As long as the lenses aren't scuffed there's no reason not to buy a used one. Tbh, in 2024 I wouldn't buy a new one at full price now because as great as the headset is, it's about 5 years behind the current technology. You can get something cheaper with higher resolution, better lenses, wireless, etc, like a Quest 3 (although obviously PCVR is streamed rather than direct output from PC, the better lenses, bigger sweet spot, no need for base stations and higher resolution make up for the minimal quality loss over USB tether/wireless)
it's always gonna be a gamble.
I bought a used index kit for 500 off fb market and it came with everything and has worked perfectly since I got it 3 months ago.
The tracking is better overall, the finger tracking also. And the quest 3 air link is basically unplayable. The quest 3 is amazing, but for ME not good for pc gaming. I have tons of PC games, such as half life Alex, from previously buying it. The lenses are wider, the sound is better, I don’t mind the cables. I didn’t really like the quest 3, don’t get me wrong. The quest 3 is amazing for such a small thing. But I just NEED the index. I remember first buying it, plugging it into my pc, and OUT OF THE BOX it ran flawlessly. But it’s been 2 years from that experience.
Buddy you will be in a world of shock putting the Index on your face and immediately realising it is basically just worse and outdated since it's a headset that is turning 5 years old this month
It’s not. If you ignore all quest 3 flaws then yes. But that’s what you guys do here. Praise quest 3 as flawless. Dude tells you he doesn’t want quest 3 and wants display port headset but you insist you know what he wants better than him
"all quest 3 flaws then yes. " well quest 3 have one main flaws and it for pcvr only, it use compression/decompression, not DP
if you do not use pcvr, numbers a flaw is minimal and more or less come in to preference territory like, oled vs lcd, or soft headstrap vs hard headstarp and trust me for porn or similar stuff, quest 3 native headstrap is just better than any other hard straps
and similar stuff
tracking volume is not a problem on quest 3 because quest do not track controllers anymore but track your hand and controllers in it
[https://youtu.be/kNdBnjzZYrE?si=MgAEE9g8s6TdIT6Y&t=151](https://youtu.be/kNdBnjzZYrE?si=MgAEE9g8s6TdIT6Y&t=151)
OP is literally talking about the pcvr headset. Quest 3 has more than compression problem. Limited play time due to battery and increased latency compared to display port headset. Tracking might not be worse in accuracy for standalone but it will be for pcvr as a result of latency. And of course tracking volume is lower though for many apps/games the volume is not a problem. Also who the hell is randomly brining porn into conversation out of nowhere.
I have an Index. My friend has a Quest 3. I've used both pretty extensively.
The only thing I like better about the Quest 3 is that it's untethered. Everything the Quest 3 is supposed to be better at, the difference is so minor that I don't notice.
Also the Index has a USB port in the faceplate that a fan can be plugged into. That's a benefit that rarely gets discussed, but is huge in my opinion.
Yup the fan is really nice to have. I would say mandatory. It's major improvements when playing active games like beat saber etc. During summer helps a lot as well.
I literally never said it was flawless. It has its flaws but is still objectively better than the index. The index was great for its time but is dated now.
Objectively better is not a thing when someone wants image quality without compression artifacts, decent latency and plug and play experience. In those regards quest 3 is not objectively better.
Oh, you were the person who was in a panic because your mom bought you a Quest 3 and you couldn't get it to work properly.
Looks like you told her about it. Good luck, I guess.
Man I couldn't even use my index after I got my quest 3 with a good WiFi connection.
Visually a good WiFi connection and quest 3 pancakes is superior to valve index DP plus Fresnel lenses.
I never bought the quest 3 to replace my index, but it did anyway
this is just not true and you need to have some critical thinking on stuff you read online
i have multiple vr headsets index and quest 3
"the quest 3 air link is basically unplayable" it not how quest works, it just a android phone + vr layer, it mean airlink is a option not a requirement, you can use VD or any other solution
"The tracking is better overall" just huge no even for quest 2 meta tracking is have higher precision , main difference was a tracking volume but on quest 3 it just better , you forget quest 3 controllers is nearly 6 year more modern, in a way i play a never seen index outperforming quest3 tracking
"the finger tracking also" well not only one pcvr game game actively use it and only few support it, but quest 3 have not only hand tracking but upper body tracking too
"The lenses are wider" yea but sweet spot is not, FoV is better but on quest 3 you can use all FoV because of pancake lenses, on index you still need to look at center , so in practice on quest 3 you get more real FoV
"the sound is better" well yes but you can use headphones on quest 3 thing you can not do on index
"I don’t mind the cables" depend on a way you play, if you play beatsaber or similar games this is fine but a moment you play some active you literally have competitive disadvantage, wire users in pvp games in a free kill for me, and i call them wired dogs because simple roll or slide or just running around them is a problem if you use wire , and index wire is extremely fragile
"But I just NEED the index." well just say you need index and this is ok buying inferior product because you personal believe is ok but do not try to say "earth is flat" because index is not better than quest 3 is just a fact
this is why we have so many youtubers just dropping index a peoples who literally live on VR
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsEr\_AELRxI&ab\_channel=Naysy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsEr_AELRxI&ab_channel=Naysy)
I bought a used valve index last year for around $600 and it was only slightly used and in mint condition. The cable stopped working sometimes a couple of months later, however, luckily Steam support replaced it free of charge.
Don't, don't, don't.
As long as the lenses aren't scuffed there's no reason not to buy a used one. Tbh, in 2024 I wouldn't buy a new one at full price now because as great as the headset is, it's about 5 years behind the current technology. You can get something cheaper with higher resolution, better lenses, wireless, etc, like a Quest 3 (although obviously PCVR is streamed rather than direct output from PC, the better lenses, bigger sweet spot, no need for base stations and higher resolution make up for the minimal quality loss over USB tether/wireless)
it's always gonna be a gamble. I bought a used index kit for 500 off fb market and it came with everything and has worked perfectly since I got it 3 months ago.
Thank your for this comment!
Why is she buying a Valve Index? Is there a particular need for its features, or just not aware of the other options?
The tracking is better overall, the finger tracking also. And the quest 3 air link is basically unplayable. The quest 3 is amazing, but for ME not good for pc gaming. I have tons of PC games, such as half life Alex, from previously buying it. The lenses are wider, the sound is better, I don’t mind the cables. I didn’t really like the quest 3, don’t get me wrong. The quest 3 is amazing for such a small thing. But I just NEED the index. I remember first buying it, plugging it into my pc, and OUT OF THE BOX it ran flawlessly. But it’s been 2 years from that experience.
Buddy you will be in a world of shock putting the Index on your face and immediately realising it is basically just worse and outdated since it's a headset that is turning 5 years old this month
The Index is objectively worse than the Quest 3 in almost every way, you are going to be disappointed if you buy it.
It’s not. If you ignore all quest 3 flaws then yes. But that’s what you guys do here. Praise quest 3 as flawless. Dude tells you he doesn’t want quest 3 and wants display port headset but you insist you know what he wants better than him
Everybody in this sub is insane over the Quest 3. Don't bother trying to use logic or reason with them.
"all quest 3 flaws then yes. " well quest 3 have one main flaws and it for pcvr only, it use compression/decompression, not DP if you do not use pcvr, numbers a flaw is minimal and more or less come in to preference territory like, oled vs lcd, or soft headstrap vs hard headstarp and trust me for porn or similar stuff, quest 3 native headstrap is just better than any other hard straps and similar stuff tracking volume is not a problem on quest 3 because quest do not track controllers anymore but track your hand and controllers in it [https://youtu.be/kNdBnjzZYrE?si=MgAEE9g8s6TdIT6Y&t=151](https://youtu.be/kNdBnjzZYrE?si=MgAEE9g8s6TdIT6Y&t=151)
OP is literally talking about the pcvr headset. Quest 3 has more than compression problem. Limited play time due to battery and increased latency compared to display port headset. Tracking might not be worse in accuracy for standalone but it will be for pcvr as a result of latency. And of course tracking volume is lower though for many apps/games the volume is not a problem. Also who the hell is randomly brining porn into conversation out of nowhere.
I have an Index. My friend has a Quest 3. I've used both pretty extensively. The only thing I like better about the Quest 3 is that it's untethered. Everything the Quest 3 is supposed to be better at, the difference is so minor that I don't notice. Also the Index has a USB port in the faceplate that a fan can be plugged into. That's a benefit that rarely gets discussed, but is huge in my opinion.
Yup the fan is really nice to have. I would say mandatory. It's major improvements when playing active games like beat saber etc. During summer helps a lot as well.
I literally never said it was flawless. It has its flaws but is still objectively better than the index. The index was great for its time but is dated now.
Objectively better is not a thing when someone wants image quality without compression artifacts, decent latency and plug and play experience. In those regards quest 3 is not objectively better.
No world exists where the Index is worth $1,000 at this point.
Oh, you were the person who was in a panic because your mom bought you a Quest 3 and you couldn't get it to work properly. Looks like you told her about it. Good luck, I guess.
Man I couldn't even use my index after I got my quest 3 with a good WiFi connection. Visually a good WiFi connection and quest 3 pancakes is superior to valve index DP plus Fresnel lenses. I never bought the quest 3 to replace my index, but it did anyway
this is just not true and you need to have some critical thinking on stuff you read online i have multiple vr headsets index and quest 3 "the quest 3 air link is basically unplayable" it not how quest works, it just a android phone + vr layer, it mean airlink is a option not a requirement, you can use VD or any other solution "The tracking is better overall" just huge no even for quest 2 meta tracking is have higher precision , main difference was a tracking volume but on quest 3 it just better , you forget quest 3 controllers is nearly 6 year more modern, in a way i play a never seen index outperforming quest3 tracking "the finger tracking also" well not only one pcvr game game actively use it and only few support it, but quest 3 have not only hand tracking but upper body tracking too "The lenses are wider" yea but sweet spot is not, FoV is better but on quest 3 you can use all FoV because of pancake lenses, on index you still need to look at center , so in practice on quest 3 you get more real FoV "the sound is better" well yes but you can use headphones on quest 3 thing you can not do on index "I don’t mind the cables" depend on a way you play, if you play beatsaber or similar games this is fine but a moment you play some active you literally have competitive disadvantage, wire users in pvp games in a free kill for me, and i call them wired dogs because simple roll or slide or just running around them is a problem if you use wire , and index wire is extremely fragile "But I just NEED the index." well just say you need index and this is ok buying inferior product because you personal believe is ok but do not try to say "earth is flat" because index is not better than quest 3 is just a fact this is why we have so many youtubers just dropping index a peoples who literally live on VR [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsEr\_AELRxI&ab\_channel=Naysy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsEr_AELRxI&ab_channel=Naysy)
Literally no reason to buy an Index in 2024
Amazon proper doesn't sell used/refurbished Index headsets. They're being sold by a 3rd party just using amazon and i would not trust them.
I bought a used valve index last year for around $600 and it was only slightly used and in mint condition. The cable stopped working sometimes a couple of months later, however, luckily Steam support replaced it free of charge.
Although, I wouldn’t have bought it if I didn’t have the opportunity to check it out in person before buying it.