Pimax 5k plus - is this the next step for VR flightsim?

  • I am curious whether anyone else is tempted to go for the 5K plus. It is fairly clear that this is the better option compared to the Pimax 8k which upsamples rather than use native resolution. I am on Oculus at the moment, so the switch would mean giving up on the oculus tracking system and going with the Vive technology. Hanging around for a decent oculus upgrade no longer seems sensible since oculus announced that the Rift S will only be an incremental improvement and they don't really want to cater to the high end PC market segment.

    Ideally I would have waited for the 8Kx as I don't like to upgrade hardware unless there is a good step up. I really don't think that near-term GPU technology can handle it though. We need foveated rendering but nobody is talking about being even close with that. So I'm left wondering whether to compromise on the 5K plus on the basis that nothing better will be available for a good 18 to 24 months.

    I'd be interested in the thoughts of others in similar situations.

  • I am one of the early testers. I suggest you go for 5k+. While it improves on all kinds of VR gaming, it especially benefit flight sim and car sim.

    Here is my review, and it's based on Aerofly FS 2: http://forum.pimaxvr.com/t/5k-or-8k-my-…n-floor-28/8249

    Pimax 5K+ is especially a heavenly match for Aerofly FS 2, as FS 2 is so optimized to run on it smoothly. I have almost achieved 90 fps in the most computer demanding scenery at max graphic setting with moderate overclocking of 9900K and 2080Ti: Good news: I almost achieved 90 FPS with Orbx TrueEarth Netherland on Pimax 5K+

    My guess is that FS 2 might even be able to handle 8KS, but I am already very contenede with 5K+ with it.

    Edited once, last by frui (November 2, 2018 at 2:10 AM).

  • I'm a Pimax 8K Kickstarter backer, but as my number is high (in the 5.000's) I still have some time to decide if I should "downgrade" to the 5K+. I am using VR almost exclusively for flight simming, and I am drawn to the higher resolution and reduced SDE on the 8K, but the improved clarity and sharpness reported by reviewers of the 5K+ over the 8K, is very tempting. What to do.......?

    Flying A330 as a day-job and enjoy VR-flying with PIMAX 5k+. NextLevelRacing v.3 Motion platform, Watercooled and overclocked i9-9900k, 32Gb 3600RAM, Samsung 970EVO Pro 2Tb m.2, nVidia RTX-2080Ti FE, Thrustmaster HOTAS, VKB pedals, Cockpitforyou motorised throttle quadrant, Precision Flight Controls Jetliner column

  • I'm a Pimax 8K Kickstarter backer, but as my number is high (in the 5.000's) I still have some time to decide if I should "downgrade" to the 5K+. I am using VR almost exclusively for flight simming, and I am drawn to the higher resolution and reduced SDE on the 8K, but the improved clarity and sharpness reported by reviewers of the 5K+ over the 8K, is very tempting. What to do.......?

    When do you expect to get your Pimax? Have they been in contact recently?

    It seems to me that 8k is a waste of time if It only receives 5k's worth of pixels.

  • I'm a Pimax 8K Kickstarter backer, but as my number is high (in the 5.000's) I still have some time to decide if I should "downgrade" to the 5K+. I am using VR almost exclusively for flight simming, and I am drawn to the higher resolution and reduced SDE on the 8K, but the improved clarity and sharpness reported by reviewers of the 5K+ over the 8K, is very tempting. What to do.......?

    I have tested both for several months. From a flight simer's perspect of view, 5K+ is definitely the way to go. I'd choose 5K+ for most other usage too.

  • When do you expect to get your Pimax? Have they been in contact recently?

    It seems to me that 8k is a waste of time if It only receives 5k's worth of pixels.

    Haven’t had “the” email yet (where they ask you to confirm shipping details and specs), but going by the buzz on the Pimax forums I don’t expect it until Q1-2019. They are ramping up production but yield it still very low and I all goes a lot slowe that we all would have liked. Not sure the upscaling is just a waste of time. If you’ve ever watched 1080p movies, upscale by a 4K TV you’d know what I mean, but I think Frui’s advice is sound I will most likely go for the 5k+

    Flying A330 as a day-job and enjoy VR-flying with PIMAX 5k+. NextLevelRacing v.3 Motion platform, Watercooled and overclocked i9-9900k, 32Gb 3600RAM, Samsung 970EVO Pro 2Tb m.2, nVidia RTX-2080Ti FE, Thrustmaster HOTAS, VKB pedals, Cockpitforyou motorised throttle quadrant, Precision Flight Controls Jetliner column

  • I have tested both for several months. From a flight simer's perspect of view, 5K+ is definitely the way to go. I'd choose 5K+ for most other usage too.

    I sure do appreciate your advice Frui, and I’m pretty sure I’ll go for the 5k+. Cheers

    Flying A330 as a day-job and enjoy VR-flying with PIMAX 5k+. NextLevelRacing v.3 Motion platform, Watercooled and overclocked i9-9900k, 32Gb 3600RAM, Samsung 970EVO Pro 2Tb m.2, nVidia RTX-2080Ti FE, Thrustmaster HOTAS, VKB pedals, Cockpitforyou motorised throttle quadrant, Precision Flight Controls Jetliner column

  • frui With the idea of sitting still and not have to do much moving around while flying, could you test to see if the Pimax can run Aerofly without the tracking base stations? Perhaps just left and right head movements. I believe I will be getting my headset before the knuckles and base station 2 bundles come out. Knowing if I can temporarily avoid controller and base station purchase would help. I suppose anyone with a regular HTC VIVE could test this, but the Pimax might be different??

  • I don't know why, but I can never make my Pimax work without turning base stations on. It's supposed to work without base stations as others have proved, but in my case it always shows "headset not detected". You also need at least one controller for Aerofly FS 2, as it often starts with the SteamVR dashboard on when you are in the cockpit, so you have to use the controller to turn it off.

    frui With the idea of sitting still and not have to do much moving around while flying, could you test to see if the Pimax can run Aerofly without the tracking base stations? Perhaps just left and right head movements. I believe I will be getting my headset before the knuckles and base station 2 bundles come out. Knowing if I can temporarily avoid controller and base station purchase would help. I suppose anyone with a regular HTC VIVE could test this, but the Pimax might be different??

  • Thanks for sharing your experience with the situation. I read that the headset does have a gyro built inside allowing for non base tracking. So I thought you would be the best person to ask! If you ever manage to get past the headset not detected issue, let me know if flight sim is tolerable without tracking. :)

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    Devons rig

    Intel Core i5-13600K - Core i5 13th Gen 14-Core (6P+8E) @ 5.5Ghz / G.SKILL Trident Z5 RGB Series 32GB RAM DDR5 6000 / GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4070Ti GAMING OC 12G / Sound Blaster Z / Oculus Quest 2 VR Headset / Klipsch® Promedia 2.1 Computer Speakers / ASUS ROG SWIFT PG279Q ‑ 27" IPS LED Monitor ‑ QHD / 6x Samsung SSD/NVME's various sizes / Windows 11 Pro 64-bit / GIGABYTE Z790 AORUS ELITE AX LGA 1700 ATX Motherboard DDR5

  • Just ordered my 5k plus this morning. My primary use for it will be, AFS2 and DCS World.

    Coming from the Rift, I am eagerly ready for higher resolution and a wider FOV.

    Now I wait.

    Redtail

    KFRG, KTEB, KEWR, KLGA

    ~Straighten up and fly right~

    DESKTOP: i7-7700k @5GHz (water cooled), Nvidia GTX 1080Ti FTW3, 32GB DDR4, 500GB SSD, Oculus Rift CV1, Windows 10 Home 64 bit,

    TM HOTAS Warthog (large spring removed), Saitek PRO Flight Combat Rudder Pedals, YOKO yoke!

    Laptop (gaming): Acer Predator Helios 500- Intel Core i7-8750H @4.1GHz, Nvidia GTX 1070, 32GB DDR4, 256GB SSD/1TB HDD.

    Gametrix JetSeat FSE (Flight Sim Edition)-USB Vibrating pad. Nextlevel V3 Motion Platform / Sim cockpit.

  • Just ordered my 5k plus this morning. My primary use for it will be, AFS2 and DCS World.

    Coming from the Rift, I am eagerly ready for higher resolution and a wider FOV.

    Now I wait.

    I ordered the 5k+ awhile back. My main concern is if I will need the controllers and base stations off the bat for AF2? I see you have the Rift, did you order controllers and base stations for Pimax?

  • I ordered the 5k+ awhile back. My main concern is if I will need the controllers and base stations off the bat for AF2? I see you have the Rift, did you order controllers and base stations for Pimax?

    No I haven't yet. I'm in the same boat, waiting to see if they're actually necessary for the only two progrsms I use in VR. DCS and AFS2.

    Redtail

    KFRG, KTEB, KEWR, KLGA

    ~Straighten up and fly right~

    DESKTOP: i7-7700k @5GHz (water cooled), Nvidia GTX 1080Ti FTW3, 32GB DDR4, 500GB SSD, Oculus Rift CV1, Windows 10 Home 64 bit,

    TM HOTAS Warthog (large spring removed), Saitek PRO Flight Combat Rudder Pedals, YOKO yoke!

    Laptop (gaming): Acer Predator Helios 500- Intel Core i7-8750H @4.1GHz, Nvidia GTX 1070, 32GB DDR4, 256GB SSD/1TB HDD.

    Gametrix JetSeat FSE (Flight Sim Edition)-USB Vibrating pad. Nextlevel V3 Motion Platform / Sim cockpit.

  • I'm not convinced Pimax will give a significant improvement on my Occulus Rift until they release the 8k X.

    From what I've read the 5k still has a signfiicant 'screen door' effect because the extra pixels are now spread over a larger area. The 8k has the same bandwidth as the 5k, and reduces the screen door effect by blurring the image. With those limitations neither of these products seem to justify the hefty price tag for the limited improvement they will give.

    The 8k X will supposedly have full 8k bandwidth, so I think that is the one that will be worth upgrading to for me, although I fear it may mean a completely new PC as well :)

    I suspect in the time it will take for the 8k X to appear one of the other manufacturers will have sorted themselves out with a high resolution headset at a better price than Pimax.... fingers crossed :D

  • I'm not convinced Pimax will give a significant improvement on my Occulus Rift until they release the 8k X.

    From what I've read the 5k still has a signfiicant 'screen door' effect because the extra pixels are now spread over a larger area. The 8k has the same bandwidth as the 5k, and reduces the screen door effect by blurring the image. With those limitations neither of these products seem to justify the hefty price tag for the limited improvement they will give.

    The 8k X will supposedly have full 8k bandwidth, so I think that is the one that will be worth upgrading to for me, although I fear it may mean a completely new PC as well :)

    I suspect in the time it will take for the 8k X to appear one of the other manufacturers will have sorted themselves out with a high resolution headset at a better price than Pimax.... fingers crossed :D

    Devons rig

    Intel Core i5-13600K - Core i5 13th Gen 14-Core (6P+8E) @ 5.5Ghz / G.SKILL Trident Z5 RGB Series 32GB RAM DDR5 6000 / GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4070Ti GAMING OC 12G / Sound Blaster Z / Oculus Quest 2 VR Headset / Klipsch® Promedia 2.1 Computer Speakers / ASUS ROG SWIFT PG279Q ‑ 27" IPS LED Monitor ‑ QHD / 6x Samsung SSD/NVME's various sizes / Windows 11 Pro 64-bit / GIGABYTE Z790 AORUS ELITE AX LGA 1700 ATX Motherboard DDR5

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    Hmmm now you have me wondering if the Vive Pro is worth a look while waiting for the next step..... Thats quite pricey too (799 GBP on Amazon!)..... hmmmm