Pimax 5K Plus — specification and verdict
The 5K Plus puts a 2560x1440 LCD in front of each eye behind Fresnel optics and spreads it across roughly 150° of visible horizontal field of view, with 86.79° of binocular overlap. That trade is the whole point of the headset and the whole problem for training: the periphery is immersive, but pixels per degree at the centre are low for a 2018 1440p panel stretched that wide, so small labels, gauge markings and procedure text are hard to read. Hardware IPD adjusts from 60 to 72 mm, which covers most adults but not narrow-set eyes. It refreshes at up to 144 Hz over DisplayPort 1.4 plus USB 3.0, so every session needs a gaming PC on a cable. There is no eye tracking and no controller-free hand tracking.
This is a tethered SteamVR headset, so a deployment is never just the headset: two Lighthouse base stations have to be mounted and powered in every room, and Valve Index controllers are a separate purchase. Pimax priced it at 699 USD headset-only, 999 USD with controllers and 1249 USD with controllers and two base stations, which is the figure to budget against — before the PC. There is no vendor MDM, no kiosk mode and no enterprise licensing programme, so a fleet is managed as a fleet of Windows PCs, not as headsets. The facial interface is foam, not a wipe-clean gasket, which makes shared use between trainees awkward. Pimax ended after-sales support for the 5K series on 30 June 2025, so spare cables and repairs now come from the second-hand market.
Do not buy one for training. Our courses are standalone Android VR applications and do not run on a PC-tethered SteamVR headset at all, and a device whose maker stopped supporting it in June 2025 has no place in a fleet you have to keep running for years. If the wide field of view is genuinely what you need, look at Pimax's current Crystal line; if you want our courses to run, buy a standalone headset instead.
How it compares within its class
The axis runs from the lowest to the highest published figure among the VR — PC-tethered devices in this catalogue. The grey tick is the median of that class.
Median for this class: 110°, from 39 models that publish the figure.
Median for this class: 500 g, from 26 models that publish the figure.
Median for this class: $899, from 45 models that publish the figure.
Controllers and hand tracking
Valve Index Controller
6DoF
Straps to the palm, so you can open your hand without dropping it — still the reference for throwing and catching. 87 sensors read all five fingers and how hard you squeeze, and base stations rather than the headset do the tracking.
Sold separatelyHow it is tracked
Base stations (Lighthouse)
Base stations sweep the room with lasers. Coverage comes from where the boxes are mounted rather than from what the headset can see — occlusion stops being a problem, and the boxes are a second purchase.
The controller itself
- Controller weight
- 196 g
- Controller power
- Built-in rechargeable
- Controller haptics
- Yes
- Finger tracking on the controller
- Full
- Controller inputs
- capacitive thumbstick · trackpad · capacitive face buttons · capacitive index trigger · pressure-sensitive grip
Other controllers
Any SteamVR (Lighthouse) controller
Index Controller · HTC Vive controller
Bare hands
No hand tracking — a controller is the only way in.
Full specification
An em dash means the manufacturer does not publish that figure.
- ManufacturerWho makes it — and who you buy support from.
- Pimax
- CategoryWhich kind of product this is. It decides which rows below make sense at all.
- VR — PC-tethered
- Device typeWhere the computing happens, and therefore what you need to run it.
- PC-powered VR
- AnnouncedThe day it was shown, which is not the day it shipped.
- 2018-09-07
- ReleasedYear the model went on sale. Older is not automatically worse in this category.
- 2018
- AvailabilityWhether you can still order it new today.
- Discontinued
- Support endsThe date the manufacturer stops supporting it. Decisive for a fleet you are about to buy.
- 2025-06-30
- PanelThe screen type. micro-OLED gives deeper blacks and higher contrast; LCD is brighter and cheaper.
- LCD
- OpticsThe lenses in front of the panel. Pancake stays sharp closer to the edges than older Fresnel, which decides how much a trainee has to aim their head to read something.
- Fresnel lenses
- Eyes coveredOne eye or both. Over a full shift this is a real difference in fatigue.
- Both eyes
- Resolution per eyePixels delivered to each eye. Higher means small text and labels stay readable.
- 2560x1440
- Refresh rateImages per second. Higher feels smoother and helps people prone to motion discomfort.
- 144 Hz
- Field of viewHow much of your view the image covers. Bigger is more immersive, not automatically better for work.
- 150° horizontal
- Pixel densityPixels per degree of view — the honest way to compare sharpness between a headset and a pair of glasses. Higher is sharper. Only shown where somebody published it; we never compute it ourselves.
- Pixel density: not published by the manufacturer
- BrightnessIn a plant or outdoors, brightness decides legibility more than resolution does.
- Brightness: not published by the manufacturer
- WeightThe device alone. Anything above roughly 150 g is felt within an hour.
- 500 g
- Visible field of viewWhat the eye actually sees through the optics, by axis.
- 150° horizontal
- Rendered field of viewWhat the device draws. Never smaller than what you see.
- 160.29° horizontal · 102.7° vertical · 158.04° diagonal
- Binocular overlapWhere both eyes see the same thing — this is where depth happens.
- 86.79°
- Average pixel densityPixels per degree across the image. More is sharper.
- Average pixel density: not published by the manufacturer
- Peak pixel densityThe sharpest point, usually the centre of the lens.
- Peak pixel density: not published by the manufacturer
- Subpixel layoutHow the coloured dots sit in a pixel. A stripe looks cleaner on text than PenTile.
- RGB stripe · 3 subpixels per pixel
- Foveated renderingWhether detail is dropped outside where you look, to save performance.
- Foveated rendering: not published by the manufacturer
- PassthroughWhat the front cameras give you: colour, grayscale, or nothing.
- Passthrough: not published by the manufacturer
- Passthrough camerasResolution, density and frame rate of that camera feed.
- Passthrough cameras: not published by the manufacturer
- IPD adjustmentMatching lens spacing to the eyes. Motorised is fastest when one headset passes between people.
- Manual
- IPD rangeHow far the lenses travel to match eye spacing. A narrow range excludes part of any group of adults, which matters when one headset is shared.
- 60–72 mm
- Works with glassesWhether people who wear glasses can use it — fits over them, or takes prescription lens inserts.
- Works with glasses: not published by the manufacturer
- Vision correctionHow somebody who wears glasses uses it, and in what dioptre range.
- Vision correction: not published by the manufacturer
- DimensionsWidth, height and depth of the device itself.
- 280 × 108 × 136 mm
- Weight with strapWith the strap it ships with — the weight you actually wear.
- 514 g
- Head strapSoft band or a rigid one. Decides how the weight sits over an hour.
- Soft strap
- MaterialsShell and facial interface, in the vendor’s words.
- plastic · foam facial interface
- ColoursColours the manufacturer sells it in.
- Black · Blue
- Haptics in the headsetVibration in the headset itself, not in the controllers.
- No
- TrackingWhether content stays put in the room (6DoF), follows head rotation (3DoF) or is simply fixed.
- SteamVR (Lighthouse) base stations, 2 required
- Base stationsWhether boxes have to be mounted on the walls before it works.
- Required
- Tracking camerasHow many cameras it uses to know where it is.
- Tracking cameras: not published by the manufacturer
- Tracking rateHow often position is recalculated. Higher is steadier.
- 1000 Hz
- Depth sensorA dedicated sensor for distance, on top of the cameras.
- Depth sensor: not published by the manufacturer
- Hand trackingWhether bare hands can operate the interface, without a controller or the phone.
- No
- Eye trackingThe headset knows where the trainee is looking. Enables sharper rendering where they look, and attention analytics.
- No
- Face trackingTracks facial expression — for avatars, not for training scenarios.
- No
- Body trackingHow much of the body the device knows about. Estimated legs are not tracked legs.
- None
- Controllers includedWhether motion controllers come in the box, or are bought separately — or the device is hands-only.
- No
- Controller modelThe manufacturer's own name for the controller.
- Valve Index Controller
- Controller tracking6DoF controllers track position and rotation, so a hand reaches in space; 3DoF only point. “None” means hands only.
- 6DoF
- Controller tracking methodWhat establishes where the controller is. It decides whether the controller keeps working behind your back or down at your hip — “6DoF” on its own does not say.
- Base stations (Lighthouse)
- Other controllersWhether the headset works with controllers other than the ones it ships with.
- Any SteamVR (Lighthouse) controller — Index Controller · HTC Vive controller
- Finger tracking on the controllerWhether the controller senses individual fingers, and how.
- Full
- Controller inputsButtons, sticks and triggers the controller offers.
- capacitive thumbstick · trackpad · capacitive face buttons · capacitive index trigger · pressure-sensitive grip
- Controller hapticsVibration feedback in the hand.
- Yes
- Controller powerDisposable cells or a built-in rechargeable — a fleet question.
- Built-in rechargeable
- Controller weightOne controller, as the vendor weighs it.
- 196 g
- Other input methodsWays in beyond controllers and bare hands.
- Other input methods: not published by the manufacturer
- Runs Skillsive appsOur own statement about whether Skillsive training applications run on it today.
- No
- Suitable for trainingOur judgement on whether it survives real deployment: comfort, hygiene, fleet management.
- No
- Kiosk mode / MDMVendor tooling to enrol devices, push an app and lock the headset to it. Practically required above ten devices.
- No
- Business tierAn official business tier, so devices belong to the company rather than to employees’ personal accounts.
- No
- Swappable facial interfaceRemovable, wipeable face padding. A consumable, and the difference between shared use and complaints.
- Swappable facial interface: not published by the manufacturer
- CertificationsIndustrial certifications stated on the manufacturer's own page. Empty means unconfirmed, never "probably fine".
- Certifications: not published by the manufacturer
- PortsPhysical sockets and charging contacts.
- DisplayPort 1.4 · USB 3.0
- Wi-FiThe Wi-Fi generation — it decides how well wireless streaming holds up.
- Wi-Fi: not published by the manufacturer
- BluetoothFor controllers, headphones and accessories.
- Bluetooth: not published by the manufacturer
- Video from a computerWhether a computer can drive it, over a cable or wirelessly.
- Over a cable (DisplayPort 1.4, USB 3.0)
- AudioBuilt-in sound. Matters most where somebody has to hear a remote expert while working.
- Headphone jack
- MicrophoneBuilt-in microphone — the other half of talking to a remote expert.
- Yes
- MicrophonesHow many. An array picks a voice out of a noisy hall; one does not.
- Microphones: not published by the manufacturer
- Price bandThe band it sits in, rather than a price that goes stale.
- Premium
- Launch priceThe manufacturer's launch price. Fixed history, so it never goes stale.
- $699
- Price by configurationWhat each configuration cost at launch.
- Headset only $699 · With Valve Index controllers $999 · With controllers and two base stations $1249
- Price todayApproximate current net price in USD — a general figure, since these barely differ between regions once tax is stripped out. A snapshot from the date shown, not an offer.
- Price today: not published by the manufacturer
- Comfort (from reviews)How it wears over a full session. Scored from agreement between independent reviewers, not from our own testing.
- Comfort (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer
- Edge clarity (from reviews)Sharpness away from the centre of the lens. Scored from agreement between independent reviewers.
- Edge clarity (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer
- Tracking reliability (from reviews)How tracking holds up in poor light and fast movement. Scored from agreement between independent reviewers.
- Tracking reliability (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer
- Hand tracking quality (from reviews)How usable controller-free hand tracking is in a training scenario. Scored from agreement between reviewers.
- Hand tracking quality (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer
Who this device is for
The audience was PC VR enthusiasts in 2018 — simulator pilots and drivers who wanted peripheral vision more than sharpness and already owned base stations and a strong GPU. For a training organisation it is the wrong shape: cabled, room-installed, 500 g on a soft fabric strap, and dependent on a Windows PC per trainee.
What is missing, and what the manufacturer does not publish
Pimax's own product page for the 5K Plus is gone — it now returns 404 — so nothing here could be upgraded to a live manufacturer source, and the record leans on VRcompare. Pimax advertised 170° horizontal, 115° vertical and 200° diagonal field of view, while the measured visible figure is around 150° horizontal; we carry the measured one. We could not source a battery-free weight breakdown for the head strap variants, the full list of supported refresh rates below 144 Hz, or any statement about hygiene accessories.
Pimax 5K Plus in independent reviews
Reviews we consider worth your time, each with a note on what the reviewer actually tested and why it matters for a training rollout. We do not own this hardware, so the tests are theirs — the reading of them is ours.
- Craft Computing2019
A review and performance test from the moment the 5K Plus started shipping, measuring it against the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift that buyers were actually replacing. Performance testing is the part most Pimax coverage skips, and with this maker it is where the surprises are.
Watch on YouTube - Virtual Reality Pilot2020
A second full review a year into the product's life, when the early firmware problems this line is known for had had time to settle. Useful as the check on whether the launch verdict still held.
Watch on YouTube - PC HUB2025
A revisit years after the headset left the market, which is the only relevant question for hardware you would now buy second-hand. It judges the wide field of view against what current headsets offer.
Watch on YouTube
Nothing is sent to YouTube until you press play. Once you do, Google receives your IP address and device data and may process them outside the EEA — see our privacy policy for the details.
Pimax 5K Plus — frequently asked questions
- Does Pimax still repair or supply parts for the 5K Plus?
- No. Pimax ended after-sales support for the whole 5K series on 30 June 2025, after its supplier stopped producing the 5K connection cables. The headset keeps working if yours is intact, but a failed cable or a broken strap now has to be solved on the second-hand market, and Pimax's own route forward is the trade-in programme towards the Crystal Light.
- Do I need Valve base stations and Index controllers to use a Pimax 5K Plus?
- Yes for anything interactive. The headset tracks from two external Lighthouse base stations, which have to be mounted in the room, and it ships without controllers at the 699 USD headset-only price. Pimax's bundles were 999 USD with Valve Index controllers and 1249 USD with controllers and two base stations, so the room hardware roughly doubles the cost before the PC.
- Can I run Skillsive VR training courses on a Pimax 5K Plus?
- No. Our courses are standalone Android VR applications and the 5K Plus is a PC-tethered SteamVR display with no operating system of its own, so there is nothing on the headset to install them onto. It also has no vendor MDM or kiosk mode, so even as a PC peripheral it cannot be managed the way a training fleet needs. Use a standalone headset instead.
Compare this device
Consider these too
The nearest devices in the same class, ranked by availability and launch price — not by our opinion of them.
The manufacturer publishes no specification page for this device, so the figures were checked against a third-party database on 2026-08-08. Third-party specification database
Product and company names used here are the trademarks of their respective owners and appear only to identify the hardware being compared. We are not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by any of these manufacturers. Illustrations are our own.