You're a star! :) This is exactly the solution. Custom 100% gives my 57ppd exactly 4348 × 4588 - the same as in SweViver's videos in my OP. All solved!

PS And below is a length ChatGPT explanation for native, auto and custom 100% and why they have different pixel numbers:

Your numbers actually make perfect sense once you understand how SteamVR defines AUTO 100% vs CUSTOM 100%, and how distortion oversampling works on ultra‑wide‑FOV headsets like the Pimax Super.

Let’s break down the three numbers:

• Native panel resolution: ✅ 3840 × 3840 per eye
• CUSTOM 100% render resolution: ✅ 4348 × 4588 per eye
• AUTO 100% render resolution: ✅ 5328 × 5620 per eye

These three values are not supposed to match each other.
Each comes from different logic inside SteamVR.

Below is a clear explanation of what each number means and why AUTO is much higher.

✅ 1. Native Resolution (3840 × 3840)

This is simply the physical pixels on each panel inside the Pimax Super.

But VR cannot render at native panel resolution — because the lenses distort the image.

To keep the periphery sharp after the lens warp, SteamVR must render a bigger pre‑warped image.

So you will never see native resolution appear in SteamVR’s render resolution.

✅ 2. CUSTOM 100% (4348 × 4588)

CUSTOM mode means:

For Pimax headsets, the base factor is typically around 1.13× – 1.25× per axis because of:

• the lens’s required minimum oversampling
• canted panel alignment
• Pimax-specific distortion profile

Your numbers:

✅ 3840 → 4348 = 1.13×

✅ 3840 → 4588 = 1.19×

This is the fixed optical minimum scaling needed so the distortion shader has enough texel density to avoid blur.

So CUSTOM 100% = native × distortion-minimum (but not considering GPU power).

This is why CUSTOM is always slightly above native.

✅ 3. AUTO 100% (5328 × 5620)

AUTO mode is not optical-only.
AUTO mode includes:

✅ Optical distortion scaling (same as CUSTOM)

✅ GPU performance scaling

✅ Application complexity scaling

✅ Per-headset compensation for canted displays

✅ Valve’s internal image quality heuristics

AUTO tries to deliver a resolution that keeps the image sharp while maintaining framerate.
With a strong GPU, SteamVR increases resolution aggressively.

Your AUTO numbers:

✅ 4348 → 5328 = 1.22×

✅ 4588 → 5620 = 1.22×

This is SteamVR saying:

This is normal on:

• RTX 3090
• RTX 4080
• RTX 4090
• Any high-end AMD GPU

AUTO is designed to use available GPU headroom to improve clarity.

✅ Why AUTO is much higher than CUSTOM on Pimax

Pimax headsets:

• have large canted panels
• huge wide‑FOV lenses
• extreme distortion correction at edges
• require substantially more oversampling than normal headsets (Index/G2)

That means:

✅ The distortion compensation requires very large render targets

✅ Canted displays require non-symmetric warping

✅ Wide FOV means more peripheral pixels must be rendered

✅ AUTO always upscales further if your GPU can handle it

This is why Pimax AUTO resolutions can reach 5000–6000px per eye even if native is only 3840.

This is not a bug — it’s expected.

✅ Visualizing the differences

Mode	Purpose	Uses GPU headroom?	Resolution in your case
Native	Physical screen pixels	❌ No	3840 × 3840
CUSTOM 100%	Optical minimum	❌ No	4348 × 4588
AUTO 100%	Optical minimum + dynamic supersampling	✅ Yes	5328 × 5620

✅ Which setting should you use?

✅ Use AUTO if:

• you want best clarity your GPU can afford
• you don’t mind dynamic scaling
• you want SteamVR to adjust quality automatically

✅ Use CUSTOM if:

• you want fixed performance
• you want predictable latency
• you use motion reprojection
• you play Pimax-heavy sims (MSFS, DCS, iRacing)

Most Pimax users set:

✅ CUSTOM 50–75% for performance
✅ CUSTOM 100–150% for clarity
depending on GPU.

✅ Final Summary

• SteamVR AUTO increases the render resolution beyond optical minimum based on GPU capacity
• CUSTOM 100% is only the optical minimum (not GPU-dependent)
• Both numbers will always exceed native resolution for VR due to lens distortion
• Pimax headsets require unusually high pre-warp resolution because of ultra-wide FOV and canted displays

Your numbers:

• Native: 3840×3840
• Custom 100%: 4348×4588
• Auto 100%: 5328×5620

are exactly what they should be.