The HTC Vive Pro 2 is the latest high-end VR solution to come to our PCs; the HP Reverb G2 is another high-end solution for tethered VR; will HTC's latest headset be good enough to make our Best VR Headsets Guide? ?

The major improvements of the Vive Pro 2 are all on the display side. The supported refresh rate has been increased to 120 Hz, the viewing angle is 120 degrees, and the display resolution has been significantly increased to 4,896 x 2,448 pixels. This makes the headset the highest resolution of any mainstream headset, providing a significant advantage over the Oculus Quest 2, which is only 3,664 x 1920.

In practice, clarity and crispness are significantly improved, making things like "Half-Life" look sharper: it's an even better world to fly around in, such as Alyx. The upgrade is less noticeable in cartoonish titles, which means that high-resolution textures and models are really needed to truly reap the benefits that this headset offers.

The obvious screen door effect is also completely gone, and in fact, at this resolution, the hardware aspects of VR seem to have been solved. Higher-resolution displays may appear in the future, and lenses may be tweaked, but the difference such advances would make would be subtle, if noticeable at all.

That said, you'll need a high-end machine to get the most out of this headset, and HTC recommends an Nvidia GeForce RTX 20 series or Radeon RX 5000 series GPU to maintain a smooth experience. For the test, the headset was connected to a high-end test PC equipped with a GeForce RTX 3080 and an AMD Ryzen 9 5900X. There were no problems running any games with this setup. [The HTC Vive Pro 2 is very much a tethered experience by default, and while there is plenty of room for a cable to connect to the PC, it can still get in the way and pull you out of the virtual world. If you want to enjoy gaming without cables, the headset is compatible with the HTC Vive wireless adapter, but this costs an additional $349 (£359) and limits the refresh rate to 90Hz.

HTC has stuck with a satellite setup for this headset to ensure accurate controller tracking. The full kit includes the headset, two 1st generation controllers, and a pair of Base Station 2.0 satellites. The headset is also available separately, which is useful if you are upgrading from a 1st generation setup. The full kit is priced at a surprisingly expensive $1,399 (£1,299), but the headset alone is $799 (£719)

The setup is still a bit cumbersome and requires mounting the satellites so they don't bounce around in response to your virtual antics. A wall-mounting bracket is included, which is probably the best solution. Each satellite needs an electrical outlet, so it should be placed near a power socket.

This means it is not plug-and-play.

The software aspect of getting the Vive Pro 2 up and running is handled by HTC's setup app, which proceeds in a logical fashion before handing control over to Steam VR for final configuration. This works well and points out any problems as they arise.

The HTC Vive Pro 2 has a built-in camera, which is useful for spotting hazards (or people) in the game. This is a useful feature unless you have a large enough space to use the headset without the risk of bouncing off furniture.

First generation controllers are not a problem. Not much more to add; given that Valve Index has a smarter controller and even Quest 2 has evolved on this front, it feels like HTC has given up a bit on input, but it is compatible with many games and easy to use.

The headset itself is comfortable to wear, but it does get hot after a while. There is a lot of foam padding used to keep it comfortable, but this also acts as insulation. It is not the lightest headset, but it is very well balanced and does not feel overly heavy.

The HTC Vive Pro 2 comes with a free two-month VivePort Infinity membership. It's not easy to find decent games that are genuinely playable; having access to over 2,500 titles kind of makes things worse, not better. Believe me, this list contains a significant amount of inferior products, and good games don't naturally rise to the top. [The HTC Vive Pro 2, however, does a good job of highlighting how far VR has come in the last few years. If you're already heavily invested in VR and want to ensure you get a headset that delivers a premium experience, this is an impressive choice. You'll need a sturdy machine to get the most out of it, but that's almost a given with serious high-end VR these days.

The real problem I have with VR is the gaming aspect. There are simply not enough great games. Sure there are plenty of great little experiences, but once you've seen what's possible with a big team and budget like "Half-Life: Alyx", the rest of it is a bit basic in comparison. It feels like. And without a title to get VR going, there doesn't seem to be sufficient reason to invest a lot of money in a decent high-end headset. And this is definitely more than a decent product. [Quest 2 may not track as accurately as a base-station solution like this one, and it may not be able to compete in terms of resolution. But the big point here is price: the Quest 2 is considerably cheaper than this, and with inside-out tracking, it is much easier to just pop it in for a quick play, as opposed to digging out the base station again.

All of this makes the HTC Vive Pro 2 a great option for those looking for a premium PC VR gaming experience. However, it is not for those looking to get their hands on the technology, and products like the Quest 2 perform well enough for the majority of games that it is difficult for HTC to convince us of this horrible price tag.