Pimax Artisan
More actions
| Pimax Artisan | |
|---|---|
| |
| Basic Info | |
| VR/AR | Virtual Reality |
| Type | Head-mounted display |
| Subtype | PC VR |
| Platform | PC, SteamVR |
| Creator | Pimax |
| Manufacturer | Pimax |
| Announcement Date | 16 December 2019 (teaser); 7 January 2020 (CES 2020 announcement) |
| Release Date | 2020 |
| Price | US$449 (headset only, launch price) |
| Website | https://pimax.com |
| Requires | Windows 10 PC with NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti/1060 or better, Intel i5-4590 or AMD FX 8350 or better, 8 GB RAM, DisplayPort 1.4 output and one USB 2.0/3.0 port (recommended); at least one SteamVR Lighthouse base station for room-scale tracking |
| System | |
| Operating System | Windows |
| Display | |
| Display | 2 x RGB stripe LCD |
| Resolution | 1700 x 1440 per eye |
| Refresh Rate | 72/90/120 Hz (selectable) |
| Image | |
| Field of View | 170° diagonal / 140° horizontal (manufacturer figures) |
| Optics | |
| Optics | Fresnel lenses |
| IPD Range | Hardware adjustment wheel plus software adjustment |
| Tracking | |
| Tracking | 6DoF, SteamVR Tracking (Lighthouse 1.0/2.0) |
| Hand Tracking | Optional Pimax Hand Tracking Module (Ultraleap) |
| Audio | |
| Audio | 3.5 mm audio jack |
| Microphone | Built-in |
| Connectivity | |
| Connectivity | 4.5 m DisplayPort/USB cable |
| Ports | DisplayPort 1.4, USB 2.0/3.0 (PC side); two USB-C ports on the headset for add-on modules |
| Device | |
| Color | Blue housing |
| Input | SteamVR Tracking-compatible controllers (sold separately) |
The Pimax Artisan is a budget-oriented virtual reality head-mounted display developed by Pimax. Pimax teased it in December 2019 and announced it in January 2020, around CES 2020, with a starting price of $449 for the headset alone. Pimax positioned the Artisan as an entry-level model in its wide field of view lineup, below its higher-resolution "5K" and "8K" headsets. It features a 140-degree horizontal (170° diagonal) field of view with dual 1700 x 1440 LCD displays running at up to 120 Hz.[1][2]
The Artisan is a PC-tethered headset that uses SteamVR Tracking, so buyers need SteamVR base stations and compatible controllers, which were not included with the headset-only package.[1][3] It reuses the housing of Pimax's earlier "5K" and "8K" headsets but has lower-resolution RGB stripe LCD panels, a narrower field of view and lower PC requirements.[3][1]
History and development
Pimax revealed the Artisan name on 16 December 2019 with a teaser image posted to social media and its website, ahead of a planned reveal at CES 2020. The teaser quoted a 3,200 x 1,440 resolution, a 140-degree field of view and a 120 Hz refresh rate, and showed the price only partly ("?49.00"). Road to VR reported that Pimax European marketing director Martin Lammi wrote on the Pimax forums that the headset "was supposed to be announced and demoed on CES", and that he did not know the release date.[4]
CES 2020 announcement
Pimax announced the Artisan at CES 2020 as an entry-level option in their wide-FOV headset lineup. Tom's Hardware reported the announcement on 7 January 2020, alongside the Pimax Vision 5K Super and the company's Brainwarp 2.0 rendering technologies.[1] The headset was positioned to compete with the Valve Index on field of view while offering a lower entry price.[5] UploadVR described it as seemingly "intended as direct competition to Index, while claiming a wider field of view".[5]
At the time of the show, neither the Artisan nor the 5K Super was on sale yet. Road to VR's comparison of the CES 2020 lineup listed the Artisan with a flexible head strap (the Modular Audio Strap was optional) and a $449 price for the basic version, with the price of a NOLO VR version still undetermined.[6]
NOLO VR partnership
Pimax announced optional compatibility with NOLO VR tracking and controllers, providing a more affordable tracking solution for users who don't already own SteamVR base stations.[2] According to Road to VR, Pimax COO Kevin Henderson told MRTV that the company planned two versions: a standard model without accessories or integrated audio, and a version bundled with a NOLO VR tracking base station, NOLO controllers, a head tracking marker and a flexible head strap with integrated audio. Henderson said the bundle would let users play 6DOF PC VR games out of the box at a lower total price than the Valve Index, while keeping an upgrade path to SteamVR Tracking, and that NOLO support would be built into PiTool, Pimax's headset software.[2]
It is unclear whether the NOLO bundle was ever sold. In a preview published in March 2020, MRTV wrote that it had not been able to test the NOLO version and could no longer find any mention of it on the Pimax website.[3]
Release and availability
MRTV had an Artisan for review by late March 2020, and its product database lists a release date of 1 May 2020.[3][7] Supply was limited during 2020. In a support article last modified on 4 July 2020, Pimax said the Artisan with the blue housing would go back on sale every Monday (Beijing time) "for limited sales".[8]
In November 2024, Pimax's online store listed an open-box "Stock B" Artisan unit, described as "Open box and Like New", at a sale price of $314 against a regular price of $449, and marked it out of stock.[9]
Design and hardware
Display system
The Artisan features dual RGB stripe LCD panels:[1][2]
- Resolution: 1700 x 1440 per eye
- Display Type: RGB stripe matrix LC-Display
- Screen Door Effect: Less perceivable than on the Pimax 5K Plus, according to MRTV[3]
Road to VR reported that Pimax chose the less expensive RGB stripe LCD panels to reduce the headset's cost.[2] Early reports disagreed on the panel resolution: the December 2019 teaser quoted 3,200 x 1,440, and UploadVR's CES report gave 1600 x 1440 per eye, while Road to VR corrected its own CES article to 1,700 x 1,440, the figure Pimax uses in its product listing.[4][5][2][9]
Despite lower resolution than the Pimax 5K Plus (2560 x 1440), MRTV found the picture slightly better, with a less perceivable screen door effect; its reviewer suggested a smaller display size as the probable reason.[3] In side-by-side tests MRTV also found the Artisan's colors more vibrant than the 5K Plus. Against the Valve Index, the same reviewer rated the Index better for colors, black levels, sharpness and visible screen door effect, but found the Artisan's sweet spot larger.[3]
Field of view
The Artisan offers a reduced but still wide FOV compared with other Pimax headsets:[2][6]
- Horizontal: 140°
- Diagonal: 170°
- Vertical: 115° (as listed by Road to VR)
- Comparison: Wider than the Valve Index, whose horizontal field of view UploadVR said had been measured at between 115° and 120°[5]
Pimax's "8K" and "5K" headsets were advertised with a 200-degree field of view.[4] MRTV considered the Artisan's narrower field of view an advantage: its preview reported barely any noticeable distortion, which it called a problem of all the other Pimax headsets, and more binocular overlap than the ultra-wide models. The reviewer wrote of being able to use the headset for hours without eye strain.[3]
Refresh rate
Multiple refresh rate options:[1]
- 72 Hz
- 90 Hz
- 120 Hz
Pimax gave a minimum GPU requirement of a GTX 1050 Ti. UploadVR wrote that this probably applied to the 72 Hz mode or to Brainwarp, Pimax's technique for turning 60 frames per second into 120 Hz output, which it compared to Facebook's ASW and Valve's Motion Smoothing.[5]
Lenses
MRTV reported that the Artisan uses the same Fresnel lenses as other recent Pimax models. In its comparison, the lenses produced much less glare and fewer god rays than the Valve Index's lenses, though the problem was not eliminated.[3]
Housing, strap and audio
The Artisan uses the same housing as Pimax's "5K" and "8K" models, with an IPD adjustment wheel, power button, volume buttons, one 3.5 mm audio jack and two USB-C connectors intended for add-on modules.[3] Pimax described the headset as having hardware and software IPD adjustment.[10] Road to VR reported that Lammi did not know why the Artisan kept the large body of the wider-FOV models, and quoted him as saying that tooling a new design from scratch was "super-expensive and time consuming".[4]
Instead of the rigid Modular Audio Strap of more expensive Pimax models, the Artisan ships with an elastic head strap together with Pimax's "comfort kit", a facial interface with a broader forehead rest. The unit MRTV reviewed came with over-ear headphones attached to the head strap, in the style Pimax first used on the Pimax 4K. MRTV found the headphones adequate but weak in bass and well behind the Valve Index's audio, and said the built-in microphone worked well. It rated the comfort better than earlier Pimax headsets but below the Valve Index, the Pimax 8K X and the 8K Plus, and called the Index's build quality far superior.[3]
Add-on modules
Pimax's hand tracking module, which the Pimax store sells under the Ultraleap name, is listed in Pimax's setup guide as compatible with the Artisan. The module screws to the underside of the headset and plugs into a USB-C port, after which PiTool detects it and offers a driver download.[11][12]
Tracking options
SteamVR
- SteamVR Lighthouse 1.0
- SteamVR Lighthouse 2.0
- Existing HTC Vive base stations and controllers
Pimax states that room-scale tracking requires at least one SteamVR Lighthouse tracking device.[9] MRTV tested the Artisan with Valve Index controllers and first-generation Lighthouse base stations and reported flawless headset tracking.[3]
NOLO VR
Optional NOLO VR tracking was announced as a more budget-friendly tracking solution for users without existing SteamVR equipment.[2] NOLO's kit uses its PolarTraq optical, acoustic and radio tracking and is typically used to add 6DOF tracking to 3DOF headsets; Road to VR noted that, as a single base station system, it is prone to occlusion.[2] By March 2020, MRTV could no longer find the NOLO version mentioned on Pimax's website.[3]
System requirements
The Artisan has more modest PC requirements than higher-end Pimax headsets. At announcement, Pimax's cheapest existing headset, the 5K XR, required a GTX 1070.[1] Pimax's recommended specifications are:[9]
| Component | Recommended |
|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10 |
| GPU | NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti/1060 or better |
| CPU | Intel i5-4590 or AMD FX 8350+ |
| RAM | 8 GB+ |
| Video Output | DisplayPort 1.4 |
| USB | 1x USB 2.0/3.0 |
Pimax also states that a desktop PC is "highly recommended".[9] In MRTV's test on a GTX 1080 Ti, the Artisan scored 33 fps in the OpenVR Benchmark with SteamVR supersampling on automatic (render resolution 2288 x 2416), against 43 fps for the Valve Index at 100 percent supersampling on the same PC.[3]
Software and compatibility
The Artisan is fully compatible with the entire SteamVR library.[3] MRTV also reported that PiTool, the software used to run Pimax headsets, can run Oculus Rift games without an extra tool such as ReVive, and that setup took only a couple of minutes.[3]
Package contents
According to Pimax, the box contains:[9]
- Vision Artisan headset (Blue Housing)
- Integrated Comfort Kit
- 4.5M DP/USB cable
- User Manual
Pricing considerations
The $449 price covered the headset only, so the total system cost depended on the tracking solution:
- With SteamVR 2.0 base stations and Index controllers: ~$1,026 total, by UploadVR's estimate at announcement[5]
- Pimax's own bundle with Valve base stations (2.0) and Valve Index controllers: $948, as reported by MRTV in March 2020[3]
- With NOLO VR tracking: announced as a lower-cost option, but no price was set at CES 2020[6]
Reception
UploadVR's CES 2020 report noted Pimax's "long history of shipping delays" and advised readers to treat an order "more like backing a Kickstarter than ordering a product".[5] Forbes contributor Joe Parlock questioned who the Artisan was for, arguing that the cost of base stations and Index controllers made it a hard sell against the Valve Index and the Oculus Rift S, and suggested it might suit simulation players who already owned peripherals such as flight sticks or steering wheels.[13]
MRTV's March 2020 preview called the Artisan "one of the most exciting Pimax headsets to date" and "the first Pimax that might be a feasible option" for the general consumer because of its low distortion. Its reviewer still recommended the Valve Index as the better overall package, citing the Artisan's elastic strap, weaker audio and inferior build quality, while recommending the Artisan to buyers who wanted a wider field of view with fewer god rays.[3]
Specifications
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
| Display Type | 2 x RGB Stripe LCD |
| Resolution | 1700 x 1440 per eye |
| Refresh Rate | 72/90/120 Hz |
| Field of View | 170° D / 140° H |
| Tracking | 6DoF (SteamVR; NOLO bundle announced) |
| Connectivity | DisplayPort 1.4, USB |
| Price | $449 (headset only) |
| Target Market | Budget/Entry-level |
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Scharon Harding (2020-01-07). "Pimax Gets Budget-Friendlier With the $450 Artisan VR Headset". Tom's Hardware. https://www.tomshardware.com/news/pimax-artisan-vr-headset-5k-super. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Scott Hayden (2020-01-06). "CES 2020: New Pimax Artisan Headset to Include Optional NOLO VR Tracking & Controllers". Road to VR. https://www.roadtovr.com/ces-2020-pimax-artisan-headset-nolo-vr/. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 Sebastian Ang (2020-03-30). "Pimax Artisan Preview". MRTV (Mixed Reality TV). https://mrtv.co/pimax-artisan-preview/. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 David Heaney (2020-01-07). "CES 2020: Artisan Is A Lower Cost Pimax Headset With 140° Field Of View". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/pimax-artisan-ces-2020/. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Scott Hayden (2020-01-08). "CES 2020: Pimax's Full VR Headset Lineup Compared". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/ces-2020-pimax-headset-specs/. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
- ↑ "Pimax Artisan". MRTV (Mixed Reality TV). https://mrtv.co/2020/03/pimax-artisan/. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
- ↑ "When will the Artisan restock?". Pimax Support. Pimax. 2020-07-04. https://support.pimax.com/en/support/solutions/articles/60000673266-when-will-the-artisan-restock-. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 "Pimax - Artisan, Great Choice for VR LBEs/Players". Pimax Store (Internet Archive copy of 12 November 2024). Pimax. https://web.archive.org/web/20241112133323/https://pimax.com/products/pimax-artisan-copy. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
- ↑ "Artisan". Pimax (Internet Archive copy of 5 December 2021). Pimax. https://web.archive.org/web/20211205115550/https://pimax.com/artisan/. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
- ↑ "Hand Tracking Module Setup Guide". Pimax. Pimax. https://jp.pimax.com/en/pages/hand-tracking-module-setup-guide. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
- ↑ "Purchase - Pimax - Ultraleap - Handtracking Module". Pimax Store. Pimax. https://store.pimax.com/products/hand-tracking-module. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
- ↑ Joe Parlock (2020-01-10). "Pimax Announced The Mid-Price Artisan Headset At CES, But I Don't See The Point Of It". Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/joeparlock/2020/01/10/pimax-announced-the-mid-price-artisan-headset-at-ces-but-i-dont-see-the-point-of-it/. Retrieved 2026-09-28.