Quest 2 performance - SteamVR vs OculusVR OpenXR... Why does SteamVR perform better?

User Support Hub Virtual Reality (VR)
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I tried more SteamVR wireless vs OculusVR with link… (3070/3700x/32gb)

SteamVR works much better. On high VD preset + 90fps, Simulator graphics reset graphics to default.

Was able to do a flight in Tokyo, STABLE 30+fps, even when landing, just a few random stutters which I am sure are due to my CPU being the limiting factor here.

I tried to recreate the same scenario in oculusVR via link - I could not achieve the same result no matter which setting (1,5/1,6/1,7) I used. Same graphics to default for simulator - barely able to reach 30fps, reprojection lagging behind… more latency… Landing stuttering, etc.

I think the only thing that helped with oculus was setting FOV via tray tool to 0,8/0,8. That did increase performance to similar to what I achieved via VD/SteamVR… But GPU is getting so much latency it is crazy in Oculus runtime, sometimes it is so unstable that 30fps stable just starts dropping between 20-30fps randomly and even sometimes just goes into full stutter mode, as if something is clogging up GPU usage and just interrupting it from working correctly.

I think the visual difference between link and VD does exist, but it is minimal.

So, for my 3700x and 3070, right now, VD method works better… Wireless method works better than wired. Truly 2021 we live in. But I think there’s just something wrong with MSFS2020 running via Oculus VR OpenXR solution.

Am I the only one who noticed this? I really feel like I wasted a good 2 days trying to find how to make it work with link, but it just works with SteamVR.

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I too agree and have a thread where I posted switching from LINK to VD made all the difference to me in having more time to fly than trying to sort out stuttering issues via LINK. At times my PC complained I was using a 2.0 USB connection rather than the 3.0 and I had to unplug and plug back in the LNK cable to get it to see a 3.0 connection again. Very unreliable for me at least an my experience.

With wireless VD, it is so stable and the quality was just as good when I was getting the LINK to work.

Not to mention not having to fell that cable on teh left side of my face.

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Ryzen 3800x
RTX 2070s
Quest 2 (72Hz 1.2)

With Link and OpenXR I was mostly stutter free as long as I didn’t fly any planes with glass instrument panels (screens). Flying any of the larger planes made the world very jittery and unplayable.

I recently tried VD and SteamVR, but I was getting constant stutter no matter which plane I few. I was using the VD Medium settings that I use for most other games. I switched back to Link, but kept using the Steam VR XR and although my general performance was lower, the flying was smooth for ALL planes (even better than when I was using Oculus OpenXR). And since the release of Steam VR Beta 1.16.2, it has only gotten better. I can now up my in-game settings with OTT set to 30Hz and it is quite smooth. There is the occasional warped image if I move my head fast, but it’ll do for now. I actually spent the last two days flying and trying out all the other aircraft that I couldn’t fly before due to performance issues instead of constantly tweaking settings. It was refreshing.

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What’s exactly the difference between SteamVR vs OculusVR vs OpenXR ?

By the way, keep in mind that not everyone is capable of running Virtual Desktop. I’ve tried and it was totally unusable due to my poor wireless system.

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OpenXR is just what MSFS2020 runs on.

Oculus VR implementation Of it = Oculus XR
SteamVR implementation = Steam VR XR
Windows Mixed reality = WMR OpenXR

These are the 3 possible runtimes. You can run SteamVR even via Windows headsets and same goes for Oculus headsets.

As far as I know, you cannot run WMR via non WMR headsets.

That is the difference. The developers of Oculus provide the OpenXR runtime for Oculus.

SteamVR developers provide it for their VR users (Index, etc).

WMR provides it for all different brands of WMR headsets.

And yes, I am aware not everyone can run VD, due to wireless. But I tried so much via the link cable and I cannot get it as smooth as SteamVR. Via Link, I have more instability and graphical bugs.

Via SteamVR, they are mostly the same bugs that appear in flatscreen version of MSFS2020. Again, High preset + default MSFS2020 settings = 30 fps even in New York, Tokyo, etc. I could fly pretty low and it was still playable.

No crashes, no graphical glitches. Occasional stutters due to CPU lagging behind I think. Too bad MSFS2020 is limited by main thread performance. Otherwise my cpu would provide more frames for the GPU I imagine. It is only 20% cpu and 80% gpu utilization, wish it would use more of my system.

But for Link, I couldn’t have 30 fps stable unless I reduced the resolution. Even then, graphical artifacts and just weird stuttering in general did not allow me to do the same things as I could in SteamVR.

I am just wondering if it is a problem with my system/Link cable/drivers/configuration.

Or if Link just behaves like this due to OpenXR Oculus implementation (software itself).

Either way, I am content with Wireless Quest 2. But I imagine the experience is better for MSFS2020 via a dedicated, wired PCVR headset.

Perhaps rift S users could chime in. Do they notice any of my mentioned bugs? Maybe this is exclusive to link, or I may even have a bad cable. Or maybe this is just an oculus software problem… Who knows?

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Did you select the runtime by running e.g. from Oculus software or from Steam VR? If you run steam vr from oculus software and then you select the game, which runtime does it use?

I had the Rift S for a couple of week before getting the Quest 2 and then refunding it. Generally the rift was easier to run, but i did not noticed performances difference, maybe i should have tested it more intensely. What i mostly noticed that made me sticking with the Quest is that the resolution was much more better. However, for the sake of the performances i have to keep it just slightly above the Rift resolution. (I have a 1080 Ti + 32GB RAM + Ryzen 3600)

Overall i’m not really happy with MSFS VR implementation, it is pretty tiring due to low performances and usually when flying you need to consult other tools. If it will manage to keep at least 40-45 fps i will be happier and it will be much more enjoinable.

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The runtime has to be changed via a registry key, ultimately. There is a one-way button in steamVR that will set it to steamVR’s openXR if it’s not already set. But all it’s doing is changing the registry key that points to the chosen openXR ‘flavor.’

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With Link and MSFS, as well as X-Plane, there is some kind of frame timing bug that causes jittering and instability, at least on my system. Setting the graphics driver’s v-sync option to ‘Fast’ either fixes it or at least helps (even though v-sync settings should not make any difference for a vr runtime, which is supposed to override all of that). For both of these apps, the issue is not present when running through steamVR, for some perplexing reason. However, steamVR does still take away some performance headroom due to being an extra layer running, so it’s a win in some ways and a loss in others.

I made a post about the frametiming issue here with a video showing the framerate effects via the performance overlay graphs. You can do the same thing in MSFS and see the same result in its menu screens – a frame rate that will not go up to the native refresh rate regardless of available headroom, until v-sync is set to ‘fast’:

https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/psa-fix-found-for-oculus-link-quest-frame-sync-stutters-and-asw-issues/340217/18

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Yeah, I have seen your post, and I did think we are talking about the same issue. But you mentioned the extra steamVR layer… And yet, I have more fps and more stable fps when using SteamVR. I think there’s something inherently wrong in how oculus implements motion reprojection or something. But in general, I do not understand how the performance is worse. I am able to enjoy an almost completely smooth flight even when going near the ground in tokyo/new york on steamVR, but it stutters way too much on Oculus. So, yeah…

I would like to be able to use the link cable as smoothly, because in the end, I use VD gaming in a different room which is bigger and has the router (no cable VR is amazing) but for flying I don’t mind the cable. Oh well, it doesn’t matter anymore, since I found the golden standard I can go by in SteamVR. I’ll have to sacrifice a bit of visual fidelity but that’s not an issue for a smooth experience with little to no stutters.

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Yes, like I said, the issue I mentioned with unstable frame sync is also fixed by forcing either of these apps to run through steamVR. Seems to have the same effect as running the native Oculus runtime with v-sync set to fast. And yes, when things are sync’d, you do recover a bit of perf headroom, so I’m not surprised that the end result is things still being better in steamVR.

All that said – what I wrote applies to WIRED connections used with Oculus and SteamVR runtimes. If you’re using Virtual Desktop and steamVR, it has its own method of frame capture which can’t be compared to either of these wired options, and doesn’t suffer some of the same issues, either. For example, if you try your wired Link connection and run the SteamVR runtime, you will see a nasty stretching-image perspective distortion when you turn your head. The same thing is not present when running VD wirelessly and using SteamVR.

Basically, there are multiple issues here, and the huge number of ways you can run MSFS via the Oculus Quest 2 is adding to a lot of noise and confusion about what the real problems are, and how to solve them. At their core, the issue is probably with the openXR runtimes themselves, because X-Plane and MSFS are the only two apps I own that have all these issues over Link. Everything else runs fine.

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Yeah that’s unfortunate. After almost a week of pure test flights over Tokyo, New York, some airliner test landings etc. I basically came to similar conclusions.

Pity. I did buy this headset for PCVR, because of the high res panel, but it seems for msfs2020 which is the main reason I wanted VR, the Q2 isn’t THAT good.

It does work well via VD though. No need to play with motion smoothing if 30fps is enough via SteamVR. Although to be fair, I am not 100% sure how to configure it properly as well. I would love to try 30 fps motion smoothing but I understand you need some headroom for that. I do see my GPU is only like 80% utilized and CPU 20%. How would I go about setting up motion smoothing, for either steamVR or Oculus? If I am able to lock 30+ frames depending on altitude/location, I can try it right? It won’t cause insane flickers and weird artifacts if set up properly? Because all the times that I did try the option it was just so bad compared to it turned off due to those weird graphical glitches.

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Is steamVR only an option for steam FS2020 users? Is there a way to run the MSStore version via steamVR?

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I think you have to edit something in the Registry. Have a search on this forum for a guide.

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You can use steam XR even though having MS store.I found it too much stutter and lag. Not sure if having steam on an external HDD not an Ssd was a problem? But other steam VR games work ok.They are not as intensive as MSFS.

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Interesting…for me it’s the other way around…

5600x
3080
Quest 2

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Virtual Desktop is smoother for me, too. But I get occasional blasts of stutters.

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Hi - when you moved from the Link method to the VD method did you have to edit the registry back to the default value it was?
I’ve had Link working ok and now I’m trying VD. But when I ctrl+tab it doesn’t go 3D in the hesdset. MSFS splits into left/right eye views but the quest 2 doesn’t combine into 3D.
Thanks

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Yup, you have update Registry.
Oculus for Link
SteamVR for Virtual Desktop.

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When I installed Steam Vr and opted into the Beta it changed the registry on its own. I’m sure though you can manually change the registry but try to reinstall the SteamVr and opt into the Beta if not working for you.

Found this instructions from VIVE but is the same instructions for Quest 2

  1. From your computer, open the Steam app.

  2. On the left panel, click the drop-down menu and select Tools.

  3. Right-click SteamVR, and then and select Properties.

  4. Go to the Betas tab.

  5. In the Select the beta you would like to opt into drop-down list, select beta - SteamVR Beta Update.

  6. Close the window, and then wait for SteamVR to finish updating.

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