HP’s Reverb G2 is one of the most pixel-dense PC VR headsets out there for consumers, offering up class-leading visuals at the not so horrible price of $600. Well, now you can get that for $450 when you buy direct from HP.

The deal automatically knocks $150 off the regular retail price, and includes free shipping (3-7 business days) within the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. You can find the deal here. We don’t know how long it will last, so act fast.

The box contains: Reverb G2 headset, 6m headset cable for desktop and mobile PCs, two motion controllers, DisplayPort to mini-DisplayPort adapter, USB-C to A adaptor, and a Power Adapter.

Besides a VR-ready PC, that includes everything you need to jump into some of the most popular PC VR games like Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, Half-Life: Alyx, No Man’s Sky, Skyrim VR, The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, and Beat Saber.

Photo by Road to VR

Here’s what Road to VR’s Ben Lang thought about HP Reverb G2 when it was first released in June 2020:

HP’s Reverb G2 really delivers on visual fidelity thanks to its 2,160 × 2,160 per-eye displays. Visible screen door is virtually non-existent on the headset, offering easily the greatest clarity of any headset in its class. While the display isn’t ‘retina resolution’, it still offers a ton of resolving power and will let you see details not visible with other headsets. While the display and lenses aren’t perfect and don’t offer as wide a field of view as Valve’s Index, the headset manages to provide an exceptional level of fidelity.

As for the headset’s optical tracking skills, Lang thought room-scale head-tracking was just as solid as other WMR headsets: some software-induced stutter exists when transitioning between apps or loading screens. The newly redesigned controllers offer acceptable—but not exceptional—latency and jitter.

You can catch the full review for our in-depth thoughts on everything from comfort to chromatic aberration. There’s also a handy summary in there too if you’re in a rush.

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Granted, the best deal in high-quality VR nowadays is typically Oculus Quest 2, which can connect to PC via either USB-C cable or WiFi. Both available models (64GB, 256GB) have been recalled recently due to skin irritation issues with the facial interface, and that 64GB model is being replaced with a 128GB variant soon at the same starting price of $300.

Quest 2 has great clarity, albeit at a lower per-eye resolution of 1,832 × 1,920 pixels, and also the ability to play its own library of games native to the mobile platform. You will need a personal Facebook account to use Quest 2 though, which may be a turn-off if you’re just looking to get into some sweet PC VR sim action. Check out the full HP Reverb G2 specs below:

HP Reverb G2 Specs

Resolution 2,160 × 2,160 (4.7MP) per-eye (LCD)
Refresh Rate 90Hz
Lenses Single element Fresnel
Field of View 114° diagonal
Optical Adjustments IPD
IPD Range 60–68mm
Connectors USB-C, DisplayPort, Power
Cable Length 6m
Tracking Quad on-board camera (no external beacons)
Controllers Reverb G2 controllers
Audio Off-ear headphones
Microphone Yes
Pass-through Cameras Yes
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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • Ad

    For me the core issue is the WMR software. For example I would have games stutter because motion smoothing is on (it wasn’t active because of lost frames, it was just turned on) so I had to manually turn it off. And the motion smoothing when it’s working correctly is poor compared to SteamVR’s. It’s a real shame since with a resolution this high you need motion smoothing to account for sudden bumps in GPU load and in games without too much close movement you would maybe try playing with motion smoothing always on to choose the resolution over an artifact free experience. This may be my biggest issue.

    Then there’s obviously the compatibility, not all software will work with the headset, the controllers, or both. And the fact that SteamVR is given no special access so you’ll always have two windows buttons you can accidentally press that mess things up and a couple times closed SteamVR instantly. There’s also no button on the headset, either to enable passthrough (there’s only a flashlight anyway rather than the full view that even the vive had) or anything else, which is a huge shame since this is often used by sim players.

    The controllers are surprisingly cheap, but the biggest issue I had was the blind spot around your shoulders and chin which mean you can’t hold a rifle the way I usually do in Pavlov.

    The display is very good, I do believe it’s the best in VR and there’s really no SDE and the distance where pixelation happens is a fair amount further back. But from an index the reduction in FOV to the average is noticeable.

    If you’re someone who could use a WMR headset before, this is a must buy, but if you have an index or something like that then I can’t quite recommend even using a mixed VR setup, especially when Valve doesn’t support it officially. If you’re starting from scratch and don’t plan on playing anything competitively (I did fine in beat saber expert+ on this though) then this is a fine choice I guess.

    • VRFriend

      Index is exluded from the topic by its 800g weight ( G2 = 498g). It is a heavy brick on your face. The other big problem is low resolution and even worse… such resolution for wider angle than G2. Index is great, but too heavy and low resolution. Looking forward to Index 2 – it will be insanely great.

      • Ad

        I don’t feel a weight difference like that, and most comments on the index’s weight are pointless because they don’t contextualize how much better the weight distribution is than a brick like the quest.

        • Tailgun

          Yeah, when I have the Index dialed back in to my weight distribution after letting others use it I can honestly not feel any of this brick nonsense stuff — and I’ve owned like 8 different HMDs. By far the Index is the most comfortable — with the caveat you where it the correct way (a surprising amount of people do not).

    • Sebastian Piotrowski

      No probs with WMR motion smoothing whatsover. Dirt Rally 2 choppy as hell with motion smoothing off, smooth like butter with motion smoothing on :)

      • Ad

        It’s game to game. Like for Beat Saber I had to turn it off because it was so choppy. TTS I think it may have worked fine. It’s not consistent in either direction.

  • VRFriend

    Why not in Europe? Come on HP!

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  • Andrew Jakobs

    Maybe they’re clearing their stock for an updated model? The G1 was also replaced a year later.

    • Kevin Brook

      Seems a reasonable speculation for sure…

      • Andrew Jakobs

        Or worse, they might quit the VR business..

    • silvaring

      Good observation Andrew.

  • d s

    Already changed to only $50 off.

    Why mention the quest in half the article. Why not mention the other HP headset, the Omnicept.

    • d s

      or another WMR headset.

    • Kevin Brook

      Obviously because the Quest 2 is the most popular consumer VR headset by far and it’s $299 price is the benchmark cost of entry. You always compare anything to a benchmark, hence eggs are the gold standard comparison for protein, horse power is how we compare car engines, we have standardized weights and measures, your height for example is compare to a centimetres or an inch.

  • dc680

    I only see $50 off, not $150.

    • Chris Blackburn

      it says save 50 but the price still is dropped from 600 to 450

  • dc680

    I only see $50 off, not $150

  • User_Name_24601

    It’s only $50 off.

  • MosBen

    Man, I would absolutely pick up one of these, but for the FOV. I’ve had the CV1 and Quest 1, and I want the next headset that I get to have a FOV that at least kind of feels closer to a natural field of view instead of looking through a small window.

  • david vincent

    If only high-end GPUs weren’t so overpriced and hard to find…

  • Kevin Brook

    I bought one in the UK last month for £649. Shame we don’t get the discount over here, but for those who can get it $450 and have the graphics card to run it I highly recommend it. The visuals are fantastic and the tracking is better than I thought it would be, fine for single player stuff like Half Life Alyx and Saints and Sinners. If you don’t play multiplayer and aren’t especially competitive it should be fine.

    I bought it primarily for Microsoft Flight Simulator and it’s great for that, the sim looks far better than on my Quest 2.

  • Scientism

    People can’t afford top GPUs -> people are less likely to buy high resolution VR headsets.

  • I see it at $550. Maybe the deal is over

  • Mike Hunt

    Is anyone still waiting for the headset to ship? Its been sitting on “shipping info sent” since last week.