8 Things You Should NEVER Do With Your Valve Index...

so my last few videos comparing the index to the quest 2 i briefly mentioned some of the crucial flaws in the indexes design that if the user isn't made aware i can dramatically shorten the headset's lifespan since this is a very important topic for anyone who owns an index i thought it would be best to include every single do not do this with your valve index tip into one cohesive video as well as include some incredibly important tips that i didn't mention in previous videos so let's get into it first is the indexes magnetic front plate get rid of it you don't need it at least if you're having any overheating issues with your headset i've been through two separate indexes now and both had thermal issues even with the front plate removed even having my first headsets display burn up and needing a replacement the index overheating has been a well-known problem within the index community for a while now even with front accessories being released by third-party vendors to use the front usb to add intake fans to cool the headset this is definitely a hot boy this post by logistics and vr in the valve index subreddit shows just how hot the nx can get even with the front cover off if this is how hot the index gets without the color it blows my mind that valve thought it was a good idea to add a magnetic cover that completely seals off the front exhaust point of the headset purely due to aesthetic reasons alone granted the headset does look better with the cover i've actually had some comments from some people complaining that i use the headset without it because a lot of people do care a lot about aesthetics however for those of us that use the index for extended periods of time where it can get up to those higher temperatures you definitely want the front cover off next up is the cable don't stand on it don't over twist it do not tug on it also don't crush it and don't harm it in any way shape or form also don't crush it with the indexes adjustment mechanism this is something i briefly highlighted in my index versus quest 2 video this cable is pretty fragile i've been through two index cables now the cable isn't braided and only just has this pretty weak rubber cover this means tripping on the cable or standing on it can sometimes do pretty serious damage now of course this depends on how heavy you are and how hard you stomped on the cable and i wouldn't freak out if you accidentally tripped on the cable it's something you at least want to keep in the back of your mind and stay aware of while using the headset especially if you're coming from an oculus device as oculus generally have had much better and more robust cables especially crashing the cable and the headset's tilt mechanism yes this is a point i brought up in the past this is probably the dumbest design decision i've ever seen when it comes to the index if you tilt the headset really at all you crush the end of the cable that slots into the headset itself this is a huge problem because it's the primary way to put this thing on like a baseball cap putting on the front piece followed by the rear of the headset and then tightening it all up basically to avoid crushing the cable you have to completely untighten the headset at the back and slide it onto your head with both ends being equal as possible and then tighten it back up again and what adds even more insult to injuries the fact that valve don't even sell replacement cables you have to go through steam support using your warranty and if you don't have a warranty anymore because the warranty only lasts one year and you have a cable die on you you have literally no way of obtaining a new one valve have though for some customers that are outside of warranty have in some cases replace their cable though this seems to be very hit or miss i know a few people who just can't get through to seem support at all and they completely refuse to replace anything but then some others where they will magically replace some parts of the headset so this is very hit or miss but generally if you're outside of warranty you're kind of out of luck an example similar to this cable situation is the post i referenced in a previous video where a reddit user was denied a power brick replacement even after offering to pay for it but was refused because he was outside of warranty so basically just look after your cable next is the base stations be very mindful of when you turn them on and you turn them off this is something phil seeker highlighted in his video where he mentioned that him turning on his base stations on and off each time he went into vr likely attributed to the death of one of his lighthouses this is because usually the most stressful time for the motors inside the base stations is when they're forced to rev all the way up and then forced to rev all the way down so basically just be mindful of how often you turn these things on and off turn them on when you want to play vr and if you know that you're not going to play later leave them off but if you know you are going gonna play later then leave them turned on i personally keep mine on if i know i'll play again in half an hour to an hour's time but any longer than that and i will shut them off for the time being this is an important point to highlight because in response to my index versus quest two video where one of my criticisms was the fact that i have to go around turning on base stations i had some comments that told me to leave them plugged in and have them automatically power up and power down whenever i start steamvr that way i don't have to get up and go turn them on this seems like a good idea but this means that whenever i close all open steamvr they all boost up and they rev up and rev down i close steamvr quite often even if i'm planning to jump back into vr just because it uses a good chunk of my cpu usage so i'm not always going to have steamvr open on my desktop and the same goes for a lot of people who do this unfortunately a lot of people don't know how fragile these base stations can be and they constantly open and close steam vr which is just causing their base stations to rev up and rev down which ends up causing damage to the motor in long term so just stay mindful of when you turn these things on and when you turn them off and how long you're gonna have them turned on and when you should actually turn them off another important tip is do not scratch the lenses when taking off the magnetic face gasket like many of these this seems like another obvious one but the amount of people i've seen even professional youtube channels just yanking this front piece off is absolutely insane you need to be very careful when you take this thing off as it can quite violently pop off sometimes and cause you to scratch the lenses unexpectedly this is most common when you're trying to switch between different face plates if you have some face plates from somewhere like vr cover they make a bunch of great face covers so if you're trying to switch off a sweaty face gasket for a non sweaty face gasket you're going to be switching these in and out maybe pretty frequently instead of maybe wiping them because i know there are some people that do that so you definitely want to be careful when doing this because you don't want to scratch these precious lenses because if you do it seems to be a much harder issue to fix and rma with steam support as it's not as much of a technical difficulty and instead something that you yourself inflicted upon the lenses by being callous with taking this thing off so be careful when you're taking out this front gasket because you really don't want to scratch those precious lenses another one which i forgot to mention in my original recording which is why i'm reshooting this now if you notice my hair looks slightly different that's why this is something i've heard literally no one talk about besides this very specific reddit post by this user in the valve index subreddit that was posted today essentially this user was experienced stuttering poor performance and a loud winding noise coming from the power supply after replacing the power supply with a corsair 850 watt psu the issues were completely fixed with no more whining or performance issues so why am i bringing up this post this seems like a very user specific issue that isn't too common well actually it's more common than you would think i've had this exact same issue myself with my old 750 watt corsair psu though it was still a pretty solid power supply so i didn't immediately attribute my performance issues to that psu but i did notice that every time i open steam vr my psu would start whining and replacing that 750 watt power supply with this new rm850x completely fixed the problem this post only released today and as of recording this video there are already plenty of other users reporting the same experience and sharing this post so another do not do this with your valve index tip is to make sure your psu likes your index there's no real clear answer here to what's exactly causing this a good 750 watt psu is regarded as being enough for most systems with the index so if you do notice any strange performance issues or whining coming from your psu don't rule that out as a possibility to why these issues are occurring possibly upgrade to a better stronger power supply if you do experience anything like this next up is the surprisingly fragile index controllers and preventing the degradation this is a multifaceted issue as there's quite a lot of things that can go wrong with these controllers first let's get the big one out of the way thumbstick drift an issue i hop on about i've mentioned it in like a bazillion videos valve still haven't fixed it and there's nothing you can do to prevent developing it however you can elongate the amount of time before developing drift thumbstick drift generally develops when the sensor in the thumbstick that detects input is worn down over time this is suspected to be the primary way that the index controllers develop drift and because of this it's also been suspected that within the index community that clicking in the thumbstick a lot can accelerate the degradation of that sensor you're putting more pressure on it and you're causing more resistance so games like pavlov that require you to click in the thumbstick and push forward to sprint are likely the worst for your thumbsticks lifespan so either try and avoid constantly clicking in and pushing forward or just rebind the sprint activation button in said games controllers binding page in steamvr next within this controller centric section of the video i know this is a really obvious one for any vr headset but for the valve next i really really mean it properly set up your play space if you don't and you accidentally punch a wall these things usually don't survive a solid hit as the trigger error is jokingly weak this can also be applied to the wrist straps as dropping the controllers from even knee height onto solid ground has for some users broken their controllers so just basic vr tips like setting up your play space and using wrist straps are so important when it comes to the index it's sort of passed off as a joke now of things like the quest 2 just being so much more durable when it comes to the index it's very important that you abide by these because the index just can't take that same amount of damage another important tip is be mindful when adjusting and tightening up these hand grips on the valve index controllers unfortunately like i've mentioned a million times these things are pretty fragile as a whole and also this strap can just snap off when you even slightly over tighten this it may feel like you need to tighten it a little bit more and if you're not careful with adjusting this you can snap off this whole hand strap and i've seen many people do it before so just generally be careful when you're tightening this i personally hold this little piece of tightening elastic with two fingers to tighten it sometimes if i'm just trying to tighten it a little bit more i want to be careful because sometimes pulling hard at the end of this elastic can cause the elastic to snap and possibly cause the hand strap to come off as well so just be careful when adjusting this and be mindful of how much force you're giving it so i hope these few crucial tips help lengthen the life of your index and if any of these helped out at all or you just enjoyed the video a like would be much appreciated maybe a sub if you want more content like this i'll also be giving away two of these custom quest to head straps so if you own an oculus quest i mean maybe i should be promoting this in an index video but if you own an oculus quest and you want to grab one of these hit that subscribe button i'll be announcing the giveaway in a future video so thank you for giving me some time to talk about something i wanted to talk about i really do appreciate if you got to this point in the video you're what keeps the watch time high and keeps these videos recommended to people so i really do appreciate it i'm get hip i'll see you guys in the next one peace bye bye if you watch these little clips at the end of the video you're actually the true mvp of this channel it's surprising how many people actually stick around at the end i've noticed that a few of you if i say something like okay post a thinking emoji in the comments down below and that'll be our secret sign let's do that post a thinking emoji in the comments right now and that will be our secret sign to each other for those of you that actually watched this point in the video we'll just see how many people actually watch until the end also by the way since you are watching this point maybe a little more dedicated to this channel so maybe check out my twitch down in the description sorry i'm gonna bro i'm so tired i'm i feel like i'm gonna fro i've been editing all day uh twitch description go i will see you there at twitch and maybe discord discord as well discord down below i peace i actually gotta go to work boy

Channel: GetHip

Views: 173,671

Keywords: GetHip, Launch Issues, Performance Issues, FPS, Framerate, Resolution, Valve Index, VR, Virtual Reality, Pavlov, Beat Saber, VR News, Informative, Oculus Quest, Oculus Quest 2

Id: -2e67IME9OA

Length: 11min 55sec (715 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 25 2021