Back when I was buying fans for my new bequiet! tower, I decided to finally buy a Valve Index USB Fan. I figured while cooling my PC, why not cool my face and screens when playing VR. Valve Index screens fog up for me often so any help was welcome. Glad to report I was not disappointed with my purchase.
My Valve Index Fogging Issues
My regular gaming routine during the week is come home from work, walk with the wife, go to the gym, eat, sauna, shower and then gaming. That shower is relaxing, but raises the temperature of my head for quite awhile after with plenty of added humidity.
I’ve often wanted to jump right into a VR game, but terrible fogging was inevitable. It’s a terrible cycle of removing the headset to wipe it clean, then put it back on to fog up again. It took awhile to finally stop the vicious cycle and continue playing. If it’s a very active game, then the cycle may start again.
As frustrating as that is, I’ve opted to wait for an hour after my shower before playing VR games. My time during the week is very limited, so waiting really cuts into the amount of playtime. With new PC case fans on my mind, I thought it was time to fix the VR cooling problem too.
My First Valve Index USB Fan Frunk Accessory
Ever since I first purchased my Valve Index headset, I’ve left the frunk cover on the front of the headset. Even after various USB accessories released for the frunk, I held out hope for a wireless addon to reside there.
While I waited for a wireless addon, I bought the Kiwi pulley system to hold the video cable for the Valve Index above my head. It’s a decent compromise since I have space for it and an understanding wife. I was very happy with that purchase, so it was great to see Kiwi created their own Valve Index USB Radiator fan accessory.
It’s more expensive than some of the other options, but was happy with the brand, so I went with theirs. Amazon delivered it to me 2 days and it was a super quick to install. Installation was as simple as removing the frunk cover, plug in the USB cable, then snap the rest of the product into the Valve Index frunk.
To use the fans, a simple button press on the front of the fans starts them up.
Testing How Cool Valve Index USB Fan Really Is
I booted up Steam VR and put the headset on. The sound of the fans is not noticeable to me, but the cooling is. It was great to feel the breeze between my eyes. The frunk looks pretty closed off, so I was surprised of the airflow. There wasn’t much time to play, so it was just a quick test to see how it worked.
The real test was the next day. I went directly from drying off after my shower (and dressed btw) to playing VR. With the new frunk fans on, I was happy to see the Valve Index lenses did not instantly fog up like every other time after a shower.
There was a small spot of fog in the lower corner of one of the lenses, but that went away after a minute. I was very happy to get right into playing. When I turned off the fans the fans quickly started to fog up more, so I knew they were effective.
That first full test, I finally finished “I Expect You to Die”, a must play VR game by the way. Everything was great, but I wanted to ensure it wasn’t a fluke before offering a glowing recommendation.
Multiple Rounds of Mini Stress Tests
Happily it’s no fluke. I tried 2 other nights. One right after a shower and another on the weekend, after mowing the lawn. Again, there was a tiny spot of fog for the first minute, but the majority of the screen was clear. There’s no way I’d avoid completely fogged lenses in these use cases without the Valve Index Radiator fan.
The only complaint I have is having to remember to turn off the fans when I’m done. It would be nice if SteamVR offered an option to turn off USB power to the frunk when exiting. That’s really a lazy complaint, but would be nice to have it turn on/off based on whether Steam VR is open.
Now I’m confident I’ll play a lot more VR with the cooling of the Valve Index USB Radiator fan. I highly recommend it to anyone with the same fogging issues I endured.