I consider the Quest 3 an alternative to the Steam Frame if that get too expensive. My system is
CPU 5800X3D GPU Nvidia 4700Ti RAM 32 Gb Router Wifi 6
For you who use Quest 3 with good result what is your hardware ? And what router ? That component can make a great difference. Also how dedicated is your router ?
For example I am alone in my household but I live in a apartment house so I have neighburs above and below and to the sides. Also see many wifi user listed when listing available networks. Have understood that they can affect my network performance. So how well can a Quest 3 be expected to work for me ?

I use a Quest 3 with the specs in my signature. It connects to my PC via a dedicated FAST5393LTE-A (dual-band Wi-Fi 6) router with the Quest 3 being the only device connected by Wi-Fi through Virtual Desktop (VD) and an Ethernet connection from it goes to my PC. This router is connected by Ethernet to another FAST5393LTE-A which in turn is connected to my fibre optic internet and supplies the Wi-Fi connection to many other devices in my house (10+).

I get great VR results with this hardware setup. I run MSFS 2024 at default high graphics settings and DLSS 4.5 Balanced Preset M. I have VD set to max bitrate AV1, which it has no problem maintaining smoothly at all times, with godlike render resolution with 150% scaling, giving me roughly 4000x4000 per eye that, combined with my DLSS settings, gives about the best clarity possible from the Quest 3 while maintaining 40 FPS locked (to give 80 FPS with SSW) and up to 400 TLOD with AutoFPS.

While you won't be able to run as high a render scale as I do with your hardware, and may even need to drop back to 36/72 FPS for consistent performance, you should still be able to get a good result with a Quest 3. Of course, there are other options out there with higher resolution panels, but the price and PC hardware requirements go up significantly. IMO the Quest 3 is excellent value for money, has the best motion re-projection I have ever used, and works very well on older, but still respectable, hardware.

1 hour ago, Reset XPDR said:

giving me roughly 4000x4000 per eye

what?

"The Meta Quest 3 features a hardware resolution of 2,064 × 2,208 pixels per eye (approximately 4.5 megapixels per eye"

15 minutes ago, turbomax said:

what?

"The Meta Quest 3 features a hardware resolution of 2,064 × 2,208 pixels per eye (approximately 4.5 megapixels per eye"

Render resolution != hardware resolution

ok, that wasnˋt clear to me from your 4000x4000 post.

how do you benefit from 2 x render resolution when your Quest 3 can not display more than 2000x2000?

Edited 7 hours ago7 hr by turbomax

12 minutes ago, turbomax said:

ok, you didnˋt mention that in your 4000x4000 post.

I specifically mention render resolution just a few words before what you quoted.

17 minutes ago, turbomax said:

how do you benefit when your Quest 3 can not display more than 2000x2000?

It is called super sampling, which is rendering the scene at a higher‑than‑native resolution and downscaling it to produce a sharper image while also helping in VR counteract barrel‑distortion stretching at the edges of the lenses. eg. even without the extra scaling I am using, default godlike render resolution in Virtual Desktop for the Quest 3 is 3072 × 3216 pixels per eye. I run it higher because I have spare performance capacity with my GPU and it slightly improves visual quality over godlike.

thanks Transponder, not sure if that would improve my experience using a Pimax Crystal Light and NVidia SmoothMotion or if this mostly for Quest 3 users

Edited 6 hours ago6 hr by turbomax

I am not familiar with the Pimax eco system but it is entirely possible you are already super sampling because what many headsets call 100% render resolution is actually a super sampled resolution. Nonetheless, I would just leave it if you are happy with what you are currently getting visual quality-wise, especially since the Crystal is higher resolution to start with.

I am pretty sure nVidia SmoothMotion is a 2D-only feature. I tried it myself a while back and while it doubles the FPS of the mirrored VR image on my monitor, it does not double it in the headset, which you can verify by turning on the FPS overlay in OpenXR Toolkit. The Crystal light does have Smart Smoothing and Lock to Half Framerate for motion smoothing but from what I have read and from what Pimax users I know have told me, it is not very good (stuttering and artifacts) and I don't know anyone that actually uses it.