New to VR

[Witzig]

I'm an old track IR fan who finally wants to dabble in VR for this game. My systems specs, well at least the two most important ones...

 

Nvidia Geforce RTX 4060 Ti

Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-14900KF, 3200 Mhz, 24 Core(s), 32 Logical Processor(s)

 

Recommendations for a VR set in the $400 range, or is there anything in that range? Maybe I need to go on ebay?

 

 

 

 

[Charger_]

Like all things hobby related, i regard the best approach as "dip your toe in the water and see what you like"

 

Quest 3 is a well regarded bang for your buck headset. 

 

I buy heaps of stuff second hand, but man i would never consider a used VR headset. So many do fail, and get errors. Buying new gives you the option to return. 

 

 

[Aapje]

I bought it second-hand and was happy with my purchase. I did pick it up in person, so I could see the condition.

[giftgruen]

For this Spec and Budget: Clearly a Quest3.

[chiliwili69]

No doubt, to test water just go for a second hand Quest3, there are many out there. Don´t go to Quest2 or Quest3S.

I just sold mine last week for 320€ (it was 128Gb version).

 

It will run well in your system and the quality it offers is on pair to many other devices over 800$.

[glider42]

If I may piggyback on this topic. I'm thinking of buying a new machine to run a Quest 3. The specs I have tentatively selected by looking around:

 

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7800X3D

GPU: NVidia GeForce RTX 4090 (or 5090)

RAM: 32Gb (is DDR5 important? or VRAM?)

Motherboard: is the motherboard important?

 

Thanks for your advice.

 

[GVL224]

I have:
AMD Ryzen 9800X3D processor
GPU: NVidia GeForce RTX 5080
RAM: 64GB DDR5
Motherboard: X870

In this configuration, the graphics card is under more load than the processor.
I think if you buy a 5090 graphics card, you'll need a 9800X3D processor.

[giftgruen]

6 hours ago, glider42 said:

If I may piggyback on this topic. I'm thinking of buying a new machine to run a Quest 3. The specs I have tentatively selected by looking around:

 

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7800X3D

GPU: NVidia GeForce RTX 4090 (or 5090)

RAM: 32Gb (is DDR5 important? or VRAM?)

Motherboard: is the motherboard important?

 

Thanks for your advice.

 

 

Hi. Both - 4090 and 5090 will be sufficient to drive the Quest3 to the limits.

However, if you can afford it, the 5090 will allow more supersampling + MSAA antialiasig.

In VR the simple rule is: the more the better.

 

Also you are buying a new PC now.  Quest3 is an "old" ( but good! ) headset and you will replace it soon.

The next gen headsets will need a 5090.

 

Regarding RAM: VRAM is a 'wording' that applies to the Graphics card RAM ( means: the memory on the 4090 or 5090 ).

32 GB DDR5 is absolutely okay ( and in 2025 i'd not buy DDR4 any more - since also the price difference is not that huge.

 

regarding CPU:

SingleThread Performance is the most important thing in IL2 ( at least as far as I know ) and I compared some CPUs here.

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/5299vs6344vs5059/AMD-Ryzen-7-7800X3D-vs-AMD-Ryzen-7-9800X3D-vs-Intel-i5-13600KF

 

Personally I am running the Intel 13600KF and I am happy with it.

 

regards Bernd

 

 

[Aapje]

7 hours ago, glider42 said:

RAM: 32Gb (is DDR5 important? or VRAM?)

 

DDR5 is mandatory if you go for AM5 and with the current pricing it is the best option anyway. Just get a decent DDR5-6000 kit.

 

You can consider going for 64 GB, since both DCS and MSFS already benefit from it. If you only play IL-2, then this may not be needed, although we don't know whether the Korea engine will benefit from 64 GB.

 

7 hours ago, glider42 said:

Motherboard: is the motherboard important?

 

Up to a point. The high-end motherboards are a total waste of money in most cases. Make sure it has PCIe 5, sufficient NVMe slots (depends on how many games you want to keep installed at the same time) and any other features you want, like the number of USB ports.

[chiliwili69]

16 hours ago, glider42 said:

If I may piggyback on this topic. I'm thinking of buying a new machine to run a Quest 3. The specs I have tentatively selected by looking around:

 

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7800X3D

GPU: NVidia GeForce RTX 4090 (or 5090)

 

Please, Please!!, if your headset is going to be a Quest3, you don´t need to spend a fortune (2500€) in the 4090 or 5090!!!!

 

Any card in the 800-1000€ range will be more than engouh to run the Quest3, so look for any 3080Ti, 4080, 4080S, 5070Ti, 5080.

[Dagwoodyt]

Everyone has their own opinion. Just from reading a description of the VR flight experience, I knew that VR would be how I wanted to do flight sims before I ever put on an HMD. Unless it will create a substantial financial hardship I'd go for the most capable system I can rationalize. You can waste a lot of money in trying to "save" money.

[glider42]

Thank you so much to everyone who responded to my request for advice. You have all given me truly expert info and useful food for thought. I had a feeling that moving to VR wasn't going to be as simple as consulting the official spec requirements from Meta, especially for flight sims. Thanks again.

[chiliwili69]

12 hours ago, Dagwoodyt said:

Everyone has their own opinion. Just from reading a description of the VR flight experience, I knew that VR would be how I wanted to do flight sims before I ever put on an HMD. Unless it will create a substantial financial hardship I'd go for the most capable system I can rationalize. You can waste a lot of money in trying to "save" money.

 

I agree with you, for me, flight sims dones´t make sense if they are not in VR.

But despite I can easily buy today more than one hundred GPUs like 5090, I bought a 5080.

Why?  because my device (BSB2) doesn´t need a 5090.

Everyone on their own, but if someone buy a 4090/5090 for a Quest3, he/she will need to go to confession...  ⛪

[giftgruen]

I do not agree at all here.

 

Even with my QuestPro I got clearly better experience with a 4090 ( instead of 4080 ) and still better with a 5090.

 

Why ? Because the possibility to High supersample ( VirtualDesktop 'Godlike' ) + MSAAx4 + stable 90 Hz + overall ultra Settings needs a 5090 already for a QuestPro or Quest3,  you cannot run these settings with a 4090 and ( by far ) not with a 4080/5080.

 

Yes, you are right - it is not necessary to use that high settings and therefore to buy a 5090 for a QuestPro/Quest3 may be some overkill.

But there is a clear visible benefit and for sure the next headset ( let it be a Crystal Super or a DreamAir or a "Deckard" or whatever ) will be limited by a 4080/5080. 

 

So the question is simply a budget question. 

 

( By the way - budgetwise it's an quite interesting question which combination gives the better overall experience:

Quest3 + 5090   vs.   BSB2 + 4080  - the overall costs are quite similar here .....  since I own no BSB I cannot judge this )

Edited October 21 by giftgruen

[Witzig]

Thanks for all the replies! I think I'm going to go with the Quest 3. I own the game as a stand-alone, so no steam. My question is what program I need to make the VR work with the game. I read something about OpenXR. I'm not very tech savy, and I'm sure there are utube videos on getting everything to work for the game, but I just wanted to touch base with everyone first. Regards...    

[Aapje]

With standalone you can still run the game through SteamVR. Just enable VR in the options of the game and run it.

 

Of course, you need to have Steam installed. Right now there is probably no reason to bother with OpenXR.

[Dagwoodyt]

3 hours ago, Witzig said:

Thanks for all the replies! I think I'm going to go with the Quest 3. I own the game as a stand-alone, so no steam. My question is what program I need to make the VR work with the game. I read something about OpenXR. I'm not very tech savy, and I'm sure there are utube videos on getting everything to work for the game, but I just wanted to touch base with everyone first. Regards...    

How soon will you buy the Quest 3? I hope you will report back once you have gotten it dialed in.

[chiliwili69]

11 hours ago, giftgruen said:

Why ? Because the possibility to High supersample ( VirtualDesktop 'Godlike' ) + MSAAx4 + stable 90 Hz + overall ultra Settings needs a 5090 already for a QuestPro or Quest3,  you cannot run these settings with a 4090 and ( by far ) not with a 4080/5080.

The Quest3 at 90Hz with Godlike is 3072x3216, which is about 19 million pixels.

The MSAAx4 will add about 15% of load to the GPU. Look here.

In my test, I run it at ultra, with clouds and at 72Hz (so CPU has more room for dense scenarios), but at 90 it would be 90/72=1.25 so 25% more load.

So a the most demanding scenario a 5080 will have the GPU at 50+15+25= 90%

 

But you don´t need this high supersampling for an image which is later compressed to 200Mbps max in H265. 

And Quest3 has the 72Hz or 80Hz modes which produce better images than the 90Hz mode for the same 200Mbps bandwidth. So, this is the main reason I used 72Hz mode together with relaxing the CPU.

 

Also, above 150% supersampling in the Quest3 it is hard to see image improvement, and the diferences in the Ultra and Godlike in VD will be more placebo than anything else.

I had a Quest3 for two years with a 3080 running at 72Hz with 150% and the GPU has never been a constraint.

So, for a Quest3 you don´t need a 5090. 

Another scenario is that you will upgrade soon your VR headset (which is your case), but if you are gogin to have a Quest3 for a year or more, it does not make any sense to go to a 5090 now.

 

[chiliwili69]

11 hours ago, giftgruen said:

Quest3 + 5090   vs.   BSB2 + 4080  - the overall costs are quite similar here .....  since I own no BSB I cannot judge this

Quest3 is 550€ + 2500€ (basic 5090)= 3050€

BSB2 is 1370€ + 1100€ (basic 5080)= 2470€

 

 

I tell you. The BSB2 with 5080.

Here you can compare a Quest3 at 480% SS with a BSB2 at 174%

The BSB2 doesnt benefit from SS like other devices, there are more images in the post which compare BSB2 at 174% and at 100%.

So a 5080 can move 25 million pixels at 75Hz very easily. I am planning to report performance with SYNVANDER test.

[giftgruen]

Well.  A BSB2 with audio solution ( which you need, let it be the BS Audiostrap or another one ) plus Lighthouse Setup ( which you need to buy if you had no Index before ) costs somewhat more than 1370 EUR.   1700? 1800?   A Quest3 (or Pimax ) offers this all-in. 

 

I really like the BSB2 idea ( and maybe will choose a BSB2 mysef) , but it's simply quite expensive and has its compromises due to the form factor. So maybe it's more an 'enthusiast gimmick'. Like a 5090  

 

To be honest I have somewhat the feeling that you 'promote' your personal solution ( BSB2 + 5080 ?) as the only valid one.

 

My personal experience is simply that a 4090/5090 even for a Quest gives a lot of benefit.

Did you ever try - besides of numbers ?  So - tell it 'Placebo' if you want, I am okay with it.

 

Whatever .. I am out of discussion now - don't have the feeling that arguing here makes any sense for me or the collegue that asked for help / tips.

Edited October 21 by giftgruen

[Aapje]

48 minutes ago, chiliwili69 said:

But you don´t need this high supersampling for an image which is later compressed to 200Mbps max in H265. 

 

With a wired setup you get better quality with H264 at 700-800 Mbps.

 

Quote

Quest3 is 550€ + 2500€ (basic 5090)= 3050€

BSB2 is 1370€ + 1100€ (basic 5080)= 2470€

 

Strange comparison. Why not compare the headsets with the same GPU?

 

Also, I'd rather put the money in the GPU since it will almost certainly keep its value better. Cost of ownership in many cases is buy price minus 2nd hand sale price. My cost of ownership of my GPUs has been quite low since I tend to buy good deals and sell it on when I'm done.

[giftgruen]

16 hours ago, Aapje said:

Strange comparison. Why not compare the headsets with the same GPU?

 

Ah, that was my proposal / interest to compare the result for roughly identical "summary costs"  Headset plus GPU ( assuming a BSB2 with all necessary stuff is rather at >1800 ) between BSB2+5080 and Q3+5090.   

Edited October 22 by giftgruen

[chiliwili69]

On 10/22/2025 at 12:16 AM, giftgruen said:

Well.  A BSB2 with audio solution ( which you need, let it be the BS Audiostrap or another one ) plus Lighthouse Setup ( which you need to buy if you had no Index before ) costs somewhat more than 1370 EUR.   1700? 1800?

 

The audio solution is not needed. I ordered it but now I regret to have it. I explain more here if this can be of help to anyone. The basic strap combined with top strap is better.

 

Regarding LightHouse basestation for seated you only need one (I only have one). In fact one week ago I ordered one spare base station to HTC for 72 € ! (which is still in the box) just in case my current base station die. It was a special price offer, but normally the price is 129€.

I see the offer is still there: https://myshop.vive.com/vive_es/1920092.html

 

In any case, let´s assume 129€. For IL-2 (which is what matter here) you don´t need controllers.

 

So updated prices are:

Quest3 is 550€ + 2500€ (basic 5090)= 3050€

BSB2 is 1370€ + 129€ + 1100€ (basic 5080)= 2599€

 

In you post you said 4080 for the BSB2, but I put the 5080 because is cheaper and better than the 4080. And also I tested the 5080 with the BSB2 and I can tell you that it is enough for the 5080.

On 10/22/2025 at 12:16 AM, giftgruen said:

but it's simply quite expensive

Yes, it is expensive compared with the Quest3. And in a value for money the Quest3 is the clear winner with no doubt.

But it is cheaper than other 4K devices which are also heavier and with more inertia.

In VR I think that the best way to know which is the best device for one is to tried. Every person has their preferences and that is why I bought the BSB2, I wanted to know how it feels, how it looks, FOVs, glare, performance, etc,etc. Compared in A-B-A-B-A-B with the Quest3. It was not a easy choice since the BSB2 is not perfect either, as you say it has their compromises which I reported here. But again, they were my impressions.

[chiliwili69]

On 10/22/2025 at 12:16 AM, giftgruen said:

To be honest I have somewhat the feeling that you 'promote' your personal solution ( BSB2 + 5080 ?) as the only valid one

JEJE, This is exactly what I try to avoid. But it is a natural tendency of the human being. To reinforce the actions or decissions we made.

I only try to share my experiences in the most objective way. Just in case it can be of help to others in this forum of IL-2. Beyond what a YouTuber can tell.

There are some items like the comfort or the 75Hz vs 90Hz mode or the glare which are more subjective and every individual can have different experiences.

But there are other items where I try to be as objective as possible, like picture quality taken with a camera (it is true that a camera is not my eyes, but a camera is equally good/bad fir both devices) or the performace benchmark test applied to a GPU. These both items are mesurable and I show the results so other can judge them beyond my personal preferences.

 

"My personal" solution is not the best, it is just better for me than my previous headset. I have been doing the same with all my previous 14 headsets. keep one and sell the other. And BSB2 will be my personal solution until I try a better (for me) headset. It might be the Air Dream or the Valve Frame or the Quest4 or the BSB3, it will be a market in evolution.

 

But What I am trying to explain here is that if someone choose Quest3 as the device to play IL-2, then the next step is to decide the GPU needed for that headset. And here I only said that a 1000€ range GPU is enough (for example a 5080 is way more than enough). It is not because I have a 5080 it is because you will not get better quality images or smoothness with a 5090

[giftgruen]

Although I still don't share your view on GPUs ... and don't think it makes sense to discuss this further ... I would just like to say that I greatly appreciate your extraordinary efforts and expertise in providing an objective assessment of VR hardware, and consider you to be an absolute expert.

 

My sincere respect and thanks for this!  

I simply have different personal perceptions and preferences.

 

And now *cheers – I'm having somejuicy red Navarra 🙂

 

( shot down in my Fw190 twice this evening by the AI. frustrating. Me. A human beeing. By an AI in some ugly P47 )

 

[chiliwili69]

On 10/22/2025 at 12:33 AM, Aapje said:

With a wired setup you get better quality with H264 at 700-800 Mbps

 

JEJE, yes we were talking about this before.

 

I think the differences are really tiny even for a camera.

 

How did you measured? Did you trust in your own eyes together with what your brain expect to see? 

This is technically called comfirmation bias, and perhaps I am also not as objective as I should be. Forgive if I am like that.

 

Bottom line is that we have a phenomenal combat simulator togehter with CPU+GPU+VR devices which make us believe we are in real missions in I or II WW. And this is happening now, in 2025 (and some years before!). So If I die tomorrow (hope not) I have experienced what is being in an Spitfire flying ont he D-DAY or any other wonderfull scenario. And perhaps my VR experience is only 5% of what a real pilot experienced in an Spitfire on the D-DAY, but what a delightful experience.

[chiliwili69]

2 minutes ago, giftgruen said:

And now *cheers – I'm having somejuicy red Navarra

 

Oh no!, Navarra wines!

I am from Aragon. Normally I don´t try to defend or promote my own land (or language, or country, etc) but in term of wines I have experimented even more than with VR.

I am always experimenting with wines, hundreds of them! Always looking fr the best flavours which are of course very personal.

 

Don´t want to hijack this trend, but I just will give you the best value for money wines of Spain (above Rioja, Ribera Duero, Navarra, etc), just for me.

 

RED WINE:

for 10€, the absolute best: https://bodegasaragonesas.com/tienda/garnacha-centenaria/

for 26 €, you need to put a Puccini opera when taste it: https://bodegasaltomoncayo.com/en/producto/veraton/

 

WHITE WINE:

for 10€, my daily driver, https://www.enate.es/tienda/chardonnay-234/

for 13€, my favourite german grape: https://www.enate.es/tienda/gewurztraminer/?attribute_pa_anada=2024

Next week I travel around the Munchmuster and Burghausen areas in Germany, I will try some german wines (whites of course).

 

ROSE WINE:

Not a fan. Perhaps Navarra could have some.

[Dagwoodyt]

I don't see that spending less by buying a 5080 instead of a 5090 is in and of itself any more a victory than buying the cheapest 5090 available instead of one with more extravagant features. It is just a matter of personal preference and available finances. If the gpu you buy turns out to meet your needs and works as expected that should be victory enough.

[giftgruen]

19 hours ago, chiliwili69 said:

 

Don´t want to hijack this trend, but I just will give you the best value for money wines of Spain (above Rioja, Ribera Duero, Navarra, etc), just for me.

 

....

Aaah - good idea to have a Garnacha again - some days gone since I last had one !

 

Red vines are best from Spain and Italy ( I most like simple but well done Primitivos which are not too complex )

but also a Bordeaux can save an evening.

 

Red vines from Germany are almost always missing the deep taste only sun can give to red vines,

however, there exist some light elegant vines like e.g.

 

https://shop.weingut-alexanderlaible.de/product/spatburgunder-trocken-alte-reben/ 

 

For (german) white wine I'd rather prefer pinot grigio, pinot blanc or also some Auxerrious

These are really well done: https://www.weingut-koebelin.de/

 

Sure. If you like Riesling - you can buy great ones here, but that's not sooo much my taste.

And Rose - is rather for getting drunk at summertime. Agree.

 

Munchmuster and Burghausen are in Bavaria. They are brewing really good beers - but the wine is rather 'getting drunk cheap' imho

I am from german southwest which is the sunniest region in Germany and has the best german wines.

So - yes, enjoy local, but leave eyes open for other tasteful experiences