Gaming thread

[Raggs]

Facebook has just announced their brand new VR headset. Oculus quest 2. Twice as powerful chip as the previous quest (more than double in many tasks), higher resolution too. Still only 72hz, but with a promise to up it to 90hz with an update once it's ready for release.

Biggest thing is, it's only £300 for the 64gb model (and I don't think I need more), a new quest with 64gb was £400. I've been looking at 2nd hand ones for a while, but taken the plunge with a pre-order now. Considering how scarce the quest was, I figure it's worth while pre-ordering.

First time I've pre-ordered a piece of tech, or anything that expensive. I've just let the missus know...

[yermum]

I have a rift sat in a cupboard gathering dust.

I just found the wearing of it uncomfortable

if you are in the uk and want it. I could post it if you cover the costs.

[Raggs]

I have a rift sat in a cupboard gathering dust.

I just found the wearing of it uncomfortable

if you are in the uk and want it. I could post it if you cover the costs.

Not interested in a tethered set. My pc is sat in a tiny office that if I chucked out the sofa, might be roomy enough, but for now I want the cable free experience.

If I enjoy the VR experience, I'm happy to invest in getting the highly recommended elite strap, or whatever 3rd party straps are recommended.

EDIT - Why not sell it? Even if you just take it to your local CEX store?

[JM2K6]

Facebook has just announced their brand new VR headset. Oculus quest 2. Twice as powerful chip as the previous quest (more than double in many tasks), higher resolution too. Still only 72hz, but with a promise to up it to 90hz with an update once it's ready for release.

Biggest thing is, it's only £300 for the 64gb model (and I don't think I need more), a new quest with 64gb was £400. I've been looking at 2nd hand ones for a while, but taken the plunge with a pre-order now. Considering how scarce the quest was, I figure it's worth while pre-ordering.

First time I've pre-ordered a piece of tech, or anything that expensive. I've just let the missus know...

Noooooooooooooooo

Don't preorder VR kit, it's a mug's game.

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/09/ ... vr-system/

I like the Quest, the Quest 2 sounds like a disaster, and Facebook's anti-consumer actions have really turned me off Oculus entirely.

[Raggs]

That review is extremely negative ( to the point where they straight up got things wrong, suggesting some bias too). Lots of reviews are far more positive including the vr types on YouTube. All comment on the Facebook linking and the not so comfortable head band.

My view is i was looking at paying £300 for a 2nd hand quest. For that same 300 i get a better processor/gpu, Much higher resolution, faster refresh rate piece of kit. Still with a head band that most people disliked ( original quest was recommended to replace too). Seems like a no brainer to me.

[yermum]

EDIT - Why not sell it? Even if you just take it to your local CEX store?

I'm a lazy toad...

[JM2K6]

That review is extremely negative ( to the point where they straight up got things wrong, suggesting some bias too). Lots of reviews are far more positive including the vr types on YouTube. All comment on the Facebook linking and the not so comfortable head band.

My view is i was looking at paying £300 for a 2nd hand quest. For that same 300 i get a better processor/gpu, Much higher resolution, faster refresh rate piece of kit. Still with a head band that most people disliked ( original quest was recommended to replace too). Seems like a no brainer to me.

As an owner of a Quest 1:

- It's difficult to state just how important it is for comfort and keeping the correct angle of the FMD that the headband not suck. However, it seems like they're offering an alternative that might solve this, so it's worth waiting to see how it plays out.
- Light leakage is a problem I mostly fixed with a 3rd party adapter on the Quest 1. Reviews that don't mention light leakage - which is a problem of varying scale on all HMDs - worry me a little, because it's a big issue and no-one has truly solved it.
- Adjusting focus appears to be worse than in the Quest 1, which may not matter too much if you're a solo user and the presets work for you, or it could be a disaster. This is a huge deal.
- Lower battery life is straight up a bad thing. It's already pretty low on Q1. This is partly offset by better battery life for the controllers.
- Having one of the biggest upgrades - the increased refresh rate - be not default at launch but something each app will have to update to handle specificly is pretty worrying.

I'm not saying don't buy one - I have a Quest and there were loads of concerns about that as well. I'm saying don't pre-order one; there's a lot that can go wrong here. Waiting for a little while for some genuine user experience and the results of 90Hz becoming the default would be sensible.

[Raggs]

That review is extremely negative ( to the point where they straight up got things wrong, suggesting some bias too). Lots of reviews are far more positive including the vr types on YouTube. All comment on the Facebook linking and the not so comfortable head band.

My view is i was looking at paying £300 for a 2nd hand quest. For that same 300 i get a better processor/gpu, Much higher resolution, faster refresh rate piece of kit. Still with a head band that most people disliked ( original quest was recommended to replace too). Seems like a no brainer to me.

As an owner of a Quest 1:

- It's difficult to state just how important it is for comfort and keeping the correct angle of the FMD that the headband not suck. However, it seems like they're offering an alternative that might solve this, so it's worth waiting to see how it plays out.
- Light leakage is a problem I mostly fixed with a 3rd party adapter on the Quest 1. Reviews that don't mention light leakage - which is a problem of varying scale on all HMDs - worry me a little, because it's a big issue and no-one has truly solved it.
- Adjusting focus appears to be worse than in the Quest 1, which may not matter too much if you're a solo user and the presets work for you, or it could be a disaster. This is a huge deal.
- Lower battery life is straight up a bad thing. It's already pretty low on Q1. This is partly offset by better battery life for the controllers.
- Having one of the biggest upgrades - the increased refresh rate - be not default at launch but something each app will have to update to handle specificly is pretty worrying.

I'm not saying don't buy one - I have a Quest and there were loads of concerns about that as well. I'm saying don't pre-order one; there's a lot that can go wrong here. Waiting for a little while for some genuine user experience and the results of 90Hz becoming the default would be sensible.

1. Original quest headset strap has been pretty negatively reviewed too. With most people recommending replacing it that I could see. So no difference really. I;m looking to try out VR, I'm not willing to start buying all the extras when I don't even know how I'll take to it.

2. I've seen a few reviews that mention light leakage, they say it occurs a bit, probably dependent on your skull, but there'll be an adapter pack sold by oculus, and no doubt 3rd party options too.

3. My IPD is 58mm (I measured quickly before I bought), bang on one of the presets. There's 3 presets, and it's just a case of pushing them into place, a few seconds of adjustment. If it doesn't fit my wife, oh well, she wasn't going to be the main user.

4. Battery life has been found to be basically equal by every other review that I've looked at, just the Ars Tech review that reckons it was lower. I imagine that much like the previous one, you can use any battery pack to boost, so I'll just use one I already have at home.

5. If you like 72hz quest, then it's not really a negative on the quest 2, if it's only 72hz right now?

The quest was constantly out of stock, I followed deals on it in the UK, and it was selling out in hours each time some came in stock. It was also £400, and as I said, £300 second hand with the basics. Quest 2 is £300. OK, I could now try and get an original Quest, that is also only 72hz, not perfect strap, similar battery, worse resolution (and screendoor effect) etc etc for probably around £200-225, no warranty etc. Or I can just get a better model for what I was willing to pay for a quest 1?

And if it turns out to be awful? Then like with anything else bought online, I've got a 14 day period to say thanks but no thanks and cancel.

[JM2K6]

Sounds like you'll be fine then assuming the IPD is indeed bang on. Calling it £300 is wrong though; you'll definitely want & need those extras!

The concern about the upgraded refresh rate is that it's being done in such a way as to put the onus on the developers for their game to work fine in both modes. There's a lot that can go wrong with half-arsing an implementation.

[Raggs]

Sounds like you'll be fine then assuming the IPD is indeed bang on. Calling it £300 is wrong though; you'll definitely want & need those extras!

The concern about the upgraded refresh rate is that it's being done in such a way as to put the onus on the developers for their game to work fine in both modes. There's a lot that can go wrong with half-arsing an implementation.

I'd have needed/wanted those extras with a quest 1 as well though, so would have had the same expense there regardless. It should be arriving on the 15th of October, going on holiday on the 19th for a week, get back, and hopefully by then be able to look into a lot of 3rd party extras and self-mods.

[JM2K6]

Sounds like you'll be fine then assuming the IPD is indeed bang on. Calling it £300 is wrong though; you'll definitely want & need those extras!

The concern about the upgraded refresh rate is that it's being done in such a way as to put the onus on the developers for their game to work fine in both modes. There's a lot that can go wrong with half-arsing an implementation.

I'd have needed/wanted those extras with a quest 1 as well though, so would have had the same expense there regardless. It should be arriving on the 15th of October, going on holiday on the 19th for a week, get back, and hopefully by then be able to look into a lot of 3rd party extras and self-mods.

Not quite: The strap's worse than the one on the quest and the 3rd party stuff was much cheaper for the Quest (my parts cost me £10 in total) compared to what Oculus are now offering.

Good luck, have you tried the original Quest before? Wires-free VR really is good fun, and there's some stuff in there that really has a decent skill component to it (Beat Saber, Racket Fury, and my personal favourite Racket: Nx). Must admit I've not used it myself for a while - the girlfriend uses it more - so not sure what the most recent hotness is when it comes to games.

[Insane_Homer]

So... I recently bought a Gigabyte RTX 2060 OC, very happy with the performance but the fans are fucking noisy. Annoying ticking, like an old mechanical HDD when under reasonable load.

Turns out is a resonance issue with the cheap shitty fans they put on the boards, as it turns out a very well documented problem with Gigabyte cards for many years. Where many an RMA has been replaced with equally noisy fans (about a 50% shit rate from what I can see).

So anyway, decided to fucking sort it out myself.

Ordered 2x Noctua 92mm low profile fans (black) and PCM / GFX fan header converter cable. So hopefully tomorrow or Saturday (depending on deliveries) I will remove the shyte fans and replace with the much better and quieter Noctuas.

The only real problem is having to fudge the new fans into the Gigabyte housing since the GFX fans use a 3 vein mount and the Noctua's use a 4 vein so will have to get creative with fixings. Watch this space. It could all go Pete Tong.

[Raggs]

JMK, there is no 3rd party stuff for the quest 2 yet, that's my point. Why pay £50 immediately for a better strap, when I can wait a while for 3rd party offerings that will likely be much cheaper, and potentially better still.

So... I recently bought a Gigabyte RTX 2060 OC, very happy with the performance but the fans are fucking noisy. Annoying ticking, like an old mechanical HDD when under reasonable load.

Turns out is a resonance issue with the cheap shitty fans they put on the boards, as it turns out a very well documented problem with Gigabyte cards for many years. Where many an RMA has been replaced with equally noisy fans (about a 50% shit rate from what I can see).

So anyway, decided to fucking sort it out myself.

Ordered 2x Noctua 92mm low profile fans (black) and PCM / GFX fan header converter cable. So hopefully tomorrow or Saturday (depending on deliveries) I will remove the shyte fans and replace with the much better and quieter Noctuas.

The only real problem is having to fudge the new fans into the Gigabyte housing since the GFX fans use a 3 vein mount and the Noctua's use a 4 vein so will have to get creative with fixings. Watch this space. It could all go Pete Tong.

Remove the shroud entirely and cable tie the new fans directly onto the heatsink? Or am I misunderstanding the issue? Shrouds can help direct airflow, but can equally sometimes just block it.

[Big Nipper]

PS5 coming mid November, had some decent trailers last night

I particularly love FFXVI's trailer

[JM2K6]

JMK, there is no 3rd party stuff for the quest 2 yet, that's my point. Why pay £50 immediately for a better strap, when I can wait a while for 3rd party offerings that will likely be much cheaper, and potentially better still.

Um.. that's a point in favour of my "wait and see, don't preorder" approach :P

[Insane_Homer]

Remove the shroud entirely and cable tie the new fans directly onto the heatsink? Or am I misunderstanding the issue? Shrouds can help direct airflow, but can equally sometimes just block it.

Will try and keep the shroud, from what I've seen the direct airflow with it on is better than without and it looks better. I'll probably go with the simpler solution of shroud off to start with and then look at putting the shroud back on later if it looks too DIY.

[Raggs]

JMK, there is no 3rd party stuff for the quest 2 yet, that's my point. Why pay £50 immediately for a better strap, when I can wait a while for 3rd party offerings that will likely be much cheaper, and potentially better still.

Um.. that's a point in favour of my "wait and see, don't preorder" approach :P

I've not pre-ordered any accessories :D. I'm not going to be able to pick up a 3rd party quest 2 for less though :D.

Basically the choice was 2nd hand quest 1 or brand new quest 2, with no accessories for either. Pre-order avoids the risk of being stuck in a situation of there simply not being any stock, by the time there's more accessories).

[tabascoboy]

A ton of people getting stressed about PS5 pre-ordering. I have a PS 4 Pro and am interested to see how it plays out with new/older games but not to the extent of ordering one before we get hands on user reviews. Anyone here already committed?

[JM2K6]

A ton of people getting stressed about PS5 pre-ordering. I have a PS 4 Pro and am interested to see how it plays out with new/older games but not to the extent of ordering one before we get hands on user reviews. Anyone here already committed?

I'm likely to get a PS5, my only console for decades has been a Switch and I've been steadily getting into fighting games (Switch & PC) and Playstations are the natural home of those. No rush for me, though: I'll pick up the higher priced one at a discount at some point, because you're much more likely to save money on a disc copy of a game than digital.

[Raggs]

Sticking with my old xbox one for now. Basically only use it to game with my son, and whilst he's started asking for some more "mature" titles (nope), we're mostly playing minecraft, minecraft dungeons and rocket league at the moment. See no reason to upgrade for now. If I do go for it, I'll wait for a great black friday type deal. Got my current xbox one for £200 two years ago, with 3 included games (including minecraft), and an extra controller, sold 2 of the games on and got about £30 back from that. Absolute bargain. I've also become an absolute subscription gaming fanboy, and whilst I've only got an xbox game pass live at the moment, that'll be upgraded to the ultimate once I've exhausted my current titles and fancy either going through mass effect series again, or anything new.

[tabascoboy]

I'd get the disk version too if I go for it, I'm not averse to buying pre-owned and selling which you can't do with digital version only. Never quite sure why some games cost more for the download only than the physical version. None of the new PS5 games tempt me as yet.

TBH I use the PS4 Pro more for streaming TV than gaming.

[ASMO]

Age of Empires remastered 4k version is fantasic, i loved that game and i am gonna love it lots more now, same with C+C remastered the same way.

[tabascoboy]

Nintendo 3DS GOOONNNEEE

Nintendo has discontinued its 3DS handheld after about 76 million sales over a nine-and-a-half year period.
A notice on the Japanese firm's site says "manufacturing of the Nintendo 3DS family of systems has ended".
The device had the ability to trick the human eye into seeing 3D images like those in some cinema screenings - but without special glasses.
However, its launch received a lukewarm reception and it only gained popularity later.
The console's demise has long been expected. Last year, the company said it no longer planned to make any new first-party games for the system.
It means the original Nintendo DS retains the title of being the bestselling mobile console.
And the Nintendo Switch - a hybrid handheld-and-home machine - is the current focus of Nintendo's efforts.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-54191058

[tc27]

Age of Empires remastered 4k version is fantasic, i loved that game and i am gonna love it lots more now, same with C+C remastered the same way.

Loved AOE.

Probably my first real dip into competitive multiplayer too.

Rushing for bronze age and then pumping out archers worked best. You could win a match in under ten mins if you really micro managed stuff like making villagers drop off food before they have gathered a full amount ETC

[Insane_Homer]

Remove the shroud entirely and cable tie the new fans directly onto the heatsink? Or am I misunderstanding the issue? Shrouds can help direct airflow, but can equally sometimes just block it.

Will try and keep the shroud, from what I've seen the direct airflow with it on is better than without and it looks better. I'll probably go with the simpler solution of shroud off to start with and then look at putting the shroud back on later if it looks too DIY.

Noctua fans installed, wiring is still a bit messy/cumbersome.

Looks the like fan header on the card doesn't have enough voltage to push the PWM fans beyond 80%.



Obviously horrible fan rattle noise is gone
Fan noise under load as dropped from 52dB to 45 dB
GPU temp has gone up from ~68 to ~71 under full load (MSFS2020 full GPU load for 30-60 mins)

I'm going to try and run the fans off the AIO fan controller and use Fanspeed to customise the monitoring of the GPU temps and adjust fan curve via Mobo AIO fan control. I think I'll be able to get better airflow with proper voltages and higher RPM without too big a hit in the noise dept.

[Raggs]

Nice job of it, looks good. Shame about the temps though! Suggests the original fan shape was a pretty good one for purpose.

[EnergiseR]

Hello. I have a question. Santie just bought my young fella the new Xbox. He got the digital one as he is young and he talks about wanting it but I'm not so sure. Anyway I got him a headset as well but am wondering what the story is with the game pass. Do they give me a code in the box when it arrives or do I just sign up on Christmas day when he gets it?

[Jock42]

Hello. I have a question. Santie just bought my young fella the new Xbox. He got the digital one as he is young and he talks about wanting it but I'm not so sure. Anyway I got him a headset as well but am wondering what the story is with the game pass. Do they give me a code in the box when it arrives or do I just sign up on Christmas day when he gets it?

Pretty sure its a code but could be wrong.

Got the x myself, I thought I'd probably spend 200 quid in extra hard drives over the years with the size of games

[EnergiseR]

I think you are probably right but I don't know enough about them and I am not entirely sure if he thinks he wants it or actually wants it. Can you stick a normal harddrive on or special Xbox fella?

[Jock42]

I think you are probably right but I don't know enough about them and I am not entirely sure if he thinks he wants it or actually wants it. Can you stick a normal harddrive on or special Xbox fella?

Assuming its like the xbox 1 then any random hd

[EnergiseR]

I think you are probably right but I don't know enough about them and I am not entirely sure if he thinks he wants it or actually wants it. Can you stick a normal harddrive on or special Xbox fella?

Assuming its like the xbox 1 then any random hd

I did a bit of research and the power and visuals of the X is on a different planet to the S. Just hoping it won't be too shit on the S. He ain't so young that he won't spot that

[JM2K6]

I think you are probably right but I don't know enough about them and I am not entirely sure if he thinks he wants it or actually wants it. Can you stick a normal harddrive on or special Xbox fella?

Assuming its like the xbox 1 then any random hd

I did a bit of research and the power and visuals of the X is on a different planet to the S. Just hoping it won't be too shit on the S. He ain't so young that he won't spot that

It shouldn't be too bad. 1440p upscaled to 4k and all that - it'll be fine.

[EnergiseR]

Cool. I don't want to get 'ehhh thanks' look

[Raggs]

Hello. I have a question. Santie just bought my young fella the new Xbox. He got the digital one as he is young and he talks about wanting it but I'm not so sure. Anyway I got him a headset as well but am wondering what the story is with the game pass. Do they give me a code in the box when it arrives or do I just sign up on Christmas day when he gets it?

Most the time there's a free gamepass code with a new console. Once you've link the xbox to your microsoft account, then you should be able to add it. Either through the xbox, or just do it online on a PC (much easier to type in the digits with a keyboard!). I now just buy game pass from CDkeys or similar, when there's an offer on, to keep my xbox game pass topped up. I'll upgrade it to Ultimate game pass (Xbox + PC) when I'm done with whatever games I'm playing on PC and need/want something new. Game pass for PC (if you play on your PC), it really good in terms of titles, just a bit of a pain in the way microsoft installs them.

[EnergiseR]

Cool thanks a mill. So I'll set it up Christmas morning. Will be easier than skalextric

[handyman]

Xbox series X or Playstation 5, without going into too much detail?

[Big Nipper]

Xbox series X or Playstation 5, without going into too much detail?

Well all I am saying is we are pre-selling the XBox...

Hint hint..

[Raggs]

Xbox series X or Playstation 5, without going into too much detail?

Well all I am saying is we are pre-selling the XBox...

Hint hint..

To fund the purchase of the new xbox?

[Big Nipper]

Xbox series X or Playstation 5, without going into too much detail?

Well all I am saying is we are pre-selling the XBox...

Hint hint..

To fund the purchase of the new xbox?

I work in retail, we started pre-selling yesterday

[Raggs]

Ah, i thought you and your household were selling your current Xbox before release of the new one.