Pimax CRYSTAL LIGHT vs QUEST 3 - Which is BEST for PCVR? A Flight Sim Perspective | MSFS & DCS World 

NEWS! Things are changing fast lol. Local dimming version now $799😮😮 Are you tempted by the Pimax Light? If this video has been useful and you are thinking of ordering a Pimax Crystal Light, please feel free to use the following link (which is Affiliated) HERE: pimax.com/pages/crystal-light?ref=r2cQAf - It really helps support the channel. Have a great weekend!

Quest 3 user here... totally agree that the biggest shortcoming is the lack of direct video over the link cable. My first headset had a bright stuck pixel and bad mura... the replacement seems better, so there might be a panel lottery. That being said, I am super happy using it with MSFS and the ability to use it as a standalone device for native games, netflix etc is more than just an added bonus. Plus, you can pick it up at a local store, and return it if you have a problem.

Not upset. I’m happy for PC VR, and really happy to get another “real” PC VR headset that’s not in the 1500 bracket.

And Remember kids, get out of your headsets sometimes to get outdoors & enjoy all of the many clear blue skies days & months of England, any time of the year.

Great job speaking to the cost of features. I'm seeing the same comments. People wanting all of the features without the cost. I agree with you completely

Of course, then again the skies are always clear in S. England for 10 months of the year though!

I remember dropping my $2000 Varjo Aero twice when i first got it. O hated myself so much, but loved that their build quality is so high. Had me sweating though

The thing with eye tracking is that where you need it most is in the cheaper headsets. The people buying budget headset are likely using budged PC hardware. They need every bit of performance advantage they can get. So eye tracking is something you especially don't want to remove from budget headsets.

Why the heck doesn`t the pimax headset have pancacke lenses? At this pricepoint you would think this should be the way to go...

I have Quest 3 and i will stick with it unless its failure or really better VR sets will be on the market in the next 2-3 years.

Clear for me light or normal crystal. I can use the Quest 3 but when I see the visuals of the Crystal or even Aero in comparison there is no going back.Aspherical lenses are simply a quality feature.

As always a *beautifully informative* breakdown.. I was skeptical about how the Crystal Lite would be worth it without Eye-Tracking (E/T) but you made some really valid points there Steve. I fly mainly in DCS so E/T is really essential. I am happy to some extent that I settled on the which is definitely a huge leap from the Index in almost every aspect (apart from audio) especially when playing games like FO4, Skyrim & HLAlyx untethered, or going through your own creation in unreal engine in VR. Like many others, I am really disappointed that Pimax ditched the E/T in the lite but I understand that a lot of folks just do VR swimming and won't be bothered by other titles/usage. I am really hyped for the *Crystal Super* which will undoubtedly beat all other high-end VR (if it materializes with no major drawbacks) including Somnium V1 and Varjo XR-4. You gotta give it to Pimax for keeping the high-end VR market competitive.

Thanks for this. I have the Reverb G2 and I love it but with 24H2 coming I need another solution, and I think the Crystal Light is going to be the answer.

Q3 owner here and a happy one, but I will be looking for an upgrade this year. I'm gonna hold fire with the crystal light and see what somnium come up with before pulling the trigger.

I have sat on the fence so long about whether to change to VR from TrackIR that my splinters have splinters. So many options, so many pros and cons, so many reported headaches getting VR set up properly. However I think I might bite the bullet and go with Crystal Light …..before the end of 2024 :)

This is exactly what I'm looking for, I recently bought a Q3 and really want to see what my 4080 can do. Question, does the Pimax Light have passthrough mode? Looking forward to the settings video for the crystal light!

For the Light an optional add on / upgrade to include eye tracking with DFR would be ideal. Would the £200-300 mark seem about right for this add on (total cost £900-1000). The Vive eye tracking add on model is £280 and the PSVR2 has eye tracking and retails £530, though is a different product and Sony backing / economies of scale etc The saving from the Crystal standard coming from no processor, internal storage (256 GB) or battery. And less cooling requirements.

Well my reverb g2 11 months old and I love i still love it especially in DCS I also got a new cable from hp for free just incase (little white lie) Its the best headset period at the moment and price to replace the reverb g2 and the quest 3 for pc sims especially after the new price today with local dimming But for a change I might just sit back and see what happens when the first batch is out I hope it’s a great success and it turns out to be the go to headset for simming like the g2 was I just hope the build quality is good enough

If you have a Varjo Aero, you may be interested in the newest update they just dropped. Image quality from what I can see is a big improvement. honestly, I can't tell a difference between openxr and the Steam VR now.

Another thing I found crazy is that the Quest 3 with a third party, battery inclusive head strap is pretty much the same weight as the Pimax Crystal Light! This shocked me since the CL is just huge to look at and I was really concerned about the extra weight. Then someone brought up the fact that the most popular replacement head strap is the Bobo VR with the battery (which I have - though not the very newest one) so I weighed it myself and found that, with the battery, it's basically one KG!

Would you have imagined this? In the end Pimax brought the Reverb G3.

The amount of knowledge in the video(and in the comments) is impressive. Am a simracer, and have only ever had the Oculus Rift. Can anyone tell me what would be a good choice for an upgrade(I'm running a 4090)? After watching this video I'd be tempted to order the Crystal light.

Did you get a pimax light for review or are you going by the specs?

All of this assumes Pimax delivers what they promise and do not cut corners. I am excited for this, hope they hold up their end.

Excellent video Steve, I have been using the Quest 3 for two months or so and been very happy with it (especially considering I came from a Rift CV1😂) but I have to admit this Crystal Light seems a no brainer so I’ll be following this quite close up. Love from Belgium !

I have quest pro and pimax crystal. I like fly on both headsets. Pimax crystal is superb, but i cant fly with it long time. I feel eye strain about their lenses. They sent me replacement ones. Its better , but after syper clear lenses of quest pro its a pain for me. In new pimax light you cant just change bad lenses. You must change whole device if you got it with defect lenses. What about FOV and performance. Quest pro in my opinion have better FOV , because i can use it maximum close to my eyes. May be quest 3 also better here. About resolution. I use quest pro 3400x… and this is good enoigh with taa and 4090 , but what i noticed with pimax. You must use 1/1 full panel resolution if you want maximum sharpness. Because if you make 1% less than native resolution, you got good quality picture. But it dont match full panel resolution sharpness. For crystal must have 4090! Its minimum. Its headset for future. I want 5090 with it. It have huge potential. With quest pro ot quest 3 its ok to use with 4070ti or 4080. I use quest pro in TAA for airliners and other ling flights. I use the Crystal for fun fast flights on extra, spitfire, or any fast airplanes. Usually in dlss quality mode. What about eye tracking. I cant use it, because i see this artefacts with my peripheral vision when DFR is active. This artefacts around , when they active also and moving, i can see it too much! For mee FFR without eye tracking its the best solution. What about local dimming. For sunset, sunrise and night flights its a MUST ! Thats wy i sold out quest3 and keep quest pro. Quest pro also the most comfortable ! Sorry for my not perfect English. Im from Latvia.

With the video here on this channel 3 days ago about Crystal Light, I hurried to Pimax site and preordered one. So I'm in before they run out!

Maybe I should start doing videos… I have a crystal and tried it out for a short time. The Quest 3 is so much more comfortable with the bobo strap, no comparison. Quest 3 lenses are much better and no eye strain. I see artifacts in both headsets… almost the same in Dcs.

i'm more into sim racing but i think i can assume the reasons would apply to sim racing also

Please, could you do a short FPS comparison (in DCS) : Crystal Light native resolution vs Quest 3 Virtual Desktop Godlike mode?

I would like to have the option to upgrade to eye tracking for a few hundred dollars or something like that.

Lots of good points Steve, great video! Im saying this as a VR enthusiast myself, not as a Pimax employee (which I am of course), but this is the first time I can honestly say that this Pimax headset is a no-brainer. Maybe not as much for the DCS guy, but for most other gaming and simming. Cheers!

If I knew officially the currently available Crystal, prescription lens inserts fit the Light, I would order the Light right now. I’ve messaged Pimax about this with no response.

So I am assuming that prescription lenses that fit the crystal will work on the light also?

The new PIMAX headsets sound very good, but I will wait and see what the users and reviewers say when they get their hands on the final release product. I am in no hurry to get a new VR headset because I do have the Quest 3. I use it for SIM racing and is connected via the USB Link Cable. Love the clarity, resolution, and wide sweet spot. The only thing I can not do is connect my Quest 3 to a graphics card display port. So again, I will wait to see what all you say about the new headsets after release date. Thanks for the video and take care.

Doing my due diligence here. I found the pimax crystal lite is still going to be around 650g. The reverb G2 is 550g. FYI

How can you do a 'vs' video when the Crystal light hasn't been released yet? Is it just to be the one who gets it out there first, or are you helping Pimax to drum up those pre-order sales, or both? Sorry Steve, but I'm just not feeling this one at all.

I've been told by a Pimax rep that the Crystal Light will not support the upcoming MR Faceplate, for that feature the Crystal Super will be required. That's a major point in favour of the Quest 3.

Hi there - I am Quest 3 user and thinking about Crystal - do I need controllers and lighthouses to run it in sim racing or MSFS ?

Great video that makes my decision brain cells go wacko. It will be my G2 replacement the Pimax Crystal light once I ever upgrady my GPU just because it's not wireless so yes much more performance and better image and will work with AMD GPU... Can't wait to see your review once you can get your hands on it... then for peeps who do have more money for the VR headset Pimax Crystal with Oled option panel vs the Light.. Why can't Pimax offer the wired non bettery option for the full option Oled Pimax Chrystal? Strange...

I think there is still headroom in my Reverb g2. As I'm still running a 3070. I'm thinking once I've upped to a 5080 gpu I'll see what the reverbs limits are and consider the pimax light shortly after.

I'm still loving my quest pro, blows my g2 away and super comfy using the g2 headstrap.

Thanks a lot for another informative video. Do I need Lighthouse faceplate for setting up motion compensation in DOF Reality H3 or a standard set with controllers will be ok? Thanks!

I just received my Crystal, and setup was... well anything but smooth. but after some time I got it all up and running and controllers synced so no problem. I'm coming from a Quest 3 (i9 13900k and an rtx 4080) and I have to say I really was not impressed with the image quality of the crystal. Not sure what I was expecting I guess but I don't think its worth the upgrade from the quest 3 for me. maybe I'm doing something wrong? but I definitely see screen door effect, serious Chromatic aberration on the lens edges and a dark smudge on the bottom right eye I think are dead pixels unfortunately. Really bummed! I truly thought I would be blown away but am seriously considering returning it now. Even with auto IPD, after even a short session my eyes are way more fatigued than I've ever felt after long 3-4 hr sessions in the q3. I didn't have an FPS counter up but xplane12, msfs2020 and DCS ran smooth. but none felt as good as with the quest 3? I'm sure I'm doing something wrong, but its only day 1 so I'm going to play around with it a bit more, but almost 90% sure its going back unfortunately.

Wonder how the PSVR2 with the official Sony PC adapter for Flight Sim will be. OLED panels for under $500.

Good overview Steve, the Crystal light should be an exciting addition for sure. A potential series idea for you. How about doing a VR simmers upgrading guide, and giving your thoughts on the various non HMD upgrade options, GPUs, PC's, motion platforms, flight peripherals etc. For example, would you rather use a Quest 3 with a H2 motion platform, or have a Crystal Light without one? Or do you think a better yoke, throttle or rudder pedal setup should be the next step up for a G2 or Quest 3 owner that doesn't have them yet over a new HMD. These are the kind of real world questions I wrestle with. I like the idea of the Crystal Light a lot, but it's likely to cost close to a £1000 for the local dimming version for me, which is a long way towards a H2 platform, so maybe better to spend on that and keep my Quest Pro for longer. Others might have a 3080 level card and might be wondering if they should get a Crystal Light or a 4080/4090, or maybe hold fire until the 5000 series cards launch in a few months. It would be interesting to know what your core essential setup is now, the parts of your setup that would be first draft picks so to speak. Keep up the good work mate!

Can we use the crystal light on any game besides driving and flying sims? How long is the cables on crystal light for a little movement for those rpg or action games?

On the Crystal Light: I'm looking to upgrade from a G2 where the cable just broke a while back (surprise!). Is the local dimming version of the Light the same QLED panel as the non-local dimming version, but with extra backlighting, or is the local dimming version actually the OLED screen? I'm just wondering because of the availability of both versions in the Crystal Pro or whatever they're calling the mega version. Also, I'm using a 3080 so I'm not sure I could drive a Light.

The only real selling point is it's tethered, unfortunately it seems to lack color passthrough and eye tracking which are featured in other similarly priced headsets: Quest 3, Pico 4, PSVR2. Hopefully, Pi will make an Eye tracked Crystal Light+

Excellent video again, Steve. Looking forward to the Light review 😉 Love from Norway ♥♥♥♥♥

If only it was not strapping a breadbox on your face :(

hey just tested quest 3 against my vive pro 2. sorry the vp2 wins hands down, i tweaked a lot on the quest 3, tried wifi, tried linked mode.. with openxr override render res.. and my 4090.. but nah, i ll keep my vp2

Is it possible to run Pimax Crystal with PC, but without touching the monitor? I know that with pico 4 it was possible (using virtual deaktop), so probably with quest 3 as well. I travel a lot and the space in my suitcase is limited. That's why this question :) I will also add that this will be the last argument deciding which headset I will choose.

What is your view on PSVR2? Its getting an official pc breakout box this year.......it has oled screens, eye tracking with foveated rendering & haptics in the headset as well as haptics in the controllers. Could be the the mid ranged {and priced} headset we have been waiting for.

" god, that was a mouthful!!" Is, according to legend, EXACTLY, what she said !! 😂😂

Great video as always. I am really tempted with the light. I have the Quest 3 and have been well and truly bitten by the bug. Hopefully the 3070ti will give a relatively good performance until I can afford to upgrade to 4070ti Super. I could get a 4090 but that is likely to take years to get the funds together

First of all, than you for the video. Second, I'm coming from basically no VR at all, just tried some Reverb G1 Enterprise from a friend and that sweetspot was awful, you didn't see s**t. After that I watched your video about Quest 3 along with MSFS and you praised it, I bought it the other day and was so shocked that the clarity was all over the FOV pretty much. Now, I'm really happy with the Quest 3 and the Flight Simulators visual is limited on my PC since I only got a 3080 but looking at the 5090 when it arrives which lead me to my last question: How much will the difference in quality actually be if I use Quest 3 with USB-C (Link Cable) or another headset with DP cable directly into my GPU? I have actually no plan of buying another VR headset for a while but will be upgrading to a new computer or just looking to upgrade to a 5090 later this year.

Finally something affordable for people who can't stand the ugly compression on quest etc. It also has almost double the total resolution of q3 and after you buy all the accessories for q3 the price is pretty close. Total no brainer for sims and people who don't care about wireless.

I'm curious to see how challenging it would be to get the crystal light to work in monado, considering it has support for lighthouse tracking.

The only bummer with the Q3 is that £88 pound cable I've seen tempted to buy the cheaper cables you can get from AMAZON ETC but that would be a false economy i guess.

Me watching this with eye tracking 👀👀👀👀👀👀

If you did mention it, I missed it. Will the Pimax Crystel Light version have compatability with an add-on option for passthrough? Promised for the full version but not looking likely anytime soon.

Ive been incredibly impressed with the Quest 3 it is my first VR headset. However the USB link comes with major downsides. The biggest of which is the inconsistent META software, its so inconsistent. The compression and artifacts due to the way it connects over USB to my PC. It just adds more complication to an already complicated process, if I can get rid of this, that's my first prize. I'm looking for a decent headset that has a display port connection. I sit in a sim rig mostly. So the cable is not a problem. I was looking at The big Screen and Beyond but I'm loath to spend on outside tracking as well, not to mention the extra set up. The Pimax Lite has come down in weight by 310g so hopefully that will make it more comfortable. Plus the fact that is has inside out tracking. I'm seriously considering the Pimax Lite. I will keep my Quest 3 for standalone and wireless games.

Will the Crystal accessories (face cover, top strap, etc) work with the Light?

I would rather go with Imsonium. A dont like the giant hammerhead shark shape.

I really wish they would've made this wireless, not standalone, but wireless. I can't play standup games with a cable anymore after having a quest. Maybe I'm clumsy but it gets in the way of my fun.

I don't get it.. How can you compare comfort of Q3 vs Crystal Light when the latter hasn't been released yet? Or did they send you a premarket version?

I don't even play flight sims but you are my favourite VR youtuber by a mile, keep up the great work!

I've recently bought a quest 3 so at the moment I'm fine: I cannot change a VR headset every 6 months!

I'm not going to spend more than what the quest 3 is before the Deckard comes out, lol. I'd pay Apple money for it if it meets the specs of the AVP. Until then I'm happy with the Quest 3.

I bought the quest 3 last week 🤪 Was a bit surprised it has no direct video connection, it works ok with 4090 but I would have probably waited for crystal light if they announced it a week earlier. Having said that I do find the Q3 very good for sim racing and flight sim and comfortable with standard head strap and much better than G2 so it is good for now until I can get a crystal light (assuming it gets good reviews after release).

Do you prefer the crystal over the varjo aero these days? Didn't the aero drop in price to only $990? Is it worth getting a crystal when I have the aero already? I've been waiting on the pimax 12k qled for ages based on their promise to part trade in my 8kx for it but don't know if that will ever happen

I see a lot of videos from the pimax chrystal and it’s a hell to set up, I curious about the set up Of the light. The quest 3 is easy to install 👌

Through the bullhorn: What do we want! All the features! How do we want it? Cheap!

I did ONE preorder in my life. That was the Reverb G2 and that turned out such a desaster...I am done with preorders.

We all already know I’m gonna buy pimax crystal light. Forget the DPVR E4

ehh i feel like every youtuber with pimax affiliate links make it slightly biased no offense need reviews after release knowing pimax quality control as far as memory serves every headset they release has problems.

But with shipping and vat to the UK, this comes to over £900. A long way from the £700 mentioned. Is it as good value for this price?

Hello! I'm running a RX6800 xt with an AMD Ryzen 7 5700X and 32gs ram. I'm currently using an Oculas Quest 2 through Virtual Desktop and would like to upgrade. I mostly use it for Microsoft Flight Simulator. My goal is good, clear visuals. What headset would you recommend that would work best with my setup.

im becoming enclined i think to go with the BSB as the core light id want local dimming and then the price is around bsb and i hate the size of pimax, althoughhi still consider an aero even if they are discontinued. problem is you haveto buy before you try which sucks really as you cant know and viewing is personal.

Looking at the site... is there a difference in crystal lite, vs flight and racing? Or is it just the paint on the front of it??? And the money i guess.

hello man love ur vids , tell pymax eye tracking is essential , they f....d up big time , and no ffr does not cut it !!

Gloomy UK? The UK gets like 35-50 days a year of clear skies, lol. I really don't want to deal with Pimax, but as long as you don't have to deal with customer service, you should be fine. This will blow the Quest 3 completely away. There is no reason to buy the Q3, unless you are not going to do PCVR.

Really useful and informative video! 🙂 Thank You!

I think the Pimax is great, but I won't buy one because the fov is much too narrow. I think it's too noticeable with Flight Sims and racing sims, but with regular games I think that problem is less noticeable.

The fans which they say the light doesn't have, are they the fans which prevent fogging in the headset ? My reverb g2 fogs up easily

Hold up..have u got a light yet?

But what about the Quest 3 passthrough? Wouldn't that help the vrr flyer with all the map reading?

Interesting. Yes if your worried about quality have moneynor make money from RU-vid some of us need to be happy with the quest 3 and as you said its good and for some of us that will.have to be enough. It was interpreting to hear the info on the pimax lite. Personally with the addition of a different head strap the fact I can use the quest anywhere. I'm.glad you.said you like the quest 3 but hearing your end opinions and the promo I will stick with my budget headset and just note there's better if ones wealthy lmao.

I will get it, but just after the first batch is out just in case... We all know Pimax.

You got pimax light to test already?

@VRFlightSimGuy A more detailed written comparison between the Quest 3 and VR1 lenses would be much appreciated. Very interesting that you say the Q3 pancakes are better than the VR1 dual aspheric. In what ways is that so?

Regarding the Crystal Light, until the reviewers get samples (preferably consumer grade, not pre-releases), we won't know. I would imagine the HMD has to go through a serious re-work to get rid of all the stand alone Crystal and make it all work as a pure PCVR HMD. And then there's their software, this also has to be re-worked to ad functionality for both "Light" versions (plain and backlit), so there might be serious growing pains. Also, please do not state the Quest 3 HAS very visible SDE, it depends on a person's eyes, personally, I see no SDE in my Quest 3, none, zero. So not all people can see SDE in the Quest 3. I can see very faint SDE in my Reverb G2v2 if I look at something light enough (light blue skies). As for Pimax, I wish them well, but they are falling into the same trap as before, too many models of the same thing thus making it a nightmare for support and software (both PC software and HMD firmware).

I really wish the quest 3 had a fit pack / wider facial interface option like the quest 2. I am considering a crystal light for PCVR though in addition to my q3. I am curious about the lenses on the crystal light though vs q3. Text clarity is amazing all over on the q3.

Does anybody know if both headsets works with an AMD graphic card?

I pre-ordered the pimax light. Want to build a new MSFS2020 rig for it. Any suggestion on chipset? AMD or INTEL? I'll probably go 4080 super with 64G of the fastest ram it can take.

The Crystal just needs a 4090 and MSFS 2024 might even something better I guess. My 4080 matches well with the Quest 3, so I'm not going for the Light yet.

No pancake lenses is a ‘no go’ for me. That’s where the Quest 3 shines.

Why not the HP G2?

how soon will your review come out?