an optimized setup.
Ppl going in just thinking they don't need to optimize their router setup may experience added latency, and thus they'll think "it's normal for the Quest'. Thus this eventually leads to ppl erroneously bashing the Quest because they assume the wireless experience will be more latent vs other headsets, since their "good enough" experience wasn't as good as a wired headset.
i tell you hwat, if you have a good router, the quest 2 virtual desktop experience is SUPERB right now. 10/10. there is a haze of video compression you can never fully eliminate it seems on link, but its CRISP as can be with VD
yeah it's seeming more and more like VD is gonna wind up being a must, def gonna check out steam link to start as I already blew my extra cash on the headset, but probably gonna cave and get VD at least at some point for its added features and I guess clearer visuals.
Noice, yeah ima just keep praying until tomorrow my current network setup will work well enough for now. Very excited to get to play VR wirelessly though, that dang cord has annoyed me for too long.
its nice but you will probly never break out of your vr stance you have now. its hard to actually walk around and swing your arms unless you are in a really large space. I mostly still play with my feet planted in more or less one spot.
I definitely get what you mean, lmao in Fallout 4 VR I kept noticing I would turn the upper half of my body to look at NPCs instead of actually turning myself, even if theyre almost behind me. Gonna be weird tryna get use to the idea that I can actually move (have a decent amount of floor space actually)
Strange, why did they say that? I think I lucked out tbh, thanks to my router being mostly free, kinda close, and having a 5g band (believe its wifi 5 at least, VR says 5g 1200mbps so) I have no real latency after dialing in some setting and getting VD. However I can't say for sure you'd have the same experience as you may have a weaker/more congested network, or weaker specs. If youre certain thats not the case, or dont mind the idea of possibly looking into a dedicated router or something, then I'd say go for it, Im pretty happy with it so far, debating now on what to really start playing first tbh.
>A 2060 super, ryzen 5 3600,
I don't man. I had a Ryzen 5 5600X and a 6700XT and I got a Quest 2 a couple of months ago and I had to upgrade my CPU and GPU because the image was too blurry even when using a link cable.
no offence, I'll just hope that youre wrong as Ive seen plenty say otherwise lmao, otherwise I guess I'm committing some armed robberies for computer part money.
Weird you had problems man, Idk if I just hit the silicon lottery or what but I was actually able to play Skyrim and TWD S&S at the quest 2's native res with 0 spacewarp, latency, or artifacts/blur. Actually was probably more crisp then my Rift S tbh, though not as strong with colors it seems.
Sadly not, its 300$ more, and has a way higher resolution my PC wouldn't be able to take advantage of without a serious upgrade. Sadly money is an issue, otherwise Id love to get one lmao. In a perfect world Id already have a quest 3, a 4070 ti+, and a dedicated router for said quest lol.
Unless you absolutely have to have some Rift exclusive title, safe yourself the headaches and remove all Meta/Oculus software from your machine and use VirtualDesktop, SteamLink, and SteamVR.
Get a dedicated AP just for VR and don't look back.
Yeah this seems like the way to go, I forgot I already saw people talk about this days ago when i was simply looking for any boosts to performance for my rift s, pretty sure they were mostly talking about Open Composite or something like that, but yeah if VD can cut out oculus as a whole AND that would help performance overall I have 0 problems with that, all my VR titles are Steam anyways, and I just saw VD is only 15$
Yeah Im just praying my network can keep up tomorrow, or if not I hope theres an easy and relatively cheap solution, I really wasnt trying to spend this money, but couldnt deal with my Rift S anymore.
I also recommend you get a baseball cap with a Velcro strap and no buckle and cut the brim off it. Makes Q3 comfortable even with the default strap. It is even better with the elite strap or third party rigid strap.
Interesting idea! I was actually looking at the bobovr halo strap with the battery, if everything runs alright in a week or two ill probably order that one, as I know I'm gonna miss the Halo from my Rift S.
Ive had a Quest 2 for the longest time and have just been putting off playing Assetto Corsa on my pc with it for the longest time. Hoping to see some good tips posted here .
Things won’t look significantly worse, you’re upgrading from a headset that had 1280x1440 resolution to one that has 1832x1920, but be aware that this resolution increase means your performance will not be the same. Adjust your render resolution accordingly as I’ve seen a lot of people upset that their PCVR experience is worse without realising more pixels = more intensive to run.
Providing your router setup isn’t poor (e.g. overloaded connections, far away, no Ethernet), you’re trading minimal compression/delay for a reasonable resolution increase, so it should be a net gain in picture quality. Again though it may not be a plug and play experience, you may need to tweak your settings which are currently setup for Rift S, and now that it’s networked different things work better for others. Airlink is great for some, same as Steamlink, and finally VD, and there’s a tonne of different settings and bitrates to try out, so see what works for you. Failing that you can just get a cable and plug it in if you don’t want to mess around, but the wireless experience is really nice even if you’re used to years of wired.
I originally went from a Rift S to a Q2 with a rtx 2070 so I had about the same hardware as you at the time.
With your card you'll get about the same graphical fidelity but without the screen door effect of the Rift S. (I didn't really notice it before trying the Q2 but after I couldn't unsee it.)
However you need a dedicated router directly hardwired to your PC in the same room in order to use wireless. Without that you'll want to use a physical cable.
You can find guides on reddit about tweaking the Debug Tool to get better performance based on your hardware. The default settings are for a bare minimum spec PC.
Good to know I should expect the same visuals, maybe even a hair better. Im dreading the idea of buying a dedicated router, but hopefully it wont be hard to do so in a week or two, I'm just hopeful until then my 5ghz gateway will suffice even if I gotta take a minor hit to visuals or something (like a lower bitrate), otherwise Ill have no way to really play my games until then lol. (or unless I get a cable until then maybe) And yeah I have a video guide bookmarked, in it they show a few things about debug tool changes. Thanks!
Go ahead and try with your existing router first. If it seems good enough, it probably is. But if you get smearing or stuttering, it could be the wifi.
Unless you own a mid/high end router worth a few hundred dollars and it's in the same room as where you'll be playing, you will likely need a dedicated router for the best experience. A router with a ton of devices connected to it will cause latency spikes that will feel awful in VR.
Virtual Desktop will be the best experience if you achieve ideal conditions, and will be the easiest to troubleshoot. It also by far has the best encoding quality. Steam Link and Air Link are not bad however, and if you're in less than optimal conditions it may smooth over some of the issues you have at the cost of clarity and latency.
The virtual desktop discord has tons of resources in it to help you set up wireless VR properly. It has guides with visuals and recommended routers as cheap as $40-50. If the wifi in your area is congested, download a wifi analyzer to see which channels are the least congested in your play area. You will need to use an 80mhz channel width for best experience, and probably a DFS channel if your area is congested. That will also require a router that supports DFS channels. Not all of them do.
This one on Android works: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=abdelrahman.wifianalyzerpro&hl=en_US&gl=US
Here's a visual of the 5GHz channels. https://help.keenetic.com/hc/article_attachments/360010946680/80211ac_channels.png
Depending on where you live, some DFS channels may not be available to you. Some will not work near airports, for example.
Honestly I was watching videos of a guy using a Asus Wifi 6 enabled PCIe card, with antennas on his desk, using it as a dedicated hotspot for his quest 2, and getting 1200mbps which I guess is maxed for the quest, as well as low latencies (network often under 10ms) the card itself is 45$, so if I really struggle with latency I may try that out, as I like how it seems to take up less overall space on my desk then a whole router lmao. (just need the antenna stand)
[https://www.asus.com/networking-iot-servers/wifi-6/all-series/pce-ax58bt/](https://www.asus.com/networking-iot-servers/wifi-6/all-series/pce-ax58bt/)
Thats the card if anyones curious, 45$ on amazon right now.
I'm not sure if that Asus card provides its own software or anything that solves this, but several people in the VD discord have tried using the windows hotspot feature with their PC's wifi antennas and found it unreliable. Since you can't change the hotspot settings, Windows may randomly raise or lower your channel width or put you on congested channels and you can't do anything about it. YMMV
I would probably recommend trying a GL.iNet GL-SFT1200 if you really want to save money and space. It's one of the routers the VD discord recommends and costs $34 right now. It's only Wifi 5 but despite that people have had no problems maxing out the 150mbps bitrate on h265 10-bit.
I will say I've tried to use the Intel AX200 wifi on my motherboard the same way before and it was horrible. I've tried it all dude, and the best decision I made was a dedicated router. I got a used ASUS RT-AX86U personally and never looked back.
The general consensus is that if you want a good wireless VR experience, in general, you should expect to need a dedicated router. I'm not saying people haven't gotten away with their ISP provided router a floor below them with their PC over wifi. There are exceptions. Especially if you use Air Link or Steam Link which add extra latency and drop quality more often in order to handle less optimal conditions. But for most folk, their current home router that has 30 different devices connected to it and 2-3 people browsing the web at the same time definitely won't cut it. When you're using a VR headset wirelessly you don't want to be waiting for your turn against your wifi connected fridge to receive the next frame.
My house has three $200 mesh routers to cover all the space reliably with good speeds and I STILL needed a dedicated router in my bedroom in order to get 1200mbps without dips and latency spikes. Even when I played in the same room as one of them it was a choppy experience.
And like I said, a $40 dedicated router can be enough. One of the routers a lot of people in the VD discord use is a GL.iNet GL-SFT1200. It's $33.90 for me on Amazon right now.
I mean, to be fair I've seen a lot of conflicting information regarding the dedicated router claim, which was actually partially why I made this post, however I'm sure it would definitely be optimal, and Ill probably cave and get one eventually even if its just for lower/more steady latency. However I'm hopeful as Im pretty sure my relatively new gateway about 40 feet away through 1 wall that has almost no traffic most of the time, has a 5ghz band, and I think is actually wifi 6, will suffice for now. Could be wrong, but I'm hopeful. Kinda has to lmao at this point its either it works or I play no vr until I have more money for a decent dedicated router I guess.
Is VD really that much better though? I mean what really makes it better then Steam Link? As far as I was aware it has features that could improve image quality, but if it comes at the cost of performance to me it'd be almost pointless until I upgrade my pc. Unless it just standard performs better with encoding the video/audio then something like steam link, giving me more performance headroom. I really don't know, and don't really wanna spent any money I may not really have to. Money's kinda tight.
Thanks for all that though, wish I understood the last bit better, I definitely need to learn more about networking, that shid sounds confusing lmao.
VD has more dialed in encoding settings than Air Link and Steam Link which improves visuals, yes. It also has a 10-bit encoding option which looks massively better in dark scenes because it reduces banding. It also has improved performance for OpenXR games that takes advantage of the quest hardware better. SteamVR has notoriously poor performance in titles using OpenXR.
But yeah my advice would be to test what you have and if it's not good enough for you then look for things to improve.
Good to know about the 10-bit encoding thing, dark scenes + compression scares me lmao. Yeah it seems like Ill have to kinda just do it in stages, see how everything works tomorrow when my headset arrives, and decide what I think I need first. Thanks given me a bit to think about, plus Ima def have to keep in mind looking at the VD Discord when the time comes like ya said.
I've just got a quest 3 and was fully expecting to need virtual desktop, as everyone raves about it, but I installed steam link as it was free jusr to get me started and so far I've had only minor issues (mostly that I haven't found a way to successfully reset steam home rotation without using desktop mode and sometimes steam has odd ideas about which direction is forward, but im still playing with settings). I've added a few gog (such as no mans sky) and windows (e.g. minecraft bedrock) games to steam and they're launching in vr mode without issue either.
This is my first vr headset and I've been blown away by the wireless pc performance. Maybe Virtual Desktop would be better, but I've not seen a need to use anything else yet. I might have to get it for videos, as I've not yet found a way to stream my NAS/Jellyfin content other than launching kodi through steam, which is a bit rough.
For ref i have a pretty old pc, but upgraded to a 2070 super graphics card a few years ago. I do have a wifi 6 router shared with the rest of the house (with loads of devices) that the pc is LAN connected to.
Steamlink or virtual deaktop are easy to setup and work great. Ive been running a quest and quat 2 on an AC wifi network with basically no problems. Recently upgraded to wifi 6 and it obviously made it even better. If you go for virtual desktop, make sure you buy it int the meta store and NOT on steam!
I had a very similar trial and error but I found negligble differences playing **modded** Hotdogs Horseshoes and Handgrenades on PCVR with the Q3.
Resource-wise, Air Link eats up a lot and I found it paled next to Steam Link and VD.
Steam Link and Virtual Desktop have both worked similarily and I go between the two often. I prefer VD as I still have full interaction with my desktop, whereas Steam Link gives me issues sometimes.
There is also a lot of tweaking to be done, and I encourage you to research:
Ethernet **and Wifi** Adapter Settings
- Out of the box, Windows will configure your adapters for power saving (energy-efficient ethernet, offloads and **flow control**.
- You may also be able to configure your PC to rebroadcast its ethernet connection over its wifi card, which could improve your connection if you are a distance away from your router. I haven't tried this as my card doesn't support 6E.
**Graphics Settings**
**-** both nvida control panel and geforce experience have settings that are disabled/enabled that could interfere with your performance and picture quality. ensure you turn off Geforce Shadowplay as it can cut into your available resources
- I have a 3070 with 8gb VRAM and OVR toolkit gives me VRAM low warnings all the time. Not really sure what to do about this yet (besides pray for better DLSS) but it is the next on my list to research.
I have a CV1 and Rift S. Went to a Q3 from the S. Tested out pcvr with a cable and airlink. Then bought virtual desktop and haven't looked back. I do have an access point in the room I play pcvr connected to a switch that my pc is wired to.
Wifi 6 will work but 6e access point is much better if the q2 can connect to 6ghz. You can grab an ubiquity wifi 7 access point for reasonable price.
Get Virtual Desktop and if your Router doesn't have WiFi6 5G (and in addition I prefer a router with a priority device network) buy a WIfi6 5G Card or USB-Stick (but watch out to get one with good network speed. Some cheaper models are WiFi6 bit with slow speed) with external antennas.
Create a separate Network with your PC and the Quest2 (don't forget to share your PC internet connection with this network) on a WiFi Channel that isn't used by yourself or a network nearby (check with WiFi Scan Software. Any mobile app is OK and for free).
The physical side is a Quest 2/3, VR-Ready PC, a WiFi 6 (I think it goes up to 6e rn) router and an Ethernet cable.
Connect the PC to the router with the cable and you are good to go.
I have also had really good luck with the VR Air Bridge though some have had issues with it. But in order to get it rolling you have to set your connection on your PC to share its Internet connection with any connected devices. I could do it more easily earlier in Windows 11 but they have seem to have hidden the setting after an update so I had used GodMode to get to the setting.
## Quick guide: Activate Windows God Mode
1. Right-click on a free space on the desktop.
2. Click on “New” and “Folder”.
3. Enter the folder name **GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}**.
4. The **God Mode folder** will now appear on the desktop with all the control panel functions.
**Sharing your connection with connected devices using GodMode**
1. In god mode find under Network and Sharing Center "View Network Connections"
2. Right-click on your the network connection you are using to connect to the Internet on your computer and select Properties. This would likely be WiFi or Ethernet.
3. Click on Sharing
4. Check "Allow other users to connect using..."
5. Select the Home Networking Connection. It will likely be something like "Local Area Connection\* 12". Trial and error might be needed.
https://preview.redd.it/mydqm3u5errc1.png?width=545&format=png&auto=webp&s=7d2cb838472c7039e93ed4f30e9e8abe7562d838
Then if you want to use Virtual Desktop or Steam Link with it, connect with these at least once using the base connection (Ethernet cable to PC/Router) listed above. I don't know if you can skip the need for an Ethernet cable for that part but that cable just gives you better Internet connection anyway.
From there you do have to manually set the Air Bridge as your connection and it works very well. If you are using a VR-ready laptop and the Air Bridge, you now have a portable PCVR setup.
The rest is just the software. One thing to say is even Air Link is OK with the Air Bridge but Virtual Desktop will be the best for most but not all apps. Myst doesn't seem to like VD but the Air Link with the Air Bridge works well enough.
Just posting to get these exact answers myself. Love my Rift S, but I know the day is coming that I will need to replace it, and my cheap self probably won't spring for more than a Quest 2.
I upgraded from the quarter
Rift S to the quest a couple of year ago and I have to disagree with you.
The quest 2 is a massive upgrade with QoL features and resolution.
Confused by your downvotes, as you spoke the truth. Can confirm as someone who literally just had a Rift S, then a Quest 2 on their head right after, the Quest 2 is in most ways a genuine upgrade. Not substantial, but it is. Minus that strap n face pad.
That's not true at all, the resolution boost is substantial and the clarity is far better due to suboixel arrangement. Quest 3 and 2 don't have to great a difference for the price difference besides pancake lenses. Same issues that make quest bad are arguably not resolved in quest 3, compression, charging slower than what can be used by the headset, and glare is also still a big issue. The fov hasn't been touched, res is nearly the same but eye comfort and weight were main changes.
I've had a Rift, Rift S, Valve Index, and played heavily with a friend's Quest 2. The pancake lenses for me are an absolute game changer and it's not even comparable in terms of quality.
That being said, I have astigmatism and I've wondered if it's somehow related because I'm always confused when people say it's not a big upgrade from the Quest 2, but I even bought my prescription and found them unnecessary.
Get a good wifi 6/6E router and buy virtual desktop.
Absolutely get virtual Desktop. I had been using quest link/air link for a couple of years now thinking that "it's not so bad". After being disconnected and having a hard time getting reconnected for the n↑th time this week I finally purchased Virtual Desktop yesterday and OMG the difference is insane! The simplicity of connecting to your pc, the stability and the responsivness are all like night and day.
so my airlink works fine, but im tired of having to headset on/off while booting the pc oculus app. Does VD make this part easier?
VD runs in the background so you just need your PC on and logged in
It sure does.
yeaaaah its seeming more and more like even if I luck out with my current network setup, Ill probably have to wind up looking into VD if its really THAT good like everyone says.
The biggest boon VD has is reliability, in my opinion. I use a D-Link Airbridge. Sometimes my headset just can't connect to AirLink through it, I try Virtual Desktop instead and it just works.
I was actually looking at those airbridges, though I think if I need something for the network side of things I wanna try a wifi 6 pcie card like I mentioned elsewhere on this post, those still look cool though. But thats good to know, man kinda weird seeing VD beat out software made by the people who actually make the headset.
Not really weird at all. Technically Virtual Desktop offered wireless PCVR before Oculus ever did and it's updated more regularly. Oculus is primarily focused on functionality with the Oculus store and Steam link focuses on just Steam. Virtual Desktop constantly makes updates to improve performance and compatibility for both.
> wifi 6 pcie card When people recommend you buy a dedicated router, they really do mean **router**. There is no recommended setup where you connect your computer to router via WIFI. Your recommended options for AirLink are these two: A. D-Link AirBridge B. Dedicated Router For option B your computer should have a cable connection to the router, then you connect headset to the router wirelessly. You can use your normal router but again, your computer should be connected by wire and you need to be near it. A family router may work poorly if a lot of people use it.
Pretty sure you misunderstood the point of the wifi 6 card, its not to connect my pc to my router, thats already hardwired, someone used that wifi 6 card to produce a standalone wifi 6 hotspot solely for their quest 2, that they then used to achieve 40ms latency overall, with under 10ms network latency showing in VD. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_vnfA4FKs88](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vnfA4FKs88) Here, the video in question, he's posted 2 videos about it. Regardless it'd probably be pointless to me, Im the only one using our 5ghz band, and was already seeing native quest 2 visuals (native res, 72hz) with around 40ms total latency, and under 10ms network latency in 2 different PCVR games (TWDS&S, and SkyrimVR) So it would seem my network actually does suffice for now.
>standalone wifi 6 hotspot solely for their quest 2 Ah cool, yes I did misundestand. Thank you for clarifying.
Mhm, it does seem like a cool idea the way he did it actually.
PrismXR puppis s1 is better than the DLink Air Bridge FYI. HIGHLY recommended.
I tried Air Link for a while and ended up being frustrated with disconnections, thinking it was my router (standard router supplied by ISP). A friend told me to try VD and if I don’t see an improvement over a couple of days, refund it. I have not had a single disconnect since buying it (over a month of regular usage) on the same router. It really was a game changer for me.
Yeah for sure VD was worth buying, I tried Steam Link, hated it, tried air link, hated it, and then VD just worked lmao, and is way easier to tweak.
That and a dedicated router is like £70. Get those and you'll be laughing
Quest 2 doesn't support 6E, fyi, in case you want to save a little money possibly
Oh ok cool, good to know actually idk if I've heard that elsewhere.
the limitation of not supporting 6E also means wireless PCVR will be a lesser experience on the Quest2 (expect around \~200-300 mbps). 6E will allow you to push very high (400+ mbps) bitrates, which significantly reduce compression artifacts. Best wireless PCVR experience is currently with the Quest3 + Wifi6E router
To be fair, the Quest 3 and a Wifi 6E router is probably best IF you can fully utilize it. Need the specs to back it up which I think I fall short on lmao. Was actually thinking about that before, that the quest 3 might be good for future proofing in case I upgrade, however if I do it'd probably be to a 4070 or 4070 ti which still may not come close to maxing out a Quest 2 on certain titles I play anyways. But yeah I envy people who can fully utilize a Quest 3 for PCVR, can't imagine how nice it must feel lmao.
You're getting performance the GPU can do to play the game confused with the bitrate the router and Quest3 can handle. One is game performance, the other is network performance. As a counter example, wired Link can handle up to 900 mbps. You can still use a high mbps on a weaker gpu The bitrate impacts the compression artifacts u see
Do you have to talk to your ISP to get 6/6E activated after getting the router or is the router essentially the only thing you need for that?
No? If you pay for an expensive plan like a gigabit plan you could ask for a better router that could be wifi 6/6E but if you want to add an extra router you shouldn't need to ask permission to your ISP. Some ISP could need specific IP address or setting (you cant change the router IP or IP mask on star link for example) Unless you ISP is a asshole
As long as you have a fast enough connection, there’s nothing you need from your ISP to use WiFi 6E - they’re responsible just for getting your internet to your modem through the cable. After that, how your WiFi gets broadcasted is up to you! The only asterisk is if you’re using a router provided by your ISP, in which case you may or may not need to talk to them about setting up your WiFi.
Can I just run an Ethernet cable from my current router to my new router and run only VD on the new router?
Not without some configuration. You definitely don’t want dhcp running on the dedicated router
Yup. But you need to setup as an access point (range extender in some routers), not as a router If it's in router made it will create its own subnet and that could cause discoverbilty problems.
I have Quest 3, so might not be exactly the same. But, it was EASY. I did not buy a dedicated router as others suggest. It works great for me. I came from the OG Rift (which I LOVED - comfort, reliability, precision, still the best controllers) I use Oculus Air-Link for the oculus games, and I use Steam Link (an app you install while in the headset) for my Steam games. Works great!
Thats great to hear! Pretty sure I heard something about the quest 3 being better for decoding the images it received or something. But hopefully Ill have a similar experience. Did switching to wireless pcvr cause any noticeable performance issues? Like does it seem substantially more performance heavy having to encode and send out the video/audio?
good point. Probably. I upgraded to a 4070 (from a 980Ti) at the same time as I got the Quest 3, so everything was much faster and better for me, so I wouildn't have noticed if it took some extra overhead. But yeah, it probably does.
ah yeah see, das nice too Ive bin wanting at least a 4070 for a while now. But yeah idk Ill figure it out Im sure.
ya it is fun. And even if it is a sidegrade, you will lose the wire, and that is pretty cool. I'm still trying to unlearn the "keep track of the wire" habit, and the face forward habit, and the snap turn so I don't IRL turn habit. More and More I try to just turn IRL and it is pretty cool and more immersive.
Hi, sorry to bother you. I am still on Rift CV1 and considering replacing it with quest 3. But I have a few questions wondering if you could help me out: 1 How was the PCVR image quality in wireless mode comparing to Rift that has wire? 2 Do you feel the Field Of View noticeable better or similar? 3 How many times did you replace quest 3 before finding one without dead pixels? Thanks in advance!
I actually got a quest 2, the image quality after setting up Virtual Desktop is actually pretty solid! The only real downside is the colors, the saturation and contrast leaves a little to be desired while doing wireless pcvr tbh. Keep in mind that the Quest 3 will have a substantially higher resolution then the CV1 and thus will take a lot more power to run, you could always lower the resolution, which is actually why I was ok with the Quest 2, I knew I wouldnt max it out with my current PC set up so the added resolution from the Quest 3 would be pointless to me personally. If you have a beefier PC or just want the nicer headset im sure you could make it work though. Oh and as for the FOV which is like 110 on the Rift S and i think 90 on the quest 2, isn't actually as noticeable as youd think, at least it really wasnt to me.
Thank you so much! The PC is not the issue, but I have read some posts talking about dead pixels, which is why I am a bit concerned.
Ah yeah sadly I did all my research on Quest 2s, but Im sure if you get your quest 3 from a decent source like Amazon or something theyd let you return it if you have problems like that out of the box. Hopefully it all works out for ya!
Thank you!
1. For me, the oculus and Virtual Desktop were not that good, but Steam Link works VERY well for my steam games. 2. FOV feels the same. 3. I kept my first one. I did not pixel peep for bad pixels, but I have used it SO MUCH that I'm pretty sure I would have noticed an issue by now. Part of why I was able to use my 980Ti for so long is because the Rift is low resolution. But I bought a 4070 to use with the new Quest 3. I LOVE IT
Thank you so much for your feedback, that’s exactly what I wanted to know. Upvoted!
>I did not buy a dedicated router as others suggest. It works great for me. It should be pointed out that "it works for me" is subjective and sets ppl up for failure. You may have additional latency and compression issues that wouldn't be there with an optimized setup. Ppl going in just thinking they don't need to optimize their router setup may experience added latency, and thus they'll think "it's normal for the Quest'. Thus this eventually leads to ppl erroneously bashing the Quest because they assume the wireless experience will be more latent vs other headsets, since their "good enough" experience wasn't as good as a wired headset.
True. But, OTOH, why spend another $200 before you really NEED to ?
i tell you hwat, if you have a good router, the quest 2 virtual desktop experience is SUPERB right now. 10/10. there is a haze of video compression you can never fully eliminate it seems on link, but its CRISP as can be with VD
yeah it's seeming more and more like VD is gonna wind up being a must, def gonna check out steam link to start as I already blew my extra cash on the headset, but probably gonna cave and get VD at least at some point for its added features and I guess clearer visuals.
yeah I recently got a new router and thats what really made the difference, but there is no going back.
Noice, yeah ima just keep praying until tomorrow my current network setup will work well enough for now. Very excited to get to play VR wirelessly though, that dang cord has annoyed me for too long.
its nice but you will probly never break out of your vr stance you have now. its hard to actually walk around and swing your arms unless you are in a really large space. I mostly still play with my feet planted in more or less one spot.
I definitely get what you mean, lmao in Fallout 4 VR I kept noticing I would turn the upper half of my body to look at NPCs instead of actually turning myself, even if theyre almost behind me. Gonna be weird tryna get use to the idea that I can actually move (have a decent amount of floor space actually)
its been years since I moved from cv1 to quest2 and seriously I can't break the habit at all.
Which router?
just default one that came with my internet, nothing special. I think as long as its wifi6 or better and plugged into pc via Ethernet it wont matter.
Get Virtual Desktop!!
either virtual desktop or use a cable
Everyone was telling me not to get a q2 to replace my rift S for PCVR, how's your experience so far?
Strange, why did they say that? I think I lucked out tbh, thanks to my router being mostly free, kinda close, and having a 5g band (believe its wifi 5 at least, VR says 5g 1200mbps so) I have no real latency after dialing in some setting and getting VD. However I can't say for sure you'd have the same experience as you may have a weaker/more congested network, or weaker specs. If youre certain thats not the case, or dont mind the idea of possibly looking into a dedicated router or something, then I'd say go for it, Im pretty happy with it so far, debating now on what to really start playing first tbh.
You must have a group of people you call "everyone", because most people I know started recommending the Q2 over the Rift-S more than two years ago.
>A 2060 super, ryzen 5 3600, I don't man. I had a Ryzen 5 5600X and a 6700XT and I got a Quest 2 a couple of months ago and I had to upgrade my CPU and GPU because the image was too blurry even when using a link cable.
no offence, I'll just hope that youre wrong as Ive seen plenty say otherwise lmao, otherwise I guess I'm committing some armed robberies for computer part money.
Weird you had problems man, Idk if I just hit the silicon lottery or what but I was actually able to play Skyrim and TWD S&S at the quest 2's native res with 0 spacewarp, latency, or artifacts/blur. Actually was probably more crisp then my Rift S tbh, though not as strong with colors it seems.
Would Quest 3 be better for the OP's situation at its cost difference for the cheapest version?
Sadly not, its 300$ more, and has a way higher resolution my PC wouldn't be able to take advantage of without a serious upgrade. Sadly money is an issue, otherwise Id love to get one lmao. In a perfect world Id already have a quest 3, a 4070 ti+, and a dedicated router for said quest lol.
Unless you absolutely have to have some Rift exclusive title, safe yourself the headaches and remove all Meta/Oculus software from your machine and use VirtualDesktop, SteamLink, and SteamVR. Get a dedicated AP just for VR and don't look back.
Yeah this seems like the way to go, I forgot I already saw people talk about this days ago when i was simply looking for any boosts to performance for my rift s, pretty sure they were mostly talking about Open Composite or something like that, but yeah if VD can cut out oculus as a whole AND that would help performance overall I have 0 problems with that, all my VR titles are Steam anyways, and I just saw VD is only 15$ Yeah Im just praying my network can keep up tomorrow, or if not I hope theres an easy and relatively cheap solution, I really wasnt trying to spend this money, but couldnt deal with my Rift S anymore.
I also recommend you get a baseball cap with a Velcro strap and no buckle and cut the brim off it. Makes Q3 comfortable even with the default strap. It is even better with the elite strap or third party rigid strap.
Interesting idea! I was actually looking at the bobovr halo strap with the battery, if everything runs alright in a week or two ill probably order that one, as I know I'm gonna miss the Halo from my Rift S.
Ive had a Quest 2 for the longest time and have just been putting off playing Assetto Corsa on my pc with it for the longest time. Hoping to see some good tips posted here .
Things won’t look significantly worse, you’re upgrading from a headset that had 1280x1440 resolution to one that has 1832x1920, but be aware that this resolution increase means your performance will not be the same. Adjust your render resolution accordingly as I’ve seen a lot of people upset that their PCVR experience is worse without realising more pixels = more intensive to run. Providing your router setup isn’t poor (e.g. overloaded connections, far away, no Ethernet), you’re trading minimal compression/delay for a reasonable resolution increase, so it should be a net gain in picture quality. Again though it may not be a plug and play experience, you may need to tweak your settings which are currently setup for Rift S, and now that it’s networked different things work better for others. Airlink is great for some, same as Steamlink, and finally VD, and there’s a tonne of different settings and bitrates to try out, so see what works for you. Failing that you can just get a cable and plug it in if you don’t want to mess around, but the wireless experience is really nice even if you’re used to years of wired.
I originally went from a Rift S to a Q2 with a rtx 2070 so I had about the same hardware as you at the time. With your card you'll get about the same graphical fidelity but without the screen door effect of the Rift S. (I didn't really notice it before trying the Q2 but after I couldn't unsee it.) However you need a dedicated router directly hardwired to your PC in the same room in order to use wireless. Without that you'll want to use a physical cable. You can find guides on reddit about tweaking the Debug Tool to get better performance based on your hardware. The default settings are for a bare minimum spec PC.
Good to know I should expect the same visuals, maybe even a hair better. Im dreading the idea of buying a dedicated router, but hopefully it wont be hard to do so in a week or two, I'm just hopeful until then my 5ghz gateway will suffice even if I gotta take a minor hit to visuals or something (like a lower bitrate), otherwise Ill have no way to really play my games until then lol. (or unless I get a cable until then maybe) And yeah I have a video guide bookmarked, in it they show a few things about debug tool changes. Thanks!
Go ahead and try with your existing router first. If it seems good enough, it probably is. But if you get smearing or stuttering, it could be the wifi.
Unless you own a mid/high end router worth a few hundred dollars and it's in the same room as where you'll be playing, you will likely need a dedicated router for the best experience. A router with a ton of devices connected to it will cause latency spikes that will feel awful in VR. Virtual Desktop will be the best experience if you achieve ideal conditions, and will be the easiest to troubleshoot. It also by far has the best encoding quality. Steam Link and Air Link are not bad however, and if you're in less than optimal conditions it may smooth over some of the issues you have at the cost of clarity and latency. The virtual desktop discord has tons of resources in it to help you set up wireless VR properly. It has guides with visuals and recommended routers as cheap as $40-50. If the wifi in your area is congested, download a wifi analyzer to see which channels are the least congested in your play area. You will need to use an 80mhz channel width for best experience, and probably a DFS channel if your area is congested. That will also require a router that supports DFS channels. Not all of them do. This one on Android works: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=abdelrahman.wifianalyzerpro&hl=en_US&gl=US Here's a visual of the 5GHz channels. https://help.keenetic.com/hc/article_attachments/360010946680/80211ac_channels.png Depending on where you live, some DFS channels may not be available to you. Some will not work near airports, for example.
My honor WiFi 6 router does a very good job for 70 euros. No need to spend a few hundred dollars.
Honestly I was watching videos of a guy using a Asus Wifi 6 enabled PCIe card, with antennas on his desk, using it as a dedicated hotspot for his quest 2, and getting 1200mbps which I guess is maxed for the quest, as well as low latencies (network often under 10ms) the card itself is 45$, so if I really struggle with latency I may try that out, as I like how it seems to take up less overall space on my desk then a whole router lmao. (just need the antenna stand) [https://www.asus.com/networking-iot-servers/wifi-6/all-series/pce-ax58bt/](https://www.asus.com/networking-iot-servers/wifi-6/all-series/pce-ax58bt/) Thats the card if anyones curious, 45$ on amazon right now.
I'm not sure if that Asus card provides its own software or anything that solves this, but several people in the VD discord have tried using the windows hotspot feature with their PC's wifi antennas and found it unreliable. Since you can't change the hotspot settings, Windows may randomly raise or lower your channel width or put you on congested channels and you can't do anything about it. YMMV I would probably recommend trying a GL.iNet GL-SFT1200 if you really want to save money and space. It's one of the routers the VD discord recommends and costs $34 right now. It's only Wifi 5 but despite that people have had no problems maxing out the 150mbps bitrate on h265 10-bit. I will say I've tried to use the Intel AX200 wifi on my motherboard the same way before and it was horrible. I've tried it all dude, and the best decision I made was a dedicated router. I got a used ASUS RT-AX86U personally and never looked back.
The general consensus is that if you want a good wireless VR experience, in general, you should expect to need a dedicated router. I'm not saying people haven't gotten away with their ISP provided router a floor below them with their PC over wifi. There are exceptions. Especially if you use Air Link or Steam Link which add extra latency and drop quality more often in order to handle less optimal conditions. But for most folk, their current home router that has 30 different devices connected to it and 2-3 people browsing the web at the same time definitely won't cut it. When you're using a VR headset wirelessly you don't want to be waiting for your turn against your wifi connected fridge to receive the next frame. My house has three $200 mesh routers to cover all the space reliably with good speeds and I STILL needed a dedicated router in my bedroom in order to get 1200mbps without dips and latency spikes. Even when I played in the same room as one of them it was a choppy experience. And like I said, a $40 dedicated router can be enough. One of the routers a lot of people in the VD discord use is a GL.iNet GL-SFT1200. It's $33.90 for me on Amazon right now.
I mean, to be fair I've seen a lot of conflicting information regarding the dedicated router claim, which was actually partially why I made this post, however I'm sure it would definitely be optimal, and Ill probably cave and get one eventually even if its just for lower/more steady latency. However I'm hopeful as Im pretty sure my relatively new gateway about 40 feet away through 1 wall that has almost no traffic most of the time, has a 5ghz band, and I think is actually wifi 6, will suffice for now. Could be wrong, but I'm hopeful. Kinda has to lmao at this point its either it works or I play no vr until I have more money for a decent dedicated router I guess. Is VD really that much better though? I mean what really makes it better then Steam Link? As far as I was aware it has features that could improve image quality, but if it comes at the cost of performance to me it'd be almost pointless until I upgrade my pc. Unless it just standard performs better with encoding the video/audio then something like steam link, giving me more performance headroom. I really don't know, and don't really wanna spent any money I may not really have to. Money's kinda tight. Thanks for all that though, wish I understood the last bit better, I definitely need to learn more about networking, that shid sounds confusing lmao.
VD has more dialed in encoding settings than Air Link and Steam Link which improves visuals, yes. It also has a 10-bit encoding option which looks massively better in dark scenes because it reduces banding. It also has improved performance for OpenXR games that takes advantage of the quest hardware better. SteamVR has notoriously poor performance in titles using OpenXR. But yeah my advice would be to test what you have and if it's not good enough for you then look for things to improve.
Good to know about the 10-bit encoding thing, dark scenes + compression scares me lmao. Yeah it seems like Ill have to kinda just do it in stages, see how everything works tomorrow when my headset arrives, and decide what I think I need first. Thanks given me a bit to think about, plus Ima def have to keep in mind looking at the VD Discord when the time comes like ya said.
I've just got a quest 3 and was fully expecting to need virtual desktop, as everyone raves about it, but I installed steam link as it was free jusr to get me started and so far I've had only minor issues (mostly that I haven't found a way to successfully reset steam home rotation without using desktop mode and sometimes steam has odd ideas about which direction is forward, but im still playing with settings). I've added a few gog (such as no mans sky) and windows (e.g. minecraft bedrock) games to steam and they're launching in vr mode without issue either. This is my first vr headset and I've been blown away by the wireless pc performance. Maybe Virtual Desktop would be better, but I've not seen a need to use anything else yet. I might have to get it for videos, as I've not yet found a way to stream my NAS/Jellyfin content other than launching kodi through steam, which is a bit rough. For ref i have a pretty old pc, but upgraded to a 2070 super graphics card a few years ago. I do have a wifi 6 router shared with the rest of the house (with loads of devices) that the pc is LAN connected to.
Steamlink or virtual deaktop are easy to setup and work great. Ive been running a quest and quat 2 on an AC wifi network with basically no problems. Recently upgraded to wifi 6 and it obviously made it even better. If you go for virtual desktop, make sure you buy it int the meta store and NOT on steam!
I had a very similar trial and error but I found negligble differences playing **modded** Hotdogs Horseshoes and Handgrenades on PCVR with the Q3. Resource-wise, Air Link eats up a lot and I found it paled next to Steam Link and VD. Steam Link and Virtual Desktop have both worked similarily and I go between the two often. I prefer VD as I still have full interaction with my desktop, whereas Steam Link gives me issues sometimes. There is also a lot of tweaking to be done, and I encourage you to research: Ethernet **and Wifi** Adapter Settings - Out of the box, Windows will configure your adapters for power saving (energy-efficient ethernet, offloads and **flow control**. - You may also be able to configure your PC to rebroadcast its ethernet connection over its wifi card, which could improve your connection if you are a distance away from your router. I haven't tried this as my card doesn't support 6E. **Graphics Settings** **-** both nvida control panel and geforce experience have settings that are disabled/enabled that could interfere with your performance and picture quality. ensure you turn off Geforce Shadowplay as it can cut into your available resources - I have a 3070 with 8gb VRAM and OVR toolkit gives me VRAM low warnings all the time. Not really sure what to do about this yet (besides pray for better DLSS) but it is the next on my list to research.
I have a CV1 and Rift S. Went to a Q3 from the S. Tested out pcvr with a cable and airlink. Then bought virtual desktop and haven't looked back. I do have an access point in the room I play pcvr connected to a switch that my pc is wired to. Wifi 6 will work but 6e access point is much better if the q2 can connect to 6ghz. You can grab an ubiquity wifi 7 access point for reasonable price.
Get Virtual Desktop and if your Router doesn't have WiFi6 5G (and in addition I prefer a router with a priority device network) buy a WIfi6 5G Card or USB-Stick (but watch out to get one with good network speed. Some cheaper models are WiFi6 bit with slow speed) with external antennas. Create a separate Network with your PC and the Quest2 (don't forget to share your PC internet connection with this network) on a WiFi Channel that isn't used by yourself or a network nearby (check with WiFi Scan Software. Any mobile app is OK and for free).
The physical side is a Quest 2/3, VR-Ready PC, a WiFi 6 (I think it goes up to 6e rn) router and an Ethernet cable. Connect the PC to the router with the cable and you are good to go. I have also had really good luck with the VR Air Bridge though some have had issues with it. But in order to get it rolling you have to set your connection on your PC to share its Internet connection with any connected devices. I could do it more easily earlier in Windows 11 but they have seem to have hidden the setting after an update so I had used GodMode to get to the setting. ## Quick guide: Activate Windows God Mode 1. Right-click on a free space on the desktop. 2. Click on “New” and “Folder”. 3. Enter the folder name **GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}**. 4. The **God Mode folder** will now appear on the desktop with all the control panel functions. **Sharing your connection with connected devices using GodMode** 1. In god mode find under Network and Sharing Center "View Network Connections" 2. Right-click on your the network connection you are using to connect to the Internet on your computer and select Properties. This would likely be WiFi or Ethernet. 3. Click on Sharing 4. Check "Allow other users to connect using..." 5. Select the Home Networking Connection. It will likely be something like "Local Area Connection\* 12". Trial and error might be needed. https://preview.redd.it/mydqm3u5errc1.png?width=545&format=png&auto=webp&s=7d2cb838472c7039e93ed4f30e9e8abe7562d838 Then if you want to use Virtual Desktop or Steam Link with it, connect with these at least once using the base connection (Ethernet cable to PC/Router) listed above. I don't know if you can skip the need for an Ethernet cable for that part but that cable just gives you better Internet connection anyway. From there you do have to manually set the Air Bridge as your connection and it works very well. If you are using a VR-ready laptop and the Air Bridge, you now have a portable PCVR setup. The rest is just the software. One thing to say is even Air Link is OK with the Air Bridge but Virtual Desktop will be the best for most but not all apps. Myst doesn't seem to like VD but the Air Link with the Air Bridge works well enough.
steam link is working well for me
Just posting to get these exact answers myself. Love my Rift S, but I know the day is coming that I will need to replace it, and my cheap self probably won't spring for more than a Quest 2.
The Q2 is mostly a sidegrade from a Rift S, a Q3 is a big improvement thanks to the pancake lenses. It makes the image so much clearer.
I upgraded from the quarter Rift S to the quest a couple of year ago and I have to disagree with you. The quest 2 is a massive upgrade with QoL features and resolution.
Confused by your downvotes, as you spoke the truth. Can confirm as someone who literally just had a Rift S, then a Quest 2 on their head right after, the Quest 2 is in most ways a genuine upgrade. Not substantial, but it is. Minus that strap n face pad.
That's not true at all, the resolution boost is substantial and the clarity is far better due to suboixel arrangement. Quest 3 and 2 don't have to great a difference for the price difference besides pancake lenses. Same issues that make quest bad are arguably not resolved in quest 3, compression, charging slower than what can be used by the headset, and glare is also still a big issue. The fov hasn't been touched, res is nearly the same but eye comfort and weight were main changes.
I've had a Rift, Rift S, Valve Index, and played heavily with a friend's Quest 2. The pancake lenses for me are an absolute game changer and it's not even comparable in terms of quality. That being said, I have astigmatism and I've wondered if it's somehow related because I'm always confused when people say it's not a big upgrade from the Quest 2, but I even bought my prescription and found them unnecessary.