Top products from r/HTCVive

In no particular order, other than as they came to my mind:

Note that the term "Lighthouse" and "Base Station" are used interchangeably. I don't know which is technically more correct. I believe "Lighthouse" is the term given to the units by Valve, where as "Base Station" is the term used by HTC to describe the actual units provided - but this may be incorrect. I call them Lighthouses, but the Vive manual calls them Base Stations - these are the same things.

1. If you seem to be having issues, such as the front camera not working, tracking issues, controllers having issues pairing or staying paired, controllers only connect when physically plugged in over USB, etc, don't immediately assume you have a defective Vive - the Vive is very specific on USB controllers and the one in your PC might not be up to spec. Many of the early (and even some of the current) USB controllers are out of spec. Follow the advice in the SteamVR Troubleshooting Article and pick up the Inateck PCI Express USB controller. This thing is just over $20 on Amazon and has made a world of difference for many Vive users. Another tip is if you are having issues with USB 3.0 ports to try using USB 2.0 ports instead of 3.0, and vice versa. The Vive and the Linkbox are technically 3.0 compatible, but the 3-in-1 cable is only USB 2.0, so you won't get a benefit using 3.0 ports on your PC - in fact some users have better success with 2.0 ports. If you are having issues, try changing USB ports.
   
   
2. If you are having tracking issues, try removing everything remotely reflective from around your play area, one by one. Picture frames, mirrors, even shiny curtain rods might be having a huge impact on your tracking stability.
   
   
3. If you have two Vives and you are trying to use them in the same room, do not attempt to setup both pairs of lighthouses - the lighthouses simply send out a blast of IR light, and your Vives will become confused. You can use two Vives with just two lighthouses, but be careful not to smash into each other :). Your best bet is to setup your Vives in different rooms or hang blackout curtains between the two play areas to block the lighthouse signals for the other Vive- in which case it is okay to setup all four lighthouses, as long as each Vive can only see two of them.
   
   
4. Anything that shakes your walls will screw with your tracking. Some users reported they would lose tracking when an AC in another room would kick on. Be sure to mount your lighthouses in a stable area.
   
   
5. It is highly recommended to mount your lighthouses by screwing directly into the walls, but if you for some reason refuse to drill into the walls, some users have had success mounting the lighthouse to a block of wood, and then using something like Command Strips to mount the block of wood to the wall - this is not recommended, do this at your own risk, but some users are doing this.
   
   
6. Make sure your lighthouse mounts are screwed down TIGHT - even a small shift in their mounting position can screw up your tracking, and require rerunning the room setup.
   
   
7. When running the room setup, switch to advanced mode for a more accurate layout - in advanced mode, click the 'Edit' button on your desktop screen (as in, not in VR) to adjust the size, location, and direction of your 'play area'. In advanced mode you can more easily mark out funny shaped walls - personally I always run advanced mode. In regular mode you hold the trigger down and walk around the play area to define your chaperone boundaries - in advanced mode you walk around and pull the trigger to define the boundaries. Both modes are nice, but I recommend learning to define your play area in advanced mode since it is a bit easier to be precise and get the exact layout you want.
   
   
8. The Maximum play area size can be fudged a bit. If you are trying to use an area larger than 16ft 4in (5m) diagonal, you may be able to do so, but your tracking near the center will become less precise.
   
   
9. Each lighthouse should be mounted at least 6ft 6in (2m) off the ground. Higher is better up to a point, as it will reduce the chance you occlude one controller or the other, or occlude one lighthouse from the other (if using optical sync).
   
   
10. The lighthouses have a field of view of approximately 120° side to side and top to bottom, and should be tilted approximate 30° to 45° downwards towards the center of your play area.
    
    
11. It is okay to mount your lighthouses on their side, or even upside down. There is a mounting location on the back, and the bottom of the lighthouse. Each lighthouse has a built in Gyroscope so they know which way they are oriented. The creator of the lighthouse system has said himself that mounting orientation does not matter, though it may affect your play area limitations. You can mount them upside down and from the ceiling if you need to.
    
    
12. The lighthouses can be operated with or without the sync cable as they can communicate wirelessly, though without the sync cable they must be facing each other as they communicate optically. Without the sync cable, they must be on channels B and C. With the sync cable, they must be on channels A and C. You can press the button on the back of the lighthouse to switch channels, and the current channel is visible on the front of each lighthouse.
    
    My Vive did not come with a manual, though I preordered and they may be shipping them with manuals now - I had a quick start guide, but no manual - you can find the manual here where much more information about proper setup and usage can be found.
    
    Also - Welcome to the club :). Assuming your PC passes the SteamVR Performance Test, you will be very happy with VR :) There is nothing quite like being in true roomscale VR - it is amazingly fun.
    
    Edit: Also, I'll take this chance to plug my (currently free) VR utility application - stop reading now if you hate self plugs :). My app - OpenVRDesktopDisplayPortal allows you to clone a Desktop Window into a cross game VR Overlay. This Overlay can be placed into the world, attached to screen like a HUD, or attached to one of the controllers. Personally, even while playing games I like to leave Netflix on and game while I watch a movie or TV show - for most VR games there's just too much action going on though - but for some games, like Elite Dangerous or Euro Truck Sim, you have a lot of down time which can get quite boring. OpenVRDesktopDisplayPortal (OVRDDP for short) can be used to bring a desktop window, like a browser window, right into VR! You can read the Instructions here, or download it from this page. The current public version can only capture a 360p up to about 480p video at 24FPS or more, which is required for the video to look smooth - though my local source can clone my full monitor, 2560x1440, at 150FPS+ :). I'm in talks with Valve to get this on the Steam Store, but right now you can just resize your content to 360p and consider it a free demo :).
    
    There are quite a few people using OVRDDP to clone videos right into VR, there are also a few people cloning security cameras (watching the door for pizza deliveries :P) or baby monitors right into VR. You can also use it to clone browser windows into VR, which can be handy for games like Elite Dangerous where you can look up item prices online, or pretty much anything else you want.
    
    For content like Netflix or Hulu, you can full screen the video, target it with OVRDDP, then lock the aspect and resize the video to 360p - Even though it is supposed to be full screen, it can be resized to 360p - this lets you clone just the video instead of the full browser window. I gave the exact steps in this comment here.
    
    There are a few programs that can't be captured with the current public release - for Chrome, you must disable Hardware Acceleration. Firefox seems to work fine. I also heard that MPC-HC cannot be cloned, but VLC works great :). For VLC, you can use the fullscreen trick to clone just the video, or use the cropping settings labelled 13 in this picture to clone just the area of the video you want. For more information, see the Compatibility Article, though it's a bit outdated right now.
    
    Full HD support coming soon regardless of if I can post it on the steam store, but right now you can use the public release as a demo for what's to come.

If you haven't ordered yet I would recommend these light stands. I had my vive in the dorms downstairs for a couple of hours and they seemed stable enough to support the vibration of the lighthouses. Also, surprisingly, the bag it came with is incredibly good quality. I use these mounts on my tripods to angle down the lighthouses. Cant use the floor to ceiling mounts all places. Where I was yesterday the ceilings are 15' or more.

stands and mounts

They've come up a hair but still under 50 bucks. A great value in my opinion especially if you need to move your lighthouses around for any reason or can't or choose not to mount them to your wall. Also apologies on being a bit late to reply. Only just now saw this for some reason.

I would recommend floor to ceiling tension poles. These have almost no footprint so they are perfect for maximizing room space

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004EPXKLS/ref=mp_s_a_1_24?qid=1463632733&sr=8-24&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=ZPC+Zenith+Products+Corporation&dpPl=1&dpID=218-XCY%2BxHL&ref=plSrch

And then these to secure the lighthouses to the pole

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00E5M39AW/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Logitech Wireless G930. They're over the ear, have 3 additional programmable buttons (I use them to take snapshots or activate comms), 7.1 surround, good base, wireless, and have a microphone for in game talking.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B003VANOFY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Agreed, the Surface is not going to provide the premium experience. It will be able to provide a basic demonstration of the technology on the go.

As for the cable, this is one of the cable I attempted to use:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00YONKZ72/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1472828864&sr=8-2&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=mini+displayport+to+hdmi&dpPl=1&dpID=41u3yXrcduL&ref=plSrch

Do you mean to say that I need a minDP to Displayport with a Displayport to HDMI converter?

This is what I ended up buying:

https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-DisplayPort-HDMI-Cable-Feet/dp/B015OW3GJK/

Cheap and does the job. I use that cable for my monitor, and go straight from the HDMI output to the Vive.

As others have pointed out, you have to use the connectors on your video card, not the ones on the motherboard. The MB connectors aren't hooked up to the GPU that makes the magic happen for VR.

I'm using a pair of Sennheiser 598s.

As others have said, it will probably work, but unless budget is a constraint I would just get the 1080 now rather than wait. It's not going to go down in price significantly in the next year (just look at the cost of 980Ti still), and it's not like you can't just transfer it to your new rig once it's built, so nothing is wasted.

Don't use command strips. There's a rotating piece of hardware in the lighthouses. That sets up vibrations, which works any temporary adhesive (command strip, tape) apart. Then your lighthouse falls 7-9 feet onto your floor.

Use screws into studs (I'd highly suggest pre-drilling the holes). Stud finders work, though personally I use a medium size (inch+) neodymium magnet to find studs (it'll stick anywhere there's a nail/screw behind the wall). Then invest in drywall putty and some paint if/when you remove them. Takes a half hour max, and that includes finding a ladder and cleanup.