Building a kick arse VR Flight Sim setup... Help please..

[Jumpjim]

Hi guys.

I used to build PCs years ago but not for quite a while, and been on Macs for ages.

But having looked at DCS World and MS Flightsim 2020 recently it has spurred me to put together a high end PC to run these all at decent frame rates, and in VR.

I had put together the following spec but considering moving to AMD processors and motherboards to utilise PCIe-4 which doesn't seem to have happened so far on the Intel motherboards.

I'd like feedback on whether this will all go in the case, whether it's complete overkill and whether this will run HTC Vive Cosmo goggles at decent frame rates in DCS etc. This is going to be for my personal use, and also to record "How-to" videos on the 787 as I am a commercial airline instructor so it has to look good!

I'm also interested as to whether VR is the way to go, or whether TrackIR may be better?

Spec below:

Case
MESHIFY 2

Graphics
GEFORCE RTX 3080 ROG STRIX GAMING OC 10GB GDDR6X PCI-EXPRESS GRAPHICS CARD

PSU
RMX SERIES RMX850 850W '80 PLUS GOLD' MODULAR POWER SUPPLY (CP-9020180-UK)

Motherboard Bundle (Looking to port this to AMD - Any recommendations?)
ELITE TIER ASUS ROG STRIX Z490-G OVERCLOCKED I9 10900K @ 5.0GHZ GAMING BUNDLE
Includes: Intel I9-10900
8Pack 32Gb DDR4 PC4-3600 RAM
OcUK Tech Labs 240mm Liquid CPU Cooler

OS Drive
970 EVO PLUS 1TB M.2 2280 PCI-E 3.0 X4 NVME SOLID STATE DRIVE

Main Drive
4TB BLACK 7200RPM 256MB CACHE INTERNAL PERFORMANCE HARD DRIVE (4005FZBX)

VR Headset
VIVE COSMOS VR GAMING HEADSET (99HARL001-00)

Throttle Quadrant
VPC MONGOOST-50CM3 THROTTLE

Joystick
VPC Constellation ALPHA-R+WarBRD base

Monitor
ODYSSEY LC49G95TSSUXEN 49" 5120X1440 VA 240HZ 1MS FREESYNC/G-SYNC COMPATIBLE CURVED GAMING M

Keyboard
GAMING K65 RGB RAPIDFIRE MECHANICAL KEYBOARD, BACKLIT RGB LED, CHERRY MX SPEED RGB UK

Mouse
ROG CHAKRAM ERGONOMIC RGB OPTICAL QI WIRELESS GAMING MOUSE (90MP01K0-BMUA00)

 

[Jumpjim]

Ooookay so lets go with:

ELITE TIER- ASUS CROSSHAIR HERO VIII X570 - AMD RYZEN 9 5900X @ 4.65GHZ OVERCLOCKED BUNDLE

That covers the PCIe-4 which I would like. I imagine performance is going to be broadly similar to the Intel processors?

As for VR Headets the HP Reverb G2 would be around the budget. Is that a decent one to go for in terms of performance and visuals?

 

[Jumpjim]

The costs are heading upwards and I have to draw the line somewhere.

A 1Tb PCIe-4 SSD and a 4Tb spinner should do for the moment. I can always upgrade the WD drive at some point in future or add in another PCIe-4 drive when I can stretch to it.

 

[Jumpjim]

So the final spec (And amazingly I've got it all bought and shipped..just need to build it now) is:

ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Hero Wifi Motherboard
Ryzen 9 5900X
MSI GeForce Gaming X Trio RTX 3080 GPU
Corsair HXi Platinum 850W PSU
32Gb HyperX Fury 3200 RAM
Cooler Master Masterliquid ML360R CPU Cooler
OS: Sabrent Rocket 500GB PCIe 4 NVME
Main: Sabrent Rocket 2TB PCIE4 NVME
Samsung Odyssey G9 Monitor
Corsair K95 Keyboard
Corsair M65 Mouse

Thanks for all the input and suggestions...

 

[Jumpjim]

So a few weeks on and I am delighted with the system...

Running DCS with everything set at high, at 5120x1440 resolution it is throwing out a solid 60 frames a second.

MS Flight Sim 2020, on ULTRA settings at 5120 x 1440 it shows around 40 fps at the moment.

The Samsung Odyssey G9 monitor is absolutely superb....

HP Reverb G2 is turning up this week so furthe reports once that is plugged in and running.

 

[Jumpjim]

Lol... That bad...?

 

[Jumpjim]

I'm looking to run this with DCS initially. How does that compare to IL2?

 

[Jumpjim]

DCS can get very expensive very quickly. You can try it out if you download DCS world you get a P-51trainer and an SU-25 Frogfoot mud mover jet. Both sims are great in VR and their forums are full of helpful people. Check out youtube.

Too late….

In for about $400 so far…. DCS is running at around 90-100fps at High settings and 5120x1440 resolution. MSFS2020 is running at the same res at around the 60-80fps in Ultra settings.

On the upside I am loving learning to fly and fight the F/A-18C and looking forward to the Spitfire in VR if I can get the headset to work of course….

 

[Jumpjim]

Having a nightmare getting my brand new G2 to connect to my AMD motherboard. There’s an outstanding USB bug which means it’s almost impossible to get the sodding thing to connect.

I’ve managed to get it running about three times this afternoon and when it does the graphical acuity and clarity is superb. The experience of flying a Spitfire in VR over Southern England was an epiphany..genuinely jaw dropping. You even hear the wind in one ear if your head position is near the slipstream with the canopy open..incredible… Dog fighting and being able to visually follow the target while manoeuvring is game changing.

I just HOPE that AMD get this USB bug sorted or they will be getting a LOT of returns from AMD motherboard owners….

 

[Jumpjim]

I know but it was purchased and built by then! To be fair, when they get this sorted, I’d still rather have the AMD setup as it appears to be much quicker. I gather from Reddit that AMD have a working solution on their reference boards.. they just need to push it out now.

 

[Jumpjim]

I’m running a Ryzen 9 5900x and an RTX 3080… I had a long play with various settings, and suggested setups from the VR4DCS website yesterday AMD now have it running smoothly with about 50fps in full res on the headset.

I’ve set the motherboard to Gen3 on all PCIe channels for the moment, and one of the USB ports on the back seems to work okay so it is working. MSFS2020 is absolutely mind blowing.. I’ve been pottering around the highlands in the Cub and the graphics are incredible. I just need to sort out some input issues in VR rather than fumbling around for the keyboard…

Anyone have any experience with Captogloves…?

 

[Jumpjim]

Ordered… Thanks DD

 

[Jumpjim]

Mate, you can keep your JetSeat... I want one of THESE: https://bergisons.simpit.info/motion-integrated-g-seat.

 

[Jumpjim]

Strewth. The scalper prices on RTX 3080 cards are ridiculous…

Looks like my decision in January to bite the bullet and pay over the odds (at the time anyway) of £1050 for an MSI Gaming X Trio 3080 was a good call….

 

[Jumpjim]

How's your new system going. Any pics? Would love to see how you've setup the monitor and controls for the sim setup!

I fancy a few upgrades for mine when the Elite Dangerous expansion is out but I think it'll need to wait until availability of parts at RRP is a thing again!

My system is fantastic tbh…really pleased with it. The bit that has blown me away is the Reverb G2. Until the new AMD BIOS comes through next month I’ve had to downgrade the PCIe to Gen3 but it’s working okay currently. VR with DCS is incredible but thank the lord I got a decent GPU… The Supercarrier add on is epic…

MS Flight Simulator 2020 is absolutely mind blowing… a quick video of me arsing around in Snowdonia in a spitfire for your delectation…

I’ve left the VIRPIL stick for the moment so am using a TM Warthog setup.

Hopefully this will be a pic of my system setup.. struggling to embed images on here for some reason…

https://flic.kr/p/2kN27bQ