New to VR - Questions

[fatanraja]

Hello guys,

I've been reading a few threads and information about VR and I'm getting a Quest 3. My first question relies on the connection. I have 2.4ghz as well as 5Ghz frequency in my home and my desktop Ethernet is obviously connected to 5Ghz (802.11ac). It's 1000/1000Mbps according to what Windows Ethernet settings show me. The router is in my living room, but the distance is literally just behind my bedroom, 1 door away (the Ethernet cable is still directly connected to the router).

I know that VR will use the PC for the streaming part and not the router itself, but based on this little info do you expect me to geed a good experience overall? My desktop gets around 520-600Mbps (download) and 150+Mbps (upload) through Speedtest testing, just in case this means something.

Another question is regarding Virtual Desktop, I've seen a lot of threads recommending new VR users to use Virtual Desktop instead playing through Air Link, and I'd like to know why and be more enlightened so when I start it out, have some knowledge to improve my quality of gameplay/productivity.

Thank y'all.

[user_901925786032222]

If the router has both 2.4GHz and 5GHz, can you separate them into different SSIDs? The wall is likely to attenuate the 5GHz signal more than the 2.4 so if they remain combined, the stronger 2.4GHz signal may be selected automatically. If that's sorted and the wall doesn't reduce the 5GHz signal too much (which will depend on the wall construction as much as anything else, you should have a good chance of wireless VR working.

PS Your internet speed is irrelevant for VR.

[TheLegend27]

Hey @fatanraja! Welcome to the Community! For the most optimal results, I'd say an AX/E Wi-Fi 6/6e router would be the top of the top for now. A Wi-Fi 7 BE router would also be a nice future proofing option if you can find it in a similar price range, though, it probably won't affect your wireless PCVR experience directly. AC Wi-Fi 5 routers will do you just fine, though, and is what we generally recommend as the medium! Since Air Link is more about bandwidth speed and latency rather than internet speed, it's important to optimize for that, rather than faster speeds. Try to keep the router in the same room as your play space to eliminate interference and physical obstacles that could affect your signal. Devices such as microwaves, baby monitors, cordless phones, and other Bluetooth devices—even reflections can affect the level of interference you experience.

It's also important for your channel width to be set to at least 80Mhz. The best way to explain it would be with the water pipe analogy. Think of your channel width as the pipe, and the data as the water that flows through it. The bigger the pipe (channel) the more water (data) that can flow through it. Since your AC router only supports up to 80Mhz, I'd recommend that, as it's the widest available.

As long as:

• Your PC is connected via ethernet to a router or access point available in your play space
• Your PC and Quest 3 are connected to a 5Ghz connection
• Your network channel width is set to 80MHz

You shouldn't run into any issues with wireless PCVR. Though, there could be other variables that may affect your ability such as software conflictions, PC compatibility, etc.

So which wireless PCVR solution should you pick? Well, it mainly comes down to personal preference and budget. If you're planning on using PCVR for SteamVR specifically, Steam Link can be considered an option, which is free on our store. For general use case, such as playing games on our Oculus PC app, I'd recommend Air Link or Virtual Desktop. It's a bit of a toss up between the two, and users will generally favor one more than the other. I'll say that I personally use Virtual Desktop more than Air link myself. It's also worth noting that Air Link is 100% free, and Virtual Desktop is $20. Maybe some other users can speak more on which one they prefer using and why, but I hope this info helps!

[user_901925786032222]

A wifi 7 access point would be overkill (at least at the moment) as Quest 3 tops out at wifi 6e.

[TheLegend27]

For the Quest 3, I agree. I was more so just saying in general for future proofing. The higher speeds would definitely be nice to have, more MU-MIMO, improved QAM, 320MHz channel width, etc. A WiFi 7 WiFi card would also be needed to really take advantage of the speeds, which would be even more money out of pocket. From what I'm seeing though, and let me know if you find any cheaper ones (I'm still on Wifi-5—sad), the AXE routers are going from $200-300. I found a couple of BE TP-Links going for around the same price. Though, for the price of either of those, I suppose you could get 2 AX routers to replace your main, and to have a dedicated access point in your room. I went ahead and edited my comment because it does sound like I'm saying it'd have better results for wireless PCVR which isn't entirely true.