HP Reverb G2 Virtual Reality Headset

fantasyrulz

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**********REVIEW**********
First impression of the build quality and package is top notch
as, everything feels well build.

[SETUP]
G2 uses Windows Mixed Reality as its Platform and its really very fustrating to setup at first
as WMR is only available in Windows 10 and the drivers for the G2 can only be installed via Windows Update,
if your windows 10 version is not the latest, you have to reinstall windows 10 to the latest version and reupdate
all windows update for windows to install the drivers for G2. Just this step took me at least 2 or 3 hours to figure out.

Incompatible with X570 and various other MOBO USB Ports, this is the MOST fustrating part! After i finally get windows
to install the drivers for my G2 comes the USB port issue, my MOBO back panel USB C and USB A 3 all cant detect my G2 and only
the front USB 3 can detect my G2.

Next comes installing SteamVR to play Steam VR games and now comes my second part of my headache, its super buggy.
Once i start SteamVR, it just crash or serious frame drop or video flipped upside down what cause the issue? another few hours trying
to diagnose this issue. 1 whole day gone trying to figure out how to run my G2.

So finally is it working fine? NOPE! issues like audio cut off game crashing, 180 degree flipped upside down videos
etc etc while in game. Its literally unplayable at this point SteamVR is unusable. Second day comes and finally
figured out its the USB issue and can only be fix by getting a seperate USB 3.0/USB C PCIE Expansion card that with SATA power supplied to it.
SO OK THEN ANOTHER WAIT THEN, Ok 2 weeks later finally delivered my Startech PCIE USB card.

[COMFORT]
Comfort because of the cushion is really good but if you got a wider head shape the headset might be abit
tight at the faceplate other then that i got no complain

[VISUAL]
G2 visual is simply stunning, vabriant color, 2160x2160 resolution per eye, good black level, minimum screen-door effect 90hertz refresh rate..
simply the BEST looking headset i ever seen, no god ray, no mura, manual adjustable IPD (How wide the 2 different lens are apart to give
you the best Sweet Spot), you will be lost in VR if you can run it with a beast PC and even if you dont you can still run the G2 at half the resolution.

The FOV is not fantastic infact i would say somewhere near PSVR but if you could get your eyes close enough to the lens with
the right IPD you could infact increase the FOV and Sweetspot at least by 20% so the perfect fit is very important
to do that you have to either make your own faceplate or wait for third party faceplate (Taobao seems to have a faceplate for G2) if
not your experience of the G2 will be somewhat limited.

The default faceplate is just too narrow for me and the distance from the lens to my eyes is too far apart that the FOV and Sweet Spot is just bad.

[CONTROLLER]
Compared to PSVR, this WMR controller is alot alot better, some say that the tracking is bad etc,
but to me as long as your light levels are ok then controllers should track just fine. The tracking area is
not fantastic but its ok, you can play beat saber no issue half life alyx is also fine.

[AUDIO]
The audio is fantastic, it hovers above your ear like speakers and the quality of it is better then using seperate headphone.
Issue is with the USB connections, in the early part the sound is distorted due to USB issues but after changing to a PCIE USB card
its alots better.

[SOFTWARE AND GAMES]
Natively G2 runs on WMR and you need "STEAMVR for WMR" to run you steam games and that means
your PC have to run both envrioment at the same time and its really inefficient but still if you have the
patience to set it up, it will work but the problem is with the games. Some games control bindings are just
off for G2 and you might need to rebind the controls or wait for third party support.
Games visually looks stunning on G2, playing Half Life Alyx is surreal to say the least.

[FINAL VERDICT]
Its a fantastic VR Headset but with very bad software support. If G2 is owned by Steam like Valve Index is then
i would give it a 10/10 but with Windows? I will give it a 7/10.

You need alot of hardwork to make it work. weeks and weeks of hardwork.
faceplate, driver issue, software issue, hardware issue, wire issue etc

if you can work through that then you will be rewarded with the best visual any vr headset have to offer right now.

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invigo79

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Not interested in wired VR headset.

Sent from Home using GAGT
 

fantasyrulz

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Just pre-ordered, going to keep this thread updated once i received it and give a review on it stay tune!
 
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AljarYK

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Just pre-ordered, going to keep this thread updated once i received it and give a review on it stay tune!

Just wondering where did you order it from? SG Online HP Store or the SFX Corp? Only came across these 2 while searching.

I'm also looking forward to getting my hands on it when it launches but am holding off pre-ordering.
 

fantasyrulz

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Just wondering where did you order it from? SG Online HP Store or the SFX Corp? Only came across these 2 while searching.

I'm also looking forward to getting my hands on it when it launches but am holding off pre-ordering.

Now can only take in pre-orders and i don't know if they will ever have ready stocks in Singapore,
I ordered mine through SFX Corp but SFX Corp will forward the orders to HP SG so in the end HP contacted me to arrange for payment and shipping.

Currently got a confirmed delivery date of 11/11/2020.
I will keep this thread updated on the quality, how good it is and lastly
does it live up to the hype.
:s12::s12::s12:
 
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fantasyrulz

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Through the Lens footage of the final consumer unit of Reverb G2
The clarity is crazily good in fact its one of the best compared to all VR headsets
in the market currently right now including Oculus Q2 and Vive Index and if driven using a powerful enough PC it will look even better
:s12:
 

Kapish

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nice. i pre-ordered 2 weeks ago
do you have a VR headset prior to this?
 

fantasyrulz

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nice. i pre-ordered 2 weeks ago
do you have a VR headset prior to this?

Used to own a PSVR, this is my first time using windows mixed reality.

Right now my G2 unusable due to my x570 USB problem.
Waiting for my startech usb-c pcie expansion card... Hope it works...

Once its working I'm gonna setup my pulley system for Half-life Alyx!
 

fantasyrulz

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UP the thread with my noob reviews!!!!

for anyone interested in getting the G2 can have a read!
 

AljarYK

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Thanks for the review! Now I am quite tempted to get one haha, just that I will need to wait until I upgrade my CPU first.

Just wondering, what CPU / GPU are you using and what FPS are you getting? I read that low FPS might induce more VR sickness, so higher FPS will be optimal. Do you find yourself getting VR sickness often or that's not really an issue.
 

fantasyrulz

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Thanks for the review! Now I am quite tempted to get one haha, just that I will need to wait until I upgrade my CPU first.

Just wondering, what CPU / GPU are you using and what FPS are you getting? I read that low FPS might induce more VR sickness, so higher FPS will be optimal. Do you find yourself getting VR sickness often or that's not really an issue.

I'm using 5900x amd
3080 gtx

So pushing frames is not an issue with me.

VR sickness I got is mostly locomotion sickness where games like population one, Alyx etc when I have to move but yet my legs are still.

Framerate wise you can tune down your graphic settings to achieve higher frames and the graphics fidelity trade off actually isn't that big.

If you are keen in getting the g2 do remember the tracking for controllers can get pretty flimsy (tracking goes haywire sometimes but still able to provide good enough experience compared to others like quest2 or even index light house tracking which can provide solid tracking when playing very intense games like best saber or population one).

Sweetspots is abit of issue here as you need to constantly move your headset to hit the right spot or you have to move your entire head just to see rather then just moving your eyeballs (hope that make sense) you can improve it by removing the face gasket and using double side velcro tape and attach a aftermarket vr face gasket to bring your eyes closer to the lenses.

The biggest challenge to me is the vr sickness for locomotion play. Needs time to get used to. Games like best saber is perfect for me though, the sound is fantastic.
 

AljarYK

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Nice. Haha I decided to bite the bullet and just ordered from the hp website. They say its out of stock but 2 to 3 weeks replenishment, hope it comes soon!
 

fantasyrulz

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Nice. Haha I decided to bite the bullet and just ordered from the hp website. They say its out of stock but 2 to 3 weeks replenishment, hope it comes soon!

Hmm I just sold it only lol.
End up I upgraded to valve index.

But still it's worth it's money.
Enjoy your purchase mate!
 

AljarYK

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Hmm I just sold it only lol.
End up I upgraded to valve index.

But still it's worth it's money.
Enjoy your purchase mate!

How's the Valve resolution compares to Reverb g2s? Mine just came today lol, am in the midst of setting it up. Read that the tracking is way better but not so sure about the display.
 
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