So yesterday I got a 4090 and pico 4. I already have a g2 but wanted to try the pico 4.
It was a bit of a faff working out how to get it running with virtual desktop and then steam vr and of course pico’s own settings.
I set it at 150% render in VD (I think) and also had openxr running with FSR mode. The msfs developer mode said I was getting like 10-15 fps but the VD said 60-70fps. I had settings on high.
It was smooth (but with a few stutters here and there).
The image was good but I felt it looked a bit ‘pixilated’ in the scenery, just not quite crisp and clear
I also felt that the pico had a decent sweet spot but certainly not as good as I expected.
Can anyone share their settings using a similar setup? I think maybe I had too many things running and it created this ‘look’.
This seems not right: 10-15 FPS with a 4090? It seems there is something else holding back your system …
I am running the Pico 4 with my 3090 (MSI SUPRIM X, factory overclocked): VD setting is Ultra (~3300x3300pixel per eye), DLSS balanced (in sim setting), renderscale=100% (in sim setting), all other settings on Ultra, TLOD=200, OLOD=Max, Glasscockpit refreshrate=medium, traffic for all classes 100%, no special openxr or steamvr setting (both running in the background, since I have the MSFS steam version)
The insim FPS counter is between 25-30FPS, using the VD integarted asynchronous space warp, to achieve >70FPS on the PICO, PICO standard framerate was set to 90 (default setting is 72, make shure to change taht to).
The expirience is smooth. Image quality was a little bit blurry, I think due to the DLSS bug (when using DLSS in 2D mode the image is also blurry), but overall I do like the PICO in combination with MSFS and my system.
The other system components are i9-9900k, 64GB @ 3766MT/s, nvme SSD (2TB), latest Windows 10 build.
In 2D mode I run a 32:9 (5120x1440) panel with no DLSS (using TAA), renderscale also 100%, all Ultra, TLOD=400, with ~30FPS @ dense airports and ~50FPS in the backcountry/average populated areas (with scattered clouds).
Thanks for this. Yeah I have been getting some very odd readings from the in game fps counter. I have a 12900k and I am constantly cpu limited (it says). It’s a new machine so I would love to know what’s going on there.
I think I did have open xr running as well but I didn’t have tlod that high because I read that was a cpu hog and a didn’t want to cause more issues there.
I also didn’t change it to 90hz because I thought 72 would be more than enough frames.
I would love to get those numbers. Even in 2d it won’t get that high especially if I run fsltl!! Winding me up a bit to be honest.
That being said, when I switch to Microsoft game bar it showed I was getting 85 fps when the in game fps said 30!
Can some more folks comment about the FOV of the pico4? With its pancake lenses I see some people say it is an improvement over the G2 … do fellow flight simmers agree?
I got all the ‘p’ cores running over 4.5ghz, and the ‘e’ cores were less. Seems to be ok. The sim was still CPU limited but the experience seemed to be smooth. Smoother than the FPS it was telling me in MSFS for sure!
So it ‘seems’ to me that it might be worth not paying too much attention to the MSFS stats and instead find what actual stats you are getting for the headset.
That being said, when I tried it last night, the latency in steam VR was completely unuseable! It was absolutely perfect in VD and anything there, but as soon as I opened steam VR it was barely running and just terrible, so I didnt even try the Pico out last night.
I dont know if this is a one off, but if the setup is temperamental, I dont know if I can chance that on a regular basis, even if it does give better results than the G2
I did use that the other night with the Pico and that was the thing, the results on VD were good, but the in game fps was really low. So I assume that VD and Open XR were doing a job.
With the G2 last night, I disabled the Open XR and just used the OpenXR for WMR and set scaling to 160 and then used in game settings and it was pretty smooth, but again, very different FPS readings in game to anything out of the game. I assume because of the motion reprojection and DLSS that was being used.
Yes, I leave the open XR and steam VR settings untouched. The super sampling is done via the virtual desktop setting (MSFS takes the render resolution from there). In MSFS render scaling is thus 100%.
In virtual desktop, the resolution setting is on ultra (about 3300x3300 pixel per eye) and the asynchronous space warp is active —> this gives me smooth framerates with my rig (3090, i9-9900k) @ Ultra MSFS settings (except glass cockpit refresh rate is medium and TLOD is 200).
Interesting thanks. I got down a bit of a rabbit hole with having the space warp turned on in VD AND then 150% render in steam vr AND then fsr st 160% in openxr and it just was not looking great and then msfs scale at 150 using taa! But I think I have too many things trying to do things.
I have a 4090 so will try this out with godlike mode and see how I get on!
Perhaps dlaa even if I can get away with that setting instead of dlss….
I wouldn’t use FSR, this always looks not as good as DLSS. For NVIDIA cards always go with DLSS, never use FSR.
Yes your settings seem to be all over the place. I would suggest to just go with the god like setting in VD and keep the MSFS settings as 100% and use DLSS if the framerate is not sufficent, otherwise stick to TAA (since the DLSS bug is still not fixed an thus makes the glass cockpit elements blurry). But don’t go below “balanced” since it will deteriate the imge quality to much.
I have a 4090 coupled to a 5800X3D and was faffing about trying to get my Pico 4 VD to work via USB link cable in VD, but it kept dropping out back to my crummy 2.4GHZ main modem/router (using the hidden Android developer options in the Pico 4, as others have done). When the tethered link worked the image quality and performance seemed pretty good. However, I bought an Asus WIFI 6 router to see how I got on untethered and I just can’t get the sharpness I need, especially compared to my G2 which I have running at 160% scaling in OpenXR making it way sharper than it was before I got my 4090.
I have DLSS set to Quality and sim settings mostly ultra, with a few on high. With that the instrument panel on say the C172 Garmin is unreadable without zooming in and the scenery lacks clarity, quite blurry in fact. In the G2’s sweet spot by comparison they are both really sharp.
As I often like to fly low and slow in biplanes enjoying the scenery, this is deal breaker for me. Same with choppers, as I can’t read the instrument panel even in God Mode with VD. Maybe I’m doing something wrong, as bumping Steam VR scaling seems to have no effect even using Steam’s MSFS options. Others have said the Pico 4 rivals the G2 with a 4090 and God Mode and the better lenses makes up for video compression and a “slight” lack of clarity, but I don’t see that at all (apart from the wider FOV and much larger sweet spot of course, which I do like).
@HugeMercury163
So are you setting for “God Mode” in Virtual Desktop (don’t use a cable) and are getting it to measure at least 1Gbps of network transfer speed even though you will be setting it to 150Mbps of actual transfer in the Virtual Desktop settings? What readings are you getting on the Virtual Desktop overlap? Also, are you using a 5Ghz mode on the router and the Pico as well as a 80Mhz width? In Steam VR, make sure that you set up for a resolution of 3500x3500 or so.
I get 1,200Mbs max from the router in 5 GHz mode (I have 2.4GHz set to off). However, even though the router is less that two feet from my headset, it can dip to 800-900Mbs randomly, despite there being no other 5 GHz routers near my house, according to may phone’s scanning app. I have the Pico 4 and VD both using the 5GHz band and 150 Mbs set for transfer, but have not made sure I’m using 80MHz bandwidth, perhaps that’s the problem? I’ve tried various settings on Steam VR around 3500*3500 even over 4,000 or so.
Edit. Just logged onto my 5GHz router and changed bandwidth from 20/40/80 to always be 80MHz. I’ll see if that helps.
Tried everything and I’m afraid the Pico 4 is definitely not for me in MSFS. It’s a mess compared to the G2 at 160% oversampling. Distant houses in photogrammetry areas look terrible and the fine detail and sharpness is gone closer up, with added compression noise. The instruments and switch labels are noticeably blurry, whereas with the G2 everything is pin sharp, albeit only in a small area. Plus the battery life is not great.
I’m used to wearing multifocal glasses, which also have a sweat spot, so it’s not as big a deal for me to have my head on a swivel with the G2.
The G2 will do for me now until I can get something a lot better. Hopefully the Pimax Crystal will live up to the hype, or who knows? Maybe even HP will release a higher res G3 with pancake lenses. Things are changing fast in the VR headset scene.
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