It is very confusing to try to select a Q2 or Reverb G2 VR headset! I’ve watched many videos and read various forums. I’m 72, been simming since 1984 but not too much of a techie, and I anticipate using the VR for GA/VFR in MSFS. I’ve never done any other VR games so I’m not sure what I’m missing there. I’ll put my system specs here so perhaps I can get some advice based on my system and potential benefits for VR use. Thanks!
AMD Sapphire RX 5700XT 8GB VRAM
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 6-Core 4.20 GHz
32 GB RAM G.SKILL DDR4 3200
MSI B450-A Pro Max AM4 ATX
InWin 750 Watt Gold Power Supply
SSD M.2 1TB
SSD 120 GB
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I’m not much of a techie either, but upon a glance, your system specs look like it would run a VR headset I think, but like I said, not a techie… Mostly my advice is based on giving VR Flight Simming a try! I like the HP Reverb Pro Edition (didn’t get the G2…) but I think HP makes a GREAT product. Go with the G2!
I have a Rift S and my son has a Quest 2. In my opinion, I’d choose any wired over a wireless set, especially if you’re only utilizing it for the flight sim.
I don’t know AMD, so I’m afraid I can’t offer any guidance based on your system specs. My machine was the lowest high-end machine a year and a half ago and it does fine with VR in the sim. Frame rate may not be the highest but it’s smooth and the visuals are amazing.
Don’t waste your money on any VR headset. ALL of them are dull and blurry at present. I guarantee you will be disappointed in any purchase you make from those headsets currently available in 2021. You cannot even clearly read the cockpit instruments, and the outside scenery is so far away that the resolution is like watching a television set from the 1950s. Some day VR will come into its own. That day hasn’t yet arrived.
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I’m absolutely addicted to MSFS in my G2. Clocked up about 300 ‘flying’ hours in GA (JF Arrow, BSS Islander and the WT CJ4). All work pretty well on my setup (not to say other airplanes don’t, those are just what I have been flying).
You have to be clear on the limitations though. Although davidamills comments are very harsh in my opinion, there is some truth to it. The LCD displays and lens systems used by the consumer headsets at the moment are a limiting factor and the displays are not as bright, clear or wide as we’d all like. I can read the instrument displays just fine in the CJ4 if I look directly at them. I wear glasses so I’m used to not having so much peripheral vision … which probably helps the experience. I find that the immersion of using VR outweighs the limitations and seldom fly without using VR now.
I have i7 9700 + RTX2080Ti and it works pretty well. There have been quite a few comments on problems with Windows mixed reality (which the G2 uses) and AMD processors. Can’t comment personally, but worth looking into.
No idea if this is relevant to you of course, but generally one other point for those of us of a ‘certain age’ - the lens system of VR headsets means that you’re looking at a ‘screen’ something like 6ft away (even when you think you’re looking at something close), so varifocal glasses don’t work well. I had to dig out an old pair with much weaker varifocal strength than I normally wear.
Another good discussion on this topic here
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Your going to get all sorts of answers from dont buy at all, to buy X as its the best period. My view on the market today
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Quest 2 best all round headset full of support constant updates and new features being released. If you want to play any game you like this is the one for you. All games provide proper tracking and controller support. Does Standalone, Wireless and Wired caveat is Wired is not as good as a dedicated system and Wireless requires you to be sat in front of or very near (same room) as your wifi. Requires better sound for some and a better strap for others. Easy to set up. Needs a Facebook account!! This is a killer for some, but its FB that are powering the quarterly software updates and performance increase.
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G2 a small but some would say significant (to me minor) clarity upgrade. Better colours and contrast than the Q2, better sound as well but its still off ear - but way better than default Q2. Wired only (no standalone or wireless available). Cable can be like its covered in glue and can pull at your face a little. Controllers lack global support across all games and the tracking can be hit and miss. There have been a few bug fixes by HP but nothing ground breaking, they almost seem to have moved on. Best headset for seated games i.e. MSFS2020 or any Car race games.
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Index (Index is the best wired all round headset) and the Rest. All the latest headsets are much the same, some offering wider field of view others superior tracking (this is important for non seated games). To be honest if you bought say 5 of the top Index, G2, Q2, Pixmax and Vive you would struggle to point at anyone and say that’s the one right there. They all have strengths and weaknesses. All are held back by PC development.
All, except standalone Oculus Quests require setting up and working with multiple pieces of software which causes confusion to all who start and those of us without software masters degrees by way of example
Resolution is via - Steam, Oculus Desktop, In Game and for some OpenXR where do you start??? And that is just one of multiple settings across multiple software’s.
My advice just go for one of the big three
Index
G2
OQ2 (may seem cheap but factor in additional headphones and a strap - try it default at first but be ready to shell out another £100/$150 at least and then between £25 and £80 for a cable if you want one)
Dont look back, tweak and test for at least a month before giving up. At the end of that month you’ll be set up and running as best you can. At that point decide if you like it if not al have great second hand resale value.
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I see you have an AMD motherboard? If you haven’t already do a search for the issues AMD motherboards have with the G2. I am now on my 3rd G2 and will likely send it back. The first was sent back straight away, the second I got about 2 weeks use once i found one of my 16 usb ports worked but then it stopped. 3rd same as the second but I am going to try a build in usb adaptor as suggested as a work around. If that doesn’t work then it too will go back (thanks Amazon for an easy return policy!)
You may be lucky in that MSI have already rolled out the bios update with the AGEAS 1.2.0.2 change implemented.
From my limited time with vr I’d sat it has amazing potential but sadly msfs has very poor performance, so much so that I moved to another sim until its resolved. And I have a 5950x, rtx 3090 AMD 64gb. I get 20 fps in built up areas and 30-35 elsewhere with middle of the road settings and OXR at 100. But this still looks jerky especially looking to the sides. I can get 40 plus if I go with OXR at 70 but then it’s a little too blurry.
I have a quest 2 and I am really happy with performance, There’s a thread if you search that gives an idea of ideal spec comparing quest 2 to g2 with g2 far more demanding.
I am running my quest 2 on a 5800x with a 1080ti, I previously had an old i7 I bridge processor with a 1660ti which couldn’t really run vr.
In terms of add ons after buying a quest, case, replacement headstrap, new gasket and grips to go over controls c£80 if you go for non oculus branded.
Airlink works pretty good for me but an amazon 10ft cables about £10-15. So there is a bit of an outlay after purchase.
In terms of vr vs 2d display, obviously graphics are lower quality but more than ok if your gpu is up to it, I wouldn’t go back to 2d, vr has been an amazing experience so far.
As a note on performance I fly ga planes particularly xcub so less demanding on system and can fly all the demanding places ny, Paris, London on medium to high settings, even so I tend to fly mountain areas.
As always though with msfs 20 one persons experience can be different to another!
Hope above helps.
If you haven’t experienced VR yet, it’s worth the money.
Yes the Quest 2 has been a disappointment to me compared to my monitor. I have tried hundreds of suggestions but you are right it is just blurry no matter what I try.
Even tried prescription lenses. I have a RTX 3080 Card.
I have asked people directly is this as good as it gets with not much agreement.
I think if you have wasted £400 you dont like reminding.
That is demonstrably untrue.
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What headset are you using that gives you a non blurry image as he suggested ?
Oculus Quest 2
I wish I could see exactly what you are seeing to be happy with it .
As stated earlier I have a high spec setup and an Oculus Quest 2 and have now become so fed up of all the different OTT, ODT and PC and MSFS settings, bought new prescription lenses, face mask, alternative head set frame. Within the cockpit things seem fairly OK but VR flights are just blurry as we have said and no where near as clear as any monitor.
I try to be helpful to people who are going to spend a lot of money on it to dial down their expectations.
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Admittedly beyond a few mile its not crystal clear but Im not expecting it to be, also there’s no comparison regarding resolution of a screen but cockpit and immediate area are fine in VR, I suppose what one person is happy with another person’s view is different, the trade off on quality compared to VR is one I’m happy with and fingers crossed it will only get better. Probably also that I came over to MSFS from FSX so visuals wise I’m fairly tolerant of the compromise.
It can be a bit of back and forth with settings with new updates whther it be MSFS, Oculus or gpu drivers.
Also as I said in my first post the most frustrating thing about MSFS is one users experience to anothers, there’s never any consistency either with visuals or sometimes getting various functionality to work
I am very happy with RX 5700XT, AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and Quest 2 setup which give good visuals and performance. Only thing a have to set is FOV to 0.7, 0.7 either in ODT or OTT which reduces hardware demands significantly at no other costs. I haven’t tried any other VR setup but I would recommend Quest 2 which comes with the half of price of G2.
It is a very fraught road to get it working well. Given that no two systems seem the behave the same way, even sharing settings seems almost futile at the movement.
At the young age of 72 and if you have the extra money in the bank that’s burning a hole in your pocket then take the jump into VR. If you hate it you can always turn around and sell it and recoup most of your money but at least you tried it.
I have an Index so i can’t say on what the Quest 2 and the G2 use is but all 3 have their pros and cons that people here have mentioned. But I can say don’t go in expecting it to be as clear as a monitor, just not going to happen. My Index blurriness is there in MSFS but not detrimental to flying GA/VR. My issue is I tend to move my eyes more than my head so my focus is outside of the sweet spot a lot.
Don’t forget there’s more out there for VR than just MSFS. Some of the most fun I’ve had is in DCS in the P51 flying with just the Index controllers and rudder pedals.
I can’t wait for the next gen or 2 of headsets and hardware. VR is getting better and better. Now i just need finger tracking without a controller in hand so I can cold start my TBM!!
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It is possible, you just can’t play the game with the settings turned up high enough to use it. I think the Average with quality and super sampling maxed out was about 1 frame per 25 seconds, not exactly smooth. 
Take the blue pill and be happy flying around with your system on high/ultra settings and decent FPS on a sim that gets better every update.
Take the red pill and you’ll discover the incredible world of Flight Simulator in a way you cannot even image. However you’ll also discover that you struggle for each frame extra per second. You’ll crave for a faster and faster computer only to discover that even the upgrade to an i9 or Ryzen 9 with a 3090 or 6900XT isn’t even enough. You’ll be constantly looking for extra sharpness, more detail and more field of view. You’ll be cursing and swearing because of the instability of the sim, OpenXR and WMR and may even get CTD’s now and then. You’ll get all that… But I tell you it is a one way street. THERE IS NO GOING BACK!!
With regard to the Q2 or the G2 I think the G2 is the better option if you’re only into simming. The G2 has a higher resolution, but the framerate is the same or better. The sweet spot of sharpness on the G2 is small though. The integrated sound is fantastic.
The latest HTC Vive Pro 2 looks interesting but is more expensive. You’ll need to add a bunch of stuff for it to work.
With regard to your system, the specs are on the low end. You’ll need a faster GPU (and possibly the latest Ryzen generation CPU as well). Right now the AMD GPU’s don’t go well with the G2 and MSFS due to a bug somewhere. That could (should) change in the near future.
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