Oculus Quest 2 Vs Valve Index...(Which is Best for You) 

"which is better for you?" *looks at my bank account* quest, definitely quest

what we need is a lightweight, wireless headset like the quest 2, with the advanced finger tracking controllers like the index

If the Q2 controllers had like a grip button for each finger-and I guess a strap like the index-It'd be perfect. All fingers "tracked" with a bit of physical feedback/resistance.

I am actually happy that my Valve Index has had almost 0 issues. The cable is still good controllers have had no major issues accept right controller not wanting to connect when first turned on. The base stations 2 of them have almost no whine and 2 have the whine. if you use something with some weight and hang it off the base station it will absorb the sound. Only Major issue I have with the headset is the glare, not terrible but would have liked it too not be as bad as it is. Have had the headset since April of 2021. Purchased March 8th 2021.

Yay i finally got an oculus quest 2! And all I had to do was sell my soul to Mark Zuckerburg!

I've had my Quest 2 for over 2 months now. It's been a hassle, getting a silicone facepad, a better strap, and a Link cable. But now I'm in a good place now with Q2. $300 plus the $40 for accessories is a steal considering the competition.

The Valve Index has something people don’t give enough credit to: Unparalleled audio. Playing games like Half Life Alyx on the Index makes it insanely more immersive because it sounds like you’re actually in that world, not like you’re listening to it through headphones

Summarized: Valve Index is high quality at the sake of reliability and longevity.

Hey man! I really liked your videos! (specifically the VR related ones you've made recently) I would REALLY love to see more VR content from you! keep up the great work and high quality videos!

Me: I like the valve index Also me: looks at room I think the quest 2 will do

i dont think people ever realize how much it helps a content creator to give them 100% watchtime on a video but every one of your videos ive seen so far are worth it your videos are packed with information right up until the outro every time

Great comparison video! I sincerely hope Valve step up their competitiveness with Oculus and come up with a new Index revision that is a worthy challenger at a competitive price. I'm disappointed that they haven't already done something to give Oculus something to worry about.

the audio on the quest 2 is what i need, if i had a valve my dad would be screaming at decibal level 200 before id hear him lol

couldn't ask for a better review. thank you.

One of the BEST comparison videos I ever seen, thank you so much for the great info!

Great video! I got my Quest 2 just before the price hike and this just proves it was a very good choice and I'm very happy with it so far. Gaming on a monitor will never be the same again. Only issue I have is the battery life but it's expected at the price point which I will be addressing with a power bank. Mine came with a silicone cover in the box so now I feel special😂

Great job on the edit of this! So much effort and will help a lot of people down the line. I’m going quest 2!

I've had the Quest 2 for about 9 months now and I absolutely love it. Between me and other family members it's had about 600 hours of use. Its still working without issue, even the foam interface is fine. The controllers have been whacked against TV"s, walls, picture frames, mugs and people and are still unmarked and work fine. I've modded the strap and attached an after market battery to the back but who cares when it's such good value in the first place.

I think that the Index deserved Tracking. Sure, the base stations are annoying, but you don't need to drill them into the wall. Also, The full tracking even when the controllers are behind your head is so nice compared to the front-only tracking. If the Quest 2 included optional base stations that connected to the console itself, that would be a real game changer.

I got both. I got the index on release, and I just got the quest 2 a week ago. I agree the quest does feel like it will be more durable. So far I've had to replace my index controllers through the warranty once, and I've had to replace the headset itself due to the speakers quit working. It was actually after my 1 year warranty and valve still offered to replace the headset which was awesome, granted it was only a month or two after my warranty expired. If I had to chose one and was on a budget id get the oculus, and even if you have a pc you can get the link cable and run any steam vr game. I don't agree with what you said about the base stations, here they are 100 for an extra, and it comes with two in the box, it helps if you buy one more (3 total). I don't turn them on individually each time, they go into sleep mode and when I turn on steam vr they fire right up, and I do not hear a sound from them unless extremely close, almost ear resting on them. You don't have to mount it to a wall, you can use a stand or set them on a shelf if you have one. So far after a few year they haven't failed on me. Then again, its nice to not have to worry about base stations at all. I love being able to walk any wear in my house and play my quest with a quick set up.

Great comparison review! I'm pretty new to the VR community but I've watched so many of your videos before I purchased my own Quest 2 because you keep it so reliable 👍

The Index actually gets rid of the screen door effect entirely because of it's LCD screen. A huge upgrade compared to the gen 1 Vive I used to have, which had a really annoying screen door effect.

Tbh from 11 months ago to now, you have changed a lot you can see the drive and motivation in each and every video you do! Keep it up and meta what's up with a sponsor for this guy like omg 😅💯💯

really i can't thank you enough for this video, i have been on the fence about what VR headset to get since it will be my first. and you have convinced me to get the Quest 2, to get into VR to see if i like it and potentially wait for a better and more reliable headset in the future. thanks again for the helpful video

Wow this is one of the best videos I've ever seen about reviewing. You are incredible and I hope I will watch more of your videos in the future

Great video! Keep up with the good content 🙏

What a great video. You won all the categories, great info, great editing, great audio. Keep it up!

I'm pretty much a VR novice but you explained everything quite well! Great video!

As a newbie to VR (just bought the Quest today), this video was exactly what I needed to see. I had been seriously considering buying the Index, but this video made me very happy with my choice. Great work, my friend! Very much appreciated! Cheers!! :)

I, unironically, have the exact opposite experience in the controllers section for the Quest 2; my controller shell SNAPPED after hitting my clothes hamper which was close to me, so the durability isn’t all that good, (for me) and even though the material is white plastic and not painted plastic, the (what I’m assuming to be) matte coating scratched off along with color, on both the controllers and the headset itself. The tracking is fine though, and with the crack I just had to put some duct tape on the controller and let it seal for about a day. If you’re thinking about getting a Quest 2, don’t let my experience tailor your opinion, as this is a problem I’ve never seen on anyone else’s system. The Quest 2 is a great headset.

Great video! Very informative. I've had a Q2 for about a year now and I thought I actually had a lower end model that everything else had passed by. Apparently I don't. My biggest issue with the Q2 is it being tied to FB. The audio is also an issue but most of my VR play is connected to a PC with a full surround audio setup, it's not that big of a deal. My grandson on the other hand, uses the Q2 wireless most of the time and we have had issues with the audio just not working at all until the entire system was restarted. Anyway, now I don't feel bad about only having a Q2, so thanks for that!

Great comprehensive analysis, many thanks for posting

I love my quest 2, but after quite a few months of use, I’ve had a number of software issues. Sometimes I’ll randomly lose tracking, if I take off the headset and put it back on I’ll have to hard reset it. Among other things, it’s basically unusable now and oculus support wont replace anything.

When I saw your sub count I said he at least has 1,000,000 but then I saw that you only have 40,000 you are the most underrated VR channel I've ever seen in my life keep up the good work.

I got into VR with Quest 2 can't remember how many months ago. Never would have gotten in to VR without being able to try it so cheaply, but I discovered it was amazing and became a VR junkie. Was on the fence, but ended up getting an Index...and I have not regretted it for a second. Quest 2 is great, but... I really prefer the Index. It's just so much more comfortable. I tried multiple head straps for the Quest, I like the halo one the best, but still... It's just so heavy. Might not seem like much at first, but after a few hours...the difference in weight makes a huge difference. And for PC VR, especially Steam games...just a better experience generally. Yeah, you can get a link cable... Virtual Desktop actually works really well for me, better than link cable...but neither can beat the combined Display Port, USB3, and dedicated AC adaptor of the Index. I thought the cables would be a downside, but in practice... I don't have enough room that I can roam around...even if I turn around in place, I'm more likely to hit something, so I just keep my feet planted. So I'd rather just have a cable and not worry about having to run out of power. I usually end up playing my Quest with it plugged in to my MacBook charger so I don't run out of power anyway. But the Index's cable is conveniently behind my back, but with the Quest, it hangs annoyingly over my shoulder. The better FOV is really nice. The controllers...pretty good, but even though they do have more of a premium feel vs the cheap plastic of the Quest, I'll actually give points to Quest, because the Index controllers restrict the range of motion of your wrists, and they give me callouses. But overall, I prefer using Index and am annoyed when I need to use Quest for some reason now. TL;DR: Quest 2 is a great way to get into VR, the value for the money is incredible... And it's perfectly adequate for PC VR. If you can't or don't want an Index or anything else, you're not missing out on THAT much. But if you have the money to spare and want the best PC VR experience you can get for $1K or less...The Index is totally worth it.

you helped alot thank you! keep the good work up!

the quest 2 is the new king of VR, fight me -higher resolution -120Hz refresh rate (on some apps) -easier setup -cheaper -wireless -works as a standalone and a PC headset (wireless using airlink) -better lenses (bonus : there is a little hack for the quest 2 controllers that converts the wrist strap to a grip, look it up on youtube) so it has the best value, with overall better functionality

you could buy 2 256GB quest 2s both with link cable and elite straps for the price of a valve index

You're literally the channel I was looking for!

Thank you, very informative. Trying to decide what I want for my first VR headset.

Very useful comparison, thanks very much!

Thanks man helped me to make the decision.

Congrats! You have just gained a new subscriber! 🥳 🎉

Thank you for this video, it was really helpful!

Thanks for the detail you put into this and your hard work. Definitely made my decision much easier.

So I got the quest 2 and 👍👍. The screen is ridiculously clear compared to my og vive, the wireless air link worked right out the box, so far it's been great. No wires, just grab it and go, more room to run around with, etc. Wider field of view is only complaint, would make it perfect with.

You did such a damn good job on this video. Great information.

Man, Valve's gonna have a *Lot* of data from all the Index's they've replaced, Just like, envision the sheer number off stories you heard of full headset replacements they've done and further realize how long the Index has been around. They'll definitely have a *Lot* of active use data to run through to improve their next VR headset for when ever they decide to release it. I say release cause no doubt Valve is working on *Something* behind the scenes, they're Valve, they are always cookin up something in their labs. lol

this video has been extremely helpful, I've been overwhelmed with which VRheadset to get because i just don't have alot of experience with them and i didn't want to get one that i'd end up hating. im not a huge tech savvy person so being able to see and hear someone's full honest opinion on both systems has been really relieving for my decision making!

“The controllers or how you interact with the virtual world” Hand tracking: am I a joke to you

Thx for making my decision easy, I'm so glad I'm getting a quest 2. Thx

You are a badass. Thank you for hammering through all of this cogently. Excellent content. 🤝

im getting a quest 2 for my birthday next june and I am very impressed with how you have done the review, Keep up the good work

3:39 I'm sorry Index you're to God damm thick -GetHip 2021

well done mate! thanks for the video

A Very well done video, thanks a bunch. I've been an avid PC gamer now for way longer than I'd like to admit, that said I have never ever tried a VR unit. I wear Glasses and can at times suffer from motion sickness. I've kind a just been waiting for the "perfect" VR experience but at an affordable price. The Quest 2 is very much affordable at least to me and I feel like the inevitable 3rd literation of this unit is where i'm going to bite. They know how to make a quality unit, and the Quest 3 will be even better I'd assume, reviews will be well vetted too though. I'm interested, I want to experience this tech, I'm in on the next launch when ever that is. I thank you though for a very well done comparison.

In my opinion the index controllers are way better, I think the buttons feel nicer and the joystick just feels way better. I also have 3 friends that have a quest 2 and 2 of them have very bad drift. I have a index and a quest 2 and i have spend over 350 hours in each. (600 hours with the index and about 400 hours with the quest.) And I think that the index overall feels better in quality.

If you slide the Lenses on the oculus quest 2 to adjust IPD while wearing it you will see that that it officially supports in-betweens, there is a display stating if you are for example in 61 62 63 etc

i like this, keep up the good work👍🥳!

Great job ! I was on the fence with deciding on a VR hardware purchase, but after watching this , you described my dilemma perfectly. Keep up the good work !

there are just not enough plugs in my room to charge 2 controllers, 2 base stations, have 2 monitors, my fan (for direction bearing) my PC, my lights, phone charger, smart assistant AND wireless access point, quest 2 immediately wins for me, if i plug anymore power squids in i trip the breaker EDIT: bearing in mind my room has 1 outlet that i current have 2 power squids plugged into eachother (a four plug and a six plug for a total of 9 because the 6 power squid takes up a port on the 4 one) and i currently have my phone, my lights (2 of them) monitors (2), PC, smart assistant, wireless access point and my quest charger

Great video and fair comparison. I went for the Valve Index with 4x 2.0 basestations, 4 vive trackers 3.0 (feet, waist, chest) simply for VR chat full body. But I fully understand how you rated this.

Thanks for the excellent video!👍😀

The fact that you can play steam VR games wirelessly with the quest 2 was reason enough for me to buy it. I haven't really had any complaints at all with the Q2 In the year I've had it. I did replace the strap with a halo strap and install a silicone cover. I also Velcro strapped a 10000 mAh battery bank to the top strap wich gives me an extra 5 or 6 hours of battery which is more than enough. I did have some tracking issues with the controllers when I first got it but that seems to have been sorted by an update. One pitfall I did fall into was getting cheap rechargeable batteries for my controllers. Turns out a lot of the cheap rechargeable batteries are 1.2 volts instead of 1.5. Make sure you don't make that mistake because it causes a whole lot of strange issues with the tracking. I've also noticed that tracking tends to get worse the lower the battery level gets so I tend to replace them well before they are dead at around 20-30%

I feel happier now knowing i bought a quest 2 from this video probably because like no one talks about which is better and what not but knowing i got something that is pretty good for it’s money even compared to a $1k headset

I bought the quest as a portable headset to bring on the go and it's now my daily driver. I ended up frankensteining it so it now has a DT 990 pro built in on the headset, mouth tracking, 3rd party straps with swappable batteries and VR covers. working on making my own vr gloves for finger tracking and from the looks of it, the way i am tracking the fingers is way more accurate than the index. Also want to try to get some eye tracking in there but that's for another project. I have had situations where I wasn't able to use it for a week until meta released a fix for some bug but 99% of the time it just works.

I got my quest 2 for a month and, just by itself, the headstraps are indeed flimsy. Spending for accessories is a must if you want to get maximum comfort out of it. The wireless capability is awesome since... no cables flinging around. But, IMO, the important thing to address is the repairability/servicing. I saw people with quest 2 who had problems with broken lenses have no option to replace the lenses which means you gotta have to buy a new unit. While quality and reliability are both important, it's also important to have the option to fix the hardware yourself.

you worked hard bro so i gave you a like!!

I just want to include as this video is a year out now, currently there's a lot of cheaper and better alternatives now to the Quest Pro Strap, the BOBOVR M2 being the most popular. This is the one I use and I highly recommend, better quality than the pro strap, and is only $35. Also, all Quest 2 systems now come with a silicone cover for your facepad in the box if you don't like the feel of the sponge cover, so you don't even have to buy one yourself.

You are my new favorite VR youtuber. I love how unbiased your content is!

Good video. I alwys was interested in VR. But wanted to wait until the tech gets better. Now I wanted to buy a VR headset and must decide between Quest 2 and the Index. This video helped me a lot to make a descision!

This really helped me pick the right one the quest 2 but like you said the other one has potential in it they just need to put the time and effort in it thanks 👍👍

Having used both the Quest 2 and the Index, I honestly feel like a lot of the issues you bring up with the Index (mostly in reference to the base stations) are unfairly embellished. I agree with the controllers being uncomfortable after a while and the lenses potentially being an issue, but I've simply kept my base stations in standby mode for a long while now with no problems. Don't have to individually turn them on that way. I do realize this will probably be an issue later on down the line, but I also feel that by the point that does become a problem VR will have advanced to the point where I'd probably be considering upgrading to a new headset anyway. Also, to be fair, the setup on the Index is mostly a one-time thing unless you move the base stations or decide to completely move the setup to a different room, whereas you have to set up your guardian on the Quest 2 every time you play in a new location (unless you only play in the stationary mode). I also have some pretty high shelves I have mine placed on, so no need to mount them to the wall, which also made setup pretty simple. The sound from the base stations is also not noticeable to me at all unless I put the base stations directly up to my ears, though to be fair I do usually have a fan running or other sounds that may simply be drowning them out. All of the software-based issues are also at the fault of software developers and not the Index itself, so don't understand knocking it on that point. Again, having used both headsets, I can say that while I certainly love how convenient the Quest 2 is, I overall enjoy the Index more. To each their own, I suppose.

Index both headset and controllers is really meant to not be thrashed upon. It doesn’t excuse it on being fragile but it’s also important to keep in mind it’s not for on-the-go or thrown about and rather to be sitting next to a full desktop setup.

Very nice info and thank you very much.

I just got myself a quest 2 for christmas (for 250 US) and have been playing both native quest games as well as steam vr on a beefy rig, and have wondered how much better the experience could be to justify a 4x price increase. The only thing I noticed from watching game footage with the index was the individual bottom 3 finger tracking, which as you say is a novelty that will wear off almost immediately. I didn't do a ton of research before I bought the quest, I just got the only one that was in my budget and on sale, and I love it. Seeing this makes me pretty secure and confident that I'm not missing much and could even miss out on some things by "upgrading" to a headset that costs several times more. Having to set up wall mounted sensors, no grip button, worse lenses, worse controllers, etc. I'm glad my blind purchase was the correct one.

Def subscribed..thanks

this feels like someone is hammering me till i stop wanting the valve index

I was thinking about upgrading to a Valve, but after watching this, I just gotta say thank you for saving me a grand!

GREAT video! Really professional!!😃

I can’t say I agree with a few of the things in the video, but I do see that we aren’t really looking at it the same way either. I see everything from whether or not I’m going to have a more premium, immersive experience while it seems you look more in flexibility as well as ease of use. Because of this I would have swapped a few of the things around leading to the index barely winning, but I guess it is different for different people. Edit: I also would have added a category that dealt with pcvr quality since if you want to plug in the q2 to a pc, it doesn’t blend as well with it as even the rift s does despite on paper the quest being superior. In that regard the index would definitely win as well.

I'm selling my Rift S and my oculus account and bought an Index just to get away from Facebook. Your rating in this video was great but "requiring" a Facebook account to use it is a deal breaker.

the screen door effect is a super nono for me personally so I put the display point towards the quest 2..... just ordered one. thank you for this in depth review!

I have had my index for only 2 days and I absolutely love the index. I have had a quest 2 for 1-2 years and it’s good but there are very serious issues I’ve experienced. 1# the graphics look like trash or you can connect it to your pc BUT if you don’t have a cable or a good internet connection you will have to sacrifice your graphics to get a decent experience. Unlike the index where I set it up and when I got on and NO LAG AT ALL, I haven’t experienced a single bit of lag since I got it which is surprising because I have had so much lag and framedrops with the quest when playing pcvr games LIKE REALLY BAD FRAMEDROPS like I could have 120 fps one second and than 3 fps the next which is not fun. 2# Although the index takes a bit to set up its really not that hard it only took 30-45 minutes for me but the quest took around 15-20 minutes and I was set. 3# the index is pretty comfortable but the faceplate can get annoying but the quest is even worse because it makes my face itch so much after only 45 minutes which is really annoying. I’m not going to continue on my rant about the quest because I’ve only had the index for a couple days so I think it may be to early to judge.

you forgot to mention the elite strap has weak points and there are tons of reports of the strap breaking at the same place but tbf oculus are allowing refunds fro like 2 years but its still good to mention

Hell yh I'm early love the videos

keep going brother love the content

thanks for this now i can show this to my dad and maybe ill get it like ur vids

I like how every time he gives a point to the quest 2 he goes “I’m gonna have to give a point to the quest 2” but when he gives a point to the index he goes “The point obviously goes to the index”

Hi! I'm getting a new Quest 2 in the next weeks and am doing lots of research. I have to say this was a very well done video. I watched to the end and learned quite a lot. Thank you.

late june 2022 what is the verdict on the hardware and rma issues with the index? im thinking of upgrading from the quest 2 in a couple of months

I just ordered a quest 2 yesterday and I'm waiting for it to arrive!

Realistically the only downside of the Q2 is the shorter fov and the IPD adjustment. Other things like uncomfortable headstrap can be fixed with a $40 accessory. You can get knuckle straps for the Q2 for like 20

Dude. You are high. You don't need to drill anything, just use cheap tripods. I understand the userbase of Quest 2's are growing, but this entire video seems sponsored. And I have a Quest 2, OG Vive, a Valve Index (never broken, never have had drift) and an old DK1 Rift. There is no noise from the base stations that are in the corner in of my living room. Maybe if you put your ear next to it you might hear it. I never have. This video seems like propaganda

amazing video thanks for the help

Great video Thank you very much!

I've been contemplating on deciding whether I should go for a enthusiast grade VR headset like the VIVE family or something more streamlined and more value for money as my first VR headset....just got my Quest 2 yesterday and never looked back...great video and helped me decide my purchase

That was a good, fair review, but I think it's actually even more of a landslide than that. Let's look at a few intangibles. For this I'll use a different grading system. I'll award 5 points to the winner of the category, and however many points I see fit to the loser based on how close they come. Privacy - This one comes down to how much you hate the facebook connection. Some people won't care at all if they already have a facebook account anyway (such as me), and also don't think for a second that Valve isn't collecting your data as well through steam. Just not as much. Index - 5 Quest - 2 Portability - This is one from the "Things the Quest can do that the Index can't" category. No contest. Quest is fully portable, Index is as fixed as your TV. Quest - 5 Index - 0 Versatility - Fairly close as both headsets can play Steam and Viveport games, and technically Oculus PC games although that's kludgy for the index. And only the Quest can play Quest native games. Quest - 5 Index - 4 Wireless Play - Another one from the "Things Quest can do that Index can't" category. Quest can do native games wireless as well as wireless PCVR. Quest - 5 Index - 0 On top of that, most of the areas the Index wins at in your review can be fixed in the Quest with accessories to get it a lot closer to the index and STILL be a lot cheaper, so using my points system most of those would be 5-4 or 5-3 wins at best for the Index. Comfort for example. If you add a VR Cover faceplate replacement, and an elite battery strap with some additional counter weight, you can wear that thing all day long. And the sound can be improved as well, although I'm not aware of any add-on that will make it as good as the index sound. Biggest drawbacks to the Quest are FOV, IPD Adjustments, and Facebook. If FOV is far and away your most important concern, or if the Quest IPD adjustments just don't work for you, or if you just hate Facebook and don't want an account with them for any reason, then you might want to consider the Index. Otherwise Quest 2 is kind of a no-brainer.

I loved the outro !

I love this content dude, but can we have more ranking vids