I have a PC built for Flight Sims and need advice on a New VR system.

[SciTech]

Looking for advice. I had a Flight Sim Computer built for me so I can enjoy Flight Sims in my retirement.
My PC:
Samsung 860 Pro Series 2.5 512GB SATA III SSD
Intel Core i9-9900K Coffee Lake 8-Core, 16-Thread, 3.6 GHZ
ASUS ROG Maximus XI Hero (Wi-Fi) Z390 Gaming Motherboard LGA1151 (Intel 8th and 9th Gen) ATZ DDR4
EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 FTW3 Ultra Gaming, 08G-P4-2287-KR, 8GB GDDR6, iCX2 & RGB LED
CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 32GB (4 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR$=4 SDRAM
I also purchased the Volair Sim Universal Flight Simulation Cockpit. I have rudder pedals, yoke, flight stick, and throttle controls.
I then purchase the Oculus Rift S for the VR experience. The Oculus Rift S is now having issues with the cable which I found was a common issue. It is next to impossible to get a replacement cable. So, I'm looking for a new VR system. I don't relish the fact the Oculus is now requiring you to have a Facebook account to use their hardware. Knowing my PC specs, and the investment I made for the ultimate Flight Sim experience what would you recommend for a VR headset that would work well with X-Plane 11 and IL- 2?

Edited March 6, 2021 by SciTech

[dburne]

I would consider Reverb G2 or Valve Index.

Have a read through this thread:

 

 

I went from Rift S to Reverb G2 and am quite happy with it.

Edited March 7, 2021 by dburne

[SakerVVS]

Reverb G2, although it also has cable issues and quirks. You may also want to upgrade your graphics card when you can to really take advantage of it but it will work with what you got. 

[dburne]

39 minutes ago, 6./ZG26_Saker said:

Reverb G2, although it also has cable issues and quirks. You may also want to upgrade your graphics card when you can to really take advantage of it but it will work with what you got. 

 

I thought the G2 pretty much took care of the cable issue experienced with the G1?

I did not have the G1 but know for me at least I have not seen any issue yet related to the cable. Or any issue for that matter.

I have used it for many games including VR games that use the controllers.

[SakerVVS]

35 minutes ago, dburne said:

 

I thought the G2 pretty much took care of the cable issue experienced with the G1?

I did not have the G1 but know for me at least I have not seen any issue yet related to the cable. Or any issue for that matter.

I have used it for many games including VR games that use the controllers.

My cable died last Sunday. Upon searching google I found someone on their third or fourth cable. Also the HP tech rep that I talked to said cables are the most common failure besides the clip. Mine started with intermittent audio for the first time while on combat box, then immediately "unrecognized usb device" and intermittent 7-14 and 1-4 errors depending on position of the cable manipulated by my hand.

Edited March 7, 2021 by 6./ZG26_Saker

[dburne]

6 minutes ago, 6./ZG26_Saker said:

My cable died last Sunday. Upon searching google I found someone on their third or fourth cable. Also the HP tech rep that I talked to said cables are the most common failure besides the clip. Mine started with intermittent audio for the first time while on combat box, then immediately "unrecognized usb device" and intermittent 7-14 and 1-4 errors depending on position of the cable manipulated by my hand.

 

Wow that is not good.

I will certainly be keeping my fingers crossed then.

[SakerVVS]

4 minutes ago, dburne said:

 

Wow that is not good.

I will certainly be keeping my fingers crossed then.

I believe that it failed right on the left side where there is a raised portion of the headstrap. The HP tech recommend securing the new cable to the headset using flat style velcro cable wraps. I also bought spiral wrap to protect the new cable where it contacts the headset. 

Edited March 7, 2021 by 6./ZG26_Saker

[dburne]

Yeah I have my cable wrapping around the headset and zip tied loosely to where it hangs off on my right side.

[354thFG_Drewm3i-VR]

I really don't think the Rift S is a bad headset at all. The cable issue (random disconnects?) you are describing may be due your power management settings. Once I turned my thunderbolt 3 port's power saving off in device manager, I have had no more random disconnects.

[chiliwili69]

I you don´t like being forced to have a Facebook account to use Oculus devices the best path is to go to non-Oculus devices. Also, in addition, you will be contributing to the development of the PC-VR business like IL-2 which is abandoned by Oculus (they went to promote the mobile VR games and discountinued the Rift-S).

 

Both G2 and Index are two good options to consider. But none of them are perfect.

 

If you pick the Index and will only play sims you will not need to acquire the controllers. And just one basestation is enough. They can be v1 or v2. I have just one v1 BaseStation. You can buy them in ebay as well.

I have been using my Index flawlessly for almost two years. Zero problems so far. Cross fingers.

[dburne]

1 hour ago, chiliwili69 said:

I you don´t like being forced to have a Facebook account to use Oculus devices the best path is to go to non-Oculus devices. Also, in addition, you will be contributing to the development of the PC-VR business like IL-2 which is abandoned by Oculus (they went to promote the mobile VR games and discountinued the Rift-S).

 

 

 

Technically that is not entirely accurate.

Yes Oculus is apparently abandoning a dedicated PC-VR only headset, however they still support PC-VR via the Oculus Link with Quest and Quest 2.

And it seemingly does somewhat decent as is evidenced by the number of folks using it. Plus Oculus continues to provide updates to improve Quest 2 via Link.

Also best I can tell Rift S has not been discontinued yet as it is still available to buy, though common belief is it will eventually fade away.

 

I get what you are saying though, I have left Oculus for Reverb G2 and am quite happy. I never liked the Facebook requirement either.

 

 

 

[chiliwili69]

6 hours ago, dburne said:

Technically that is not entirely accurate.

 

The Rift-S will be discontinued in early 2021 (most likely spring). So, it is a question of weeks or months.

 

Before Oculus was acquired by Facebook, no one could image that one day they will discontinue the PC-VR (with all their sims) in favour of just only mobile games and apps.

You may say, well they don´t abandone it, they provide the USB PC-link option, but this is just a joke since:

 

- You need to paid +99$ for the cable

- You have inferior image quality because compress-decompress via USB (image quality is important in sims)

- You add latencies in the compress-decompress (ghosting of fast moving objects)

- You add an extra weight of the battery which will not needed in a PC-VR only. (Inferior comfort than Rift or Rift-S)

- You add extra cost for the battery, the memory and the Snapdragon. (can you image the price of a Quest2 without battery, memory and GPU???)

 

So, Facebook is not really interested in games which need a PC to run. So, they are not interested in real sims.

They are only interested in grabbing as much as data from their fresh meat. 

And I don´t want to contribute to that.

 

Well, in fact, I am relatively happy they don´t produce anymore a dedicated PC-VR headset (like the Half-Domme prototype). If they do, they will put me in the difficult point to decide entering in Facebook. But currently no decission has to be made and my soul continue to be free. 

 

Edited March 8, 2021 by chiliwili69

[dburne]

Again I am no fan of Oculus any more either, but they at least are helping to drive VR forward even though it is not a way we would like to see.

I did not find image quality to be less in the Quest via Link. Performance yeah that suffered a little.

But there are many across the flight sim forums that are enjoying their Quest 2's via Link. Which again is good for the overall VR picture and growth.