£769.99ViewWe test over 250 million merchandise each day for the most effective costs
I actually did not just like the Pimax Crystal Gentle the primary time I put it on. This headset is clunky and greater than lots of the greatest VR headsets for gaming proper now, and even issues like plugging it into its personal energy outlet and connecting it to the DisplayPort of my PC felt restrictive and a bit extra old-school than many would anticipate now. In fact, these might be essential elements of getting a display screen this beautiful, and that is the place the tradeoff on high-end VR lies. You simply must hope that the expertise is sweet sufficient to deal with that additional baggage, each to your area and your pockets.
Getting it out of the field, the Pimax Crystal Gentle has a reasonably sci-fi aesthetic, with the primary display screen housed in a casing that isn’t solely fairly broad however made up of a mass of edges.
The very entrance of the headset has a silver visor-like accent, which jogs my memory of LeVar Burton’s character in Star Trek: The Subsequent Technology or, maybe a bit of cooler, a medieval knight. I did not really feel notably cool within the headset, principally as a result of that look was accompanied by groans of getting the wires simply the proper technique to keep away from the entire headset feeling too cumbersome.
-
I am nonetheless ready for a high-end VR headset ok to make me ditch my Quest 3
-
Finest VR headset in 2025: my high picks for gorgeous digital actuality experiences
Although you are able to do little issues like tidying the cables to make all of it really feel a bit of higher on the pinnacle, I discovered the Pimax Crystal Gentle to be not very uncomfortable in any respect. The form across the head is sweet and cushioned faceplates work nicely to offset a few of that weight nevertheless it’s all very front-heavy. I nonetheless felt that dreaded strain on the nostril that’s so widespread with VR however, inside 20 minutes, began to really feel it on my total face.
Pimax Crystal Gentle specs
Monitoring: Inside-out monitoring
Lens tech: Aspheric
Decision: 2880 x 2880 per eye
Refresh fee: 120 Hz
FOV: 115 levels
IPD: 58-72 mm
Weight: 815 g (29 oz)
Value: $887 | £718
You are able to do some messing round with the load, or get an additional strap to stability it out, however enjoying with this headset in a short time drained me. In addition to this, that included wire will get much more finicky while you realise the entire thing is proprietary.
There’s a single mass of cables that can not be unplugged from the headset with out tearing the entire thing aside, which not solely limits how far you may stroll away out of your gaming PC but additionally signifies that a rogue cat gnawing a wire might see the top of your entire factor.
This additionally makes troubleshooting more durable as there are three separate cables to unplug and plug again in, being the ability outlet, USB-A, and DisplayPort. Given how dependent that is on these particular ports current in your rig, this makes VR gaming on a gaming laptop computer a bit more durable too.
Nevertheless, even for those who handle to get an adapter into the DisplayPort and get the entire VR headset arrange and able to go, it’s important to think about efficiency. At a mighty spectacular 2880 x 2880 per eye, you want one thing able to really rendering all of that instantly into your headset. Fortunately, Pimax does what it might to accommodate that graphical depth with fixed-foveated rendering.
Picture 1 of 5
With out eye monitoring like that present in the usual Pimax Crystal, this as an alternative chooses to render issues within the centre of the headset at a better constancy, with these outdoors of it at a decrease high quality. This rendering method might be noticeable while you attempt to discover it however principally works slightly nicely to get a bit of extra efficiency out of your rig.
To place that 2880 x 2880 decision into context, that is successfully one of many strongest decision VR headsets on the mainstream market, behind Pimax’s personal 8K and 12K headsets and Varjo’s XR4.
It locations it fractionally forward of the Varjo Aero and Varjo VR-3. At its worth level of round $800, it outpaces lots of them in worth, regardless that it is a reasonably large funding to make right into a VR headset. It is a respectable worth level for high-end VR.
The aspheric Mini-LED lenses within the Crystal Gentle are good and shiny however going for this tech over the extra fashionable pancake fashion has tacked on some mass within the headset itself at 815 g (29 oz) complete. The Meta Quest 3 is not tremendous mild but shaves 300 g (11 oz) off this.
Sadly, which means in lively video games like Beat Saber and Synth Riders, I felt myself continuously battling in opposition to the load of the headset and the pull of the cable. It’s looped within the headset itself, which helps alleviate some weight however not sufficient to cease me from entering into the behavior of simply holding the wire as I play. Enjoying the Nyan Cat theme in Pistol Whip is difficult sufficient with out the headset additionally working in opposition to me.
Picture 1 of 4
Nevertheless, the headset is significantly better in slower video games like A Fisherman’s Story, Purple Matter, and Trip Simulator. The readability of the lenses provides loads to play and a large FOV of 115 levels is superb for immersive video games. This brings me to maybe the only greatest cause to choose up a Pimax: racing sim and cockpit video games.
This looks like a headset meant for the likes of F1 22, Dust Rally 2.0, and even area exploration video games like No Man’s Sky and that makes lots of sense while you get located in your gaming chair.
The additional FOV helps realise the dimensions and area of the cockpit and driving video games, a style that has at all times managed to look slightly fairly and really feel particularly crisp. I might see that long-term discomfort making endurance races far more tough nevertheless it’s fantastic whereas seated for just a few races.
The swap from base station to inside-out monitoring is sensible, because it makes the set-up course of a bit of simpler, however the monitoring itself is generally simply fantastic. Passthrough is grainy and in black and white and I did lose connection to my controls typically, although not practically sufficient to pose any actual issues with gameplay.
The controllers are principally fantastic, taking after the look of the Meta Quest 2 controllers with their iconic ring design, however feeling a bit lighter and fewer sturdy. They really feel closely of plastic however are principally comfy within the palms.
✅ You are a sim racer: The readability of this headset is immense and, due to its measurement, weight, and must be tethered, you will not discover its downsides as a lot behind the wheel in a cockpit.
✅ The funds headsets simply aren’t clear sufficient for you: You discover how nice this headset appears to be like fairly rapidly. If you would like the most effective, this can be a good technique to get it, being one of many highest-resolution lenses out there.
Do not buy if…
❌ You are an lively VR gamer: The Pimax Crystal Gentle is large and clunky, and attributable to that, by no means feels safe after I’m bobbing and transferring round. In mild train, it is fantastic, however for those who’re leaping and ducking, it is not fairly as comfy.
❌ You do not have rig: VR is usually a little bit of a problem to run on a traditional rig however the elevated readability of this headset means you want one thing even beefier.
The Pimax Crystal Gentle feels considerably area of interest to me, although not practically as a lot because the Pimax Crystal. Chopping away a few of the issues that made the Pimax Crystal so costly like its standalone mode, but preserving a excessive decision, as much as 120 Hz refresh fee, and Mini-LED Show, this outshines the primary opponents in particular areas however lacks the punch in general really feel and intuitiveness.
In brief bursts, with the cable wrapped round my arm or on high of the chair I am sitting on, I actually see the imaginative and prescient right here. The clear visuals, excessive FOV and good refresh fee make for an immersive expertise in VR experiences which can be principally stationary. Nevertheless, I’ve at all times used VR as a technique to blow off steam or take into consideration issues after an extended day and the setup course of, consolation, weight, and normal finickiness of your entire headset really feel prefer it defeats that objective.
With the Pimax Crystal Gentle, I really feel like I’ve performed essentially the most promising VR headset of some years in the past however, outdoors of some particular use circumstances, there are a handful of headsets I might attain to over this one, even when it means an image downgrade.
On the plus facet, I want much less uncooked computing energy for it too. If you happen to aren’t fairly as bothered as me by a cumbersome headset or solely actually play cockpit-bound video games, this headset is nicely price a glance however, as a extra normal machine, this Pimax machine is Crystal clear however not very Gentle.
Pimax Crystal Gentle: Value Comparability £769.99ViewWe test over 250 million merchandise each day for the most effective pricespowered by
The Verdict
65
Learn our overview coverage
Pimax Crystal Gentle
The Pimax Crystal Gentle packs a few of the very highest-resolution lenses round and does it at a good worth level. Nevertheless it’s heavy, clunky, and cumbersome. For the proper sort of sim racer, nonetheless, this might simply be good.
James Bentley
{Hardware} author
James is a newer PC gaming convert, typically admiring graphics playing cards, circumstances, and motherboards from afar. It was not till 2019, after simply ending a level in legislation and media, that they determined to throw out the previous few years of schooling, construct their PC, and begin writing about gaming as an alternative. In that point, he has lined the most recent doodads, contraptions, and gismos, and beloved each second of it. Hey, it’s higher than writing case briefs.
