As of today - Dec 22, 2023 Varjo Base absolutely tanks my MSFS performance to the point it is unusable.
Tried rolling back to the July version, to no avail.
I have been able to isolate it to VB as I completely reinstalled Windows and MSFS and everything was going smoothly until installing Varjo Base and turning on the Aero.
I have zero add-ons installed.
I am able to confirm it is a conflict between MSFS and Varjo Base/Aero because as soon as I exit Varjo Base - MSFS performs wonderfully. Start Varjo Base again and the performance tanks (sub 10 fps).
I have completely lost my hobby until this is fixed or I find a workaround.
Was there an update of Varjo Base after you reinstalled your PC?
I use a Varjo Aero every day with no issues (I did no updates to Varjo Base recently).
Correct me if Iām wrong, but do you need to start Varjo Base in order to use it in MSFS. I never do - or only, when something does not work and I need to reboot the headsetā¦
Good luck with your setup! I really hope youāll be up and running (or flying) over the holidays!
Seasons Greetings and all the best!
There was no Varjo Base (VB) update yesterday. I also tried rolling back to the VB release from June/July and it made no difference.
Regarding running VB - if youāre using the Aero, itās always running in the background though typically itās minimized and you donāt need to interract with it.
As I have researched/troubleshot more, here are additional details:
The performance drop is dramatic - like from 60-70 fps down to ~10fps when I power on the headset. It can be witnessed even during the Asobo/Blackshark.ai spash screens and loading screen - long before the main menu loads - choppy framerate vs smooth.
The performance hit happens not when VB is launched, but when the headset is powered on. Powering off the headset (even though VB is still running) returns MSFS performance to normal - 60-70fps
In additional to in-game fps drop, joystick, keyboard, and mouse inputs are missed as well - as though there are a barrage of hardware interrupts.
We noted the following in Task Manager / performance monitor:
a. MSFS running, Aero powered on - GPU usage 10%.
b. MSFS running alone (headset powered off) - GPU usage ~40% - this is not a typo - GPU usage goes UP with the Aero is off. This aligns with the observed animation/smoothness withessed in game. Itās as though VB/Aero is stealing all of the CPU cycles (or generating a ton of hardware interrupts) and MSFS is unable to do its processing.
Additional troubleshooting steps I have tried today:
Hardware Accelerated GPU scheduling on/off
Game mode on/off
MSFS - directx 11/12
Upgraded nVidia driver from 537.58 to latest driver (546.33)
System Spec Summary:
CPU: AMD 7800X3D
MB: MSI X670E Carbon WiFi
GPU: RTX 4090
RAM: 64GB, CAS 32 - (ZSkill Trident G5)
HD: Western Digital BLACK SN850X
Installed Software:
Windows 11
Microsoft Flight Simulator - empty community folder
PMDG 737-800 (moved out of community folder)
Varjo Base 3.10.3.25
Steam
Steam VR
AMD chipset software
nVidia Control Panel
nVidia Geforce experience (note I did not have this installed when I initially witnessed the issue)
in VB, uncheck OpenVR. With the 10FPS youāre reporting, itās sounds just like the issue from the recent SteamVR update. Both DCS and MSFS users have been reporting that if you uncheck OpenVR in VB, you should be fine.
Iāve been following threads in the Varjo discord, and elsewhere. There was a recent SteamVR Beta update that couldāve jacked things up.
Try using SteamVR Beta 1.27.5 until Valve releases a true fix. Turning off OpenVR in Varjo Base will restore MSFS performance but will cause SteamVR to throw errors sporadically that will sometimes cause MSFS to CTD.
Details:
While turning off OpenVR in Varjo Base does indeed restore MSFS performance to pre SteamVR 2.2.3 levels - itās not all roses.
SteamVR is not happy with OpenVR disabled in Varjo Base and it will throw errors that will (sometimes) cause MSFS to crash to desktop - this can even occur mid flight.
Alternate suggested workaround - run SteamVR āBetaā 1.27.5. Hopefully Valve doesnāt remove this option until after they truly fix the disaster that is SteamVR 2.2.3+.
You can opt in to this older version by going to Steam > Library > SteamVR > Properties > Betas > temp_v1.27.5 - Temporary branch version 1.27.5 (for testing).
Allow the version 1.27.5 beta to download then restart your system. You should see the beta version (and several other Steam VR betas) in your Steam library once you have successfully reverted.
You can now re-enable OpenVR in Varjo Base and everything should perform like it did before SteamVR 2.2.3 without the stability issues associated with disabling OpenVR in Varjo Base.
Note1: Recommend checking your Steam library each flight session to ensure itās still on the old beta - thereās no telling when/if Valve will remove this old beta and force you back onto 2.2.3+. If that should occur, then disabling OpenVR in Varjo base might be the only viable solution left.
Note2: the community is reporting the newly released SteamVR 2.2.4 exhibits the same horrible MSFS performance with Varjo headsets as SteamVR 2.2.3.
The Steam bug reporting forum for this issue is linked below. Please drop them a line so they know this is a widespread issue that needs immediate attention.
I have been going crazy the past few days and I have been uninstalling and installing endlessly trying to fix this. I never would have guessed this was a steamVR thing causing this.
I just noticed there is another good comment in the last message. I will keep following this closely and thanks to everyone who came up with this
Today Steam Vr , Aero hmd and Msfs Workedš³
All last week Steam VR didnt work , went from 40 fps to 8 and then stopped working alltogether. Steam Vr performance for some reason today started working with my varjo aero hmd and msfs. The only thing I can think of that may have helped was changing my cables around. Or steam VR got fixed . Or maybe I had the incorrect start procedure . Well Today I DID NOT activate steam VR " in the AERO base app OR in steam". That might have been the problem , I was activating the steam vr . I guess we dont need to do that with the aeroās
OPEN VR off and OPEN XR on . This time I just put the aero on partially to startup the base app view, I saw it was working , then I started the steam Msfs. When I got into the msfs I pushed the sims "Desk to VR " then I saw that it was in VR mode on the monitor and then I put the aero on my face. It Worked like a charm , 50 fps , Base setting was highest clarity ,Msfs option was all VR Ultra setting. I dont know how , I only have a rtx 3090. Nice to be back in the airš¤
I did not see anything in the changelog about a fix yet so I, like you, have just stayed with the 1.27.5. Hopefully a fix comes before the next production release.
This post saved my VR experience. I canāt believe we are so many versions of steam ahead of the 1.2.75 beta and they still havenāt fixed this but reverting to that beta got me out of a serious mess of troubleshooting. Thank you so much to Anarchae1