HP Reverb G2 vs Valve Index

[dburne]

I have been happily using my Reverb G2 with DCS and other games for the last several months and have been quite pleased especially with flight sims. I was tempted to go with the Index but opted for the G2 due to it's higher native resolution. I have found for me with the G2 running with Motion Smoothing and forced at 45 fps gives the best results in my eyes. I can run on my rig very high GFX settings with it set up this way.

 

Having said that, I have always still been somewhat tempted to check out the Index. Mainly for other games, controller supported games like Half Life Alyx especially. Reverb G2 controllers are pretty good, but are a step below say the Oculus controllers. And I have also been tempted by the Index larger FOV, and native Steam VR support.

 

So yesterday I finally gave in to temptation even though I am quite happy with my G2, I ordered the complete Valve Index Kit from Steam. I even ordered a couple of stands to put the cameras on. I should be receiving my new Index Kit here in the next few days. 

 

Yeah I know it has lower native resolution than my G2, but I should also be able to compensate some with SS as well. I am really looking forward to trying it with some VR games. I especially look forward to trying out the Knuckles controllers with those made for VR games.  I envision using it for those, and continue using my Reverb G2 for my flight and racing sims. I am sure though I will give it a go with DCS also just to see the difference between the two. Oh and the larger FOV should be nice, though with my sight disability I may not get as much from that as others would.

 

Once I have the Index and have tried it for a bit I will update the post with my thoughts between the two.

Course now that I have actually finally ordered an Index, probably can count on Valve releasing an updated model now any day...

 

 

 

[zildac]

20 minutes ago, dburne said:

I have been happily using my Reverb G2 with DCS and other games for the last several months and have been quite pleased especially with flight sims. I was tempted to go with the Index but opted for the G2 due to it's higher native resolution. I have found for me with the G2 running with Motion Smoothing and forced at 45 fps gives the best results in my eyes. I can run on my rig very high GFX settings with it set up this way.

 

Having said that, I have always still been somewhat tempted to check out the Index. Mainly for other games, controller supported games like Half Life Alyx especially. Reverb G2 controllers are pretty good, but are a step below say the Oculus controllers. And I have also been tempted by the Index larger FOV, and native Steam VR support.

 

So yesterday I finally gave in to temptation even though I am quite happy with my G2, I ordered the complete Valve Index Kit from Steam. I even ordered a couple of stands to put the cameras on. I should be receiving my new Index Kit here in the next few days. 

 

Yeah I know it has lower native resolution than my G2, but I should also be able to compensate some with SS as well. I am really looking forward to trying it with some VR games. I especially look forward to trying out the Knuckles controllers with those made for VR games.  I envision using it for those, and continue using my Reverb G2 for my flight and racing sims. I am sure though I will give it a go with DCS also just to see the difference between the two. Oh and the larger FOV should be nice, though with my sight disability I may not get as much from that as others would.

 

Once I have the Index and have tried it for a bit I will update the post with my thoughts between the two.

Course now that I have actually finally ordered an Index, probably can count on Valve releasing an updated model now any day...

 

 

 

Excellent! I'd be very interesteed on how you feel it compares to the G2 in DCS.

[SaimOn67]

Yes, please keep us informed.

[javelina1]

very interested in your report as well!

[Burt]

I almost opted for the  Valve Index Kit, if my play room was bigger I may have. Youtube videos of the valve index look so much sharper, but then again the recordings are from a monitor screen view and not in headset recording which could be very difficult to record. I tried using my iphone but it was just about impossible. Can't wait to see your results and possible review. Congrats !

[Svsmokey]

Looking forward to Don's review as well . I am reconsidering the Index as the time nears for facebook to kill my RiftS .

[dburne]

Just got shipping notice along with tracking number.

Shipping out today from Carol Stream IL via Fed Ex.

[imacken]

Well, I owned the Index and the Reverb G1 at the same time and opted for the Reverb.  Although many aspects of the Index were superior - audio, comfort, hardware IPD adjust, etc. - I decided to keep the G1 and sell the Index, mainly because resolution is king!

 

I'm glad I did, especially because the Reverb G2 provided a lot of things I felt the Index was better at than the G1 (see above).

 

Sure, the Index controllers are better, but it never stopped me going through HL:A twice, and many other VR games.

 

As a side note, I hardly even noticed the supposed larger FOV on the Index. Yes, it has a few degrees advantage, but no biggie, IMO.

[dburne]

57 minutes ago, imacken said:

Well, I owned the Index and the Reverb G1 at the same time and opted for the Reverb.  Although many aspects of the Index were superior - audio, comfort, hardware IPD adjust, etc. - I decided to keep the G1 and sell the Index, mainly because resolution is king!

 

I'm glad I did, especially because the Reverb G2 provided a lot of things I felt the Index was better at than the G1 (see above).

 

Sure, the Index controllers are better, but it never stopped me going through HL:A twice, and many other VR games.

 

As a side note, I hardly even noticed the supposed larger FOV on the Index. Yes, it has a few degrees advantage, but no biggie, IMO.

 

Well with my sight discrepancy I don't expect the larger FOV to mean much for me either. I already only have half the fov of normal sight.

But I do look forward to another run of Alyx with it and those Knuckles controllers.

I envision I will end up mainly using Index for VR games with controllers, and G2 continue to use for flight and racing sims. Will see.

[imacken]

4 minutes ago, dburne said:

 

Well with my sight discrepancy I don't expect the larger FOV to mean much for me either. I already only have half the fov of normal sight.

But I do look forward to another run of Alyx with it and those Knuckles controllers.

I envision I will end up mainly using Index for VR games with controllers, and G2 continue to use for flight and racing sims. Will see.

It’s a lot of cash to spend for better controllers!

[dburne]

1 hour ago, imacken said:

It’s a lot of cash to spend for better controllers!

 

Lol yeah I suppose but I really want to try the whole unit out for myself and that is how I justify it.

If I don't feel it worth while I will just sell it , probably not have to take too much of a loss and then I can at least say I tried it for myself.

I know a guy on another flight sim forum, he tried both the Reverb G2 and Index, and he actually elected to keep the Index and sell the Reverb G2, and flight sim is all he does which I found interesting. I certainly don't expect the Index to look better in flight sim than my Reverb G2.

Horses for courses I suppose.

 

Edit: Also I think it is finally time to sell my EVGA RTX 2080 Ti FTW3 Ultra. I am finally comfortable enough with my 3090 to let it go.

Based on what I am seeing on Ebay I should easily get enough for it to pay for the Index Kit.

Edited April 28, 2021 by dburne

[Supmua]

While I'm not sure that getting the Index is a good idea now since it's a bit dated compared to newer headsets (also pricey), it's still my go to choice for most VR games.

 

When you get the Index, please try my current settings and see what you think since we similar PC setup.  SS 222% (so both horizontal and vertical res are >3k, this minimizes shimmering and optimize clarity), also Reshade VR is a must.  Start with DCS graphics at High preset and reduce various settings to get the fps that you want. 

 

I don't have the G2 to compare but the combination of high SS setting, Reshade VR, fixed throttling on SteamVR yields very good image fidelity including clarity plus good performance that I now favor VR over flatscreen (aside from clouds issue).  My Quest 2 has higher pixel count and pretty much zero screen door effect but the LCD screen isn't as good, producing more dull and muddy images when doing back to back comparison.  The screen on my Index pops so much being bright, vibrant and contrasty when coupled with Reshade, mostly on par with my Vive Pro's OLED (and sharper).  Ground spotting in DCS is actually better than flatscreen to me now since I can clearly see everything, and the screen is right in my face rather than a few feet away.  MFDs are also easier to read.  Even the AMPCD on the Hornet with moving map I can see clearly when turning the brightness down 4 notches.

Edited April 28, 2021 by Supmua

[dburne]

52 minutes ago, Supmua said:

While I'm not sure that getting the Index is a good idea now since it's a bit dated compared to newer headsets (also pricey), it's still my go to choice for most VR games.

 

When you get the Index, please try my current settings and see what you think since we similar PC setup.  SS 222% (so both horizontal and vertical res are >3k, this minimizes shimmering and optimize clarity), also Reshade VR is a must.  Start with DCS graphics at High preset and reduce various settings to get the fps that you want. 

 

I don't have the G2 to compare but the combination of high SS setting, Reshade VR, fixed throttling on SteamVR yields very good image fidelity including clarity plus good performance that I now favor VR over flatscreen (aside from clouds issue).  My Quest 2 has higher pixel count and pretty much zero screen door effect but the LCD screen isn't as good, producing more dull and muddy images when doing back to back comparison.  The screen on my Index pops so much being bright, vibrant and contrasty when coupled with Reshade, mostly on par with my Vive Pro's OLED (and sharper).  Ground spotting in DCS is actually better than flatscreen to me now since I can clearly see everything, and the screen is right in my face rather than a few feet away.  MFDs are also easier to read.  Even the AMPCD on the Hornet with moving map I can see clearly when turning the brightness down 4 notches.

 

 

Sound promising thanks much!

I myself though prefer to stay away from mods, will see how good I can get it to look for me without.

I know I can not read the AMPCD of the Hornet with my G2.

 

I really like running my G2 with pretty high graphics and motion smoothing on and forced at 45 fps.

Hope I can get similar with the Index.

 

But again I will stress, my main goal with the Index and it's great controllers is for other made for VR games.

That is where I want it to really shine. But if it does well for flight sims, who knows...

 

Btw the Index screen are LCD as well right?

Edited April 28, 2021 by dburne

[dburne]

Just got tracking info on my Index Kit.

Fed Ex has it scheduled for delivery on Saturday May 1st.

Won't be too long now.

[streakeagle]

The G2's only real strength is resolution/image quality. But owning and using the Oculus family (CV1, Rift S, and Quest 2), it turns out my biggest problems in DCS VR are resolution and image quality and the G2 is a big step above the Quest 2 which is a big step above the Rift S, and the CV1's image quality was so low, I only flew VR 50% or less of the time.

 

I have Onward, a VR FPS game, on both the PC (SteamVR) and Quest 2. While Onward looks so much better on the G2 for clarity, especially for spotting and aiming at distant enemies, its controller tracking performance is just plain bad in comparison to the near-perfect tracking/function of the Quest 2 controllers.

 

What would it take to get a PC VR headset with both the best image quality and the best hardware/software combination? No single PC VR headset I know of is superior across the board. Each model has its tradeoffs. The Quest 2 wins in so many ways: wireless in standalone mode is now practical with the PC if you have a decent modern WiFi6 router. The tracking is great. While the image quality is noticeably inferior to the G2, it is still decent compared to most and at its price level, it really hard to beat. But for DCS, I can only fly so long before I kill the battery and to extend battery life, I would have to ditch the link cable and get a good WiFi6 router. But the G2 looks so much better and generally fits a lot better with much less discomfort over hours of flight. However the G2's lack of a battery life limit is partially canceled out by the tendency of either SteamVR or Window Mixed Reality having a glitch that crashes DCS World. Give me a Quest 2 with the G2's image quality and at least twice the battery life when using the link cable, and I would be pretty darn happy.

 

As much as I would like to try even more VR headsets like the Index and PiMax, I have better things to spend my money on like a new PC and/or GPU.

Edited April 29, 2021 by streakeagle

[Supmua]

2 hours ago, dburne said:

 

Sound promising thanks much!

I myself though prefer to stay away from mods, will see how good I can get it to look for me without.

I know I can not read the AMPCD of the Hornet with my G2.

 

I really like running my G2 with pretty high graphics and motion smoothing on and forced at 45 fps.

Hope I can get similar with the Index.

 

But again I will stress, my main goal with the Index and it's great controllers is for other made for VR games.

That is where I want it to really shine. But if it does well for flight sims, who knows...

 

Btw the Index screen are LCD as well right?

 

 

The Index screen is LCD, but has very good brightness and contrast.

I'm surprised you can't read Hornet's AMPCD screen with the G2 as it should be crisper on that headset.  I can read everything without leaning from neutral position, it's not supercrisp but it's completely legible.

[Supmua]

1 hour ago, streakeagle said:

The G2's only real strength is resolution/image quality. But owning and using the Oculus family (CV1, Rift S, and Quest 2), it turns out my biggest problems in DCS VR are resolution and image quality and the G2 is a big step above the Quest 2 which is a big step above the Rift S, and the CV1's image quality was so low, I only flew VR 50% or less of the time.

 

I have Onward, a VR FPS game, on both the PC (SteamVR) and Quest 2. While Onward looks so much better on the G2 for clarity, especially for spotting and aiming at distant enemies, its controller tracking performance is just plain bad in comparison to the near-perfect tracking/function of the Quest 2 controllers.

 

What would it take to get a PC VR headset with both the best image quality and the best hardware/software combination? No single PC VR headset I know of is superior across the board. Each model has its tradeoffs. The Quest 2 wins in so many ways: wireless in standalone mode is now practical with the PC if you have a decent modern WiFi6 router. The tracking is great. While the image quality is noticeably inferior to the G2, it is still decent compared to most and at its price level, it really hard to beat. But for DCS, I can only fly so long before I kill the battery and to extend battery life, I would have to ditch the link cable and get a good WiFi6 router. But the G2 looks so much better and generally fits a lot better with much less discomfort over hours of flight. However the G2's lack of a battery life limit is partially canceled out by the tendency of either SteamVR or Window Mixed Reality having a glitch that crashes DCS World. Give me a Quest 2 with the G2's image quality and at least twice the battery life when using the link cable, and I would be pretty darn happy.

 

As much as I would like to try even more VR headsets like the Index and PiMax, I have better things to spend my money on like a new PC and/or GPU.

 

 

Quest 2 is far ahead of the pack when it comes to software functionality (family game-sharing, ease of use, modern GUI, latest technology), soon it will also have much more presence in the social media segment.  The handtracking mode is a gamechanger in supported VR games.  Airlink is also quite well done even at the initial release state.  The screen has good resolution, but brightness and contrast are a bit lacking when used back to back against other headsets.  I was tempted to add a G2 to my arsenal, but I know I will buy the next SteamVR headset so I'm just going to hold off.

Edited April 29, 2021 by Supmua

[GunSlingerAUS]

When it comes to room-scale games, I think you'll find the Index to be much superior. However, for DCS and other sims, I don't think you can compare the two - the resolution increase on the G2 is that big, and that important. Simply cranking up supersampling or PD won't help, as you'll still be able to see the individual pixel structure on the Index. Still, would be keen to hear your thoughts, especially given the Index should offer better performance.

[Gman109]

13 hours ago, imacken said:

Well, I owned the Index and the Reverb G1 at the same time and opted for the Reverb.  Although many aspects of the Index were superior - audio, comfort, hardware IPD adjust, etc. - I decided to keep the G1 and sell the Index, mainly because resolution is king!

 

I'm glad I did, especially because the Reverb G2 provided a lot of things I felt the Index was better at than the G1 (see above).

 

Sure, the Index controllers are better, but it never stopped me going through HL:A twice, and many other VR games.

 

As a side note, I hardly even noticed the supposed larger FOV on the Index. Yes, it has a few degrees advantage, but no biggie, IMO.

 

+1 here.  I too have the G1, Index, and Rift S simultaneously (and all the other no Xtal units prior) before getting the G2s.  All we have now are the G2 units.  I'll still be interested to hear what the OP's opinion is.  I still feel the Index was the best constructed unit available in terms of quality, but that margin is all that wide.

[Lt_Jaeger]

I got the index and the G2. Just went back to the index to check again, especially after applying the reshade mod. Yes, the index is the superior headset, the tracking is second to none, same with the controller but.... The picture of the G2 is just better with lesser strain on my system. That said, I can't bear with the original G2 fov, but with a custom face mask, I come back to the G2 for dcs every time, for the rest.... Index all the way. 

Edited April 29, 2021 by Lt_Jaeger
Language Problem-. I think the Index is better as the G2 exept....

[dburne]

2 hours ago, Lt_Jaeger said:

I got the index and the G2. Just went back to the index to check again, especially after applying the reshade mod. Yes, the index is the inferior headset, the tracking is second to none, same with the controller but.... The picture of the G2 is just better with lesser strain on my system. That said, I can't bear with the original G2 fov, but with a custom face mask, I come back to the G2 for dcs every time, for the rest.... Index all the way. 

 

That is kind of my line of thinking going into this, to make good use of the Index for my other VR games and continue with the G2 for my flight sims. Should be interesting.

While the controller tracking with G2 is decent it is certainly below say the Rift but I am sure the Index will be better in this regard. Plus I should be able to apply some decent SS for those made for VR games.

Edited April 29, 2021 by dburne

[imacken]

Personally, I have absolutely no issues using the G2 for all VR games.  Although not as good as the Index ones, the G2 controllers are a big step up from the G1.

Also, DCS is by far the most demanding VR game, I see a solid 90fps in all other games, e.g. Alyx, Project Cars 2, etc., so why would I want to down a res to the Index level?

[dburne]

8 minutes ago, imacken said:

Personally, I have absolutely no issues using the G2 for all VR games.  Although not as good as the Index ones, the G2 controllers are a big step up from the G1.

Also, DCS is by far the most demanding VR game, I see a solid 90fps in all other games, e.g. Alyx, Project Cars 2, etc., so why would I want to down a res to the Index level?

 

This is my line of thinking for me, everyone's experience can be different. Heck I may be extremely disappointed who knows. I just really want to try it for myself to see.

 

I did ok with the G2 controllers with Alyx except for throwing grenades was iffy for me.

Same in Medal of Honor Above and Beyond. Not sure why it gave me trouble but it did. And the occasional loss of controller tracking depending on where it was positioned. I look forward to having a go with both of them with the Index. And as mentioned I anticipate being able to SS with those pretty good, maybe get close to Reverb levels.

 

 

 

[dburne]

11 hours ago, Supmua said:

 

The Index screen is LCD, but has very good brightness and contrast.

I'm surprised you can't read Hornet's AMPCD screen with the G2 as it should be crisper on that headset.  I can read everything without leaning from neutral position, it's not supercrisp but it's completely legible.

 

Yeah that is interesting, even the MFD's can be a little blurry from time to time.

 

[Lt_Jaeger]

If the Index just had a slightly better picture I would sell the G2 right away... I put it up there wrong with inferior while I was thinking superior (language problem)  but yeah, the picture is worth to keep up with all the G2 shortcomings (small sweet spot as one of the bigger problems for me) ....even through the 3 cable now, but I think HP Support is decent but also second to valve from my experience.