Just upgraded my rig to a 7950X3D, DDR5-6000, 990Pro SSD. Kept my 3080ti to keep costs reasonable.
4K performance got a big boost, my 2017 CPU had been limiting me for too long.
This good improvement inspired me to revisit VR and my Reverb G2.
I spent the last 3 nights reading this forum, watching hours of youtube guides, trying out the recommended tools and settings.
Eventually, I ended up with a very simple result - for me, not a recommendation for others, since everybody has a different expectation and perception.
(1) I think that the Reverb G2 will never produce a really crisp image due to inherent limitations like the optics etc. I am always stunned when I take the HMD off and see my beautiful 32" 4K screen and all the details.
(2) I realized that motion reprojection is not delivering better quality or smoothness in motion for me. I focused on hitting the 30fps in dense cities and bad weather for much too long (ended up with a sweet spot at 70% in OXRTK, with FFR, working consistently well with HIGH-END settings).
(3) I tested with just what the sim and graphics driver have to offer: DLSS, Sharpening, Depth motion reprojection. I disabled “Use latest OpenXR runtime” and also disabled “custom render scale”, as well as the OpenXR toolkit. Not sure if this takes the OpenXR runtime completely out of the game, but OpenXR toolkit showed 100% GPU headroom, so I guess there’s not much processing going on. While it’s a fascinating piece of software, every combination of settings was a compromise and all the testing kept me away from flying for days now.
My result: Using the Piper Arrow from Just Flight, I have 40-60fps depending on weather and scenery. The image is as sharp/blurry as with all the other settings and tools.
Currently, I am using
DX12
DLSS-Performance
AMD FidelityFX Sharpening: 200
Reprojection Mode: Depth
World Scale: 100
Quality settings slightly reduced from Ultra
TLOD: 200
OLOD: 200
Not to mention the swift switching forth and back between VR and 2D with no glitches so far.
I think I am at the end of my research for now and will start enjoying some VFR flights now.
And then, the next stop is the Fenix in VR.
Happy flying, Sailando.
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As MSFS is native OpenXR title, you are still using OpenXR with G2, even if you don’t use OpenXR Toolkit. OpenXR Toolkit just provides some capabilities which are otherwise not available (color and contrast manipulation, foveated rendering, VR FPS counter and more).
Thanks for the clarification.
Does unchecking “Use latest preview runtime” then means switching to some “old” “release” runtime?
Oh, and I’ve been tinkering with all settings in OXRTK, as I said, an impressive piece of software.
And I stand corrected just an hour later.
Someone mentioned going “to 260%” OXR resolution. I guess he is referring to “override resolution”. I gave this one a try, carefully, it’s still a 3080ti, eventually.
Went up by 1/3, a bit over 4100, added CAS, everything still with my settings above (except for the sharpening), 100% scaling in OXR Tools, no MR.
And now, for the first time, I see something that is really sharper than before. FPS are down to 35, but bearable.
Unfortunately, if I try to lock 30fps for MR, I fall below 20.
Maybe this is the path forward for me.
cheers, Sailando
I would recommend upgrading the GPU, thats super important for high res VR. Then run DLSS Quality or Balanced and override resolution to something like 4600xXXXX or more using OXRTK. Don’t go above terrain LOD 100. Cap your fps to 45 using Rivatuner and ensure (using whatever settings) that you get a solid 45 at all times (maybe outside of the heavy cities a least). Oh and I would turn all reprojection off.
That’s the short version of how I got the most out of the G2 before moving on from it. Amazing headset for its time but once you see pancake or aspheric lenses you can’t go back!
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Thanks, will move that direction. But before buying the inevitable 4090, I will enjoy the progress I am seeing so far. Moved one notch up to DLSS-Balanced and getting 50fps, no MR. Smooth and clear.
Also gave it a try at 160% and getting >30fps in scattered clouds - but only outside of Berlin. Promising.
cheers, Sailando
Cool. It may sound counterintuitive, but 45fps locked is better (smoother overall, at 90hz at least) than 50 because the frames are more evenly spaced. Plus it gives you some headroom to even out the fluctuations.
Quick update: bought a Quest 3 this week. Night and day. As you said: pancake lenses make a huge difference. Combined with Virtual Desktop, which brings all the settings I need (and its own OXR runtime). High clarity, smoothest flying even in highest VD setting. Can even fly the Fenix with it.
Great enhancement, fell in love with VR again.
cheers, Jörg
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Once you get a 4090, you will be even more blown away. And then quickly be wanting a 5090. 
Although a 4090 is a good pairing with the Q3. Something like the Pimax Crystal could really use a bit more than what currently exists.
OK then I set something very very wrong. When I disable openXR Toolkit, i get a slideshow. FPS become ultralow.
Pimax 8kx, 7900x3d,4090, DLSS quality, mostly on ultra settings.
Would appreciate any advice 
My good experience is coming from using a Quest 3 with Virtual Desktop, which comes with their own OpenXR runtime. Before, it was the HP headset with/without the OXRT.
I cannot speak for the Crystal, but the fact that disabling OpenXR Toolkit gives you a slide show seems like a strong indicator to keep it switched on.
Sure, I really would like to know why its such an Slideshow. If openXR Toolkit becomes unusable (its not longer supported), I’ll becomes a major problem 
I’ve found using OprnXR Toolkit no longer necessary with either my Q3 or QPro using my i913900k/rtx4090/32Gb 6400ram PC. Makes me a little worried about headsets that rely on OpenXR Toolkit, since this is no longer given any further development, and/or maybe any further support.
As long as you have some reasonable settings in your OpenXR runtime in Windows, it should also work pretty well. The OXR toolkit gives you some extra tweaks, but with a 4090, you should not need a lot of these, maybe some visual improvements like colors.
Windows still has the OpenXR runtime and one can still download and use OXRTK. Just getting no further updates does not mean it does not work anymore. And as it was possible to create a new runtime for Virtual Desktop, someone could create a new runtime for WMR, if required at all. I would not be worried now. Better have fun flying
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As it was explained by the developer of OpenXR Toolkit and also a Microsoft employee, it is highly unlikely (or even impossible) to implement a replacement for the WMR, due to the deep integration with Windows it requires.
so, really nobody tried ALVR?