Pimax 8KX Review

Virtual reality is fast-improving and it is only a matter of time before we will all be wearing headsets for this new media. This Pimax 8KX review will let you know everything about it.

Pimax is not the most famous company when it comes to producing VR headsets. In fact, they have just started in recent years and released their 8K line of headsets in 2018.

The original 8K headset had a few backlashes because of false marketing. This was immediately redeemed by the 8KX which has a better resolution than the original.

Virtual reality is adapting to the entertainment media that we are used to. Industries such as gaming, videos, and others are getting in the trend by rendering their content to virtual reality.

This is a great feat for the industry since we are all bored right now. It takes viewing and gaming to a whole new level as we have a more immersive experience with this new form of viewing.

Creating a headset that fits everyone’s preference is a bit of a challenge. Most people rely on the speed and resolution of the headset which puts the other features under the radar.

That is why Pimax made sure to let you know all about the other features that come with their headset by improving the resolution to the max and creating images with crisp results.

The Pimax 8KX is perhaps the headset with the best resolution in the industry. However, it also includes powerful features such as the screen itself that you should know about.

It is the perfect headset for viewing and gaming so if you love either one of those, you should read on and see everything that you need to know about this amazing VR headset.

 

Display

The screen or lenses used in virtual reality need to be as good as others or even better to be considered as one of the improved versions of the pioneers of the virtual reality headsets.

The Pimax 8KX has LEDs on both lenses which is a pretty common type of display. It has one of the best image-rendering capabilities that is able to produce accurate or realistic images.

The LED of the 8KX has a secret behind it. It produces one of the most realistic images because of the two layers of LED’s that were installed in the large head-mounted display.

That’s right, instead of having a single panel on the display, Pimax added another layer of LED on the background to make the color combination more accurate and smoother.

The images that the headset produces are smooth and the screen door effect is lessened. This way, you can play or watch with the 8KX for long periods of time without getting nauseous.

The ability of the first layer to combine colors make the screen perfect for games with vibrant arenas. The extra layer of LED adds to the smoothness of the images to lessen the pixels.

This means that you hardly see square edges on images that are supposed to be curved. With the combination of two LEDs, you get the best color combination possible for the images.

 

Resolution

Since we are talking about the screens of the headset, it is only right that we get into the details about the resolution to get a view of how the 8KX really produces images with crisp details.

The resolution of the 8KX is originally at 2560 by 1440 per eye. This is only a 5K resolution instead of 8K, so the headset gathered some doubts from the public when it was released.

This is a great resolution and in fact, it is already one of the best resolutions among the best VR headsets that are currently available on the market but it did not seem enough to some.

However, Pimax did not stop there as they say that the initial resolution can be improved. With the help of a Dual Engine feature, the initial resolution can be upscaled to a better one.

The images that are rendered in the headset are upscaled to 3840 by 2160 per lens. This is the one labeled with 4K on each eye making the 8K name more accurate.

While the resolution certainly does not sound like 4K on each eye, the Pimax 8KX uses that kind of resolution and displays it on a 4K panel to make a more native 4K rendering of the images.

This not only improves the details on the images that the 8KX displays but the 4K panel also reduces the screened door effect to make the experience smoother and causes less dizziness.

The downside, however, when you upgrade the resolution to the more native 4K display is that it requires more power. That is why you need a powerful PC setup to run this headset.

 

PC Requirements and Specifications

When you try out the former 5K headsets from other companies, you might notice that they require a lot of power from your PC setup and even the best gaming cards have some issues.

For example, the Pimax 5K had a hard time running with an already impressive gaming card of 2080Ti. This made me worry about the 8KX as I expected it to require a lot more.

However, when you try it out with the SteamVR performance graph, it runs perfectly on the same gaming card. It keeps the speed and the resolution of the head-mounted display.

This was surprising because it should need more power. However, the label says that it can run on an NVIDIA RTX 2080 and it really did, it can even go lower but it had some issues.

The 2070 gaming card from NVIDIA did make the PImax 8KX work but it had a hard time running images that are detailed and displays that require a lot of movements.

6GB or 8GB RAM is also enough to run the Pimax 8KX even with the 4K display on each eye. So as long as you have those, the Pimax 8KX will run as smoothly as possible.

 

Refresh Rate

The need for a powerful PC setup also involves the refresh rate of the VR headset. This determines how well it displays moving objects or how well it copes with the movements of the user.

The dual-engine mode of the Pimax 8KX requires it to have a more powerful PC that can run both resolutions along with the refresh rate. However, it has some limitations on both.

The refresh rate of the Pimax 8KX depends on the resolution that you select. If you put it in the native 4K display, you will have a lower refresh rate of 75Hz which is pretty low.

This was able to run on the 2080Ti gaming card smoothly. However, it can still be improved so I tried the lower resolution of 2560 by 1440 on each eye to see if it speeds up.

The lower resolution certainly improved the refresh rate as it climbed up to 90Hz. This made the display better as it was less nauseous and can move smoothly with high-speed games.

The 75fps speed of the higher resolution did not have a problem with the 2080Ti gaming card. The higher resolution of 90Hz can also be improved up to 118Hz.

This is made possible by the Fixed Foveated Rendering (FFR). This is where the display follows the gaze of the user to concentrate on where the focus of the display should be.

When this is turned on, the object that you are focusing on will become clearer and more detailed while the sides of the display are blurred just a little to improve both the speed and display.

This was hardly noticed and I figured that it was best to put the headset in this kind of rendering. Only the edges of the display were blurred which did not affect much in gaming.

With these options, you can play your favorite games with the best resolution and with a speed that is decent enough to cope with the moving display and your movement as well.

 

Field of View (FoV)

Perhaps the best feature of the Pimax 8KX is in its Field of View. This is all about how wide you can see with the head-mounted display for a more immersive experience.

The FoV of the Pimax 8KX is at 200 degrees. The head-mounted display is very large and it wraps around the whole front of your face all the way to your ears.

This makes sense as it produces an almost perfect FoV. To put that into perspective, the limitations of the human eye when it comes to peripheral vision is at 210 degrees.

Most VR headsets are competing in the low to mid 100s when it comes to Field of View but the Pimax 8KX is way ahead of its time as it has the best FoV available right now.

This makes the headset perfect for games that require the most out of the attention of the user. It gives you the proper view of your surroundings to keep you concentrated.

This, in turn, will get you to wear the headset for hours and with the large head-mounted display, you are going to need some comfort from the headset itself.

 

Comfort

If you are familiar with VR headsets, then you have probably heard of the Vive Pro. The Pimax 8KX has an almost identical head strap as the Vive Pro so it is quite comfortable.

The head-mounted display includes a halo strap made out of plastic and is cushioned with soft pads. It also has extra padding at the back to keep the headset comfortable for wearing.

The halo strap can be adjusted with a dial at the back.  This way, you can tighten or loosen the strap to its most comfortable setting and play with the headset for hours.

After a couple of hours of wearing the headset, I felt the weight of the head-mounted display but it was not uncomfortable. You could still wear it for another hour without a lot of discomfort.

The Pimax 8KX also has an over-the-head strap that keeps the display from wobbling up and down. It is only made with an elastic strap so it does not offer that much comfort per se.

It just adds to the comfort in terms of keeping the head-mounted display in line with the user’s vision. Overall, the comfort of the Pimax 8KX is good enough for gaming and viewing.

 

Controllers and Tracking System

The Pimax 8KX has a somewhat complicated tracking system. Its controllers are pretty simple and it is similar to most of the controllers that other VR headsets use.

One noticeable difference is that the controllers use five-finger tracking which makes it more accurate as it allows you to perform a lot of tasks in games and functions.

The tracking system of the Pimax 8KX involves three major parts. First, are the mounted trackers that are responsible for tracking your position in relation to the display.

This gives a more accurate display of the game. There are also cameras embedded in the head-mounted display that tracks the controllers with 6 Degrees of Freedom.

The third and last tracking system is the internal sensors. These are meant for keeping track of the orientation of the user so the display follows the movement of your body.

 

Conclusion

The Pimax 8KX is one of the best headsets that are currently available on the market. It does have some disadvantages such as needing a powerful PC setup to make it work.

It also has a low refresh rate when you put the display to its native 4K resolution. So that can be changed but in terms of the features, the 8KX is way ahead of the other competitors.

It is able to run videos and games with more detail plus it has the widest FoV available. This makes the user more aware of the surroundings within the display.

As long as you have the required specs for the PC setup, this headset is a great choice so you should start investing in it to get the best virtual reality experience.

If you like the post, do not forget to share it on social media!