Making use of new Virtual Link C-Port on 2080 cards? It Works!!

[dburne]

So now that I have the new EVGA 2080 Ti FTW3 Ultra, I thought I would roll the dice and try this.

I ordered this today:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CSPWWB7?ref_=ams_ad_dp_ttl

 

No idea if it will work but gotta try with this new  Virtual Link C-Port I have now on my GPU. The idea is to plug my Rift headset HDMI along with my two sensors and headset USB into this thing, which connects to my Virtual Link port on the card.

Should have it and able to try around middle of the week. 

 

Should be interesting...

Edited October 31, 2018 by dburne

[SCG_Fenris_Wolf]

Do you think it can provide the sensors with enough power? I doubt it. Even good Mainboards' USB slots were overwhelmed, and people had to get separate controllers, me too. 

Maybe the idea is to feed the next gen with this. It'll be interesting to get to know your results though. 

 

On another note: Do you use that monster of a gpu with your Rift or is there a higher resolution headset you got atm? Waiting for the Pimax as well I guess

 

Are you selling the good old 1080ti?

Edited October 28, 2018 by SCG_Fenris_Wolf

[dburne]

3 hours ago, SCG_Fenris_Wolf said:

Do you think it can provide the sensors with enough power? I doubt it. Even good Mainboards' USB slots were overwhelmed, and people had to get separate controllers, me too. 

Maybe the idea is to feed the next gen with this. It'll be interesting to get to know your results though. 

 

On another note: Do you use that monster of a gpu with your Rift or is there a higher resolution headset you got atm? Waiting for the Pimax as well I guess

 

Are you selling the good old 1080ti?

 

No idea really.

But I think Nvidia have put those Virtual Link ports into the cards for VR.

Whether it can handle say the Rift sensors I guess remains to be seen - they are listed as USB 3.0 so thought I would just check one out 

and see what happens. Curiosity more than anything.

 

Yeah will probably throw the 1080 Ti up on Ebay after a bit , when I am comfortable there are not going to be issues with this new card.

At least recoup some of my cost.

[Alonzo]

I'm interested in hearing how you fare, too. I think at a minimum the VirtuaLink port is intended to do video and USB-audio for the headset. Some USB-C ports can transfer quite a lot of power (enough to fast charge a MacBook) so in theory there could be enough power for the sensors. 

 

I think I read somewhere that someone had plugged stuff into the port and it worked as a normal USB-C port would work, so you could have some luck.

[dburne]

46 minutes ago, Alonzo said:

I'm interested in hearing how you fare, too. I think at a minimum the VirtuaLink port is intended to do video and USB-audio for the headset. Some USB-C ports can transfer quite a lot of power (enough to fast charge a MacBook) so in theory there could be enough power for the sensors. 

 

I think I read somewhere that someone had plugged stuff into the port and it worked as a normal USB-C port would work, so you could have some luck.

 

Yeah if nothing else I am hoping it will handle the two sensors and the headset usb.

Not sure it can handle the video hdmi. It lists 30 hz at 4k and 60 hz at 1080, not sure how that would do with a Rift at 90 hz.

But I can leave Rift plugged into my hdmi on GPU no problem.

[dburne]

Update:

Bingo it works!!

Very easy. Got the new C-Hub today, install was very easy.
Plugged into my Virtual Link C-Port on my new RTX 2080 Ti.
Got the new device notification sound.
Device shows as Nvidia USB 3.10 eXtensible Host Controller
Nvidia USB Type-C Port Policy Controller.

I have three USB 3.1 ports on this thing.
Plugged my two sensors in.
Plugged my Rift USB in.

Sensors and Rift USB recognized just fine, and all three showing in Oculus Home as solid green. Playing around in Oculus Home tracking appears to be great. Won't have time for any serious gaming until tomorrow sometime, but looking great!

Not going to mess with plugging the HDMI in at this time, that port on the hub is only rated at 60 Hz at 1080, so figure that probably would not be the best with the Rift being a 90Hz device. Plus my Rift HDMI is plugged into the HDMI of my GPU and running just fine there.

But the sensors and the headset USB, so far sweetness!.

[dburne]

So I decided to go ahead and plug my Rift HDMI into the Virtual Link C-Port as well.

And it works!

 

Did a quick mission , 4 fighters against 8 bombers. All seemed to run fine, not sure I could tell any difference really versus having the Rift plugged into the HDMI Port on my 2080 Ti. I flew with ASW off like I typically do, and my fps fluctuated between 45fps-90 fps as always. I will get some more time with it over the next 2-3 days and should have a better feel.

But the dang thing actually works!

 

So now, my entire Rift setup is plugged into this Virtual Link C-Port on my GPU.  Neat and clean. 

This is pretty dang cool.

 

And I just freed up three USB 3 ports and the HDMI Port on my GPU.

 

 

Edited November 1, 2018 by dburne

[Guest deleted@134347]

one small step for .. man.. one giant leap ..for mankind...

[dburne]

Now something I have been wondering about, and maybe there are some tech heads way smarter than me in here that can help me understand.

 

1: The new Virtual Link C Port was designed and added to better accommodate VR headsets and their connectivity requirements.

2:  Beginning with the 20x series of cards, Nvidia is including them on specific ( maybe all not sure) models.

3: There are currently C- port adapters, that accommodate plugging in USB 3, USB 2, and HDMI amongst other things. Probably not designed specifically for VR, but available nonetheless. And obviously will work as I can attest to at least on the model I have.

 

Now to what I am wondering. Most adapters available that I found, and the one I have as well, lists a supported display resolution of like 4k at 30 Hz, and 1080 at 60Hz for that particular adapter.

Obviously it is talking about plugging it into a monitor display like a laptop I would think rather than a VR display. And certainly probably not talking about plugging it into a 2080 type graphics card.

 

So prior to my plugging the HDMI in, I was wondering if this was going to cause it to not work properly for the HDMI display of the Rift. Well certainly since I now have my Rift HDMI plugged into the C-Port, I can attest to the thing actually working. 

But is it working at the Rift default of 90Hz?  

I have not got to spend too much time gaming with it yet, but so far looks fine to me. Hope to get a lot more time with it over the next 3 days.

And I fly with ASW off, and can see my FPS fluctuating  from 45 fps to 60's, 70's, 80's and up to 90 fps. So does this mean it is indeed running at 90 Hz?

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest deleted@134347]

18 minutes ago, dburne said:

Now something I have been wondering about, and maybe there are some tech heads way smarter than me in here that can help me understand.

 

1: The new Virtual Link C Port was designed and added to better accommodate VR headsets and their connectivity requirements.

2:  Beginning with the 20x series of cards, Nvidia is including them on specific ( maybe all not sure) models.

3: There are currently C- port adapters, that accommodate plugging in USB 3, USB 2, and HDMI amongst other things. Probably not designed specifically for VR, but available nonetheless. And obviously will work as I can attest to at least on the model I have.

 

Now to what I am wondering. Most adapters available that I found, and the one I have as well, lists a supported display resolution of like 4k at 30 Hz, and 1080 at 60Hz for that particular adapter.

Obviously it is talking about plugging it into a monitor display like a laptop I would think rather than a VR display. And certainly probably not talking about plugging it into a 2080 type graphics card.

 

So prior to my plugging the HDMI in, I was wondering if this was going to cause it to not work properly for the HDMI display of the Rift. Well certainly since I now have my Rift HDMI plugged into the C-Port, I can attest to the thing actually working. 

But is it working at the Rift default of 90Hz?  

I have not got to spend too much time gaming with it yet, but so far looks fine to me. Hope to get a lot more time with it over the next 3 days.

And I fly with ASW off, and can see my FPS fluctuating  from 45 fps to 60's, 70's, 80's and up to 90 fps. So does this mean it is indeed running at 90 Hz?

 

 

The posted 'specs' are usually adapted for the masses to ease the understanding of the underlying technology. The 1080 60hz or 4k 30hz is typically aligned with the desktop monitor specs, so the end user can compare his monitor published spec and find a compared adapter on the computer. In reality, though, HDMI is a protocol that operates using the standard negotiation techniques that take in to consideration the resolution and the necessary bandwidth to push that resolution. Rift negotiates with HDMI at a resolution and bandwidth necessary to obtain 90hz of refresh rate, and it's well within the hdmi specs to offer it, hence your experience is unaffected.

 

[dburne]

1 minute ago, moosya said:

 

The posted 'specs' are usually adapted for the masses to ease the understanding of the underlying technology. The 1080 60hz or 4k 30hz is typically aligned with the desktop monitor specs, so the end user can compare his monitor published spec and find a compared adapter on the computer. In reality, though, HDMI is a protocol that operates using the standard negotiation techniques that take in to consideration the resolution and the necessary bandwidth to push that resolution. Rift negotiates with HDMI at a resolution and bandwidth necessary to obtain 90hz of refresh rate, and it's well within the hdmi specs to offer it, hence your experience is unaffected.

 

 

 

You just answered my question that was bugging me all night, thank you!

[Alonzo]

The Rift wikipedia page says it needs HDMI 1.3, which according to the specs says it does 1080p @ 120hz or 1440p at 60hz. Your USB-C adaptor says 4k @ 30hz which looks like it's HDMI 1.4, which therefore is good enough for the Rift.

 

(from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI#Version_1.3 )

[dburne]

5 hours ago, Alonzo said:

The Rift wikipedia page says it needs HDMI 1.3, which according to the specs says it does 1080p @ 120hz or 1440p at 60hz. Your USB-C adaptor says 4k @ 30hz which looks like it's HDMI 1.4, which therefore is good enough for the Rift.

 

(from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI#Version_1.3 )

 

Thanks for the info.

Yeah after getting to spend a lot more time flying with it yesterday, it obviously is running at 90 Hz.

Running really great, I am very pleased! No issues whatsoever.

Edited November 2, 2018 by dburne