Damn if that were true. But well, we’ll see. But even if it all boils down to only the difference in price of $150, I’ll still take it. Unless, I am damn sure that 8k will actually run better than the 5k on my laptop. I still can’t get my head around that… hmmm
To be fair, the performance increase would probably be extremely minimal. Just trying to clarify what evertec said as he’s right, if your computer has to provide higher FPS to match the refresh rate, it actually has to do more work.
Because Pimax run campaign with 3 products, 5K,8K,8K X, backers are a bit starved of information about specific product. Only tech minded people with be able to hold in head all specs to know real difference in use case. I was a Computer Science student. Evertec has tec in name, we can interpret correctly Pimax details which are limited anyway, regular people(not tech savvy) will have a big chance to get confused as you are. 5K and 8K, GPU renders same res, same PC minimum specs.
8K X on the other hand, without upscaler, will require native 4k per eye rendered at 75-90Hz, that will bring any current gen GPU to knees. Hence Pimax call backers futurists, I like that one 
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@Matthew.Xu @deletedpimaxrep1
Is it going to be possible in the 8k to turn the scaler off?
Essentialy dumbing it down to a 5k ?
Cheers
Jb
Yeah, if you want to save money and get the 5K, certainly go ahead. I just don’t want others to think they will somehow get better performance with it and that be the reason.
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I don’t think thats possible as the screens are 4k in the 8k and are 1440p in the 5k, hence the upscaling is required otherwise the full display wouldn’t be filled.
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Wait brian evertec specsreader, are you guys saying that a gpu will have to work harder to maintain the refresh rate of 85Hz for the 5k, but it doesn’t have to work as hard to maintain a refresh rate of 82Hz for the 8k?
Are we confusing the cause and effect here? Is it because of the gpu that the the 8k and 5k can run stably at their respective refresh rates (8k cannot run at 85Hz because the gpu is not powerful enough, but it can with the same amount of effort make the 5k run at 85Hz)? Or is it because the 8k and 5k must run stably at their respective refresh rates and that makes the gpu try to catch up (8k must run at 82Hz and 5k must run at 85Hz, and the gpu will have to work harder to reach a higher refresh rate)?
I would think that the former is right. You guys seem to say the latter is right. Am I interpreting you guys correctly?
The target refresh rate is 90Hz, not 82Hz or 85Hz. With the same gpu, 8K will have a harder time reaching 90Hz than 5k right?
If the target refresh rate is 85hz, your GPU has to provide at least 85fps to match the refresh rate of the screen. Any less and you see tearing (and probably get sick), or reprojection kicks in. If the refresh rate is 82hz, your computer only has to provide 82fps to match the refresh rate of the screen. Thus your computer is actually doing less work.
Basically you’re get getting refresh rate and fps confused… if the refresh rate is set to 90hz then your computer needs to provide 90fps, lower refresh rate = less work for your GPU.
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GPU maintain only FPS not refresh rate, but to match refresh rate, would have to render same number of FPS or half(with ASW). You can use 1070 and 1080Ti refresh rate will be same on HMD.
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You are saying the resolution difference (factoring in the upscaling) between 8k and 5k doesn’t matter?
Yeah, this. Basically, refresh rate is the speed at which your display refreshes and FPS is how many frames your computer can provide. Running at 120fps for instance on a 60hz monitor means that the max frames you will actually see is 60fps.
Since the upscaling is being done at a hardware level (inside the HMD), that’s correct. No extra load is put on your computer from the upscaling.
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I see…
Why do you think the 8k runs stably at 82Hz, whereas the 5K runs stably at a higher refresh rate, if no “extra load is put on the computer”?
It’s great I am learning new things here. I am really not a gamer before i bought an htc vive several weeks ago
It has something to do with one (or multiple) of the hardware components in the 8K, I’m guessing the upscaler is what’s causing the difference in refresh rate on the 5k vs 8k. But for your lower spec laptop, lower refresh rate will actually be better for performance (if you don’t like reprojection).
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I see… gotta read up on what the heck reprojection is. Have been reading alot about it without actually going in depth. Thanks guys
Basically reprojection is a software feature that kicks in when your GPU can’t provide high enough fps to match the refresh rate of the monitor. Say you are using a headset with an 85hz refresh rate and your computer can only provide 80fps, reprojection basically kicks in and fills in the extra 5fps so that your fps and refresh rate match (thus preventing screen tearing).
I hope that makes sense, it’s kind of hard to explain and I’m not exactly an expert (so I could be slightly wrong), but I’m pretty sure that’s the basic concept.
Edit: But ya, moral of the story is you don’t want reprojection if you can avoid it. I’m not sure if Pimax will support reprojection like we have on the VIVE, or if brain warp will somehow take its place (only time will tell). This is the reason why a lower refresh rate can actually be beneficial for performance.
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Yes, that’s very clear. Thank you.
I understand the part about refresh rate now, I think…
But their ultimate goal is still a higher refresh rate right? 90Hz?
But it all comes down to the HMD not the computer, right?
By the way, pimax is compatible with steam, doesn’t steam vr have reprojection?
That’s correct, they are shooting for a higher refresh rate and nothing is set in stone yet. Yes, the final refresh rate is going to come down to the headset, however if you have a 1070 laptop with only a 1.2 mini displayport output, you might well be limited to 75hz (just based on max bandwidth of your mini displayport… port). I’d say your assumption about reprojection is correct, I just haven’t heard any official word from Pimax about it so I didn’t want to make any assumptions about it.
In any case, you can assume both headsets will require the same amount of CPU/GPU usage so I wouldn’t base your choice on performance. In reality, the 5k and 8k will require the same amount of power to run.
And wow, kickstarter is about to end! Better make your choice quick! 
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Damn, now I am getting less sure again, thanks to you
But I’ll settle with 5k for the $150 savings and hopefully an earlier release because it seems like the 8k is giving them more problems than the 5k does. Besides, some really convincing kickstarter campaigns sometimes goes bust. Ever heard of cyberith virtualizer? That is such a cool device… what a shame…
I think best case scenario, I will get an awesome FOV at a much better resolution that the vive, that would make me real happy. Worst case scenario, I lose $349, which is better than $499. I’ll live with that. But thanks alot Brian.
Well I too have gone for the 5k and also have a 1070 but am resigned to it requiring a beefier gpu for good gaming experience , hope I am wrong
I think you will be happy with the 5k, the major difference is screen door effect and for me that isn’t a deal breaker.
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