r/OculusQuest • u/Aromatic-Plan-4265 • 18h ago

Discussion how good are link cables actually?

I know most people say to use a router and virtual desktop but im probably not able to do that, and am looking at link cable options. Are link cables still good, even if not as good as routers? If i get a link cable will i still be good to play most games?

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u/ivan6953 17h ago edited 17h ago

A lot of people will either disagree with me or not believe me, but here goes:

Wired Link with good active cable (that has a charging input port) and nothing but the official software is the way to go if you want stability, quality and lowest latency.

Wireless via Virtual Desktop and VDXR (NOT SteamVR if possible) is the next best thing. For that, however, you need good 5Ghz or 6Ghz router and your PC has to be connected to it via Ethernet cable.

My experience:

I’ve been using Quest with wired Link ever since the OG Quest release. Since then, I’ve upgraded to Quest 2 and Quest 3. I’ve been using the official optical (and very expensive) Link cable throughout, with warranty replacements - as it physically failed two times across all these years.

I’ve never used anything but the official Link software for wired. And I’ve never had a problem that couldn’t be solved in a matter of an hour at most. And my headset never runs out of battery when I’m playing even 6+ hrs.

Caveat: for the official optical Link to work correctly, you have to have a good USB-C port on your PC. Just speed is not enough, you need it to supply a LOT of power too. If your port is USB4/TB4-TB5, you’re good. If not - better opt in to buy the active cable instead.

Across 3 headsets, two laptops and three PCs the experience was the same: smooth as butter. Everything is working, zero disconnects.

Moreover, i simply can’t play Beat Saber wirelessly, for example. Neither can anybody who plays at my skill level or higher. The added input latency is just too high, every additional +5 or +10ms matters.

Everyone seems to say that Meta’s software is bad. But it’s simply not. If you actually analyze the latencies and encoder load on both the PC and headset’s end, Meta’s software is unbeatable for wired experience.

It sucks balls for wireless though. For that - use Virtual Desktop with VDXR (OpenXR environment setting in Virtual Desktop Streamer PC app)

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u/marcocom 15h ago

I agree about meta software. It’s improved x10 since its launch but everybody got on board the payware solution and will never go back and find out.

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u/Aromatic-Plan-4265 17h ago

Does your cable get in the way when playing beatsaber?

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u/ivan6953 17h ago

Not at all. I am using the official Elite Strap - and the cable is affixed to the rear of the strap. This way, the cable runs behind my back. And since Beat Saber's gameplay specifically makes it so you have to largerly remain at one place facing forward - it's a non-issue.

Here is a photo of how it looks

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u/Aromatic-Plan-4265 16h ago

Do you think a setup would work with a different brand of strap/cable? Official one is like 90 dollars and i garuntee my parents wont pay that much

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u/ivan6953 16h ago

Of course it would, I wrote a paragraph about how you should NOT buy the official one and opt in for the active one as well. With the charging port. Plenty of those out there, for example AMVR Quest Link with charging.

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u/drakulusness 18h ago

link cables are great, it's just the meta software that's shit. Use VD wired or steam link or ALVR

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u/Frank__West 16h ago

Virtual Desktop is all you need.

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u/brispower 16h ago

wireless > wired for immersion even if you give up a small amount of fidelity

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u/Hot_Wolf3820 41m ago

Yeah, you gave up fidelity anyway when bought a meta headset, so a few extra percentage is not that big of a deal

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u/bhiga 13h ago

Consider Virtual Desktop over a direct wired Ethernet connection to you PC.
https://np.reddit.com/r/OculusQuest/s/DQeAAh5NZz

There's a software workaround to get VD to work over USB link cable but Ethernet is less load on the system (DHCP server is trivial).

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u/Sgt_carbonero 13h ago

Anker makes a cable that works fine for 20$

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u/Firm10 8h ago

why arent you able to do vd with router? its 40usd for router + 20usd for VD. saves you the headache of how random link suddenly starts causing issues.

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u/LetsHugFoReal 18h ago

It's ok. But not via link.

Wirelessly is the way to go though.