The Vive Pro upgrade kit also includes a foam piece that should be used to replace the triangular section found on the Vive Pro's rear. Implementing the cushion adds support to the overhead strap and gives you a place to secure the wireless adapter. It also provides a barrier between your head and the receiver, which can get hot during extended use. This begs the question, based on the shenanigans that Intel has pulled lately as to "Did Intel play dirty in the firmware to ensure issues with AMD processors?" I can't say that they did, but it can make you wonder. They may not have, or may have... its circumstantial at least until someone examines the firmware closely. If you already have a Vive or a Vive Pro headset, the Wireless Adapter offers a huge step up for immersive experiences. It’s hard to fault in terms of performance.

The Vive Wireless Adapter performed flawlessly. I spent hours playing the likes of The Lab, Super Hot VR and Fruit Ninja, and never once experienced so much as a hiccup.

VIVE Wireless Adapter Full Pack

The new bottom section features a different style of hook and fastener strap, which are compatible with the Vive Pro’s rigid strap. You must remove the original plate, which is held with three screws, and replace it with the Vive Pro-compatible part. Or it could be the fact that short of the PCIe x16 slot on their board all the other slots are PCIe 2.0. The article did state: I'm sure it has more to do with Ryzens latency than an Intel conspiracy, or possibly a windows 10 issue with this adapter and ryzens systems DisplayLink created the video compression technology that enables the transmission, which it first introduced to the world at CES 2017. DisplayLink’s solution can handle data transmissions up to 24Gb/s, which is approximately four times the bandwidth needed to drive a Vive headset. Theoretically, it should provide ample bandwidth to scale up to future high-resolution headsets. Indeed, DisplayLink said the technology could scale to support dual 4K displays at up to 120Hz, which means it could be adapted to support other headsets, such as the Pimax 5K+ or Pimax 8K ultra-wide headsets. I guess it would depend on what slot he used for the X99 system as the only PCIe 2.0 slot is the x1 slot but all the PCIe x16 slots are 3.0. I think we need to see this tested with a newer Intel system and maybe a Threadripper system with PCIe 3.0.

It’s also frustrating that it won’t work with laptops. Given that more and more gaming laptops are being released with VR compatibility, it’s a bit of a head-scratcher that Vive hasn’t looked for an alternative solution to include both markets – especially since the third-party TPCast HTC Vive Wireless VR Adapter successfully uses a bundled router for wireless transmissions instead. Note: we used the same computer to test the Vive Wireless adapter as we did the Intel Core i9-9900K and Nvidia RTX 2080 graphics card. Here are Vive’s official minimum requirements for the Vive Wireless Adapter: Computer Type: y. Performance was strong on two Intel-powered systems we tried, but after a software update, we also experienced problems connecting to the Vive Pro from these computers. In other words, if you use a Ryzen-powered computer or connect to a Vive Pro rather than a regular Vive, you may want to wait for updates.While the TPCast HTC Vive Wireless VR Adapter has been offering this wireless haven for a decent while now, the official Vive adapter promises better performance and support for the Vive Pro – although you’ll need to invest in an extra adapter, which isn’t cheap. The Vive Wireless Adapter requires an app to function. The Vive Wireless utility enables you to pair your transmitter with a receiver, while the software monitors the signal strength of the transmission. The software installation also includes the drivers that enable the WiGig and DisplayLink hardware in the wireless adapter. Thankfully, the the adapter doesn’t weigh much at 129g. It’s easy to forget that it’s sitting on your head. And thanks to the straps that secure it to the headset, there’s no need to worry about it flying off after a few vigorous head shakes. But while I can tolerate looking like a prat, I’m less impressed with the impracticality of the design. I like to use over-ear headphones with the Vive, but with the wireless adapter jutting out, it becomes virtually impossible to put on some headphones without feeling like you’re playing Jenga on top of your head. As such, you’re essentially restricted to wired in-ear buds for audio. Vive claims that the Wireless Adapter’s battery life is up to two and a half hours, and we matched that figure almost exactly during testing. It sounds short on paper, but that’s impressive length considering it’s streaming video to the headset. Plus, few would really want to spend that much time in a virtual world without a break. Although the TPCast Wireless Adapter does claim a significantly superior 5-hour battery life for comparison.