Stop Buying the Valve Index - 2024 VR Headset Quick Buyer's Guide

I would like to make three amendments to this video to clarify a few of things:
- If you can find a Valve Index for sub $500 USD as a full kit (this is possible sometimes if you're willing to wait or your area has them cheaper) it is still a decent headset and its audio is a real selling point for many people still. Brand new, the Index is a bad value, but if you find the right one used, and you intend on getting Full Body Tracking, it can still be a decent option.
- Another alternative for enthusiasts or people looking for easy full body integration (on PCVR) is a Vive Pro 2 kit, and buying knuckle controllers. Used, you can find this whole kit for around $750 USD if you are willing to really stalk ebay. It doesn't have audio as good as index, but has phenomenal displays and is a very easy, hassle-free headset generally.
- This video is NOT targeted at established enthusiasts. It is more meant to be for people who have never owned a VR Headset before and are looking for their first dive into it. That said, I have still read all of the comments and I take feedback to heart, so when I make a 2025 version of this, expect that the list will probably be more in-depth, with more options :)
Thank you for all of your feedback fellow VR nerds!

i dont know shit about vr you made this easy to understand thank you

I love standing in front of a mirror for 12 hours like a narcissist. It’s so much fun!

The only good thing you made, is gizabyte

Nope, gonna buy a Index again after i had to sell mine bc my dumbass left my Camera in the train. Index is just the best Headset Bundle you can get at the moment imo and i only am paying like 320$ for it used.

I have a hard time agreeing with anything said regarding the bigscreen beyond. Its an awful headset for the price and being worn on your head you will want good customer support and the ability to get replacements fast and easy

Shower?

Dudes whole video is invalid to me. He avoids talking about the fact the Quest 3 and 2 battery life is ass. That even wired to your PC. The battery will still die. Meaning if you a VRChat addict. You will constantly get frustrated. Plus the Quest means having a meta account.

Would the quest 3 be a good headset for a first buy?

you pretty much just shilled about the quest and that's it

Yeaaaah, but the only realistic alternative you're presenting here is a Meta product so... Index it is.

Right im definitely getting a valve index now

I drove two hours and got a full index kit for $350 (used 4 times) left controller has stick drift but I’m replacing it soon. lol.

Very true, only downside is for one game in particular, Rec Room, where they don't seem to have been able to get any of the quest series headsets to handle their graphics. Index has so many problems with the controllers that you'd be better off getting literally any other headset for that price and just play another game that isn't Rec Room. Of course I still love my Index, but is needs to be re-engineered.

In my opinion, the Quest 2 and 3's killer function is wireless VR. For just 50-80$ more, you can buy a wireless AX or AN router that can support the Quest 2 or 3 running as a PCVR headset over SteamLink (available on the quest store for free). No wires, no setup, just boot up my PC, boot up my Quest 3, run the app and I'm ready for Compound, VRChat or any other VR game. This is the biggest barrier to me buying ANY other headset, and until it becomes available on other headsets as standard, I might as well not look at anything else. There IS a wireless VR expansion card available, but it was $700 last I looked and you still needed to deliver power to your headset somehow.

The only real complaint I have with the Quest 2 and 3 is compatibility with body tracking. Currently there is no real way outside of setting up Virtual Desktop on the Quest headset and running some beta software to really pair up the Quest's tracking with PCVR. Adding the Quests' tracking to full body trackers is also a pain, as things can get desynced pretty easily and requires extra steps to sync back up over other headsets.

Man I wanted a quest 3 but I have full body and doing space calibration and calibration all the time because it losses tracking is the worst. And using full body on the quest for a year made me buy the index cuz that was so stressful and made it easier with the index cuz

for me I would go back to my valve index instead of staying on quest 3 :/

What I hate about VR headset market is that a lot of VR headsets are being disconntinued after only 2 short years so you will be stuck with very limited new headset option or dig deep into the web for a used one

really wish valve or someone would release a headset thats just natively compatible with basestations for tracking index controllers or vive trackers without needing 3rd party like with quest:( getting sick of how uncomfy the index is to wear

I just want to play Half Life Alyx... Why does Gaben curse me.

The pfp 💜♥️🤗💕 😻The guy 👃💨🤓🍔🍟🐖🐷🐗

Not only does the Index have fresnel lenses, they're STACKED fresnel lenses. Gotta love internal reflections.
Probably one of the reasons the Quest 2 lenses have less lens artifacting. (although it sacrifices FoV instead)

Calling the qiest 3 more comfortable is the WILDEST, take ive heard. Dont get me wrong, haven tried the Q3 or index, but every one is allwas raiving about the index being comfortable, and the Q3 being sooper uncomfortable.

man ivy thank you so much for this vid really made me consider buying a quest 3 here down the line with pcvr

The Beyond has a tiny sweet spot which everyone reviewing it has mentioned. The index is STILL the best all-rounder available, and it's a shame it's out of production.

Psvr2 > quest 3.....Fidelity.

still running my rift s in 2024, its probably time to upgrade

I bought it just to sell it and cash out my Steam wallet. What price should I list the full kit for?

i just wish theyd make an index 2 with better fov and inky blacks for space games. index/vive style headset is still myf avorite form factor but honestly they are so dated. and vive 3 was a big disappointment

Will say the index with a aftermarket strap and pad's (Mainly use the apache strap) is one of the most comfortable headsets I've used (Haven't touched a beyond yet) apart from how hot it can get sometimes, my real issue is what I want in my next headset is seemingly too much. I'd enjoy it to be compatible with base stations even if it's a part I need to buy separate like the Pimax crystal I want pancake lenses cause they are godly after spending years with fresnel lenses and even a slight resolution bump. Native face and eye tracking and somewhat comparable audio, I'd also prefer a way to use it wired to the pc for native rendering without compression and not having to deal with battery life unless it's breaking past 6 hour mark.

That grouping of wants means some headsets sorta come close like the Pimax crystal but it's Pimax so the software is a nightmare to deal with and the audio fucking blows, the beyond looks comfy and has far better optics then the index but lack of face or eye tracking make me uninterested in paying such a price for it, the quest pro has the best face and eye tracking available but the battery life is disappointing though out of the options I've seen it is the one that comes closest.

My trusty Index died after many years of service. I was very torn about what to replace it with. Pimax Crystal Light was an option, but went with the Bigscreen Beyond with the audio strap. I like it but it does have glare on par with the Index.

The Beyond is possibly the most compromised headset the market has ever seen, so I am not sure I would agree with calling it the no compromise Index successor.

Index user here since 2019. Paid $1k for it, and bought another base station to help with loss of traction. Index is still the best choice here. It's future proof. Meta doesn't run off of your pc power as far as i know and will become a paper weight in time with newer games. Didn't they already do that and forcing people to get the new model for the new heavy games? now you buy a 2nd meta vr headset putting you at the index price, so why not buy it in the first place? Little heaver headset with cables if well worth it imo. Mount cables on the ceiling. For the base stations, inside out tracking doesnt even come close to the indexs since it uses light houses tracking. Valves just put out quality products, so id trust them over any other 3rd party headset and facebooks. IMO, that all outweight any cons it has. The only reason i see getting a meta over a pcvr hmd, is if your limited on room, but even then, me personally id make it work somehow. Also since it's running off of my pc power, performance is never an issue.

Anti-human? What the fuck?

If i learned something from the recent Microsoft ass move of killing suddenly Windows mixed reality is:

If you wanna play high end PC VR games dont go with anything that uses their own software solution as a layer for Steam VR, cause if they decide to pull the pug on your 500/700$ headset support the next day you are out of luck, my HP reverb G2 is dead weight now cause i cant use Steam VR without WMR software as a layer under it.... and microsoft killed support for WMR ove night with Windows 11 24H2, now i need to use this version of windows cause for all other usage my AMD CPU is getting good boost in performance in this version.

So get an Index actually.... or wait for the next steam Deckerd the rumored one, stay away from Facebook and windows headsets, unless you just wanna fuck around with VR and dont care about good quality pic and just want to dance in some random app with a wireless headset.

holy shit i was talking with one of my friends about buying a used index kit and they brought up this video. i had no clue it was from you, i saw you perform at AFC!

Just bought the index

Are you a furry?

I can smell this video

would love to see an in depth analysis of the pros and cons of quest 2 and 3 in games, perfomance and etc.

>they/them
>looks like this
every. Single. time

If you play serious VR games at all, you'll likely quickly find the Quest 2 and 3 controllers aren't competitive with the Valve's controllers, and for those who want full body tracking, Base Station trackers just work better. Also, a tether VR goggle running from the PC on something with more bandwidth than a USB cable is going to be able to do better graphics than a Quest 3 with the best USB cable you can find, and far better than using them stand alone. you can't stufff the equivalent to a computer graphics card into a headset. Sure, the Quest 3 image looks much better on low demand, low graphically intense enviroments, but only very casual gamers and VRchat mirror dwellers are going to prefer that over a much better interactive experience of an Index.

But the Quest 3 is made by Meta, and why would anybody wanna give Zuck their money?

I'm still using my Rift S. You cannot stop me.

i wish there was a more basic modern none stand alone headset you can hook to a pc with a single wire just to have the VR environment with the floating screens to watch movies and play regular games (not VR games)
most the new headsets are standalone and so advanced you cant charge and use them at the same time

OK but everyone keeps telling me the Vive is FAR better than all other VRs esp for VRChat.

Any advice on trying to get full body tracking? I've been saving for it for a while now but am not too sure what options to go for considering, well, I haven't TRIED any of them yet-

I came here because my Oculus Rift (the original black with cable attached) died yesterday... but not really, because it's just old. It's seems to partly be related to the issue that the newer Metaquest software having a VERY difficult time functioning with my headset.
Either way, I am finding myself leaning much more towards the likelihood something like the Valve Index or even the Vive Pro 2 kit you mentioned, just for the simple fact that I absolutely HATE that I am forced to use a stupid facebook login in order to use my Oculus Rift... something I did NOT know when I purchased it. EIther way, I would much rather prefer just having to deal with my STEAM client then having log into my fake Facebook account just to use the VR.

I bought the quest 3 and is there a way to use my index controllers with it?