I currently use the CV1 with a rather underpowered PC (i5 6600 + GTX1060) - and it works pretty well (apart from the inevitable screen door effect). However I’ve been hearing some very good things about the Rift S lately and am wondering whether it would be worth spending a bit of money and upgrading just the headset. Would my computer cope or would the performance hit make it not worthwhile? There wouldn’t be much point if I could only get it running by reducing settings - particularly the settings that affect image quality.

Of course the ultimate answer is probably to spend a bit of money on the PC too - and I might be able to do that on the cheap because don’t think I would need to splurge on an RTX 3090 or some such to get really nice performance from the Rift S. However in the short term I’d prefer just to confine my spending to the headset if I possibly can.

 

I use the CV1 and have done so since it came out.  I tried the Rift S shortly have it was available and ultimately returned it.  The Rift S was an improvement over the CV1, but, not enough to justify the cost.  There was a small performance hit, but, not a deciding factor for me.

 

1 hour ago, DannyR said:

I use the CV1 and have done so since it came out.  I tried the Rift S shortly have it was available and ultimately returned it.  The Rift S was an improvement over the CV1, but, not enough to justify the cost.  There was a small performance hit, but, not a deciding factor for me.

 

Interesting. I hadn’t previously considered upgrading to the Rift S because I’d read quite a few comments (like yours) on various forums stating that it didn’t provide a significantly better experience. I know the screen door effect is quite subjective too. I used to doubt that increasing supersampling made any difference (to my eyes). Now I’m not so sure about that either.

In short, no. It was designed to have the same specs as the CV1. Since it's being discontinued you can maybe find a good deal on it now.

Just now, andreh said:

In short, no. It was designed to have the same specs as the CV1. Since it's being discontinued you can maybe find a good deal on it now.

OK thanks. Do you think it’s a worthwhile upgrade in terms of image quality?

Just now, Ian C said:

OK thanks. Do you think it’s a worthwhile upgrade in terms of image quality?

Yes, I found it to be a significant improvement and I'd argue that it's still one the overall best headset out there. A jack of all trades, maybe, but overall the best.

43 minutes ago, andreh said:

Yes, I found it to be a significant improvement and I'd argue that it's still one the overall best headset out there. A jack of all trades, maybe, but overall the best.

That’s useful to know. I’m hoping that the improvement will be in a different league from increasing supersampling (say). (I often wonder with SS whether it’s just my imagination.) In other words, would the Rift S without SS be better than the CV1 with SS?

32 minutes ago, Ian C said:

That’s useful to know. I’m hoping that the improvement will be in a different league from increasing supersampling (say). (I often wonder with SS whether it’s just my imagination.) In other words, would the Rift S without SS be better than the CV1 with SS?

I think it will, however you will need significantly less SS with the Rift S. I used SS 1.5 with both and now with the S the image is very nice and clear in the games I play, which are P3D, MSFS, Elite Dangerous and First Person Tennis. But I could get away with much lower if I needed the headroom. 1.3 in P3D, for instance is still superiour to 1.7 with the CV1 and that translates into a lot of performance headroom for the same buck.

Edited January 3, 20215 yr by andreh

4 minutes ago, andreh said:

I think it will, however you will need significantly less SS with the Rift S. I used SS 1.5 with both and now with the S the image is very nice and clear in the games I play, which are P3D, MSFS, Elite Dangerous and First Person Tennis. But I could get away with much lower if I needed the headroom. 1.3 in P3D, for instance is still superiour to 1.7 with the CV one and that translates into a lot of performance headroom for the same buck.

Thanks - that’s very useful. If I can get a noticeably better image (ie better than any amount of supersampling) I will be happy. If I can get a better image with no performance hit that will be the icing on the cake.

CV1 and Rift S clarity are night and day.

Clarity on S is wayy better. FOV is wayyy worse. One trade for another loss.