It took nearly two months but the MaxFlightStick R22 setup finally arrived from HKG.
I just ordered the HP Reverb G2, directly from HP's site. It's a little disconcerting to see how poorly this VR system is rated on HP's site (3.4 out of 5 stars / 886 ratings). Given that I have zero prior experience with gaming or VR, I hope this setup will not prove to be problematic.
I also ordered a ASUS TUF Gaming NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti OC Edition Graphics Card from Amazon.
Updates to come.
If you are using a Quest 2 with Link or Air Link you are best to stick with nvidia 2000/3000 series gpu’s because they have much faster encoders. Also, nvidia drivers seem a bit more stable with PCVR.
For decent PCVR I recommend a 3070 or better, preferably a 3080 or 3090 (what i use). Avoid the 3090ti for now because there are still comparability issues with HP and oculus headsets.
I've placed an order for the MaxFlightStick controls, which will take several weeks to arrive, so I have some time to acquire the rest of the needed components.
Having no hands-on experience with any of the various VR systems, I'm choosing simply based on the recommendations in this thread and other reviews I've been reading. I'm leaning toward the HP Reverb G2, as of this moment.
With regard to choosing the GPU, there are so many it's beginning to make my head spin. After reading about buying used GPU's I learned these were/are being used for mining cryptocurrency! I guess that's common knowledge for those who are into gaming but I had no idea.
I'll read some 3070 reviews and see if I can find something quiet and reliable, without buying more than I need.
Well... if you have a micro ATX case I really recommend to check if the actual graphics card model you buy (not all 3060ti are the same size) fits into your case. Some cards, especially the powerful ones, are pretty long and don't fit into smaller cases. If your case is this one the larger cards should fit well judging by the pictures there. Just make sure the card is not longer than 350mm and is a dual slot design (some are triple slot designs), then it should work.
As for the PSU, depending on it's build quality (if this is a old and cheap LC Power just forget it), it might be enough for a 3060 or 6600XT but I expect it to be to weak for the 3060ti which has a higher power consumption - anyway, I guess you will need a more powerfull PSU for any of the GPUs mentioned before.
The noise heavily depends on the actual graphics card vendor and model so you should look for comparison reviews and check how they do.
Yes, that is the case and this is the 450w power supply.
Thanks for the feedback regarding the length dual slot deign. It's helpful.
Exactly - and this is true for both, NVidia and AMD cards. Then, if the card has suffiy like "ti" for NVidia or "XT" for AMD it's faster than the non-suffix version but slower than the next higher number (3070ti is faster than 3070 but slower than 3080).
As AMD cards of the same performance class are still somewhat less expensive as their NVidia counterparts - how well do AMD cards in Aerofly FS? I would expect with Vulkan they should do fine but perform significantly slower with OpenGL.
A Radeon 6600XT for example is, on the paper, just slightly slower than a Geforce 3060ti but significantly cheaper too.
Thanks. I'm looking for a RTX 3060 Ti. I guess I'll have to get a larger power supply as my 450w unit might be marginal once the GPU is installed.
Incidentally, my PC is silent in its current configuration. I see most of these GPU's are of huge form factor and have two or three integrated cooling fans. I hope they don't generate much noise.
I'm also wondering if they will fit in this case without any interference issues (Thermaltake Versa H17 Micro ATX Mini Tower)?
Mr. Thompson: A Nvidia 1050 or RTX 3050 is NOT recommended for VR. Please get a least a NVIDIA 3060 TI or simulation might get stutters from time to time.
Another dumb question; when you say "at least a NVIDIA 3060 Ti" is the sequential increase in the model indicative of one being "better" than the next? In other words, is a card with 3080 in the description "better" than 3070? And 3070 "better" than 3060, so on and so forth?
If it's only for training with the R22 then Aerofly FS 2 can be used with a lower spec graphics card.
90% of the scenery is stutterfree for me with only a GTX1660 Super (6GB VRAM), which is about 25% 'slower' then a RTX3050.This is with a Quest 2, the HP Reverb's higher resolution needs more 'graphics power'.
Aerofly FS 2 with a RTX3050 (8GB VRAM) and Quest 2 will run fine...
Good info. Thanks for the continued input.
They 'can be used' as virtual hands as an option. But you also need them to operate the Quest menu's at startup etc...
Understood. Thanks for the clarification.
Mr. Thompson: If you intend to use Aerofly FS 4 with VR we strongly recommend to use at least a graphic card as fast as the NVIDIA RTX 3070 Ti. Depending on the region where you fly and what aircraft or helicopter you use, these graphic cards give you enough 'headroom' for a smooth simulation. For VR it is very important to get a good and consistent framerate, and saving money at this point is something you will regret. So if you have the budget, you might even look for a NVIDIA RTX 3080 Ti.
The graphic card you choose also depends on the VR system you get. They vary a lot regarding the resolution they render per eye, so the more pixels are rendered per eye, the more the graphic card has to work. If you don't mind the more complex setup, the Valve Index is a very good system. Also good VR system with a little less setup is the HP Reverb G2. You can read about the differences here.
I really only have one mission; to use the R22 simulation to practice for real world training in the aircraft.
I've read the info in the link provided and the HP Reverb G2 seems like a good option for me. It seems the biggest pro/con difference between the HP and the Valve is that the Valve hand controllers don't have to be held. Since I only intend to use this for the R22 simulation, I don't see this as being an issue. I will seemingly only need to use the hand controllers for setup. After that, my hands will be on the MaxFlightStick controls (which I've ordered).
Also, the Valve setup seems more complex, requiring two "base stations." I honestly don't understand exactly what a base station is but I like that the Reverb seems like a simpler system.
That NVIDIA RTX 3080 Ti is more than $1100 and while I'm not specifically trying to stay within a certain budget, I've put this entire PC together for under $700 and I find it hard to believe I'd need that much graphics processing power. It also seems to have tremendous power requirements. I think I'd need to replace my Corsair CX Series 450 Watt 80 Plus Bronze Certified Modular Power Supply power supply to use it.
Would something like the Gigabyte Geforce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB or the EVGA GeForce RTX 3050 XC be adequate to run the R22 simulation in FS2 with the HP Reverb G2? If not, what specification would be the minimum required?
While I admittedly have little knowledge regarding the various graphics cards, refresh rates, etc. etc, I feel like a $1K+ gaming card is serious overkill for what I'm trying to do.
Thank you for the helpful discussion.
All you need is the headset and the two controllers (which can be used as virtual hands in Aeofly).
Dumb question but if the hand controllers are needed, how do you grip the MaxFlightStck cyclic and collective?
If you are on a budget a RTX 3050 and Quest 2 will be fine for Aerofly too...
Thank you. I'll do some reading about those.
EDIT: I see that the Meta Quest 2 is sold as "headset only" or bundled with various other components. ("Pro Bundle," "Starter Bundle," Streamer Bundle").
Is the headset only option adequate for FS2?
MSI GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB GAMING X (PCIe x16) for example
and VR headset HP reverb G2, there are many VR headset available on the market. So, find the right one that suits your budget and your needs.
I don't mean to sound argumentative but the reason I posted is because I have zero idea of what "suits my needs." I just want to be able to operate FS2 with VR and I have absolutely no idea what is needed. Think of it this way; if an alien just arrived from another planet and you told him he needs to buy a car to drive five miles to the grocery store, he wouldn't have any idea if Toyota Tercel or a Ferrari 488 "suits his needs." The 488 will obviously get him to the grocery store but it's WAY more than is needed.
There are many VR headsets available on the market but knowing nothing about them, I have no idea what suits these particular needs. That's what I'm trying to get informed about. I have no idea which model VR headset is the Tercel and which is the 488, nor do I know if the Tercel is enough to suit my needs.
As far as budget, I'll spend what is necessary to get what's needed but I don't want to buy more than I need. Like I said, I'm never going to use the VR headset for anything but playing with the R22 simulation, so I just want to find something that performs well and is adequate for the task. Same goes for the graphics card. The onboard graphics has been perfectly adequate for everything I do up 'til now, so I only need to upgrade to whatever level is necessary to operate FS2 in VR mode.
Hope that makes sense and thank you for the input.
Radeon Vega 8 won't probably do the job in Vr, I recommend buying a mid-range+ graphic card for your PC. There is also a recently released new version of Aerofly, but you won't miss out a lot if you decided to stick to FS2.
I really don't know what makes a graphics card mid range, low end or high end.
Any recommendations for both a graphics card and VR device are appreciated.
Thanks!
First of all: Welcome. I'm sure you will soon get good help here on the forum.
I hope so and thank you!
I'm a middle aged guy who hasn't played a video game since the 1980's. I have no experience with PC based simulators. I am a professional fixed wing pilot and I'm going to do a rotorcraft add-on rating and I've been told it would be beneficial to practice hovering, etc. on the R22 simulation with Aerofly FS2.
My PC has an Asus Prime B450M-A motherboard with an AMD Ryzen 3 2200G Processor utilizing the onboard Radeon Vega 8 Graphics. For a graphics generator, the Aerofly FS2 FAQ recommends the "new" GeForce GTX 750 Ti Slim. It seems that the GTX 750 Ti hasn't been "new" for quite some time and I've been led to believe that my onboard Radeon Vega 8 Graphics is adequate. Is this accurate?
I've downloaded Steam and installed Aerofly FS2 (I'd never even heard of Steam until few days ago). Right now, I only have a keyboard. Based on what I've read, I intend to buy the R22 MaxFlightStick controls. It's been recommended that I also get a VR headset to learn to hover. The problem is, I know absolutely nothing about VR headsets. I am not a "gamer" and I doubt I'll ever use the VR headset for anything other than Aerofly FS2. I see that the prices for VR headsets vary greatly and some packages include additional devices such as hand controls, etc. I don't know what is needed to utilize VR with FS2.
I'd like a recommendation for VR goggles that will work well with Aerofly FS2, without buying more than I need. Also, I'd like to know if the onboard Radeon Vega 8 Graphics will be adequate to operate the VR headset? If not, could someone please recommend a graphics card that would work well with my Asus Prime B450M-A motherboard and AMD Ryzen 3 2200G processor?
Again, I know very little about graphics cards and I'm only looking for something that is adequate to run the simulation. I won't be doing any other "gaming" beyond flying the R22 in FS2.
Thanks very much for the advice and recommendations.
