Backer #441: Initial 8K-X impressions (Milopapa)

Pimax Hardware P2: 8kX
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Sure, nobody blames him for giving his opinion. Nor did I blame the other guy, derDod, for giving his opinion.

But if I take derDod and his review of the 5K+ at the time, compared to the VivePro - he was making fun of the VivePro as offering a petty toiletpaper-roll view he couldn’t imagine to ever go back to.

So now he views a G2 with not so much more FoV than the VivePro as being superior in all sorts of aspects, and the FoV is not really relevant any longer. And he is making fun of the headset which was so great just a couple of months ago that he would make fun of the competing headset then.

But wait, some of those now important aspects, save for of course the resolution/detail/SDE, were probably present in the VivePro too. So back to the ridiculous toilet-paper roll view it is then ? Gosh, who would have thought.

So perhaps his review then was given without enough time to really assess the headsets ? Fair enough. But then I will have to assume the same today, with his assessment of the G2, right ? What will he tell us about it in 6 months from now ? Will he laugh about its ridiculous FoV again or about something else ?

It is this random focus on one or two specs, which then supposingly overshadow everything else, which makes it difficult for me to place much value on a review of such kind. I can fully appreciate that people may not like Pimax headsets, and there are good reasons for that too. But I personally prefer cool-headed consistency from a reviewer, and that’s what I am missing.

Emotions which are not based on objectiveness can blur the picture awfully, and skew decision-making to a degree that I don’t feel very comfortable with it because I might be triggered by very different aspects - or things having happened behind the scenes which won’t happen to me in the same way.

I am not saying that I dislike Seb or derDod, they are both likeable blokes, but if I am supposed to base my purchase decision on their verdict, I would rather wait for further reviews while noting what they said.

And yes, I pre-ordered the G2. But to be frank, it was Ben Lang’s hands-on which pushed me over the line at the end, because I went searching for other reviews again after seeing a small part of Seb’s review. I knew that the Reverb G1 was already a decent headset and the prospect of them ironing out some of the weaknesses was tempting - and the danger of Pimax messing too much up again with the 8KX is threatening at the same time. And I own the Index, but I did not really fall in love with it - it’s good at what it does but it did not give the feeling of an upgrade anywhere, rather getting rid of kinks other some other headsets have here and there. I do wish to see a higher resolution, and then a greater FoV. There lies the 8KX’ chance, and if it stumbles, the G2 will likely cover for it.

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Fresh fish, buy fresh fish… only today… :joy:

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Well, he will tell you that he is completely unbiased… but working harder than HP’s marketing department to get them sold…

It’s the same like Sweviver acting insulted when users doubted his ability to conduct an unbiased comparison of the 8KX with competing headsets. Sure, he might belive that he is making a completely unbiased review, and there is a chance that it actually would happen, but the impression… boy, the impression, you just cannot overcome that because it just looks, smells & tastes like heavy bias will be applied. Same with Seb trying to give his interpretation of a tele shopping channel…

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I just ordered the g2 so I can verify if we can trust mrtv
I dont rly need it since i got a pimax xr and valve index :smiley: /( I hate small fov btw xD )

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Edit: sorry about the double post.

Back on topic :slight_smile:

I see you’ve got a cool simulator setup including a wheel. I’ve spent more money than I’d like to admit setting up my own driving cockpit, and am trying to patiently wait for my 8KX (been waiting for a wide higher resolution headset to replace my OG vive). I really enjoyed your initial review, reading your gaming impressions where you talk about specific things in those titles that struck you when using the 8KX. Would you consider reporting back on any driving titles you have with similar impressions? It would make the wait just slightly more bearable :sunglasses:

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Tried out Asetto Corsa yesterday on the 8kX. Optically it looks really great! But I suck at driving in that game, probably too much used to arcade racers. Perhaps a gamepad also isn’t optimal for that - will have to practice a little.
For some reason my PC hates Project Cars 2 - it just switches off when starting reproducibly, it’s the only game where it does that…
When it comes to futuristic VR arcade racers I can recommend Redout or Distance. Quite different, both very fast, mostly about dexterity and memorizing tracks in the end. The latter have very stylized, laminary graphics, so it doesn’t look so much worse on 5k+. Will play around with the 8kX upscale mode in the evening. (118 Hz doesn’t work correctly with the current firmware for me. But I got a special firmware that does 90 Hz - which works well. And a new official firmware seems to be around the corner, looking forward to test this one.)

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Thanks for linking that review. Very positive overall.

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Thank you for those impressions NaomLoop. Much appreciated. If I may, I would like to ask more specific questions regarding Assetto Corsa:

1)Are you using the widest FOV in the game? If so, how is the sense of speed in the game using the largest FOV?

2)How are the colors and black levels in AC? Are they very good?

3)How is performance? Rock solid 75fps?

4)Can you please try the Shuto Revival Project mod for AC and tell me how it looks?

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  1. no, I was using normal FoV. Sense of speed is obviously lower than with the scifi arcade racers where cars are more rockets on rails :slight_smile: But it feels natural
  2. Colors felt good, but I didn’t A/B compare with the 5k+. Am using brightness -2, contrast 0. (Played around with contrast +1 and +2 initially (not with Assetto Corsa yet) but that reduces text readability and I don’t want to fiddle with the settings for each application). But neither colors nor contrast were out of place. Particularly contrasts are still better on the OLED TV that I have for comparison, but playing this in VR is imho more fun, so I would rather play this on 8kX than on the TV
  3. I haven’t measured fps yet, but everything felt fluent so far. I used a supersampling factor of 100% with my 1080 TI and left the in-game fidelity settings at standard (not everything at ultra).
  4. haven’t heard of that, will have a look!
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My issue was not with the review itself, but rather the contrast. It felt like a 180 from the CES impressions.

I know opinions can change and undulate with time, but how do you go from extremely impressed to ranked 4th or lower? That quite a change of heart no?

About the G2. Not for me. I had always thought resolution trumped all, and other features were much less important, but then I got the G1. I was amazed at the rez, but immediately missed the 5K’s FOV. The G!'s FOV is horrid. I now require maximum rez AND maximum FOV The 8KX seems to be the only option. The Index having lower rez, AND lower FOV ranks last with me.

My current minimum specs are 4K , and 150 degrees FOV

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The difference between a short trial at ces vs a full hands over several days.

Keep in mind it doesn’t change the fact they received a very prestigious award at Jan Ces 2020.

It is unfortunate that that seems to be where the ball has stayed due to excessive delays leading to non delivery.

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Either Sebastian is giving his honest impressions or he has secretly become an HP marketing ambassador employee without telling us.

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Thank you sir much appreciated!

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Seb does a good job. he evaluates the whole package! of course not objective. He can no longer do that after trying so many VR hmd’s. he also knows that there is a lot of potential in the 8kx, but the graphics cards are not yet available. HP g2 for simmers. index for all. pimax for nerds. he will help that everyone make the right decision. not more and not less. And a little bit of entertainment. Very very gut.

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Well, the unfortunate thing is I since replaced the wheel with this as I started working on my PPL (Private Pilot’s Licence) IRL:

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What I could do is fire up rFactor2 and take a look around from the grid, but i won’t be able to drive it around. I don’t even have the pedals mounted anymore.

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No problem, things change. Don’t worry about firing up rf2… how about just giving us more impressions when you’re ready, on whatever games you are playing?

It certainly would be more a way more interesting read than more complaining about shipping, MRTV, etc, etc. Let’s hear about the hardware, the games, the exciting stuff :smile:

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My vive is in flawless shape as well, definitely no cracks! I gotta agree, the OLEDs in that hmd are some of the best I’ve ever used. My quest is far inferior with blur and obviously persistence, and it’s not even as pretty. Too bad you can count the subpixels :stuck_out_tongue:

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Okay, dmel, you got me. I secretly became an HP marketing ambassador employee without telling you. And all my passion for this device is nothing but a paid for act. Damn, I’m good. Once the device goes out to people, disappointing them to the point that they will try to track me down, I will be sipping Margaritas with my hot wife (that part’s for real) somewhere on the Bahamas with a new name!

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I knew it. Say no more! :shushing_face:
Perhaps continue abit more on the hot wife part.

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This story is obviously fake. Realistically it would be Hansa Pils.
Perhaps you should ask them to sponsor you? Prominent endorsement in every show would be ensured for them.

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