So my 2013 PC is not able to run MSFS and I’m buying a new rig to enjoy the experience.
I am wondering if I should buy a 4K screen or a Reverb G2, regardless of price. Is VR worth the money? Is it uncomfortable to wear the headset after a long flight? Also I assume in VR I will have to lower the graphics a bit which could be somewhat disappointing.
My rig:
i9 10900k
EVGA RTX 3080
Corsair Vengeance 3200 32GB 2x16
2TB SSD
Thanks!!!
Only you are going to be able to say if VR is worth it or not. This is a very personal opinion that varies from individual to individual. Image quality will indeed be better on the 4k screen, but immersion will be better in VR. My advice would be try a G2 if you can. Buy one and make sure there’s a decent return policy. Because it could very well be amazing, but it’s definitely not for everyone.
I would say it depends on what you do. If you prefer IFR flying on Vatsim, with charts, pop out panels, external apps, note taking etc. an additional screen is a better choice. On the other hand if you prefer small GA VFR flying the immersion factor of a headset is unbeatable, it’s another league. Everything is 3D, you really feel like you’re inside the airplane + head tracking is 1-1 with head movement.
But then again, a reasonable headset costs almost 2x what a 43’’ 4k screen does, so it’s not really comparable. And that’s not taking into consideration the even higher hardware requirements. I’m on a 2080Ti and 5900x and it’s close to the bare minimum for VR in MSFS.
@lkowgli, how do you figure? My G2 headset, arguably one of the best HMDs presently available, was $600 plus tax, shipping, etc, etc. There is no way I could get a 43" 4k display for $300, if I could, I probably would have already bought 2 of them. My 32" 1440p display (granted, with good specs, but you don’t want to cheap out on a display), was $500-something.
I don’t know where you’re from but I paid ~850 USD (incl. tax) for my G2 and ~600 USD (incl. tax) for my LG 43UD79-B screen. Bought the screen 2 or 3 years ago. Figured they have to be cheaper by now.
You should try VR and then decide. I do not know if you can buy reverb G2 with right of return. Here I can buy it and try it 30 days before final decision. Oculus offer that for Quest 2.
I tried VR and cannot return 4K with trackIr. VR is so much better even on my machine (ryzen 3800x+1080Ti).
Definitely go for the 4K screen. VR is amazing and all that but it would de be seen as a later investment for me if I was in your position. Despite the fact that VR is way more immersive there’s a lot of major advantages to enjoying the sim on a flat display.
Plus, VR still has a lot of issues currently. Get your 4K monitor now and save up for a VR headset. By the time you get one VR in the sim will hopefully be performing a lot better than it currently is.
@lkowgli, that model appears to be discontinued, but the one Amazon suggested as a replacement (which can be found here) is just a few bucks short of $600 USD. And with just a cursory look at it, the following issues jump out at me:
So, it’s about the same price as a G2, possibly with some significant downsides depending on your individual needs. In case you care or it’s relevant, I got a Samsung C32HG70 32", 1440p, 144Hz, 1ms G2G, with an 1800R curvature for $567.09 including tax, shipping, etc. (USD).
And if you paid $850 USD for a G2, someone screwed you, probably your very own government.
Anyway, to conclude a mostly irrelevant post that I spent far too much time researching, there’s no way you can get a good 43" 4k monitor for half the cost of a G2. I do congratulate for getting a G2 despite the costs, as it’s an awesome product, and I’m loving mine. But if you’re one of those from a high-tax European country who is happy with what you pay in taxes, congrats, because it appears those taxes just cost you over $200 USD on a single purchase.
@MrPhoenix1975, that’s bloody amazing!!
But the downsides compared to VR is that you’ve only got the one cockpit, it doesn’t appear that you have 360° views (though with my disability having me stuck in a bed, neither do I lol… More like from my 8 O’Clock to my 4 O’Clock by twisting my head and body as far as I am capable of doing), and boy, I don’t even wanna know what it cost! (Actually I kinda do, not that I’m going to rush out an buy one, but that is one of my favorite planes in the sim…)
I wouldn’t say no if someone offered to buy me one for free, but I’m not going to get that in lieu of VR either, even if it is free! That’s beautiful!!
If it’s regardless of price, get both 
You seem to have a good idea of the pros and cons … With that rig, 4K will be beautiful; VR good but with some graphics quality compromise as you say. And yes - I fly VR pretty well all the time, but do like to take the headset off for some of the time on longer flights (although I find the G2 much more comfortable than I was expecting).
VR is just sooo immersive it’s hard to go back despite the drawbacks.
Agree, it depends on the type of flying you like to do. For me, I took a VR flight last night in the open air biplane (Carenado WYMF5) from LOWI Innsbruck to LOIR Reutte-Höfen Airport through the Alps. I could almost feel the wind in my hair (what little is left) while viewing the beautiful 360 degree panorama of mountains, valleys, lakes, streams, and communities. After landing on the grass field in Reutte-Höfen next to a small river, I shut down my engine and was surprised to continue to enjoy the VR experience on the ground looking at the local buildings, watching the grass and leaves slowly sway in the breeze, and actually listen to the birdsong all around me. Absolutely perfect way to end a busy work day! For me VR is the way to go even with a marginal rig (CPU- Intel i7 8700K, GPU- ASUS GTX 1070 Ti, RAM- 32GB) and the amazing G2.
You’re probably right, but Amazon is also not the only source. I know how much I paid for it. Mine has DP and 3 HDMI, it also has a VESA mount but you can only mount it on a wall due to it’s weight. Yes, it’s only 60Hz but at the time there was nothing with higher refresh rates and this size. Even now it’s crazy expensive. I use it for work 95% of the time and I wish I had 60 frames in MSFS, so it doesn’t really matter anyway.
Anyhow I would recommend such a size. It’s the minimum if you want to use 4k without scaling and it’s great for productivity. I also have 2 32’’ pivoted screens on the side.
Been flying static simulators for 28 years. Started desktop, then Triple-Head-to-Go, then projection screen.
Now with MSFS I went with 4K 65” main view and built an in-cockpit screen with over 10 panels and peripherals custom installed. But without multi-monitor or full screen support (yet), it’s practically useless.
My son brought over his Quest 2 and I was hooked! I purchased my own ($399ca Best Buy) and the difference blew me away. I’ve flown small GA many times in real life and everything here from the perspective, scale and size to the situational awareness (for flying the circuit and approaches etc…) is almost as real as you can get. I literally get virtigo. I simply cannot go back at all. To me, 2D seems now so flat, like comic books.
FOR SALE; New 65” RCA Smart TV lol! 
You need a VR headset. The VR experience isn’t even comparable to a flat screen. VR puts you in the 3D world with depth perception. In VR you get the sense of the actual size of everything around you and it’s a total game changer. Its basically the holodeck from star trek except you cant see yourself or touch anything.
The only real reason not to use VR is that inorder to really enjoy it its important to have all your controls set up to easily use without looking. If you’re switching from keyboard to mouse to yoke/stick a lot it’s not going to be worth it.
My diy cockpit setup was originally for big screen 4K. Then VR came and changed that somewhat. Don’t need the big screen, but the cockpit module on wheels with 4 bass shakers and controls where they should be for most GA aircraft, it’s unbelievably realistic.
Last night I was descending very steeply with full flaps in VR, then banking very steeply around a large hill by a river to enter the river gorge. I caught myself leaning this way and that in my chair in anticipation of G forces. I had to snap back to reality to avoid tilting myself out of the chair! You do give up quite a bit of resolution but you feel really there as opposed to looking at very purty movie on a flat screen. If I were you, I’d budget yourself and do both in time. It’s not like either is a once in a lifetime purchase. If you have to have someone talk you into getting a VR headset, I’d play it safe and stick with your 4K screen for now. The 4K screen will work right out of the box but the VR headset’s going to be a lot of fiddling around to learn to use it and find the settings that give you both the resolution and smoothness compromises you can live with for now. My own feeling is so much of what we’re seeing at the detail level in MSFS anyway is a fake copy that only mimics reality so seeing it in 4K is not going to improve much on the “imitation of life” aspect of MSFS and also in VR, for that reason, it doesn’t matter right now that you’re not going to be seeing it in 4K sharpness because you’d just see all the “more better” the many things that are oddly synthesized. Will be great if Asobo can continue to improve both VR performance and the representation of the world as we go forward.
That said, I love MSFS and VR and just like Branfurd said, it’s a trip to the holodeck for me, too! Fly out over a cliff and watch the earth drop beneath you! If they’d put hang gliders in MSFS, I’d love to jump out from a Pacific palisade as in Golden Gate Park or La Jolla and see what it’s like in VR, especially when you look down in VR, you ain’t gonna see the floor of your cockpit anymore! And that would give them a good excuse to implement controllers to control the hang glider triangle control frame.
I have almost 1,000 hours logged on Steam on this game. The first 600 were all 2D. Ever since the VR update I haven’t gone back. VR in the Reverb G2 is incredible. You can’t go back once you’ve tried it. I do everything from GA to full A320 vatsim flights. It’s all so good. I’ve had moments where I’ve almost lost my breath due to how intense some moments have gotten. The clouds feel real. Breaking out of the clouds never gets old and is something you’ll always be impressed by. You’ll need a good system to run the more complex planes. I have a 3080 and 10700k and it works great after a few tweaks.
Nice rig, can you share how you did the bass shakers? Are they just speakers or some type of vibrator? I’m building my own rig right now and would like to know how you did it and anything you would have done differently if you were going to do it again. Thanks!
Most of my shaker system came from my old FSX setup. I only needed to replace two smaller “puck” shakers.
It uses a special amplifier which I can hook up 4 speakers or shakers. Technically called tactile transducers. It’s limited to 8 ohms, so 4 transducers wired up in a series-parallel configuration.
I have one large transducer on back of seat, one large one under seat mounted to floor, and two smaller puck shakers on the pedals and yoke.
The intensities can be adjusted on the amp.
I also use SimSounds to enhance and adjust each of dozens of variables.
Check out Parts Express for all your needs!
And with ALL that equipment, I was flying the basic Cessna 152 over Boston tonight (VR), and when I went to click on interior lights with mouse, wham CTD! It was all over like that.
So darn buggy I’m compelled to scratch myself to death!! The 152 has a few mouse click bugs that are serious game-enders. Yet my switch panels work in the 152, but is terrible in the 172. Go figure 
