Using the Vive Pro and Wireless with a Laptop

[Dave78]

Hi,

 

I'm a first-time poster...

 

I have a laptop and have just purchased the Vive Pro and I'm picking up the wireless addon tomorrow. I am aware the wireless addon requires a PCIe x1 slot and therein lies the issue as I am using a laptop which cannot have one internally.

 

So I'm looking at purchasing some kind of caddy/external enclosure for the PCIe card but I can only connect it via the USB ports on the laptop. Luckily the laptop is brand new and has 2 x USB(3.1)-C generation 2 ports which I believe are capable of speeds of up to 10Gbps. 

 

So my question is, will this be enough? I'm not sure of the exact speeds a PCIe x1 slot is capable of but if it's below 10Gbps it should work fine. 

 

Can anyone confirm? Or even recommend a caddy/PCIe enclosure?

 

Also if this is not going to work I could set up the Vive in the next room on the main desktop PC and play it wirelessly in the next room. It's only a stud partition wall and I'd be around 15ft away from the PC through the 1 single wall. Is this likely to work? I understand wireless works on line of sight so the wall will weaken the signal but has anyone tried this? What is the range?

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Maribel_Hearn]

From what I have heard, VIVE is looking into the possibility of getting the wireless adapter working on eGPU enclosures (Requires Thunderbolt for PCI-E connection. USB will not cut it.) As of now, don't count on it. Don't buy the adapter today hoping that this feature will be possible tomorrow, as it may never be.

The wireless adapter antenna is fairly short (Around 6 feet cable length?) and the antenna requires direct line of sight to your Wireless enabled HMD. The signal cannot penetrate walls, human bodies, or even a sheet of paper. Think of it as another lighthouse.

You will want to be in the same room as the PC ruinning the VR setup as well, since you will be having to recover from crashes and disconnects that the Wireless Adapter introduces anyway.

[Synthesis]

 

 

Currently, there is no compatibility for external PCI-e slots. As it stands, Wireless is not compatible with laptops.

Thank you,

-John C

[Dave78]

Hi guys,

 

Thanks for the replies! I have already cancelled the wireless addon. Lets hope they come up with a solution that doesn’t require thunderbolt either!

 

Thanks.

[agoodeve]

Can a laptop be used if you have a thunderbolt to PCI-e adapter?

 

https://www.ebuyer.com/862609-startech-com-thunderbolt-3-pcie-expansion-chassis-with-displayport-pcie-x16-tb31pciex16?mkwid=sWA3N2WiH_dc&pcrid=51630194939&pkw=&pmt=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_KHytaeG4AIVzZ3tCh0mUA7hEAQYAiABEgKHWPD_BwE

[Synthesis]

 

 

Unfortunately no, at this time, there is no solution for laptop wireless adapter compatibility. A desktop PC with a free PCI-e slot is required.

Thank you,

-John C