HEY! Pico's BIG ANNOUNCEMENT IS COMING! I will be streaming it on My Twitch! Announcements will be in my Discord Server! Come join and lets have a good time! Discord.gg/Thrill

Everything described makes this thing sound like the linux vs windows experience. Gotta tinker with all the nuts and bolts and endure a minimum of 42 application crashes but in the end it cruises.

Ive considered getting pimax headsets but theres always been small issues here and there that others have experienced which took away the appeal for me.

The thing is: As soon as you have tasted the FOV you can never go back. Never. It's like a drug.

Hey Thrill, Pimax 8KX user here. I can agree it was multiple days of troubleshooting and fixing before I got it to where it's seemless as my Vive Pro 2 for getting into VRChat. After being on the Pimax 8kx now for 7 or so months, I don't think I could enjoy going back to a lower resolution headset. I intentionally don't use the controllers, as Knuckles help with doing sign language so much. I am really hopeful their next headset doesn't have the same problems as the 8kx. Hopeful. Also, this is Angel, one of Phia's VIP's. Sorry I missed you DJ set last night. Fell asleep in VR >.>

As someone whose been daily driving an Artisan (Pimax's sad attempt at an index competitor) for about a year I couldn't agree with this video more. I've been a none stop VR user for the last 3 years amassing over 7k hours and have been through multiple headsets I love the Artisan over them all. Still even now at the end of the day dispite all the oddities and occasional one time issues, Pimax again and again reminds me of my love for VR and what it can show people through Vision.

Really looking forward to the future of vr technology. I am only 18, and i cant even imagine what we could have in 10-15 years or so with this acceleration of technology.

It only felt like yesterday that I was watching youtubers trying out the oculus DK1. This is INSANE growth.

While Pimax's implementation is far from perfect, or even acceptable for a mass production device, I do think ocular or near ocular FOV is the next big step for VR. We have the screen door effect solved, wireless is mostly solved and slowly being implemented, next is FOV.

I have a first gen 8kx since it was released with knuckle controllers. Initially, I had a hard time with the pitool software and the headset getting detected by the steam tracking stations. But, today it works without a problem- I very much enjoy it. It is pricy and not plug and play. I am big into siming but also enjoy other VR experiences. If you enjoy flying flight or space simulators....there is really nothing better out there. If you want a high fidelity plug and play pc vr headset then go for the reverb g2 v2. I do not care one bit about standalone or wireless VR, as long as that entails a massive compromise in visual fidelity and performance. I am very interested in the Crystal and the 12k QLED but will probably wait for the valve Deckard to see if they really bring micro OLED in 4k + dynamic foveated rendering + decent FoV. It is an exiting time for VR and in principle I support high end PC VR companies that really push the envelope. Don't care about what meta and Pico are doing in the plebs market- but this may change as their HMD's get more powerful. We need competition in the industry so I welcome all "wacky" companies into the frey😃

I have an 8KX and love it. I use it mainly for flight-simming (DCS) and it's awesome. Totally agree that a Pimax headset is not plug and play. You do need to put some effort in to get it working right. I don't like the Pimax headstraps so had 3D printed the Vive Deluxe Audio Strap (DAS) adaptors and it is far more comfortable. I highly recommend this. I also use my own headphones and Valve Index controllers. Lastly, never use the latest pitool firmware. It will always be a bug-ridden mess. Stay on a firmware that works and only upgrade if you need to. I am interested in the 12K but am not sure about how much GPU power is needed to drive it.

Amazing video. You really summed everything up perfectly with Pimax. I was just wondering, how much extra horsepower does it take to run games smoothly with such a large FOV, especially at 4k?

I have had my 8kx for nearly a year now. I absolutely love it, and dont want to use any other headset. But when someone asks what they should get, I never suggest pimax due to the amount of time it takes to tune. This video definitely explains why well and will be forwarding this to many others. And yet, I will be still getting the 12k unless steam actually gets something that will wirelessly connect. That is truly the next gen.

I’m honestly not even that into VR but your videos are so entertaining and well made I can’t help but watch. Thanks for the amazing content!

I love the effect you have on your on screen text. Looks exactly like vr distortion.

I didn't run into as many problems as you did, apparently, but the Pimax 8KX has definitely required a little more "tinkering" than the front-runners in the consumer market. I tell people it's a hobbyist headset masquerading as a mass-market consumer product. Once it's dialed in, most games just RUN, and they run fantastic. But you do get some occasional quirks. For example... Skyrim VR. You can get a weird double-vision thingy going on in the load screen (fixable, but at a minor framerate cost throughout the entire game). But only in the load screen. The rest of the time, it's fantastic. So you have to pick your poison... slightly reduced framerate (probably unnoticeable), or ignore the double-image problem when you are loading or crossing between locations. But when you are just exploring the world... with great resolution and fantastic FOV... the experience is amazing.

I've had a 5k+ since the kickstarter, and this video hits the nail right on the head for most of the experience. the only thing I would say though is I have never had any issues with plug and play for any steam VR game. not sure if its just something in the drivers for the newer headsets thst wasn't tested nearly as well as the 5k, but once I got pitool and my place space set up the first time, I havent had any issues that weren't fixed with a quick restart.

Pimax user here. I did have a few stiff settings to hone in upon receiving it, but since then I am able to jump into vr with in

I like the new editing you have going on with the newer uploads. Keep it going bro

The issues with this headset is kinda why I settled for the Vive Pro 2. It has it's flaws, but they're easily addressed OTS parts (duct tape, a small fan, and a thinner pad). But at least it works with SteamVR with no issues.

So many AI advancements, so many VR advancements! I'm super excited for the future of technology!!

That FOV is so good. I wish all future VR devices went that route (but better of course).

Love the detail of your reviews! The comic relief's developing as well.. meme break's nice n all but this new pimax parody style was killer!👌

I feel the same man. I returned my Aero for this one and while it’s better for me, I miss my Index!! The tinkering is a pain in the butt. I am hanging onto it for now as when it’s working, it works well and that wide FOV is key to immersion. Hoping they keep improving. They have helped me with a few work around solutions that I wish I didn’t have to go through such as (boot up Pitool, then plug in USB, wait 10 seconds, then plug in the DisplayPort cable) just to get it up and running every time 😂 wtf. Fingers crossed they keep improving all around for current and future products….

I have a Pimax 8KX and it just makes every other headset subpar once you're used to it. I love it!!

Bought a 8kx back in April and had a pretty bad experience. They have a crazy short return policy, 7 DAYS from the moment you get it. it barely worked, the out of the box cable didn't even work and I had to use a extra cable I thankfully had bought already for it from them. The visual clarity even at max was no where near enough to justify how buggy the experience was, not even remotely a daily driver headset. I returned it even though they fought me tooth and nail not to. And to top it all off I couldn't return any of the accessories I had bought even though they were still in the boxes they came in. I bought a Vive pro 2 instead and will wait for a company that isn't releasing prototypes as products that they actually plan on standing by to actually pioneer vr 3.0

editing goes nuts bro, loved the video

The much awaited PIMAX video. :) Thanks for the video! I've been holding on replacing my index with a PIMAX to see if all the bugs finally get fixed.

I'm glad you made this. Very honest about the cons. Wide FOV is king for VR. Hopefully they fix the distortion and use better lenses

Your videos are a masterclass in giving constructive criticism, specific praises, and on how to balance them

I would always be down to try but my last 2 pimax headsets have been less than pleasant experiences so I'm REALLY hesitant to purchase another.

I hope more companies get in this space, if not for good ol competition just to get more people aware of it. One of the issues I deal with as a PiMax user is that a lot of indie games just don't make sure their games work with a FOV bigger than Index/Quest2, even the Steam Home has popping/LOD issues when using a PiMax!

Great video and perfectly timed, Im now on my 3rd Rift CV1 (after selling it due to lack of content, then rebuying one after I upgrade my PC) and have been tossing up between the Index (Which is basically impossible to buy in australia with warranty) or a Pimax 5k Super, but I think Im going to wait for next gen to upgrade. The tracking on the Quest 2 is just so sub-par compared to the outside-in tracking of the CV1 and makes expert+ difficulty in beatsaber almost impossible, even with multiple light sources at different frequencies.

Wide FoV is one of the things I still want to try!

Nice vid!! Your detailed coverage is pretty much spot on with my idea of Pimax over the years since their first headset! I would love to try one of their newest ones, but certainly not want to buy one and have to mess with it all the time to get it working in different games/apps/experiences. The idea is a dream, but their overall design and functionality as it stands just seems a min-nightmare, at times ,at least.

Great video mate! 😍 Thanks from downunder! 🇦🇺 P.S. 5:53 I finally got to see your face! 🙈

If you have a PiMax, it really helps to adjust the colors/brightness (PiTool/Games) and image offset (PiTool/HMD). There are some guides that explain how to do this on YT.

I've had my Pimax 8KX for about a year now. Thrill's review is mostly fair, but I personally would stop short of calling it broken. While it does take some fiddling to get everything dialed in right, that experience actually hasn't been much different for me than trying to game flatscreen with a triple monitor setup. Most games just aren't made for that kind of FOV or aspect ratio. The triple monitor situation I'd blame solely on the game devs (I mean come on, Nvidia surround has been around since 2010... no game should ever be Vert- anymore), but in Pimax's case they should share the blame. The compatibility problems are mostly from the games not being made for Pimax's pair of 16:9 screens which are set at an angle. Most headsets have square resolution screens that are both in line with each other and parallel to your face, and since that kind of design is pretty much the industry standard, that's what game devs design their game around. They just aren't going to design games any different unless wider FOV headsets have a large market share, or the headset manufacturers go out of their way to give them a reason to do so. Pimax does have ways to correct for these kind of issues in their software, including Vive compatibility, parallel projections, and upscaling options, but that's the opposite of the plug-and-play experience your average consumer expects. They could at least have the Pitool come with some known good presets for the more popular games, but so far they haven't done that. This really limits this headset to being enthusiast-grade hardware in what is already a niche market, preventing them from getting the kind of adoption rate that they need for game devs to take notice and better support their headset. Because of that, Pimax needs to establish a relationship with the game developers that encourages them to better support their headset. Considering many of the game companies making the most popular games are sponsored or owned by Meta, that isn't easy for them. It does sound like they might be starting to do this more, but I think it's been limited to developers planning to release games in Pimax's propriety app store (which will launch alongside their third gen headsets for playing in standalone mode). Until these relationships develop, I doubt Pimax will be able to evolve their company beyond the small sliver of the enthusiast VR market that they have. Then again, I am one of those enthusiasts on the far end of the scale. Some of the games I play the most in VR aren't even native VR games and need to be modded to be playable in VR at all. So I suppose I'm used to this and a bit more inclined to overlook the plug and play issue while others certainly won't. And that's completely fair. Also... you're bang on about the Sword controllers. They're basically Vive wands in the Valve Knuckle's form factor. They wanted to include a thumbstick and capacitive touch sensors, but apparently Valve didn't open up the functionality they needed in SteamVR to support 3rd party hardware (or at least, that's what they claimed at the time). I got mine with my headset last October when they first released, used them for about a week, and ordered a pair of Knuckles. Hopefully the controllers that ship with the 12K will be a lot better.

I have had my Pimax 8K X now for 4 months and WOW I love it so much. I understand these things that we have had to work on to make it perfect but man once you understand how to make it work like a dream its fantastic, in fact I sold my Reverb G2 cause once I had it working perfect for me I found it better then the G2 in everyway.

I LOVED your parody of their presentation

I've been lucky, for the most part my 8Kx has pretty much worked out of the box. Only annoying issue I ran into was a firmware fail due to Thrustmaster drivers. IPD is weird - I have a 64mm and I had tot take it down to the minimum setting, but it works. Haven't messed with offsets which might explain the issue, but no headaches or motion sickness. For VR flight and racing sims, this is where it shines. The DMAS audio was a disappointment - The KDMAS sounds pretty good though even though you are back to on ear.

I have a few Pimax headsets including the 8KX, an original Rift, a Vive, and a Quest 2 . The FOV experience pretty much eclipses all the negatives, at least for me. I love different things about different headsets, but the FOV being this large is such a gigantic difference for immersion that when in not using a Pimax it's hard to do anything but think about how much better a game or app would be with the Pimax FOV. I sure hope they improve on the upcoming headsets, but FOV is really not negotiable once you try the larger one.

I’ve been subbed since around October 2020 and i haven’t been disappointed by a single video ever and i always love watching these. While I’ve never been able to get one this also helps me find which are more expensive and which are better quality. Thank you thrillseeker 😊

That mock ad is gold

I really want to get the PIMAX 12K QLED but yeah, with the points that you've made, I'm a bit skeptical of their release date and ability to make the improvements needed. It's almost like the best bang for the buck will likely be the new Valve Deckard. But we've seen virtually zilch regarding official confirmed specs for that..

I have a Pimax 8KX, I find it to be very good. It is compatable with HTC lighthouses and controllers and Index controllers. It was the best choice for an upgrade from the Vive Pro. It has an IPD that works with my 75mm IPD. It has some bad points, but you can get past them. Sound, I use wireless headset. Controllers, Index. I've never had motion sickess or eye problems, then I did spend a lot of time setting the 8KX up. Yes it is difficult to get going, it is not a plug and play headset, but when you get it going it is fantastic.

I really wish I could try a demo of this at like a local store or some kind of expo, the FOV feels so important for immersion.

I lost it at your mocking of Pimax ad. Lol. Great video. Lot of really good information!

Funnily enough the sports car he shows when talking about it needing specific fuel and preheating is an EV which needs neither of those things and will probably be easier to daily drive than a Pimax

Absolutely loved this honest "teardown" of the product. I was always wondering how bad/good the Pimax headsets were. Thanks for giving us a real glimpse. Oh, and Thrill, the more I watch your videos, the more I like you. I haven't met you but I recon it would be really cool if it happened. And that's coming from someone who is very selective about new people.

Honsetly when i want to watch the best quality with an insane amount of work , experience and honsety video, i come to this channel! Thank you.

Interesting thing about the distortion around the edges, my glasses do that all the time (string prescription) but I adjusted pretty fast and don't even notice it anymore.

Now we need the narrowest vr headset

Glad you seem to like the hardware. Ease of use is a primary focus for us this year. Will point out that the headphones on the pimax 8kx Kdmas are actually from the same maker as the index headphones ,and actually higher by one model tier. They are objectively superior headphones, however some tinkering is required.

Thanks for explaining why the eye strain occurs. Like you, I've got a high tolerance for full-immersion VR, but with my Pimax 5k+ i soon got eye strain and even a little sick-belly feeling. As a working parent, my VR playtime is very limited: i can count the number of games i've completed on one hand, so I think i'll sell my Pimax to someone more able to put in the time to get the most out of it. But looking ahead, Pimax have shown the industry that wide FOV is doable and a huge improvement. I do wonder tho' if the reason that no-one else is doing wide (not even 150°) is because it's too tricky to calibrate for a general audience. The wider view exponentially creates more miscalibration issues, making it more likely that users will experience eye-strain & sickness....meaning more users will have to self-calibrate to fix. After all, we all have slightly-different eyes. Maybe 90°-110° is the sweetspot which guarantees the a comfortable calibration out-of-the-box for most users.

I have been waiting for this video. I purchased an 8KX as my first headset and boy was I overwhelmed. It took me forever to figure out all of the quirks.

Thrill, I think a goal you should add to your life is creating your own headset. Partner with company. Create the best headset for users. Make VR better than ever.

i have the 5k super and yes there is alot of setup to get it going but once those hurdles are dealt with it's incredible. i've clocked 700+ hours on it now and it's still working perfectly. cant say the same for the index controllers that got shipped together with it though, they are starting to break apart..

Another great video Thrill! Awesome job 😊

That's some lovely cinematography. This video is eye candy!

I think we should really enjoy this era of VR while it lasts. Where all of these niche companies are focusing on one core aspect in order to stand out, and end up specializing and delivering on that single promise almost entirely. Someday, they will all start to disappear and be absorbed as big companies start making all of these features mandatory and it becomes the standard. I have a lot of respect for these people

This sounds like pretty much the same experience as the Reverb G2 Omnicept It's a damn shame that such an impressive piece of technology is bogged down by a bad initial user experience- Even when the end experience is absolutely wonderful

I have it. Quite happy with it. Also have the index and Quest, but only use Pimax... with valve controllers... I really hope Pimax succeeds...

I love your way of thinking dude! you should be a judge! And you have a great soothing radio friendly voice!

I had to provide support for users who used PiMax back on an earlier VR platform, and from everything I heard from people using them, they were a nightmare to operate. This was partly due to the weird modified drivers they were using at the time and because most VR titles were focused on Vive and CV1 compatibility, who's FOV was much lower. This created issues with render windows, who's resolutions were so wide it caused issues.

I've had a review of Pimax and I wouldn't recommend those headsets to anyone who values their time and want to try new things. They're unfinished. 2 years after they fixed only 1 minor bug I reported, and didn't even try working on 100% reproducible bug I reported on forums and in support which crashes games. Also Thrill, please see how I showed how to compare FOW of pimax with quest. You'll like it more.

9:38 Thanks for that... totally makes up for all the missing _MEME_ BREAKs lately, I was dying hard there! :D And again, this was just another brilliant TMG production that totally nailed it! /)

Great review! I see cons of Pimax 8KX in image resolution good for text and wired connection which is rare among modern VRs. Do you recommend to buy it NOW for flight/race simulators?

Your nails 💀😭

How about the sweet spot? My only experience with VR is the Reverb G2 and MSFS. My main issue is that unless I look dead center everything is blurry, so it kind of defeats the purpose of a large FOV. You have to physically move your head to look at different gauges / displays, else you won't be able to read them.

Best vid ever honest & straight to the point , other vr KZfaqrs take note , big thanks

Pimax has been my go to headset (Artisan) for awhile and even now I'm also waiting for their new 12k QLED and my pair of Etee controllers from TG0 (Kinda excited to see how well these work together). I also think alot of peoples experiences are different cause personally for me after I setup Pitool everything worked fine for me and Ive played a handful of games in it (GMOD VR, VRChat, Pavlov, CVR, Phasmophobia). Sometimes when I play for a long time and take the headset off I get lightly dizzy but otherwise I just chill for a minute to re-adjust myself, I used to get REALLY sick with other VR headsets but the wide FOV has helped ALOT. I highly recommend them despite some of the issues, if you plan to buy their new headset when it releases make sure you already own and are a registered "Pimaxian" as they will be prioritizing them over new users. Also they are doing "trade-in credit" for Pimaxians planning to order the 12k QLED.

you got me emotionally immersed into a vr headset this was very well made

Dude, your commentary is on another level! You need more subscribers haha

I love your videos they are always so well made keep up the good work. And yes im jealous because u have so many headsets and i dont but i dont mind it that much.

Good overview! Such a crazy headset!

The white on white subtitles have me ROLLING 🤣

Hey thrill, do you think Meta is going to branch off the quest line and maybe have a pro or cheap line aswell as quest?

Congratulations, excellent review, a truthful video, thank you for openings my eyes!!!💯

I really hope Pimax takes your advice to heart and makes their headsets easy to use with a frictionless setup. That and a new controller design and i'm down to drop big money on one

This video has more cuts than the original Jurassic Park. Incredible amount of work! More than Pimax ever put in their own videos together :D

I had huge troubles getting the HMD to detect with the base stations, once i figured to not have 3 displays connected to the graphics card at once in order to make it work. Also, with the Sword Controllers, some games dont have all the buttons set up correctly. Is there an option to get the sword controllers recognized or set up natively inside SteamVR? I set them up as Vive Controllers as of now, but there still are problems with some games.

That was an excellent review! Thank you Thrill!

I got a Pimax 5k Super (been thinking about jumping up to the 8k) and you REALLY hit the nail on the head. In the 5k video you referred to it as a "tinker's headset" you are absolutely right. It is also like driving that super car when you get it dialed in though. Great video, thanks Thrill

idk what it is about this video, but your video craft keeps improving. keep being the best, thrill😎

I have never had any issues with the 8K X and SteamVR. I did notice a weird bug where the 8K X doesn't recognize the lighthouse base stations but I managed to find the fix for that. I do use the KDMAS audio (on ear rather than off ear) which doesn't sound terrible - It is a daily drive for me. I did get it with the Index Knuckles - and I never used it (still new in the box) because I am using it for sim gaming. It Is a really a game changer for me.

Like a prototype sports car indeed. I admire that FoV, but I also admire a Quest's usability, and a Varjo's realism.

Minor quibble: By *default* the parallel projection mode is on, which means it's not quite honest to say you "need to mod BoneWorks and Beat Saber." They actually do work out of the box, as does basically any game which works on the Index (which also uses parallel projection mode). However, it's highly encouraged to mod them so that you can turn off parallel projection mode as that gives you a ~30% performance boost, and with dual 4k screens at 90-120 Hz you really want that boost! But for sure the difficulties in getting the IPD adjusted just right is the #1 thing holding it back. It's great that when I get it tuned just right I can pick up and play with no issues for months on end, but one of my favorite things to do with my VR setup is to share experiences with my friends, and it's always a headache (often literally) to walk them through the adjustment! I've got it down to about five minutes for the initial adjustment, and then I write down their settings so we can swap people in and out quickly, but I'm reeeeeally hoping they nail the auto-IPD adjustment with the Reality series!

honestly so cool you've seen through so many eyes in vr what would be your top 5 though?

If you want to fix the audio issues with the Pimax, I suggest 3d printing some adapters for the vive deluxe audio strap, although be warned, I tried this, and the head strap is actually too big for my head.

I've never used high FOV headsets but I understand how immersive they are. Whenever I try to understand why the vr doesn't feel like real life, I just look around in real life and understand instantly. I hardly ever use my head to look around in real life, I usually just move my eyes. I always look around in real life and understand how immersive real life is instantly. Because of the FOV. the FOV is truly the biggest difference between real life and vr. you could simulate perfect graphics in a game where the resolution is indistinguishable from real life but if it would not be nearly as immersive as if you just upped the FOV to real world FOV and kept the graphics the same. Graphics is what makes screen games more immersive but FOV is much more important when it comes to VR games. I wish companies would understand this and quit focusing so much on graphics when the main focus should be on FOV FIRST AND GRAPHICS SECOND. IF I WANTED GOOD GRAPHICS I WOULDN"T FUCKING PLAY VR. PLAY TO YOUR GOD DAMN STRENGTHS VR COMPANIES. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SCREEN GAME AND A VR GAME IS THE CONTROLS AND THE FOV. THE CONTROLS ARE TOO HIGH TECH TO GET RIGHT BUT THE FOV IS NOT. WHY DID PEOPLE JUST DEVELOPERS GIVE UP ON FOV AND GIVE UP ON CONTROLS AND WENT RIGHT IN TO GRAPHICS. FOCUSING ON GRAPHICS IS FOCUSING ON THE WRONG THING BECAUSE IT FAILS TO FOCUS ON THE TWO THING THAT MAKES VR SPECIAL

11:08 A quote from Randy Pausch from his last lecture relates very closely. He said, "When you’re screwing up and nobody says anything to you anymore that means they’ve given up on you…you may not want to hear it but your critics are often the ones telling you they still love you and care about you and want to make you better."

My god that pimax skit was amazing xD, good job

Hey your music is really awesome! It would be really cool if you released more of these outro songs.

Amazing video! I was very much considering getting a pi max headset but details like these make me not go for it, they should've honestly just stucked to shipping index controllers

I saw a new video and instantly thought it might in fact be Tuesday today Anyway, this is super exciting!!!

Totally digging that you wore a Fox / Yoshimura jersey...

Thanks for the absolute banger of a video, Thrill!

i've been playing pimax 8k plus for two years and i haven't had any major problems with it yet, only that 200 degrees doesn't always want to work in all games like beat saber for example. But there is an option that allows you to change the viewing angle

But how it feels on ur head? Is it like really heavy? Or is it suprisingly light (for that bulky headset)