Pimax Crystal Light Prime PCVR Headset - 8K Resolution,QLED Display, Light & Comfortable,High Clarity VR for flight simulator, Compatible with MSFS, iRacing & More, DMAS & Lighthouse Tracking optional

Pimax created this simplified version of their standalone offering by removing some of the extras, like onboard battery, eye tracking, etc. to make it more affordable for those who intend to use it seated at their computer desk for flight simulators and racing games. Their advertisement and product description clearly reflects on that and surely, they are spot on, everything about this headset as advertised.The Crystal Light retained the original Crystal's super high resolution and high-quality display. It is somewhat disappointing that they are charging extra for the software, but once installed and the VR headset initialize, it is ready to go! The game controllers aren't really needed for flight sim, but they are very easy to set up and can be useful time to time, while can be turned off at any time. During the initial setup, it is recommended to charge them right away before the setup is completed, in case one chooses to use them right away. For seated applications like flight simming, I recommend disabling the safety boundary by unselecting the "Activating Chaperone" feature in the Device Settings/Advanced. With that feature selected, the headset will keep turning on the see trough screen and safety boundary lost error every time the headset is removed and placed on the desk. Very annoying, because one cannot select another flight and continue with the gaming session without exiting the game and recalibrate the room setting. That's something to beware of. Otherwise, the software is fantastic, very simple and easy to use, and includes their own version of built in Open XR. I must say it does worth the extra, if they keep on maintaining it.The performance enhancing features work great, fixed foveated rendering greatly reduces processing load, and the lack of eye tracking probably won't affect most of the users, while also eliminates some extra burden of processing. I expected a serious performance hit coming from the HP Reverb G2, but to my surprise, it was the other way around, I noticed a slight increase in the frame rate, while sharpness and clarity blew me away. I surely did not expect that level of upgrade in performance, The Reverb G2 is known for its incredible image. The mild screen door effect of the G2 completely disappeared From the Crystal light, colors and brightness are eye candy. I tried the "smart smoothing" feature enabled from Device Setting/Games, also works as expected, but I did not gain enough boost to keep the feature enabled. For fast aircrafts Like the Daher TBM930, Pilatus PC-21 trainer, fighter jects or choppers it worth enabling smart smoothing over busy terrain at very low attitudes, but for normal flights, for maximum clarity and sharpness, better leave it off.As far as comfort, this unit is a mixed bag. It is incredibly big, almost intimidating, and covers one's entire face! Because it covers my nose as well, it tends to fog up very easily, and I have to remove the headset several times to clear it out, until it warms up enough to eliminate fogging. It takes lots of attempt of adjustment to make it the most comfortable, and once that's done, it can be worn for hours without much of any discomfort. The 120 Hz refresh rate is a Godsent. It took me a year to be able to use the Reverb when I started, I was hit with motion sickness so powerful that I felt sick even the next day. The high refresh rate of the Crystal Light helps to completely eliminate any residues that I still suffered occasionally time to time, when simulated real time weather conditions and some turbulence effects. While not a perfect product, the team's attempt and effort to fill the void Micro$oft left in the wake of deprecating its own VR portal, is greatly appreciated. Hopefully they will be successful and are here to stay. I cannot recommend this headset strongly enough for other potential armchair pilots, who are looking for superhigh resolution crystal clear VR solution to upgrade their existing deprecated ones or just getting ready to immerse into the VR flight realm for the first time, without mortgaging their homes for a Somnium VR1 or other super expen$ive units out there. The seamlessly working standalone software independent from Steam VR (though it is supported and featured if one chooses to install it) and any other standard platforms, plus the solid performance of the VR headset with incredibly stable tracking is difficult, if not impossible to beat at this price point! Kudos to the team at Pimax for their work and dedication!

The media could not be loaded. Ordered it over the weekend with the plan to take the week off and play some DCS all week. Haven't flown VR since DK2 early CV1 release. Overall I think it has the potential, however my unit has a faulty LCD in the right eye. Even though this is advertised at 120hz, I don't have an option to run it beyond 90hz through PiTool (version 1.0.1.180 Beta) -- EVEN with the Small FOV selected, there is no 120hz option. The screen in the right eye has a blatent tear horizontally across it right in the middle, and the lower half of the screen flickers really bad. I can get it to run somewhat stable at 72hz but it just isn't worth it to me to have such a low refresh rate when I bought a "120hz" headset -- at the very least I should get the max 90hz on all FOV settings.The comfort does not fit me either, I have a fairly large nose bridge, and this thing just sits on top of it with my 62mm IPD. I've tried adjusting the straps, but it seems the common theme is to ditch it and get a Deluxe Audio Strap from a Vive. Seems like a pretty crappy option to me, just give us a strap that doesn't suck.The face pad is terrible. it has no nose support, and if you have a large nose with a more narrow IPD, your nose will be crushed between the lenses.Overall, I will be returning my unit. I'm tempted to get either a Vive Index or HP Reverb, or just go budget and get a Samsung Odyssey Plus to hold me over until the next generation of GPU and headsets come out. I don't think the 5k+ is worth any more than 300$. I would not recommend this until Pimax gets their head out of their ass and starts delivering on their product. How hard would it have been to have someone just plug it in and run it for 5-10 minutes to ensure the LCD wasn't dead? It's a premium niche product, at a premium price, without all the included bells and whistles on something like a Rift S or Index...Update: I was going to order a second unit to give it another go, but I've decided to go with the HP Reverb, it has a higher per eye vertical resolution, which I think may be necessary to really bring the full image quality I'm looking for. While the 5k+ Was good for the 20 or so minutes, it was good, but after thinking about all the flaws, I couldn't recommend it. All I can hope is that eventually they will be good, but for now, IMO, stay away, if you aren't a tinkering type, just go to your local big box store that sells electronics (you know, the blue and yellow one...) and pick up a Rift. If you are on a budget, consider the Odyssey Plus, I believe the big box store has those, or at least you can order it to the store and have a return plan if it doesnt work out. If you have a beefy computer, the HP Reverb may be an option. Overall I'd say those 3 choices should leave you with alternatives over the Pimax.

Why did you pick this product vs others?:The best bang for your buck! Oled lenses offer clarity and the high resolution sharpness. Super easy to set up and get workingImmersion:This has the best immersion for the price.The headphones get the job done but could be better. Overall I am super happy and impressed with this VR headset. I use it for PC gaming with flying and driving simulators.