full image - Repost: G2 to Q3 Review: A solid upgrade for most. (from Reddit.com, G2 to Q3 Review: A solid upgrade for most.)
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A couple years ago I posted my review of the G2, coming from a CV1. I figured I would try to do another detailed review for those that have been thinking about upgrading to a Quest 3.In a nutshell:A fantastic upgrade as a general VR unit, while being somewhat of a sidegrade for simmers, that may or may not be worth it to you. It's also costlier than the initial price tag might seem due to accessories needed...Onto the topics!Displays, Optics, Picture quality.Lenses.Pretty much the main reason you're looking at a Quest 3, right? I had my doubts, but it really is clear across the entire display. The sweet spot still exists, but is larger and less picky than the G2. It's honestly so nice. If you're flight simming, you can keep your head pointed at the runway, and glance down to instruments. Same thing with sim racing or trucking.You no longer play the game of "lets look right at something for a second and maybe adjust the headset because I'm trying to see it". You can look straight down, like for mini golf, and still have a clear view all the way to the hole - even if the headset still shifts. Unlike the G2, where it just goes all blurry and you have to play the fun "move your cheeks and eyebrows to keep headset in sweet spot" that gives me a headache. You can wear the headset loose for comfort or tight for active play and still maintain clarity even if it's not 100% glued to your face.I get about 8 deg more FOV with the Quest 3, which is nice.DisplaysFor the display clarity I used MSFS 2020 as my main benchmark, trying to read the digital fuel gauges on the Cessna Caravan from the normal seated position.I run a RTX 3080ti. For my G2, I run 80% openXR and 100% TAA for performance, which works out to about the same render resolution as the Quest 3 on Virtual Desktop "Ultra". Using VDXR, I got identical performance between the two in terms of FPS, and clarity looked identical to me.If I push the quest 3 to VD "godlike" and G2 to 100% OpenXR/TAA, then I think G2 is slightly more clear. So, I imagine if you super sampled both with a 4090, G2 would be in the lead a bit.In terms of screendoor effect, if you stare really closely you can just notice it's there, but I don't see it unless I'm really looking for it. I found Mura to be present in both my G2 and Q3, and the Q3 is more noticeable. I hear you can try to return a bunch to get a "perfect" copy, but I don't notice it much in normal play so I didn't bother with that.Picture qualityIn terms of colors and contrast, I think the G2 is a tad better - contrast between the bright clouds and dark terrain was just a bit better when I played MSFS. I play Q3 wireless via VD, usually between high-ultra. Compression in most cases isn't noticeable, but can be more present in dark scenes with contrast like Beat Saber, or fast moving places like Dirt Rally. Haven't tested via link cable though. Comfort, Battery life, AudioComfortThe stock strap is a bit of a joke. It's nice if you don't want anything bulky at the rear of your head, but comfort and adjustment wise, meh. Swapped it out after 30 minutes for this Aubika strap, which I find pleasant. I find it more comfortable than the G2 to wear because of a couple factors:With the G2, in order to get closer to the lenses for full FOV, and more importantly to avoid shifting out of the sweet spot, I have to tighten it up which applies extra pressure to the face. With the Quest 3, you don't have to. I can choose to wear it with minimal pressure, almost like a Halo strap (Halo would distribute the weight better, but I don't mind the strap on my Aubika), or I can tighten it a bit if I'm going to be moving a bit faster. It also feels more comfortable on the eyes? Maybe its the lenses, maybe its the lack of pressure on the face, but I can comfortably wear it for hours, unlike the G2.Battery lifeYeah, stock battery life is rough. About 1.5-2 hours. Luckily, the Aubika strap adds on another 3 hours, which is enough for me. Counterbalance helps comfort too. You can probably get infinite battery life with one of the power injected USB cables, or if your mobo supports enough power delivery through USB-C. (Not sure if mine does)Surprisingly, despite having an onboard chip, the Q3 doesn't feel as warm as the G2 after an extended session.AudioYeah... it's... alright. Not as good as G2, but at least its still off-ear. At least there's a headphone jack on it. With a CV1 or G2, the audio is fairly directional - it's relatively quiet if you're not wearing it. With the Q3, its more like having regular speakers near you - you'll hear it, and so will anyone around you. This could be annoying if you're playing VR with someone in the same area, or just want more audio privacy.I bought some KSC75 headphones and mounted them to the headset like with this Rift S mod, audio quality was better and private. I should note that in order to get reasonable sound levels, you have to use the physical volume buttons on the Quest to increase it "above safe levels". Maximum is too loud, -1 is usually okay, -2 is sometimes quiet. I hear it's because of the higher resistance of the ksc75s, and lower resistance headphones made for phones would do better.Controllers, Tracking, Wireless playControllersThey're awesome.They feel better, they're quieter, the haptics don't sound like an angry bee at every single menu button, they're much lighter, they balance well in the hand without the tracking ring that wants to flip it out of your hand.I kinda forgot how bad the WMR controllers are relatively until going back to them after the Q3.It also makes close interactions, such as reloading a weapon in Pavlov, muuuuch better since you don't have the giant rings to bash against each-other.TrackingI was worried about the removal of the tracking rings jeopardizing performance, but at least compared to G2 it's much better.Headset tracking seems good. Never had any issues with G2 tracking of the headset itself either though.Controller tracking is muuch better. (I do have a V1 G2 mind you, so its a bit worse) - no occlusion issues of them getting a little weird when held in front of each-other in Pavlov, much better tracking volume, I rarely notice them losing tracking aside from behind my back for an extended time. With the G2, if you get the controllers too close to your face, you'll lose tracking. Q3 is able to see and track the controllers much closer, doesn't start to get weird unless a controller is straight up pressing against a camera.With these two factors, I can play games like Black hole pool "normally" or even lean on a physical table and have a great time, whereas with my G2, the fast loss of tracking below the headset makes it unusable.I was able to play Beat saber (PCVR) at an OST Expert+ level with no issues. Is it better than the G2? Yes. Is it enough for high level competitive play? Don't know.Wireless playWas pretty skeptical about this, but it has been a great experience.I use Virtual Desktop most of the time. I have tried Airlink, but have found VD more customizable and reliable in general. It's a pretty streamlined process - Put the headset on, click on VD, and start playing. As noted before, compression usually isn't noticeable, but can be seen in some dark scenes or fast paced racing. It's possible the 40 series encoding could do better at it than my 3080ti. It's not enough for me to go "oh, this is bad, let me get my G2 instead for this game" though.Performance feels the same as my G2, no latency issues - one note though. If I play MSFS 2020 at 35 fps with no reprojection, it feels okay. Same thing with my Q3, it feels terrible. (I can see the edges of the picture when I move my head) It's important to hit the full framerate (or at least reproject to it), if it's under it's going to be bad.ASW/SSW Looks much better than the G2s Motion reprojection. With my G2, I could notice artifacts like propellers being weird, shaking of dashboard edges and such. With Q3, I notice nothing, so I like to keep it enabled.Initially, I did encounter some stutters due to the network. I was able to narrow it down to the TV being connected on the same 5ghz band. Moving the TV to the 2.4ghz band fixed the issue, but it really didn't like that. So, I got a simple dedicated router and now wireless play is rock solid. But again, additional cost.Summary / Personal thoughtsThe main reason I wanted to upgrade from my G2 can be summed up as ease of use without fiddling around. No tweaking with WMR being odd at times. No constant fiddling with the fit of the headset to stay in the sweet spot. No looking around and judging a blurry object away from the center. And for that, the Quest 3 delivered for me.The other part that I didn't really expect was wanting to actually play regular VR content again. With my CV1, I played a variety of titles, but with my G2 I tended to stick mostly to sims. But with great clarity, great controllers, great tracking, and great wireless performance (or even solid standalone performance), means I can just pick up the headset and have fun again with VR content. Should YOU upgrade to a Quest 3?Maybe.For flight and racing simmers: Realistically, it's a side grade, and it's about your priority. Would you like to just wear a headset, not worry about adjustments, and be able to freely look around see instruments and mirrors clearly, immediately, instead of looking with your head? Is this ability worth $500 + accessories to you? If so, get a Quest 3. If you'd rather keep your money, and have a consistent picture with no compression, then keep the G2.On the other hand, if you have any interest in playing Regular VR titles, I'd highly recommend it. No cable, no bulky controllers, much better tracking volume, standalone play, it's a good time.I hope this long (possibly too long, sorry!) writeup is helpful to someone. If I missed anything, or made a mistake, let me know.
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