Budget VR on modest rig! This isn't supposed to work!!!!

[Lloyd80]

Since getting back into DCS after 12 month hiatus, something was bugging me.

 

I was playing on a 24 inch monitor with headtracking but I wanted more immersion.  Did lots of research, and came to conclusion that I wanted VR as you do.  Most of the research said nope it shouldn't run too well on my system.  But I found a Lenovo Explorer new open box on evilbay for £100.  I think the words "b*****ks to it" was uttered as I pressed the BIN. There may have been beer involvement too!   

 

48 hours later, sat thinking what have I done this is never going to work! 

 

Plugged it in and then spent days getting it set up, learning how to use it and then 3 days playing with every setting available to see if I could get it to run. 

 

And run it does, pretty well for my set up. 

 

Ryzen 3600 OC 4.2ghz

GTX 1660 super OC slightly

16GB 3200mhz RAM

 

To get it to run smooth has been interesting and I've learned loads about graphics engines, settings and how they affect VR not to mention the 100s of posts I've read lol!

 

But basically I set everything to the lowest possible settings and worked my way through each and every setting individually in game and on the Nvidia control panel.  I used a single mission set up to test and benchmark each change with FPSVR bought and downloaded from steam. 

 

I tested PD vs SS in steam and the best setting I found was;

PD 1.0 SS 120% motion smoothing off. 

As for my in game settings I will add a screen shot when I get to my computer.

 

At the minute I am currently getting 45 to 55 fps on the Caucaus, Nevada and Normandy both in SP and MP (though I do see more dips in MP as to be expected).  I don't have PG or Syria yet.  However on the Marianas, I was barely getting 40 on the monitor, with VR it's around 26fps at its worst.  But never gets above 40 unless I go really really really high!!! But it was still smooth for the most part.  The only issue with it stuttering or jagginess in all maps is when I look directly 90 degrees left or right and towards the ground.  Which seems to be common VR issue anyway. 

 

So the two biggest impacts that made it possible on my system with the lenovo explorer were;

 

This improved my FPS enough to make VR run smooth. I used the first version. Left the configuration as stock.

 

But I was still losing out on the clarity/resolution so I installed this;

 

 

It worked really well, so much so that my cockpit is fully readable without zooming and it def improved the clarity of things outside the cockpit. 

 

I tried the various reshader mods for VR on here but none seemed to like my system.  I just went with;

 

 

So it is possible to run VR on moderate systems.  But it is also possible that it may not run for you on a system that's the same as mine.  I think I have been lucky, but trying everything slowly and methodically has def helped.

 

This has turned into a bit of an epic post!!!! Sorry!!!!!!!   

 

PS I didn't get sick from VR but I did get some serious vertigo!!!! Not now in warbirds or jets, but trying to fly the huey has my head spinning!!!!! Really weird that I'm badly affected by helicopters but not by planes!!

 

Is anyone else running VR on a  moderate system? If so what are your tips, tricks or mods that you've used to get it running smoothly? 

Edited July 25, 2021 by Lloyd80

[Voyager]

Congrats. 

 

Out of curiosity, how high did you dial up the FSR on yours? 

[Mr_Burns]

Im about to bin mine, I did a cheapy.

 

Occulus Quest 2

Intel Core i5 11600K 6-Core LGA 1200 3.9GHz Unlocked CPU

G.Skill Ripjaws V 32GB (2x 16GB) DDR4 3600MHz Memory - Black

ASRock Z590 Phantom Gaming 4/ac Intel LGA 1200 ATX Motherboard

Win 10

 

Cannot see the MFDs at all and cant see anything on the ground, also makes me feel sick which I think is the jittering, getting 40fps mostly.

 

What blew me away was the depth perception of the cockpit, I did not realise it would be in 3D and it freaks me out and dogfighting is awesome with rapid 360 head movements, but I was thinking of getting back into the A-10C for some ground pounding but the unreadable MFDs is a game changer.

 

I dont understand all the settings so I copied some Occulus Tray Tool settings but never attempted to load mods and shaders??

 

[shu77]

I would strongly recommend having a go at overclocking your chip, DCS is so single core bandwidth dependent I was having a lousy time until I moved my chip up to 5.0Ghz, Since then I have no real issues beyond the lack of VRAM on my 3080.  I could probably squeeze it up to 5.1 or 5.2, but it works happily as is and doesnt seem to overheat.

 

27 minutes ago, Mr_Burns said:

Im about to bin mine, I did a cheapy.

 

Occulus Quest 2

Intel Core i5 11600K 6-Core LGA 1200 3.9GHz Unlocked CPU

G.Skill Ripjaws V 32GB (2x 16GB) DDR4 3600MHz Memory - Black

ASRock Z590 Phantom Gaming 4/ac Intel LGA 1200 ATX Motherboard

Win 10

 

Cannot see the MFDs at all and cant see anything on the ground, also makes me feel sick which I think is the jittering, getting 40fps mostly.

 

What blew me away was the depth perception of the cockpit, I did not realise it would be in 3D and it freaks me out and dogfighting is awesome with rapid 360 head movements, but I was thinking of getting back into the A-10C for some ground pounding but the unreadable MFDs is a game changer.

 

I dont understand all the settings so I copied some Occulus Tray Tool settings but never attempted to load mods and shaders??

 

 

[Lloyd80]

12 hours ago, Voyager said:

Congrats. 

 

Out of curiosity, how high did you dial up the FSR on yours? 

 

I kept it at the default settings. On testing at these settings I lose around 2fps, but the increase in sharpness is worth it.

 

3 hours ago, Mr_Burns said:

Im about to bin mine, I did a cheapy.

 

Occulus Quest 2

Intel Core i5 11600K 6-Core LGA 1200 3.9GHz Unlocked CPU

G.Skill Ripjaws V 32GB (2x 16GB) DDR4 3600MHz Memory - Black

ASRock Z590 Phantom Gaming 4/ac Intel LGA 1200 ATX Motherboard

Win 10

 

Cannot see the MFDs at all and cant see anything on the ground, also makes me feel sick which I think is the jittering, getting 40fps mostly.

 

What blew me away was the depth perception of the cockpit, I did not realise it would be in 3D and it freaks me out and dogfighting is awesome with rapid 360 head movements, but I was thinking of getting back into the A-10C for some ground pounding but the unreadable MFDs is a game changer.

 

I dont understand all the settings so I copied some Occulus Tray Tool settings but never attempted to load mods and shaders??

 

 

I haven't got any experience with the Quest 2 but a lot of what I read is that people suffered FPS drop due to the cable connection.  

 

Just curious regarding your settings, do you know your IPD? Have you altered the IPD setting in the Occulus tray tool?  What is your PD setting in DCS and what is the PD setting in Occulus tray tool? What are your DCS graphics settings?  

 

I only ask as I may spot something you can change or the others on here might.  Lets try and get this working for you! I don't think I could go back to a monitor for DCS.

 

2 hours ago, shu77 said:

I would strongly recommend having a go at overclocking your chip, DCS is so single core bandwidth dependent I was having a lousy time until I moved my chip up to 5.0Ghz, Since then I have no real issues beyond the lack of VRAM on my 3080.  I could probably squeeze it up to 5.1 or 5.2, but it works happily as is and doesnt seem to overheat.

 

 

 

I also agree with shu, overlocking you CPU would be a good idea.  As well as maybe OC your GPU.  What GPU are you running? I didn't see it in your list.

 

As for the "what blew me away", the depth perception was hugely immersive, just flying around in VR was mind blowing .  What freaked me out me, and still does, if I eject at altitude.  The first time I looked down, I nearly crapped myself!!!! I had the full on stomach drop like I was stood on the edge of cliff!!!! I also find myself reaching out to flick switches or grab the in cockpit throttle mid air!  Doh!  

 

As for the sickness, I had a few issues with vertigo and I stopped before I got any nausea.  Start playing in small 5 to 10 mins sessions and then build up from there.  As soon as you feel light headed, or any odd feelings.  Stop and don't play again in VR until you feel 100%.  Its taken me just over a week to build up my resistance.  As for Helicopters, that's still not working out great yet for me in VR.  The vertigo is horrendous.

 

 

[Lloyd80]

My DCS Settings for info;

 

 

 

[freehand]

Nice one buddy.

[Mr_Burns]

20 hours ago, Lloyd80 said:

My DCS Settings for info;

 

 

 

Hrmmm, I have my resoloution cranked up to 4060 or something the same as the headset. yours is 1280x768?

 

Antristropic was 2x everything else very similar.

 

Pixel density 1.6 and dont know what IPD is? How do I work that out please?

 

[Lloyd80]

36 minutes ago, Mr_Burns said:

Hrmmm, I have my resoloution cranked up to 4060 or something the same as the headset. yours is 1280x768?

 

Antristropic was 2x everything else very similar.

 

Pixel density 1.6 and dont know what IPD is? How do I work that out please?

 

 

OK, first issue is your resolution, that's the resolution on your monitor not your VR headset.  Turn this down.  Your resolution is controlled by the PD setting in the VR tab along with a setting in Steam or occulus app. We can sort those next.  But first;

 

Your IPD is explained here and how to adjust the lenses;

 

https://support.oculus.com/articles/getting-started/getting-started-with-quest-2/ipd-quest-2/

 

Here's somewhere you can measure your ipd;

 

https://www.specsavers.co.uk/glasses/buyers-guide/how-to-measure-your-pupillary-distance

 

Are you running your quest 2 with the cable? 

 

Are you running Steam VR? If so what are your settings for DCS? 

 

What are you occulus app settings for DCS? 

 

 

[Mr_Burns]

Maybe I expect too much, i can see it perfectly if i zoom in but cannot read NOT SOI from the seat easily and then the data on the screen is useless unless I move towards them .

 

Messed around with pixel density up and down, resoloution and IPD and it diesnt make them any more, or any less visible, they just seem out of focus to my eyes.

 

Im am using the Occulus wireless also.

[Mr_Burns]

[Harlikwin]

Yeah don't use the in game SS along with other SS techniques. And 1.4 in DCS is very performance heavy. 

 

I used to run DCS in VR on 4700, and 980m (1060/70 eqiv) card with an OG rift years back. I would run, but it wasn't very pretty.

 

Main points, don't use the DCS SS slider, use it 1.0 and then use either your occulus or steamVR setings for super sampling. Never use both together.

turn screen res down to lowest it saves a few fps.

 

Edited July 28, 2021 by Harlikwin

[Lloyd80]

OK first issue is using the wireless, it creates more latency than using the Occulus link cable.  If you have the cash I would recommend getting the link cable.  If not you can try using the 5ghz wireless setting on your modem rather than the 2.4ghz wireless.  If anyone else is using wireless in your house this will also affect the latency.  

 

Change your PD in DCS to 1.0 as Harlikwin mentions as well as your DCS resolution to the lowest setting.  Turn off bloom effect in DCS.  

 

Exit DCS after the above and go into your saved games folder and delete the fxo and metashaders2 folders.  Restart DCS and see how your FPS are in a free flight.  Rctrl & pause.

 

Let me know what your FPS is and then we can then work on trying to make your cockpit clearer. 

Edited July 29, 2021 by Lloyd80

[Mr_Burns]

Feel bad for hijacking this guys thread!!

 

Well I dont know what you guys did, but she now runs a steady 45fps.

 

I can read everything fine, just not the MFDs!

 

Cable is on order also.

[Lloyd80]

1 hour ago, Mr_Burns said:

Feel bad for hijacking this guys thread!!

 

Well I dont know what you guys did, but she now runs a steady 45fps.

 

I can read everything fine, just not the MFDs!

 

Cable is on order also.

 Haha. I didn't even think it was a hijack !! 

 

But I'm so glad we could help you get it running! Awesome news. Enjoy the immersion and doing stoopid things as you get so lost in the VR.

 

On a further note, no doubt you'll have to tweak some settings when you use the cable.  

 

I just upgraded from 16 to 32gb of ram and I had to go back and tweak settings to get mine running smoothly again. What a PITA! 

Edited July 30, 2021 by Lloyd80

[StevanJ]

Im with you
i3 9100 RX 580 8GB MSI B365M 8GB 2666 RAM (single stick)