VR suggestions

Jdizzy42 · Oct 2, 2017

So I'm contesting jumping into VR and picking up an Oculus.

So I only have a gtx 970, which runs the game great on single monitor, and I'm wondering if anyone with experience with using this card would recommend VR.

I know that obviously I'm going to have to turn down my graphics settings, but I'm Just wondering a couple things.

1) Is it even playable with a 970?

2) If it is, does everything have to be put to minimum, and does the immersion make up for the lesser graphics? Or do I have to set everything so low it just looks terrible?

3) Lastly, would you recommend I get an Oculus now, and upgrade my graphics card when I can? Or should I just hold off on VR until I upgrade my card first?

UMC 22 · Oct 2, 2017

1) Potentially, yes. My Oculus arrived the day before my graphics card upgrade, so I tried R3E in VR on a 750ti. It ran relatively well with medium graphics settings, no AA, and around ten opponents. There was a bit of stutter on some tracks but nothing too serious. I didn't attempt to go online though. All that said, you might want to read through this thread which is someone having performance issues with a below-par card.

2) The immersion makes up for lower graphics. Remember that the current generation of VR will never look as crisp and detailed as a monitor, no matter how high you crank up the settings. Whether that is an issue varies greatly from person to person based on their preferences and need for uber graphics. I've never been a pixel crack junky so it doesn't affect my enjoyment in the slightest.

3) If it were me, I'd wait until you can get a better graphics card. VR is an amazing bit of kit and can go a lot farther than just improving your sim racing. But to do that you do need to be able to guarantee good performance, and for that you need a better card. Some people have been put off VR simply because of performance issues, so you'd be doing yourself a favour by waiting for a card upgrade before you jump into the new world.

(I have a GTX 1060 and don't get any performance issues anywhere so far.)

BrianB · Oct 4, 2017

1. I've used VR with a 970 for months and it works perfectly fine.
2. Obviously you're going to have to lower the graphics a bit, but I was able to get consistent 90fps in AC, rF2, R3E and more. You don't even have to go to the lowest, the 970 should get you medium to high settings depending on the game. If you really want those better graphics you can also drop to 45 fps, but that's up to you.
3. I'd say go for the oculus. The 970 won't somehow make it a worse experience. I've recently upgraded to a 1080 and I can now put the graphics up much higher, but the experience stays the same. It just looks a tiny bit better and more crisp.

Jdizzy42 · Oct 4, 2017

BrianB said:
1. I've used VR with a 970 for months and it works perfectly fine.
2. Obviously you're going to have to lower the graphics a bit, but I was able to get consistent 90fps in AC, rF2, R3E and more. You don't even have to go to the lowest, the 970 should get you medium to high settings depending on the game. If you really want those better graphics you can also drop to 45 fps, but that's up to you.
3. I'd say go for the oculus. The 970 won't somehow make it a worse experience. I've recently upgraded to a 1080 and I can now put the graphics up much higher, but the experience stays the same. It just looks a tiny bit better and more crisp.

Ok that all sounds good. I just wanted to make sure that the game wasn't going to look like a blocky mess if I tried it.

I've also read that at 45fps with ASW it can one pretty smooth. Any opinion? I obviously have no experience with it.

tlsmikey · Oct 4, 2017

Well, i'm going to go against the grain and say that I wouldn't want to run R3E with that card unless you have a really solid CPU. What CPU are you running? VR is heavily reliant on CPU (single core speed) power.

R3E is probably the least efficient VR experience at the moment and you really have to turn down visible cars and all the options to get anything decent. 90FPS is basically out of the question right now with the DX9 engine they use, unless you have a monster setup. You'll have a better visual experience in AC for VR and I think that game has a much better VR implementation (lacks in other areas to R3E though).