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Air link VS Wired link

X99MYKE
Explorer

Hi all. Only had my quest a few days. 

 

I've enabled Air Link and been playing Half Life: Alyx for about 7 hours or so this way - with no issues at all - as such. Also been playing Ragnarock (what a fun game!!)

 

My question is though - would the game look better visually if I purchased and played via wired link instead of Air Link - has anyone specifically tested the different between the two? would be great to hear about a real comparison. Have searched youtube but nothing really on there specifcally about it.

 

I have an RTX 2080 - and if someone else puts on the headset and plays, whilst watching on the PC screen its perfectly smooth and perfect graphics. Obviously its then having to stream it as such to the quest. The quest is perfectly smooth at the 90hz, but things do tend to look blurry, especially more than an arm or 2 length away.

 

and on Ragnarock theres an occasional freeze, for literally half a second - but that half a second on a game thats about timing drum beats it becomes frustrating, even if it only happens once per song

 

I'll happily purchase a link cable if there's a massive difference in how it looks / and removes little stutters - but also don't wanna just purchase one on a whim to find there's no difference!

 

cheers

5 REPLIES 5

TomCgcmfc
MVP
MVP

@X99MYKE  I have both Air Link and an Official Link cable.  In general, even with my rtx3090, Link always looks a little better (esp. distant objects) and is a little bit smoother.  Also depends a lot on your Router/Wifi setup.  Refer to the Oculus Air Link webpages for their recommendations.

https://support.oculus.com/airlink/

 

I also have played wireless PCVR with Virtual Desktop for +1yr now and it works pretty well.  Just my opinion but with Air Link currently working so well now (and I'm sure it will improve more in the near future) I think Virtual Desktop's days may be numbered.  For many of us (esp. w/Q1) VD was a godsend at the time though and we can probably thank the VD developer for helping to indirectly push Oculus to make improvements with Link and releasing Air Link.

 

Up to you to decide but if I were you I'd buy the official Link cable (sorry I cannot vouch for alternative cables).  Always good to have alternative options, just in case imho.  Also, depending on what you have now, maybe look at upgrading your Router/wifi setup.

i9 13900K water cooled, RTX4090, Z790 MB w/wifi6e, 32Gb 6400 ram, 2x2TB SSD, 1000W PSU, Win 11, QPro, Q3, w/Link and Air Link, Vive Pro1 with Etsy lens mod and Index Controllers

X99MYKE
Explorer

Yeah the Wifi setup was the main reason I thought to ask the question tbh. The way my house is set up, the router is actually in like a small cupboard room under the stairs. So my PC is connected via Wifi, as is my rift. (both with full signal stength though, approx 8 meters from the router). I just gathered that direct via a wire from PC to headset must be quicker than from PC to router, back to quest.

 

I do also think I'm going to expect to much from it, ill purchase a cable (although I wont be paying rip off official link prices - theres one with 1000s + reviews for 20 quid on amazon that confirms green 3.5gb speed). Id love to see a big difference but i'll probably find its negligable. but worth a shot!

I should probably do some research into the steamVR and oculus settings too, as ive not yet touched them

@X99MYKE  Ya, sounds like Link cable is going to work best for you right now.  Unless you can get a wired ethernet connection to a good 1 gigabyte Router and a good 5Ghz wifi as close as possible, preferably in the same room, wireless performance will be very poor.  Wifi performance sounds good speed wise but it is not full duplex like 1 gig Ethernet is so it cannot send/receive at the same time, which is what you want for good pcvr streaming.   

 

I hope you have good luck with that 20 quid Amazon cable.  Keep in mind that in many cases 1000's of positive reviews are often fake and in some cases these cables will not charge your headset while using link.  The official 5m Link cable is hardly a rip off imho because it's Optical (which is always more expensive) and it's much lighter and more flexible.  It may also be more future proof since it has 10Gbps capability, but who knows if it will ever be possible to utilize this or not?

 

While you are researching SteamVR and Oculus settings (headset and the Oculus desktop app) also have a look at the Oculus Debug tool (ODT) and the free app Oculus Tray Tool (OTT).  OTT is a very handy tool to improve your Link (or Rift) performance.  Here's a link to it.

 

https://apollyonvr.wixsite.com/vrtools

 

 

i9 13900K water cooled, RTX4090, Z790 MB w/wifi6e, 32Gb 6400 ram, 2x2TB SSD, 1000W PSU, Win 11, QPro, Q3, w/Link and Air Link, Vive Pro1 with Etsy lens mod and Index Controllers

Virtual Desktop still has it's uses. For one thing, I find it's easier to browse the internet using Virtual Desktop then it is with the Oculus Home built in virtual desktop. Easier to resize windows too. It also lets you stream your desktop via the internet if you're out of town, assuming a Windows Update didn't cause your PC to restart. Plus while it recommends a 5g router, it works fine with a 2.4g one. Which is unlike Air Link, which does require a 5g router.

 

As for using a cable for Oculus Link, it's expensive but I do like my official Link cable. It's long enough on it's own that you can set your PC up just outside of your room scale plays pace and go anywhere within said play space. Assuming of course about 6.5 by 6.5 foot size of said play space. Build quality is **bleep** good too, and the fact one of the USB-C connectors is to the side is great for connecting to your headset. With a Quest 2 you'll need a way to secure the cable though. The included bracket only fits the quest 1.

Lo, a quest! I seek the threads of my future in the seeds of the past.
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