Sony’s new PS VR2 (opens in new tab) headset is out now, and I have been testing it these previous few weeks to see the way it squares as much as the best VR headsets (opens in new tab) for PC. Spoiler alert: it is excellent. However being a PC Gamer editor I did really feel inclined to plug it into my PC as I’d my Quest 2 simply to see what would possibly occur.
Seems, nothing. There are not any PC drivers to get Sony’s new VR headset engaged on PC, and SteamVR would not take any discover of it. Or so I believed.
I used to be watching a video from Tyriel Wood – VR Tech (opens in new tab) and so they discovered which you could get the headset working in case you plug it straight into your graphics card utilizing the onboard USB Kind-C connection. When you have a kind of.
Solely a handful of graphics playing cards do. The GPU I/O USB-C port was initially launched method again in 2018/19 alongside a brand new different mode referred to as VirtualLink that was designed primarily to be used with digital actuality headsets. The intention was to roll all of the cables often required for VR right into a single USB-C connection. And it labored, however it by no means actually took off as an business customary, later being deserted.
The connection made it onto a number of graphics playing cards earlier than shuffling off this mortal coil. Nvidia rolled out the VirtualLink on the again of its Founders Version playing cards with the RTX 20-series, however killed it for the RTX 30-series and past. In the meantime, AMD launched the port with the RX 6000-series, and surprisingly stored a functioning Kind-C show connection on the current RX 7000-series playing cards.
And fortunately I’ve an AMD RX 7900 XT in my PC at the moment to do this trick out. It is attainable it will work on any laptop computer with a USB-C show connection able to powering the headset, too.
It is a easy trick, actually: I plugged the PS VR2 into the again of my graphics card utilizing the Kind-C connection and it labored. Kinda. It isn’t outputting as a VR headset, or being recognised by any VR apps as one, however it’s going to act as a sort-of-VR second monitor.
As I mentioned on the high of this text, it is simply not excellent. You would not use it for something, not that I can consider anyhow. It is simply one other monitor display solely seen through the headset. However it’s noteworthy that it form of works. I do surprise if this opens the door to somebody creating some form of driver shell that may get it performing on PC as an precise VR headset, however it’s probably lots of work for a headset that is billed as PS5-only.
In case you really need good PC VR, you should buy a Meta Quest 2 for lots much less.
