PSVR2 vs HP Reverb G2

buzzx

buzzx
Getting to the point, I just wanted to pass on to anyone thinking the PSVR2 might be a good upgrade/replacement for the Reverb G2 for ED, sadly I think its not.

After seeing many good reviews of the PSVR2, in particular vs the G2, and dreaming of those OLED blacks in ED I couldn't resist and bought it. With the mixed reality support on Windows coming to an end, believing the PSVR2 had comparable resolution to the G2 and wanting OLED with a hint of improved FOV I thought the PSVR2 might be a good replacement and/or possible upgrade.

Just for context, I've been playing ED in VR exclusively since the release of the Rift CV1. So I started on the CV1 in 2017 then upgraded to the Samsung Odyssey and have had the Reverb G2 for the past 3 years. I currently run the Reverb G2 on a 5800x3D with 32MB (3600) and RTX 4090 on Win11. I run ED through OpenComposite (OpenXR 100%). In ED super sampling is at 100% and HMD at 1.25 with FSR ultra quality. Most other settings are on high or ultra and it is very clear and butter smooth. Sometimes i run HMD 1.5, still smooth but in stations sometimes you get a few micro stutters but i prefer it to be super smooth 100% of the time.

After installing the PSVR2, ED started up without any issues in VR. I was wondering whether I would have issues because my ED installation is standalone and not in Steam but SteamVR started automatically without any issues. SteamVR resolution was set to 150%. First time in my ship (just outside a fleet carrier) I immediately remembered how much I loath running ED through SteamVR. Micro stutters galore when rotating the ship. Regardless just holding still to evaluate the visuals and bear in mind that I tried many resolutions settings, the best visually being SteamVR 150%, HMD 1.5, ED Upscaling normal, SMAA. Note its completely unplayable with these settings but just to evaluate the visuals at the best possible resolution. Even at these higher settings its not crisp like the G2 is at the lower settings mentioned above. Its noticeably worse. To make it playable I had to drop the HMD to 1.0 with FSR quality. Even with the nicer blacks its just not good enough. The resolution is poor and there's a very minor hint of screen door, something I hadn't noticed in VR for years. The one positive about the better blacks is that it adds a little more to the 3D affect but its not enough to make me want to stick with the poor resolution and performance. Also, without HDR support there's not that sharp glare you get when traversing the sun. The only thing that might make me switch to the PSVR2 from the G2 would be if I could run it at max resolution and it was 100% smooth all the time. Even then it would be borderline. The one takeaway for me from trying the PSVR2 is that HMD native display resolution is king and running ED via Opencomposite rather than SteamVR is much better in terms of performance. Having said all that I will keep hacking away at it for the next few days to see if there any optimisations that I can make to change my mind.
 
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Patrice_From_CA

Patrice_From_CA
Hi, you may have a software/drivers issue because I have the same configuration than you, except form the CPU : 14700k and I have seen 0 difference in performance (but with a Q3).

I have also desactivated the Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling to remove the micro stutter which is known only with high end nvidia GPU and the PSVR 2. (Explains here
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYOrDbd-pgY
)

hope it can help.

So now, talking about the psvr 2 for those on the verge, I used to have a hell of a lot of headsets for Elite through the 10 years. From DK2 to index and the last one my Q3 which I used since almost 1 years for Elite 3/5 hours a day.

The only ones, I didn't have was the g2 :)-)) and Pimax.

After a couple of weeks, switching between headsets, my observation is plain and simple. My q3 will be out soon. I tried many times to go back to the Q3, to be sure it wasn't a placebo effect, because it is between 5 - 10% more clearer than the psvr 2, that's a fact . But man, oh man, the blacks, the colors, the fov, it is just another level. It give me back the sense of presence which I lost when I switched from my rift cv1 to my rift s (so oled to lcd).

Even if the Q3 is clearer than the psvr 2 for sure due to the pancake lenses, the panel is so bright and beautiful that I have the feeling, I'm switching to HD. For me, it is a game changer that I was looking for years. At a point where now, my main issue is losing focus. Many times, I forgot to jump because of losing focus contemplating the space and the nebulas, etc.
Everything feels there. like if the 3d or the depth is different. It is difficult to explain but my brain is tricked again, I'm on the ship. I never felt that feeling with a lcd at a point where I stopped playing Elite for a couple of years after the Q2 and came back with the q3.

Also, I'm using the globular cluster cmp2. Which is in my opinion, mandatory to fix 100% of the small sweet spot of the psvr 2.
 
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Hansa

H
Patrice_From_CA said:
Even if the Q3 is clearer than the psvr 2 for sure due to the pancake lenses, the panel is so bright and beautiful that I have the feeling, I'm switching to HD. For me, it is a game changer that I was looking for years. At a point where now, my main issue is losing focus. Many times, I forgot to jump because of losing focus contemplating the space and the nebulas, etc.
Everything feels there. like if the 3d or the depth is different. It is difficult to explain but my brain is tricked again, I'm on the ship. I never felt that feeling with a lcd at a point where I stopped playing Elite for a couple of years after the Q2 and came back with the q3.
Click to expand...
Any suggestions for graphics settings or optimizations for the PSVR2? I have a 5800x3D, 4070 Ti SUPER, 32 GB of RAM at 3600, and the performance seems a little lacking right now. I've got the SteamVR per-app render resolution set at ~3000x3000, but I need to stop ED supersampling down to like 0.85 in order to use 1.0 or 1.25 HMD. I'm using SMAA, low shadows, medium FX, ambient occlusion off, medium render distance. Thanks!
 

jojon

J
I would only modify the render resolution in one place, personally -- preferrably on the VR runtime side, but "HMD Quality" in-game does the essentially same thing as it does, so either works identically. The two factors "stack", so if one were to crank SteamVR to 400% (global, or per-app, or the two combined) and HMDQ to x2.0, that means four times the default resolution, and 16 times the workload, and you would not get the full visual benefit of that massive rendered resolution anyway, because when you get to a bit over x2.0 (which is the same as 400% in SteamVR), the algorithm that downsamples from the rendered resolution to the native screen resolution (...and at the same time compensates for lens distortions...), begins to skip over pixels in the source image.

Leave ED Supersampling at 1.0 at all times - it does not become relevant until the sums of ones VR runtime supersampling factors and HMD quality exceed x2.0 (...for the reason described above).
 

pFVD

P
I agree with @jojon ; leave the games HMD quality at 1.0 and adjust it elsewhere. The only reason to use in game HMD quality instead of* external software is the pure convenience of being able to adjust your settings in game, but as the game jumps x0.25 increments, you may not get the best result unless you just happen to find that sweet spot on a .25. I'd set everything to 1:1 to begin with, then lower/raise the resolution until you find an image quality and/or perceived framerate you are happy with. Then either sacrifice resolution or higher settings as you feel you require. You may also want to try a lower refresh rate (if possible), as you can get away with quite a lot on that front in ED, unless you are prone to motion sickness. Most VR games I play at 90Hz+ but I'm very comfortable at 80Hz in ED, and could even get away with 72Hz for most in game activities. My son can't play at anything less than 90Hz, so it's different for everyone.

It will probably make little difference performance wise, at least until you are dialing in your settings at the end, but you may also want to give FXAA a try instead of SMAA. It is arguably better performance wise, and while it will be very headset dependent, I find personally that text is easier to read and HUD lines are smoother on my Quest 2 with FXAA. I found the opposite on my regular monitor. As for the rest of the aliased image ... yeah, SMAA, FXAA, no AA; makes little difference in ED.

You may also be tempted to run a performance checker or framerate counter of some kind to help you dial in your settings, but I'd honestly leave that till after you have finished tweaking and just eyeball it; your percieved experience is what matters rather than some numbers telling you it's good/bad.

*no in addition to.
 

Patrice_From_CA

Patrice_From_CA
Hansa said:
Any suggestions for graphics settings or optimizations for the PSVR2? I have a 5800x3D, 4070 Ti SUPER, 32 GB of RAM at 3600, and the performance seems a little lacking right now. I've got the SteamVR per-app render resolution set at ~3000x3000, but I need to stop ED supersampling down to like 0.85 in order to use 1.0 or 1.25 HMD. I'm using SMAA, low shadows, medium FX, ambient occlusion off, medium render distance. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Sorry for the delay.
From my side, to give an idea, everything is at 1.0 (supersampling & HMD) and I adjust in steamvr that I let currently at 180%.
200%, I had some little hicups but 180% is just perfect. It is almost on part for the clarity with my Q3. Probably 5% less clearer than the Q3. The only difference to be honest, is the screen door effect which is a little bit visible with the psrv2 when you try to see it but nothing annoying or like before.

For the graphics settings, everything is at maximun. I run it with a 14700k + rtx4090.

Like I said above, for me in elite dangerous, for 450 canadian dollars (when on discount), it is a complete game changer. The only one that I going to test now, is the pimax cristal light but it is the triple in price standpoint and not oled but Qled.

Some observations for others, just in case.

It seems that switching from openvr to openxr fixed also an issue that I had with my Q3.
The tile loading (only the extremity, for large fov, always playing without face gasket on q3 or psvr2, using my own 3d print design) was visible when approaching or leaving a planet. That was not a big deal but annoying seeing those black tiles and had to turn the head to force the engine to load them. With openxr and the psvr2 this issue has completely disappear.

Also, with virtual deskstop and the q3, i used all the time layers to see youtube, EDOM, etc.
I was forced many time to recenter my view or replace my windows in the ship.

With the psvr 2, that behaviour has competely disappear, I never have to recenter or touch something for hours. I'm using infrared light as always but had not fixed the driffting with the q3 where with the psvr 2 nothing move at all now.
 

Marionettework

M
buzzx said:
Getting to the point, I just wanted to pass on to anyone thinking the PSVR2 might be a good upgrade/replacement for the Reverb G2 for ED, sadly I think its not.

After seeing many good reviews of the PSVR2, in particular vs the G2, and dreaming of those OLED blacks in ED I couldn't resist and bought it. With the mixed reality support on Windows coming to an end, believing the PSVR2 had comparable resolution to the G2 and wanting OLED with a hint of improved FOV I thought the PSVR2 might be a good replacement and/or possible upgrade.

Just for context, I've been playing ED in VR exclusively since the release of the Rift CV1. So I started on the CV1 in 2017 then upgraded to the Samsung Odyssey and have had the Reverb G2 for the past 3 years. I currently run the Reverb G2 on a 5800x3D with 32MB (3600) and RTX 4090 on Win11. I run ED through OpenComposite (OpenXR 100%). In ED super sampling is at 100% and HMD at 1.25 with FSR ultra quality. Most other settings are on high or ultra and it is very clear and butter smooth. Sometimes i run HMD 1.5, still smooth but in stations sometimes you get a few micro stutters but i prefer it to be super smooth 100% of the time.
Click to expand...
I'm considering a G2 replacement and I just watched a video about the PSVR2 that said the OLED is gorgous and must be amazing for space games. They didn't mention anything about a screen door effect, that would be a deal breaker for me. I noticed that you mentioned you're using FSR, I have no idea how you "run ED through OpenComposite" (I have OpenXR Toolkit but I'm still new to tweaking VR), however, I got very good quality results on my 4080 / 5800X3D using this VRperfkit, with the Nvidia Image Scaling option enabled instead of FSR:

github.com

GitHub - fholger/vrperfkit: VR Performance Toolkit

VR Performance Toolkit. Contribute to fholger/vrperfkit development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com github.com

Why don't you try it out if you haven't already? In the game settings you just set the scaling to "Normal" (or something like that, not FSR) and when you uncomment "nis" in the settings you get the Nvidia scaling which is far better. Also it enable FFR which boosts performance and gives me a smooth framerate on the 4080 with only a couple of things down to High instead of Ultra. All other scaling is 100% I believe.
 

buzzx

buzzx
I gave up on PSVR2 in the end and have a new found appreciation for the ReverbG2. Just cant beat its clarity. The sweet spot for the PSVR2 was 70% steamVR and ED settings all at 100% with normal upscaling. It actually lead me to change my G2 settings back to normal upscaling with HMD on 1 and openXR on 100% with some fixed foveated rendering applied in openXR toolkit. It runs perfectly smooth with this config and bypassing SteamVR is a must with Opencomposite.
 

Dragsham

Dragsham
Pimax crystal light.
The blacks are really black...Ink
No reprojection at all
Runs well. No screendoor
Only bugbear is having to buy an aftermarket gasket.
And the boundary needs setting up alot but it's quick to do.
The softwares diverse settings and tweeks are fab.
It's much better than Q3 or G2 reverb. My old G2 is sadly off in a jiffy bag to a friend in the states. My missus has a Q3.
So comparisons are immediately apparent.
 

Marionettework

M
Dragsham said:
Pimax crystal light.
The blacks are really black...Ink
No reprojection at all
Runs well. No screendoor
Only bugbear is having to buy an aftermarket gasket.
And the boundary needs setting up alot but it's quick to do.
The softwares diverse settings and tweeks are fab.
It's much better than Q3 or G2 reverb. My old G2 is sadly off in a jiffy bag to a friend in the states. My missus has a Q3.
So comparisons are immediately apparent.
Click to expand...
What GPU / CPU do you use and what settings did you lower from Ultra?
 

Bill Clement

Bill Clement
Sorry chaps, tech neanderthal here.

I currently run a G2 on windows 11. I'm very happy with my set up, everything's working fine.

However, I log in via Steam VR, which takes me to the Windows Mixed Reality portal, where I select Elite. I've heard that the Mixed Reality feature is about to be removed from Windows 11, in update 24H2. Leaving aside just how scummy this is, if true- it literally breaks my computer, it's sole purpose is to let me 'fly' Elite Dangerous and a flight sim- is there a way to play Elite Dangerous without using Steam VR and WMR?

Any help or advice is much appreciated.
 

Helmut Grokenberger

Helmut Grokenberger
you can play Elite through OpenComposite, which kind of skips the SteamVR-WMR bridge, but without the WMR backend, I suppose every WMR headset will be a brick.

I haven't decided what to do yet, but I am also staying on Windows 10 until the bitter end... once that is finished, I suppose it is time to switch to another headset that is not WMR. Shame really, I like the G2.
 

Bill Clement

Bill Clement
Helmut Grokenberger said:
you can play Elite through OpenComposite, which kind of skips the SteamVR-WMR bridge, but without the WMR backend, I suppose every WMR headset will be a brick.

I haven't decided what to do yet, but I am also staying on Windows 10 until the bitter end... once that is finished, I suppose it is time to switch to another headset that is not WMR. Shame really, I like the G2.
Click to expand...
I'm happy to switch to windows 10 if that'll help! I'd buy a win10 licence, but I built my rig specifically to play Elite (and DCS), I think it's outrageous that Microsoft are so blase about just breaking my entire computer! I'm very reluctant to give them any more cash. I'm starting to see why so many people are so passionate about using Linux.

But back on point, am I reading you right- when WMR goes, I won't be able to use the G2 at all? Even with OpenComposite?
 

Helmut Grokenberger

Helmut Grokenberger
Bill Clement said:
I'm happy to switch to windows 10 if that'll help! I'd buy a win10 licence, but I built my rig specifically to play Elite (and DCS), I think it's outrageous that Microsoft are so blase about just breaking my entire computer! I'm very reluctant to give them any more cash. I'm starting to see why so many people are so passionate about using Linux.
Click to expand...
Remember that support for Windows 10 ends in October next year. Unless you are prepared to run Windows 10 without the possibility of updates, it's a short term solution at best. Which sucks.

Bill Clement said:
But back on point, am I reading you right- when WMR goes, I won't be able to use the G2 at all? Even with OpenComposite?
Click to expand...
This is how I understand it. WMR is needed for the basic functionality of the headset, and without it it will not run. Remember when you first set up you headset? It remained black until you installed and launched WMR. If you close down WMR, your headset goes dark.

OpenComposite is an few layers above the hardware functionality, basically a translation layer between WMR, OpenXR and games that only support SteamVR. There used to be a great graphic on the OpenXR Toolkit website explaining that, but that page has been removed, and I didn't save the diagram.
 

Dragsham

Dragsham
Pimax crystal light. With local dimming.
Don't buy the paddles you don't need em. If you want better sound get the 77 quid pimax headphones that fit onto the crystal. I personally haven't bothered I use the default ones cos my hearings crap anyways so..
Good luck.

o7
 
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