HTC Vive 1

I know for the most part people on here do not recommend the original HTC Vive. However, it is approximately $500 cheaper on websites like eBay than newer headsets.

TLDR: If money is tight and you can get a great deal on a HTC Vive it's not a bad plan. The headset is dated, but it'll get you started and you'll have the 1.0 lighthouses which you can use for body trackers. Also, down the road you can always upgrade the headset/controllers to something like an Index or Pimax for a bit less because you can buy them without the lighthouses.

son, even though this headset has a super high resolution, things still look more “clear” on the vive pro 1. This is probably due to a variety of factors, glare from lenses, less contrast, less brightness than OLED, etc. whatever the reason, the high resolution feels wasted because its still not all that clear looking. The exception to this is if youre in a game where everthing is brightly colored and vivid (no dark areas), in this case it is very clear.

I bought my HTC Vive from a friend last year for $200 (minus the Audio strap) and I've been loving it. It's a great entry point into VR, comfortable even for me with huge glasses, and excellent tracking and controls. The HTC Vive's Screen-Door effect (seeing the pixels) is much more prevalent when compared to newer models so if you think that would bother you then you might wanna fork over the extra money to get a higher resolution model. Besides that, I think its a great choice for anyone interested in VR👍.