HP Reverb G2 / x570 issues (fixed)

WeComeInPeace

WeComeInPeace
I've had a "few" issues with my relatively new Reverb G2. It often didn't show up in WMR, dropped to black for a few seconds during dogfights etc. and the audio switched back and forth between the headset and my speakers.

After heavy research and a lot of reading, I found out that it was related to a combination of the x570 chipset on my (Asus) motherboard and the G2. Asus recently released a new Bios, that is supposed to fix the issues, but that didn't help. I had a new HMD, but that didn't help. I tried adding a USB hub between the PC and the HMD, and you guessed it, that didn't help either. I was just about to give up, when I saw those USB ports on the front of the pc case, the ones connected to the front header on the mobo, and tried one of those. That fixed it! So if you experience something similar, I can recommend that you try that.

My current setup:

Asus X570-F mobo (Bios 3603)
Ryzen 3950x (Not OC'ed)
RTX 3070 (TUF, not OC'ed)
64 GB 3200-DDR4
750 W PS

Btw. I've had no other issues with the PC and the USB ports. It ran fine with an Oculus CV1 and it seems that the Reverb G2 is stressing the limits of the USB ports. That is also supported by the extra power supply and the strange box on the cable, which seems like a late fix during development. Apart from that, the Reverb G2 is excellent.
 

WeComeInPeace

WeComeInPeace
I have the beta of the Bios installed, and it does not fix the problem. It is still only possible to get a stable USB connection using the front USB header.

I've also read that some people have solved the problem by adding a PCIe USB card to their PC, or using the USB-C port on their GPU if it has one of those. All in all I would say, that the arrow points towards HP. They seem to have pushed the USB standard to it's limits and beyond. I've had no other issues with the USB ports in my system, and I'm using USB a lot. Before the G2 I used an Oculus Rift without any problems (except the cable being more fragile than a snowflake), and that one didn't even have an external power supply like the G2. But hey, now it works, and wow does that G2 deliver once it works :)
 

Dooguk

D
WeComeInPeace said:
I have the beta of the Bios installed, and it does not fix the problem. It is still only possible to get a stable USB connection using the front USB header.

I've also read that some people have solved the problem by adding a PCIe USB card to their PC, or using the USB-C port on their GPU if it has one of those. All in all I would say, that the arrow points towards HP. They seem to have pushed the USB standard to it's limits and beyond. I've had no other issues with the USB ports in my system, and I'm using USB a lot. Before the G2 I used an Oculus Rift without any problems (except the cable being more fragile than a snowflake), and that one didn't even have an external power supply like the G2. But hey, now it works, and wow does that G2 deliver once it works :)
Click to expand...
On X570 boards there are 2 types of USB ports. They are the Gen 1 3.1 (blue connectors) or the Gen 2 3.2 (red connectors). My ASUS ROG Strix X570-E has no blue connectors except for the front panel connectors on the board. None of the 3.2 red connectors work. It is obvious that HP never tested on these boards and one of it's employees on Reddit took the blame for it. If it was a HP problem there would be no reason for AMD to get involved. There has been a firmware update from HP for G2, have you installed it?
Instead of waiting for the fix I installed a USB card and my system works fine.
 

WeComeInPeace

WeComeInPeace
I installed the G2 firmware on the first G2 I had, and it seemed to make everything worse, so for now, I'll stick to the firmware my second G2 came with, and the single USB port I have that works. Also, the software from HP that updates the firmware is a joke. When I first double clicked the exe file nothing happened. The second time I got an error message, which according to Reddit translated into "You are now running the latest firmware". As far as I know, the firmware update mainly fixes an issue where the sound switched to speakers, if you turned up the volume too much, which also points towards the G2 being power hungry. It might be sync issues as well. For now, I'm a happy camper :)
 

Dooguk

D
WeComeInPeace said:
I have the beta of the Bios installed, and it does not fix the problem. It is still only possible to get a stable USB connection using the front USB header.

I've also read that some people have solved the problem by adding a PCIe USB card to their PC, or using the USB-C port on their GPU if it has one of those. All in all I would say, that the arrow points towards HP. They seem to have pushed the USB standard to it's limits and beyond. I've had no other issues with the USB ports in my system, and I'm using USB a lot. Before the G2 I used an Oculus Rift without any problems (except the cable being more fragile than a snowflake), and that one didn't even have an external power supply like the G2. But hey, now it works, and wow does that G2 deliver once it works :)
Click to expand...
Just a heads up. Asus have released a beta of the USB fix (AGESA 1.2.0.2).
 

HeavyGroovez

HeavyGroovez
Apparently the problem is possibly related to the enabling of Gen 4 PCIe. It is affecting the USB sub system.

Switch all of your PCIe to Gen 3 in the BIOS and it mitigates the problem.

Far from optimal but until the patch arrives its a potential workaround.
 
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Dooguk

D
HeavyGroovez said:
Apparently the problem is possibly related to the enabling of Gen 4 PCIe. It is affecting the USB sub system.

Switch all of your PCIe to Gen 3 in the BIOS and it mitigates the problem.

Far from optimal but until the patch arrives its a potential workaround.
Click to expand...
Never worked for me.
 

HeavyGroovez

HeavyGroovez
I really want to build an X570/5950x rig but the USB problems have stopped me pulling the trigger. Super annoying because the CPU itself really kicks butt.
 

VRpilot

V
Just solved the G2's problems decisively by adding a PCIe USB 3.0 card (specifically this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009AT5SVS ) to:

MSI MAG x570 Tomahawk wifi
Ryzen 9 5900X
32GB G-skill DDR 3600
Zotac RTX3090 Trinity 24GB
HP Reverb G2

Previously had tried updating to the April 12 2021 MSI Tomahawk BIOS revision ( 7C84v163 ) intended to solve USB problems, which had no effect on the G2 causing audio dropouts, blackouts and general mayhem while running MS Flight Simulator 2020. No need to change PCIe global setting to Gen 3, since the Tomahawk comes with Gen 4 on the graphics card slot (also the other full size slot), and runs Gen 3 on both of the short 18 pin PCIe slots. I chose a USB 3.0 card that can take a SATA power cord, but it didn't need it. Just solved the G2 problems instantly and for good when the USB 3.0 card was added to the motherboard.

Running MSFS VR with render scale at 100 and everything set to Ultra (except volumetric clouds and ambient occlusion at medium), the G2 is amazingly sharp, clear, smooth and no jitters. It is the icing on the cake for a DIY full motion flight sim project - https://motionsim.wordpress.com/
 
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