Contemplating VR (Quest 2)

[MaverickMan]

Hi all.

I’m thinking about getting into VR but am not sure whether my PC would be able to handle it. It’s a pretty old school PC as after having children it has sat collecting dust for a couple of years but now it has been resurrected with a nice little corner in the room for me to get back into flying again.  
A new build PC would be out of the question for me at the moment so thought I would ask on here as to whether or not I would get a suitable flying experience in VR using my machine and a quest 2.

I currently get a reasonable flying experience using my pc with trackir and just mainly do free flights of taking off and landing and maybe a few training missions here and there.

my current specs are

i74790K @ 4.4ghz

16GB DDR3 

GTX980

would I get a reasonable flying experience with the quest 2 or should I leave it as it wouldn’t be a great experience?

Any help or input would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

[edmuss]

I don't think you'll get a satisfactory DCS vr experience with a Q2 I'm afraid, you should be ok in pancake + trackir though.

You may be able to get a reasonable set up if you upgrade your GPU but you're then going be getting bottlenecked by your CPU and RAM pretty quickly.

You may be able to run one of the lower resolution headsets ok, the first generation WMR headsets were actually pretty good for the money; I had a Lenovo explorer and whilst it's not a patch on my G2 I reckon (knowing what I now know about tuning DCS vr) I could get a reasonable image quality out of it.

[dburne]

You can get like a Reverb G2 to have at least some of the latest tech, can always reduce the resolution down to an acceptable level for performance. Just because it is a higher native resolution headset does not mean you have to run it at that higher resolution.

The weak point in your system is the GPU, if you could get your hands on like a 1080 Ti that would help considerably.

[Svsmokey]

The G2 would be a better choice if you do not plan to use the Q2 in standalone mode . Much more comfortable , better image quality , and you have the option to run in 60hz mode , freeing up 20% performance headroom . The downside is learning wmr and Steam vr , but after initial setup , you'll be fine . 

I am concerned about the 4gb vram of your gpu . Even at reduced resolution settings , i think that problematic . Even a 1070 , with 8gb vram would prolly work better , with minimal xtra investment after you sell the 980 .

[MaverickMan]

Thanks everyone for your replies. Looks like I’ll have a look into getting a 1080ti then perhaps onto VR. 

[DeltaMike]

I dunno about 1080ti.  I've bought a fair number of used GPU's and you do get the occasional dud, and good luck getting money back from ebay.  Plus the 6700XT is getting close to that price range, as is the 3060ti, either of which could be pressed into service depending on the HMD and how much you enjoy tinkering with things.

Don't get too excited about used HMD's either.  Believe it or not it takes a lot of horsepower to make a Rift look decent in DCS.  Rift S is very efficient, meaning it doesn't take much to make it playable, but a) it's not gonna cost much less than a Quest 2 and b) I still don't think you have enough, I could just barely run the thing with a Vega 56.  

I like the idea of a Quest 2 though.  You can play Beat Sabre to your heart's content while you trying to figure out a way to sneak a new GPU  into the house.  Shouldn't be difficult to drive with a sub-$1000 GPU to give a decent experience in DCS.  

In contrast, the G2 is a niche product.  Granted, DCS is pretty much the niche but still.  It's a PIA even with optimal hardware, and a massive PIA without.  It's also at the end of its life cycle, the new generation of HMD's are in the hands of early adapters as we speak.   I wouldn't buy a G2 hoping you'll be able to drive it someday; when someday comes there will be MUCH better headsets available.  

[MaverickMan]

15 hours ago, DeltaMike said:

I dunno about 1080ti.  I've bought a fair number of used GPU's and you do get the occasional dud, and good luck getting money back from ebay.  Plus the 6700XT is getting close to that price range, as is the 3060ti, either of which could be pressed into service depending on the HMD and how much you enjoy tinkering with things.

Don't get too excited about used HMD's either.  Believe it or not it takes a lot of horsepower to make a Rift look decent in DCS.  Rift S is very efficient, meaning it doesn't take much to make it playable, but a) it's not gonna cost much less than a Quest 2 and b) I still don't think you have enough, I could just barely run the thing with a Vega 56.  

I like the idea of a Quest 2 though.  You can play Beat Sabre to your heart's content while you trying to figure out a way to sneak a new GPU  into the house.  Shouldn't be difficult to drive with a sub-$1000 GPU to give a decent experience in DCS.  

In contrast, the G2 is a niche product.  Granted, DCS is pretty much the niche but still.  It's a PIA even with optimal hardware, and a massive PIA without.  It's also at the end of its life cycle, the new generation of HMD's are in the hands of early adapters as we speak.   I wouldn't buy a G2 hoping you'll be able to drive it someday; when someday comes there will be MUCH better headsets available.  
 

Many thanks for taking the time to reply. So do you think I should opt for a new graphics  card as opposed to getting a used one due to the risk of getting a dud? I like the idea of getting a new one but it’s just that bit extra cash that might raise eyebrows from the wife. Would to 3060ti be on par with the 1080ti?

sorry if this has gone off topic.

 

Many thanks for taking the time to reply. So do you think I should opt for a new graphics  card as opposed to getting a used one due to the risk of getting a dud? I like the idea of getting a new one but it’s just that bit extra cash that might raise eyebrows from the wife. Would to 3060ti be on par with the 1080ti?

sorry if this has gone off topic.

[edmuss]

The 3070 is for all intents and purposes the same speed as a 2080ti so I would hazard that the 3060ti would be faster than a 1080ti.  That said, nvidia only putting 8gb vram on the 3060ti/3070 really didn't do them any favours and the 1080ti with it's 11gb may fare better in certain circumstances; having said that my 8GB doesn't seem to limit me too much in DCS.

If you're UK or EU then look up the telegram channel FePartAlert, it will let you know when the FE cards come into stock and you can then buy them for MSRP (£469 for the 3070).

[DeltaMike]

It just bugs me that a used 1080ti is going for about the same price as a new 3060ti or 6700XT.   It was a great GPU, amazing really when you look at the VRAM and TMU count compared with its peers.  Was able to keep up with the 2000 series during the Rift S era.  But that was then. 

I've spent a lot more time looking at G2 than Q2 but that said, I haven't seen any recent reports on tuning the 1080ti for the G2.  2000 series GPU's are running into problems.  On the other hand, @edmuss has shown that the 3070 works just fine with the G2 if you use the right tools.  Net of everything the 3070 strikes me as a great value if you can get your hands on one without paying scalper prices.

Quest2 should be easier to drive than the G2.  I wouldn't hesitate to do Quest2 + 6700XT (which was my initial plan until mission creep set in) and I'd bet my own money a 3060ti could drive it.  3070 should be able to drive Quest 2 with one hand tied behind its back.  Oh and wait'll you see what your flat screen looks like with a 3000 series GPU.  Those things are very impressive imo.  

I feel you are on the right track. Get the Quest 2 and have some fun.  Get wifey and the kids involved.  There are all sorts of games, creativity apps, educational apps, immersive movies and such you can play right off the headset without a desktop computer.  

Meanwhile enter whatever lottery you can, get on whatever wait list you must, and lie in wait for a reasonably priced 3070 (or the equivalent) to come your way.  That's what I would do.  

RE Q2 vs G2.  I see the Q2 as the best of the consumer headsets; the G2, as the least expensive of the professional headsets.  I'll hand it to Oculus, their ecosystem is fantastic.  I dunno about the whole Meta thing, not sure I'd let my kids anywhere near the Metaverse.  But otherwise they would have a blast with it and possibly even get some exercise heaven forbid.  G2 is very cranky and dorkish and it still feels and acts like a prototype.  "Dad!  The Reverb is broke again!  DAD!!!"  Which is what I say to edmuss about once a week.  (A lot of us do that. Thank goodness he's very patient.)