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Published: September 20, 2017 | Source: Kickstarter | Author: Mark Campbell

Pimax smashes past their Kickstarter Goals with 5K and 8K VR headsets

Primax smashes past their Kichstarter Goals with 5K and 8K VR headsets

Primax smashes past their Kickstarter Goals with 5K and 8K VR headsets

 
Pimax has hit Kickstarter with two new VR headset designs, which are intended to deliver a high-end VR headset lineup with higher resolution displays and an increased Field of View (FOV) than competing VR headsets. 
 
These headsets are designed to be compatible with SteamVR, Valve’s VR API, as well as support for PiHome and Oculus Store (likely using an external app like ReVive) content. These headsets come with either dual 1440p (5K) or dual 4K displays (8K) displays, delivering more visual clarity than both the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.
 
So far Pimax has achieved over three times their initial Kickstarter goal of $200,000, already surpassing $650,00 with over 44 days of campaigning still to go. 

  

Primax smashes past their Kichstarter Goals with 5K and 8K VR headsets
Primax smashes past their Kichstarter Goals with 5K and 8K VR headsets

 

The biggest upgrade over existing VR headsets is the upgrade to higher resolution displays, which will greatly increase the graphical fidelity of VR games and content while also significantly increasing the GPU horsepower that is required to run this content well. 

Pimax’s VR headsets not only feature increased display resolutions but also have higher fields of view, with Pimax offering a 200-degree field of view instead of the 110-degree view offered by the Rift and the Vive. This means that a lot more processing power is required to offer this increased field of vision. 

Thankfully both the 5K and 8K models of this headset will still offer screen refresh rates of 90Hz, which is the same refresh rate that is offered on both the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. 

 

 

These headsets will require users to use a DisplayPort 1.4 connection for VR display connectivity given the high resolutions and refresh rates on offer here. 

Right now these headsets are expected to start shipping in January 2018, provided there are no delays in manufacturing. Versions are available that offer SteamVR compatible base stations and controllers though some bundles will lack these parts, expecting buyers to already own an HTC Vive, base stations and controllers.  

Pimax 5K Deluxe Bundles will cost $699 on Kickstarter with 8K “Full Package” bundles costing $999. These two bundles include SteamVR Base Stations and VR motion controllers. 

  
Primax smashes past their Kichstarter Goals with 5K and 8K VR headsets  

Primax smashes past their Kichstarter Goals with 5K and 8K VR headsets 

 

To put it mildly, these VR headsets offer crazy specifications. When compared to the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive the 5K version of this headset offers almost three times as many pixels on its displays and almost six times as many pixels in its 8K version. 

These headsets will require insane levels of GPU horsepower to run properly, likely requiring next-generation GPUs before they are usable in today’s most demanding VR games when using their full display resolution. It is great to see Pimax push the VR industry forward like this, though we will need to see the GPU industry make a similar leap if we want to make proper use of high-resolution VR headsets. 

 

You can join the discussion on Pimax’s 5K and 8K VR headsets on the OC3D Forums. 

 

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