I joined the Virtual Reality community back in 2017 with the Oculus Rift CV1. It features an OLED display at a resolution of 1080x1200 PPI (Pixels per eye).
In 2020, I got the newly released Oculus Quest 2, which sports an impressive resolution of 1832x1920 PPI.
I'll be giving my thoughts on the two- hopefully it'll help some people decide about upgrading.
For starts- the displays
The Quest 2 is a massive visual upgrade from the Rift. It's one of the clearest headsets out there, and the screen door affect is barely visible. The only thing the Rift has that's better is OLED display- giving it much better black colors than the Quest 2.
The Rift has as maximum refresh rate of 90hz. The Quest 2 has a common refresh rate of 90, and a max of 120hz on a handful of applications and Oculus' new technology: Air Link. Therefore, the Quest 2 provides much more capabilities for smoothness and reducing motion sickness.
The Quest 2 has a maximum field of view at around 89 degrees. The Rift has an FOV of around 110 degrees. Lower FOV in VR tends to bother some people more than others. Some will hate it- some won't eve notice after a few minutes. However, the Rift does have quite a bit higher amount- a whole 20 degrees.
Lastly on display- the IPD (Inter-pupillary display) range-. The IPD range is the distance between the lenses, which is adjustable for people who have different distances between their pupils. The Rift lets you just smoothly from 58mm to up to 72mm. This range makes the headset useable to nearly everyone in this world. The Quest 2 however, lets you switch between three fixed distances. 58mm, 63mm, and 68mm. This is much smaller, and doesn't work with nearly as many people. If you don't fit one of the numbers on the Quest 2 aren't close enough to one of them, the display will always be blurry for you and cause eyestrain.
Now that display is over... hmm
The audio
The Rift has great surround sound over-ear speakers. The mic is... so-so. People can certainly understand you- I mean they couldn't understand me because I'm so shy and quiet that they could hear a TV from the other side of my house better than me... but still.
The Oculus Quest 2 has an audio strap... and it's horrible. I mean it gets the job done- but since its not on your ears, it's very hard to hear, and doesn't have good surround. Because it isn't on-ear, anyone in the same room as you can typically hear the game even better than the person in VR can. Luckily though, the Quest 2 has A. Bluetooth headphone support and B. an audio jack. Unfortunately, A. the Bluetooth works better for some headphones and worse for others- it seems different for all of them, and B. it's annoying to use the headphone jack unless you have a really short AUX cord.
The Quest 2's built in microphone however sounds much better than the Rift. Great if you're real social.
Next up: The tracking
The Rift uses Lighthouse Tracking. Lighthouse tracking is a pain to set up and you have to buy external sensors... but the newer tracking technologies will ever be able to beat the latency of Lighthouse tracking. The Rift's tracking is amazing... if you can set it up right- if you have enough sensors- and most importantly, if you have a CPU that can actually handle the tracking well. The Quest 2 has inside-out tracking- no external lighthouses required. It does the job great... except that A. it can't see the controllers when they're behind you and B. it can be finnicky depending on your environment.
Another thing to note- the Quest 2 prefers a well lit room- the Rift CV1 prefers your environment as dark as possible.
Pricing: The Rift CV1 had a launch price of $600. Nowadays, you could get it for $200-$300 from people trying to sell them to upgrade. The Quest 2 had a launch price of $299, and goes up to $399 with a storage expansion.
Comfort: The Quest 2... is quite uncomfortable. There is a $50 headstrap however that makes it much more tolerable to wear. Going back to the CV1 after months of the Quest 2... I didn't even feel like I was wearing it- it was so light it didn't even affect me. To date, the Rift CV1 still stands as one of (if not the most) comfortable VR headsets of all time. Meanwhile the Quest 2 was literally just a huge upgrade over the most painful headset of all time, the Oculus Quest.
Controllers: The Quest 2 controller vibration is incredibly better than the Rift. The buttons are much quieter- and the battery covers are easier to remove. The battery life in Quest 2 controllers is also insanely higher than the Rift controllers. Even on the same battery types, the Quest 2 controllers will last weeks longer than the Rift's. *COGUH* the Rift controllers are much better for Beat Saber though *COUGH*
General: Wires. The Quest 2's wirelessness gives you much more freedom than the Rift.
The Quest 2 has a battery life of around 2-3 hours. The Rift isn't limited by such factors.
Scores:
Rift-
Better blacks
Higher FOV
Better IPD
Better sound
Lower latency
Super comfortable
Quest 2-
Higher Resolution
120hz
Standalone
Wireless
Tracking fully self-contained
Better mic
Works without PC
Overview: All in all... the Rift actually has only around a quarter of the features the Quest 2 does. The Quest 2 is a great headset- insanely good value. Despite being made for standalone, it is as a matter of fact one of the best PCVR headsets there is so far. They just had to make a few things fall short in order to make it affordable enough for everyone. Would you rather buy another 4 or 5 games, or a VR headset that literally grants you access to different universes? Access to be whoever and wherever you want-
The Rift is much better for longer gaming sessions. The Quest 2 is leaps and bounds better in terms of graphics. The Rift is incredibly comfortable. The Quest 2 is incredibly conveinient.
If you have the money to buy the Quest 2 without selling your Rift- DEFINITELY do it and keep both.
If you can only keep one... just look at the info and see which one better suits your needs and the games you play.
Have a great day children
Thank you
That's all for now- baiii :3
In 2020, I got the newly released Oculus Quest 2, which sports an impressive resolution of 1832x1920 PPI.
I'll be giving my thoughts on the two- hopefully it'll help some people decide about upgrading.
For starts- the displays
The Quest 2 is a massive visual upgrade from the Rift. It's one of the clearest headsets out there, and the screen door affect is barely visible. The only thing the Rift has that's better is OLED display- giving it much better black colors than the Quest 2.
The Rift has as maximum refresh rate of 90hz. The Quest 2 has a common refresh rate of 90, and a max of 120hz on a handful of applications and Oculus' new technology: Air Link. Therefore, the Quest 2 provides much more capabilities for smoothness and reducing motion sickness.
The Quest 2 has a maximum field of view at around 89 degrees. The Rift has an FOV of around 110 degrees. Lower FOV in VR tends to bother some people more than others. Some will hate it- some won't eve notice after a few minutes. However, the Rift does have quite a bit higher amount- a whole 20 degrees.
Lastly on display- the IPD (Inter-pupillary display) range-. The IPD range is the distance between the lenses, which is adjustable for people who have different distances between their pupils. The Rift lets you just smoothly from 58mm to up to 72mm. This range makes the headset useable to nearly everyone in this world. The Quest 2 however, lets you switch between three fixed distances. 58mm, 63mm, and 68mm. This is much smaller, and doesn't work with nearly as many people. If you don't fit one of the numbers on the Quest 2 aren't close enough to one of them, the display will always be blurry for you and cause eyestrain.
Now that display is over... hmm
The audio
The Rift has great surround sound over-ear speakers. The mic is... so-so. People can certainly understand you- I mean they couldn't understand me because I'm so shy and quiet that they could hear a TV from the other side of my house better than me... but still.
The Oculus Quest 2 has an audio strap... and it's horrible. I mean it gets the job done- but since its not on your ears, it's very hard to hear, and doesn't have good surround. Because it isn't on-ear, anyone in the same room as you can typically hear the game even better than the person in VR can. Luckily though, the Quest 2 has A. Bluetooth headphone support and B. an audio jack. Unfortunately, A. the Bluetooth works better for some headphones and worse for others- it seems different for all of them, and B. it's annoying to use the headphone jack unless you have a really short AUX cord.
The Quest 2's built in microphone however sounds much better than the Rift. Great if you're real social.
Next up: The tracking
The Rift uses Lighthouse Tracking. Lighthouse tracking is a pain to set up and you have to buy external sensors... but the newer tracking technologies will ever be able to beat the latency of Lighthouse tracking. The Rift's tracking is amazing... if you can set it up right- if you have enough sensors- and most importantly, if you have a CPU that can actually handle the tracking well. The Quest 2 has inside-out tracking- no external lighthouses required. It does the job great... except that A. it can't see the controllers when they're behind you and B. it can be finnicky depending on your environment.
Another thing to note- the Quest 2 prefers a well lit room- the Rift CV1 prefers your environment as dark as possible.
Pricing: The Rift CV1 had a launch price of $600. Nowadays, you could get it for $200-$300 from people trying to sell them to upgrade. The Quest 2 had a launch price of $299, and goes up to $399 with a storage expansion.
Comfort: The Quest 2... is quite uncomfortable. There is a $50 headstrap however that makes it much more tolerable to wear. Going back to the CV1 after months of the Quest 2... I didn't even feel like I was wearing it- it was so light it didn't even affect me. To date, the Rift CV1 still stands as one of (if not the most) comfortable VR headsets of all time. Meanwhile the Quest 2 was literally just a huge upgrade over the most painful headset of all time, the Oculus Quest.
Controllers: The Quest 2 controller vibration is incredibly better than the Rift. The buttons are much quieter- and the battery covers are easier to remove. The battery life in Quest 2 controllers is also insanely higher than the Rift controllers. Even on the same battery types, the Quest 2 controllers will last weeks longer than the Rift's. *COGUH* the Rift controllers are much better for Beat Saber though *COUGH*
General: Wires. The Quest 2's wirelessness gives you much more freedom than the Rift.
The Quest 2 has a battery life of around 2-3 hours. The Rift isn't limited by such factors.
Scores:
Rift-
Better blacks
Higher FOV
Better IPD
Better sound
Lower latency
Super comfortable
Quest 2-
Higher Resolution
120hz
Standalone
Wireless
Tracking fully self-contained
Better mic
Works without PC
Overview: All in all... the Rift actually has only around a quarter of the features the Quest 2 does. The Quest 2 is a great headset- insanely good value. Despite being made for standalone, it is as a matter of fact one of the best PCVR headsets there is so far. They just had to make a few things fall short in order to make it affordable enough for everyone. Would you rather buy another 4 or 5 games, or a VR headset that literally grants you access to different universes? Access to be whoever and wherever you want-
The Rift is much better for longer gaming sessions. The Quest 2 is leaps and bounds better in terms of graphics. The Rift is incredibly comfortable. The Quest 2 is incredibly conveinient.
If you have the money to buy the Quest 2 without selling your Rift- DEFINITELY do it and keep both.
If you can only keep one... just look at the info and see which one better suits your needs and the games you play.
Have a great day children
Thank you
That's all for now- baiii :3
