Oculus Link Hands-On Review: Better Than Beta

The very best VR experiences can still be found on computers with powerful GPUs and processors, which usually means being tied to a machine with a cable

The Oculus Quest offers an affordable all-in-one VR solution. With a full-fledged mobile computer built in and its own app store, you just buy a headset and some apps and you can play some pretty high-end games and VR experiences.

Unfortunately, the Quest is still far from desktop performance, so its VR apps are a slightly downgraded version of the full version. The good news is that the Quest has received a software update known as the Oculus Link beta that actually turns it into the Oculus Rift We took our quest, uh, quest to see how well this solution performs compared to the real Oculus Rift

Which headphones can use Oculus Link Beta?

Before we go any further, it needs to be said that the Oculus Quest is the only standalone VR headset from Oculus that can also act like the Rift. Unfortunately, the affordable Oculus Go doesn’t offer this feature.

The point is, Go simply lacks the high-quality spatial tracking required to accomplish what PC virtual reality applications need. So, at the moment, only the first generation Oculus Quest is running the Oculus Link beta feature.

Which cable should I be using?

To use the beta version of Oculus Link, you need a cable to connect your headset to your computer. Originally, the only cables certified to work were USB 3.0 or better.

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They can have a USB C to USB C or USB A to USB C connection, depending on the type of ports on your computer. However, the company recently announced that USB 2.0 cables will work as well. A long USB 2.0 charging cable is included in the package.

Oculus recommends using a cable that is at least 3m long.They plan to offer an official Oculus Link cable that uses a 5m fiber optic cableThe Oculus app includes a cable tester that will show if the cable you are currently connected is fast enough. making it easy to know if there is a problem with the cable itself or something else.

We recommend that you first try any potentially compatible cables you already have, provided they are long enough. Just remember to update your Quest and Oculus software on your computer to the latest version first.

If you don’t have a cable (and don’t want to spend more than $ 79 on the official onecable from a reputable manufacturer. We used an Anker USB 3 cable with Type A to Type C.

Remember that cable isn’t the only factor here, your USB controller or connection cables may not be compatible either. Try using the USB ports on the motherboard itself, rather than the extended ports on the front of the case.

What works with Oculus Link beta

As far as software compatibility goes, it looks like there’s nothing that doesn’t work with the Oculus Link beta that actually works with the regular Rift. Unsurprisingly, everything we tried on the Oculus Rift store worked great. In fact, compared to the original consumer Rift model we used, this is a superb experience thanks to the Quest’s improved tracking, optics and screens.

It’s the same with SteamVR We downloaded the excellent Half Life Alyx and it ran smoothly. There were no lags, issues with Oculus Touch controllers, or anything else to distract from the gameplay.

We used the aforementioned Anker USB 3 cable from one of the front USB 3 panels on our test computer and all went well.

Test

Speaking of setting up our computer, this humble machine uses a 4GHz Intel 4690K, 16GB DDR1600 RAM, and 6GB RTX 2060. This particular GPU isn’t one of the models that has a built-in USB C port for VR, but we assume that this is the best option if available.

If you’ve never considered your PC when purchasing the Quest, you’ll be pleased to know that the minimum specs aren’t nearly as heavy as you might think. The i3 6100, 8GB RAM and GTX 1050Ti or equivalent will help you with that. You will find that many mid-range computers meet basic requirements these days. So if you already have Quest, it doesn’t hurt to give it a try on whatever computer you have.

It’s important to note that at the time of writing, Oculus Link does not support AMD GPUs Oculus is working to support as much hardware as possible, but for the Oculus Link beta in its current state, there is still a lot of work to be done with AMD drivers before they can publish it.

Oculus link setting

Assuming you’ve finished setting up your Quest, setting up and running Oculus Link was a snap. All we had to do was install the Oculus app on our computer and log in with the same account as on our Quest. Then, assuming your Quest is up to date, simply plug one end of the cable into your computer and the other into the Quest.

Then just say yes to any Oculus Quest requests on your computer or on the headset itself. Once the Quest Link is installed, you just need to launch your Oculus or SteamVR game, just like with the Rift.

Oculus Link Experience

As we mentioned, gameplay performance, fidelity, and tracking worked flawlessly for us. Oculus has gone to great lengths to make the Quest / Rift transition smooth. You can exit communication mode back to your own Quest equipment at any time by pressing the button.

Likewise, the awesome quest tracking system worked the same in both Link Mode and Quest Mode. All games on Oculus, Steam and Epic Games Store with VR modes worked for us.

Wireless Capabilities

One of the Quest’s greatest strengths is its lack of wires, but sadly lacks the appeal of a good VR-ready PC. Link allows you to experience high quality versions of many of the Quest apps, as well as apps that are exclusive to the Rift. However, you will have to give up wireless freedom. If you buy a headset like Valve Index with a wireless option, you can get a PC VR wirelessly. As long as you are within reach.

Quest doesn’t have an official version of this, but the community has created a low-latency solution to wirelessly transfer PC VR to Quest. We haven’t tried and don’t recommend most people to do this, but it does show that Oculus could theoretically develop a future update or add-on that would truly turn the Quest into a â€œdo it allâ€ virtual reality headset. already (almost) there.

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