Having flown in 2d for many years I would like to try VR just to see what it is like. System is a 10700F with 3090, 32mb ram , SSD.
Having read and watched many reviews, i am now totally undecided which would work best with this system, wired , wireless, pancake lenses … I primarily fly tubeliners, fenix, pdmg in particular .
I am aware there are some very top end headsets, but as this is really for ‘just to see purposes’ I would like to keep to a sensible budget, pico 4 (liked the idea of this due to small size, but is a 4 series card required ?), meta 2/3 ,reverb…
Any advice would be gratefully received .
I was in the same boat as you so opted for a Pico 4. I initially paired this with a 3090 and got impressive performance using Virtual Desktop for a wireless connection. I have since upgraded to a 4090 but that was after being bitten by the VR bug. I’m still on the Pico 4 for now as I don’t think the current crop of higher end headsets offer enough value for money as they all have their foibles and the Pico 4 is fantastic value for money imho.
If you go for the Pico 4 and use Virtual Desktop, the 3090 will run the headset on Ultra preset and give you 36fps so you can set the headset to 72Hz and enable SSW (Motion Reprojection) in Virtual Desktop giving you smooth 72fps experience in the sim. This was before the recent VXDR update for Virtual Desktop providing a little extra performance and without any fixed foveated rendering. I use both of these now and turn off SSW with the 4090.
The only real add on that I would recommend for the Pico 4 is a AMVR facial interface for improved comfort and a closer fit giving a slight wider FOV over the default facial interface that ships with the Pico 4. The default straps for me are comfortable enough.
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Thank you for the information. In your experience does it really not matter whether it is a wireless or wired connection with the PIco 4 . I think i have read too much about DP connections and this is why I have not got any further in my choice. Due to owning an alienware desktop , i cannot change to a 4090 without changing the complete system so need something that works with what i have at present so your information is good news.
Forgot to mention, I do not have the best internet connection due to location , not sure if this makes a difference or if this can be overcome by connecting with USB C ?
If you just want to try if VR is for you you may opt for used HP Reverb G2. Production is discontinued, so you can also catch some sale price for a new one. Great clarity but only in the small sweet spot.
I was using it for 2 years before I upgraded to Pimax Crystal. Since I donned the G2 for the first time I never returned to 2D.
If you will be bitten by the VR bug, you may then consider upgrading to 4090 and higher end headset, like Crystal or some new models coming to the market.
I bought a Pico 4 to “try out” and basically I’m very happy with it. My 4070 GPU together with VDXR handles it very well.
But the only gripe I have is that no matter what settings I use I cannot get a sharp display anything like the 2D picture. As such flying airliners can be a bit of a challenge as some of the screens, in particular the MCDU, are difficult to read. I wear glasses and invested in prescription lenses for the Pico but it hasn’t made any difference. I enjoy flying different aircraft types but in airliners I tend not to use VR.
But I understand it is not just the Pico that has this problem, the reviews I’ve read suggest that the latest Quest 3 is no better and even the (expensive) top-line headsets perform no better unless allied with a 4090 GPU and a high spec CPU.
I’m hoping that further software advances will help. Meanwhile I’d just say don’t have too high expectations with your existing equipment. That said the Pico, and probably the Quest 3, are very good and if you can’t afford a rig upgrade are at least worth a go. If you buy through Amazon you can always return it within a week or two.
I’ve never tried the wired connection for the Pico 4 as I’m fortunate to get a great wireless signal from my router and my desktop is connected to the router via Ethernet. I’ve read mixed reports on a USB C connection and the general recommendation is to go wireless using Virtual Desktop app to handle the connection for the Pico 4.
When you say Internet connection, are you referring to the actual Internet connection/speed or are you referring to your wireless connection to the router? The Internet connection has no impact on the streaming quality to the Pico 4.
Yes, getting confused there. My actual wireless connection should be fine . Thanks again
Reverb G2 owner, as much as I enjoyed this headset they are inherently unreliable, go with a Quest 3 or Pico 4 with Virtual Desktop as advised above. I’m now running a Quest 3 (with a 4090) and visuals are better, my settings are higher, performance is up (Virtual Desktop with OpenXR) and my CTD are no more.
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For your system I’d say that the Pico 4 wireless will give you the best VR experience for your buck, not only for MSFS but also VR experiences in general. While not the best for airliners, it does at least have usable pass through so you can see your keyboard and other peripherals. Enough to give you a good taste of VR and maybe move on to a better system if you get the VR bug.
I own a Vive Pro 2 that I bought used, so it was not that expensive. It has a wireless option (there are certain limits, though). It is not the most common headset for MSFS but features high resolution, large FOV and great colors. With a 3090 it should work well. Maybe something worth considering.
(I chose it because I use it professionally with some CAD software, where VP2 is one of the most common headsets)
Quest 3 here from Valve Index. Use $20 Virtual Desktop app and get pretty clear views, 50-70FPS at Ultra settings with a 4080/7950x3D. Quest 3 big improvement over Index - nice value IMHO.
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Thank you to you all for the advice. I finally bought a pico 4 (black friday deal )!. I must say, why have I not tried this before !! The level of immersion I almost could not believe .
I have one more question for those in the know . I am using Virtual Desktop ,using the recently released VDXR. The only area I’m a little confused on is were before resolutions could be increased using steamvr (many youtube videos), how is this now done ? I have openxr toolkit also installed, is this done through here ? I am very pleased with my initial experience of the pico, but I would like to see if the clarity could just be increased a little, just not sure if steamvr / openxr should be used as well as VD with VDXR or if all adjustments are just made through virtual desktop and in-sim now. Thank you in advance , sorry if this makes no sense !!
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Welcome 
Select Ultra/Godlike in VD and then go to the sim to increase or decrease resolution. That’s what I do with my 6800XT, usually I use Ultra and then adjust 85-100% in sim, based on conditions(ground, cruise level…).
You can also use the toolkit to override the resolution.
I’m doing everything you are as regards VDXR etc and following tips and advice I appear to have reached the limit of resolution my system can handle. I too would like just a bit better sharpness in the cockpit but it seems my 4070 isn’t up to it. I did once get the resolution to be nice and sharp - but then spent 10 minutes waiting for the sim to process the change and i was down to about 1 frame every 10 seconds!
A new system with RTX4090 isn’t financially attainable for me currently so I’ll just have to be satisfied with what I’ve got. Managing a smooth 30fps which is more important
Enjoy!
Yes, in exactly the same position, not really wanting to purchase a new system with a 4090 right now. As long as i am doing all that can be done , I’m happy with what I have for now . as you say with a steady 35-40 fps.
i read the VRAM is an issue, not the the lack of performance of the 4070. maybe a 3090 with more vram does the job in exchange
(i have a 4090, though)
Just a little more advice needed !. I
have now had a week to play around with the pico 4 and have better results than I had expected . Having a 3090 not a 4090 i realise some compromises have to be made. At present I am running it with virtual desktop, godlike, with most settings at medium apart from texture resolution which is set to high, giving a 35-38fps
Three questions. I have very clear instruments, but the outside landscape is a little blurry , not awful, but noticeable, weirdly when looking through the side window it always looks clearer (that might be my imagination however) Is there a way to crisp up the landscape ? or am i just expecting too much. I have tried upping the resolution a little (120-130%) but that seems to make little difference apart from lowering fps.
Secondly, what does everybody set shadows, ambient occlusion , raymarched reflections too or should they be left off.
Lastly, there are so many sharpening’s available I’m not sure which should be on or off. At present VD is 75% and OXRT is set to CAS at 70% and in-sim sharpening at 150 . No idea if these settings make a massive difference or not.
Thanks in advance .
Are you using TAA or DLSS?
The outside blur is hard to get round. What codec and bitrate are you using? The compression of the video when streaming does degrade the scenery when looking out to the distance.
You can leave the render resolution in sim at 100% and use the override resolution option in OpenXR Toolkit to change the resolution. Definitely make sure SteamVR is not being utilised or even running in the background - it’n no longer needed thanks to VDXR option in Virtual Desktop and not using it will help with performance. Thanks to the streaming compression, which affects all wireless headsets, you need to use a big bump in resolution (Supersampling) to get any discernible improvement in definition and clarity. That will really task your 3090.
For sharpening, this is down to personal preference but I see a lot of people overdoing this. Just to clarify, sharpening is essentially giving the impression of edge clarity but you aren’t really adding much in the way of detail/resolution, just refining what is already there. For me, it is a case of less is more and too much sharpening can lead to other artefacts such as shimmering on edges. You ideally also want to do this as late in the pipeline as possible. I would turn sharpening down to 0 in the sim and compare and then possibly drop the OpenXR Toolkit sharpening down a bit as well.
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^^^ THIS ^^^
I recommend to always use only ONE sharpening function in your stack. I use the one in VD and leave sharpening in MSFS and OXR Toolkit disabled.
I have tried both TAA and DLSS. TAA has the edge using 264+ or HVEC10 bit . I have tried different bitrates but have left at 150 at present.
I am not using steam in anyway just VDXR through virtual desktop . I will try what you said reference sharpening . Thank you for your reply .
So to clarify, leave in-sim resolution at 100% then use overide setting In VD to increase the resolution . I was a little unsure what to set this too , as it seems to go up to about 8000, and im guessing then i need to use DLSS to reduce ?