MSFS 2020 and VR - GPU/Headset Combo

G Byram

G Byram

G Byram

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If any of you play Microsoft Flight Sim 2020 in VR mode, what GPU and headset do you use, and what is your experience like?
I am still awaiting a 3080 and there is no point me getting a headset till it arrives but I would like to know from peoples comments here what to buy and what to expect.
 
I haven't bought MSFS2020 yet because its VR performance is awful.

But this seems to be CPU optimisation related and not really due to the GPU, as even 3090 owners struggle to run it at a decent framerate. (This seems to be true of a lot of VR conversions of 2D games).

There have been rumours that there will be a patch which improves CPU multithreaded performance, but this hasn't happened yet.
 
Thanks @Ravenger. You would have thought that it really should not have been a 2D game conversion for such a recent title, but that they built it in mind of applying VR later.
But I guess the game has been in development for so many years and is based on previous MS flight sim versions that VR came along after the initial work so became an afterthought.

The good thing is that they seem to have a long road plan for updates and a skillful team behind it for now.
 
Also the game is a CPU hog in 2D mode too, so adding VR on top of that will add more overhead.

However, VR headsets can run the framerate at half the refresh rate and interpolate which means you can get a reasonable experience, but it won't be as sharp or smooth as running at the native refresh rate.
This can work better on headsets that can run at 120hz or faster.
 
Ravenger said:
Also the game is a CPU hog in 2D mode too, so adding VR on top of that will add more overhead.

However, VR headsets can run the framerate at half the refresh rate and interpolate which means you can get a reasonable experience, but it won't be as sharp or smooth as running at the native refresh rate.
This can work better on headsets that can run at 120hz or faster.
Click to expand...

Thats one of the reasons I went for a 5900x. I understand that they are planning to use a different core(s) to the main game core in order to do say, the glass panel screen processing. If that happens it should make things somewhat smoother I expect.

I think just the feel of VR flying will offset the resolution degradation somewhat. You would be "feeling" it rather than seeing it. But of course, ultimately we want full resolution AND the VR experience :)
 
Ravenger said:
I haven't bought MSFS2020 yet because its VR performance is awful.

But this seems to be CPU optimisation related and not really due to the GPU, as even 3090 owners struggle to run it at a decent framerate. (This seems to be true of a lot of VR conversions of 2D games).

There have been rumours that there will be a patch which improves CPU multithreaded performance, but this hasn't happened yet.
Click to expand...

I find it's still pretty awesome even in 2D, so I wouldn't let that stop you unless you are dead set on only the VR experience. Who doesn't want to fly over their house :)
But seriously, the fact that you can go anywhere and see a pretty accurate view was a clincher for me.

Strange really, £100ish for MSFS 2020 deluxe, about £700 on yoke/throttle/pedals and around £2000 for a new PC build! At least I can use the PC for other games but I made it primarily for MSFS.
 
3090/5800X and a G2, I find it pretty good overall but you have to be okay with lower frame rates or motion reprojection artefacts.

Big update dropping next month that brings “significant performance updates” (their words) so we’ll wait and see I guess.
 
Ravenger said:
Also the game is a CPU hog in 2D mode too, so adding VR on top of that will add more overhead.

However, VR headsets can run the framerate at half the refresh rate and interpolate which means you can get a reasonable experience, but it won't be as sharp or smooth as running at the native refresh rate.
This can work better on headsets that can run at 120hz or faster.
Click to expand...

Actually even less than half these days! You can have multiple reprojected frames per real one - eg with the G2 in OpenXR you can run MSFS at 30fps reprojected to 90… I think the index can now do this (and more!) on steamVR and OpenXR too?

Personally I find the artefacts and softness of reprojection (especially from those lower starting points) a bit distracting but others seem fine with it. It certainly makes everything smooth, but I personally prefer the sharpness of a locked non-reprojected 30fps.
 
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lokiss said:
Watch the VR flight sim guy on youtube.
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And specifically look for the video about oculus tray tool and FS2020. With that I was able to make 980ti run FS2020 in VR without nausea. With a 3070 it is really good. You need to use OTT to specify the number of frames per second you want (18 in my case) which can allow you to bump up settings and/or get a smooth experience.
 
I have a 2070S and an old Rift S. Runs "ok", but to achieve that, many of the visual settings are reduced.
DX12 arrives sometime soon. Combine that with FSR or DLSS and it might start to look reasonable.
 
Anyone else heard about the upcoming patch that's supposed to massively boost performance? Hopefully this will give vr a nice lift as well and I might finally try it in vr! Been putting it off even though I have a 2080Ti and 3700x as it sounds like a nightmare to get running well in vr
 
KeanuIsLife said:
Anyone else heard about the upcoming patch that's supposed to massively boost performance? Hopefully this will give vr a nice lift as well and I might finally try it in vr! Been putting it off even though I have a 2080Ti and 3700x as it sounds like a nightmare to get running well in vr
Click to expand...

Supposed to be a significant performance increase. The developers are vague about exactly how it will affect VR but say there will be some improvement.
 
Ravenger said:
Supposed to be a significant performance increase. The developers are vague about exactly how it will affect VR but say there will be some improvement.
Click to expand...
Well its supposed to improve CPU performance which I would assume is part of the reason behind poor vr performance as well as non vr so hoping to be able to cruise above the earth at the end of the month with the HOTAS :)
 
KeanuIsLife said:
Anyone tried flight sim after the new update? Any improvement for vr performance?
Click to expand...
I had a bit of a dabble last night with the index. It definelty felt much smoother and i was running 40 fps around bristol/ french Polynesia. Before I was using the steam vr throttling at 30 fps
 
KeanuIsLife said:
Anyone tried flight sim after the new update? Any improvement for vr performance?
Click to expand...

Yes. A lot!

3070FE + 5600x + Quest2

It is noticeably better. I have not measured fps but it felt much better than before. Absolutely playable on quest 2 at the 1.5 resolution multiplier. I am not using FS2020 ultra settings across the board - but they are nowhere near minimum either.
 
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