What kind of upgrade do I need for DK2?

phayzr

P
After playing the DK2 demo at PAX South this past weekend, I don't want to play the game any other way ever again. That being said, I'm planning to drop the $350 on a DK2 and sell it when the CV1 releases. What I'm wondering is: Will my system be able to run the game (reasonably) smoothly through the DK2 with my current setup?

I've been running max settings with solid framerate and no issues through my monitor (Television) with the following setup:
- 3.2Ghz i7 (x8)
- 8GB Ram
- GTX 560 (stock)

I've seen a lot of ppl reporting stuttering in stations, which seems unavoidable at the time, so I'm not concerned about that. I just want to make sure i can sustain 45+ FPS most of the time through the DK2.

If you think I should upgrade my GPU, please leave a suggestion as to which one I should get, keeping in mind that I don't want to drop more than $700 total (DK2+GPU+Wireless surround headphones).

Thanks in advance, folks!
 

Adam Lusardi

A
A bit of info.
-
robdood said:
Cv1 has no confirmed release date. I'll be surprised if it makes it to market this year to be honest. It's going to be higher framerate (rumoured 90fps). It's also going to be higher resolution (rumoured 1440p at least). Given that even a 980 won't give you flawless performance in Elite, it's really, really hard to know what advice to give!

As for testing your current setup, I'd suggest the following.

The DK2, although equipped with a 1080p screen, actual renders at a resolution closer to 1440p before applying all its wizardry for the 3D, and downscaling the image. The fact that it does side by side is only a minimal impact on performance vs overall framebuffer resolution (I did a degree in graphics programming, please don't argue) ;)

So, set your game to run as close to 1440p as possible using your graphics card's super sampling options (called Dynamic Super Resolution on nVidia, has a similar name on AMD).

Set graphics options to minimum / low preset in game. Enable side by side (NOT ANAGLYPH!) in the 3D options. Turn off the frame limiter, and ensure that vsync is off. Enable frame counter (ctrl+f, I think), start online mode (don't use tutorials / solo as performance is generally better in those modes, and we're testing worst case scenario!) and head to a station.

Keep an eye on the fps, if the majority of the time you're North of 75fps, you're good to get a DK2 and not spend any extra cash.

I used to have a 670 which ran the game fine on low/med settings on the Rift. I only splashed out on a 970 because I'm an idiot and wanted to push the settings higher, and here's the kicker: other than shadow quality, it's really hard to notice the difference between low and high settings on the DK2! Or so I think anyway. I could've managed just fine on my 670 really, just got a bit of gadget lust. We've all been there, right? Hehe.

Hope this helps! It's totally worth jumping on the bandwagon now imo, it's so flipping good on the Rift. :D
Click to expand...
 

Lirezh

L
And if you find you will be below 75fps (that's certain with that GPU) then you need a new GPU :)
I'd consider the 970 GTX if you want good performance for money, quite a nice boost is the 980 GTX if you want to spend a bit more.
I'd not go below that if possible.

Wireless surround is not required. Get a normal stereo headphone and make sure to enable Oculus Headphone in Elite config. Windows 8 already can simulate surround and the DK2 has an audio jack on top if you want no 2nd cable.
You are anyway bound to the DK2 cable.
I personally use a normal wired headphone and an extension cable. The cable of the DK2 is way more anoying ;)



P.S.
another 8 GB of RAM would not hurt but you should be OK.
The CPU is fine.
An SSD will reduce loading times for objects.
 
Last edited:

Raptoyd

Raptoyd
phayzr said:
After playing the DK2 demo at PAX South this past weekend, I don't want to play the game any other way ever again. That being said, I'm planning to drop the $350 on a DK2 and sell it when the CV1 releases. What I'm wondering is: Will my system be able to run the game (reasonably) smoothly through the DK2 with my current setup?

I've been running max settings with solid framerate and no issues through my monitor (Television) with the following setup:
- 3.2Ghz i7 (x8)
- 8GB Ram
- GTX 560 (stock)

I've seen a lot of ppl reporting stuttering in stations, which seems unavoidable at the time, so I'm not concerned about that. I just want to make sure i can sustain 45+ FPS most of the time through the DK2.

If you think I should upgrade my GPU, please leave a suggestion as to which one I should get, keeping in mind that I don't want to drop more than $700 total (DK2+GPU+Wireless surround headphones).

Thanks in advance, folks!
Click to expand...

Gtx970 = 350
DK2 = 399
Logitech G930 = 150

More like 900 instead of 7
 

phayzr

P
Lirezh said:
And if you find you will be below 75fps (that's certain with that GPU) then you need a new GPU :)
I'd consider the 970 GTX if you want good performance for money, quite a nice boost is the 980 GTX if you want to spend a bit more.
I'd not go below that if possible.

Wireless surround is not required. Get a normal stereo headphone and make sure to enable Oculus Headphone in Elite config. Windows 8 already can simulate surround and the DK2 has an audio jack on top if you want no 2nd cable.
You are anyway bound to the DK2 cable.
I personally use a normal wired headphone and an extension cable. The cable of the DK2 is way more anoying ;)



P.S.
another 8 GB of RAM would not hurt but you should be OK.
The CPU is fine.
An SSD will reduce loading times for objects.
Click to expand...


Thanks a lot for this great info!

I suppose surround headphones aren't necessary since everything on the market would be severely underwhelming (from my sound engineer perspective). I've got a nice pair of studio phones I can use. I'll just plug them into the DK2 just to reduce the number of cables stretching from my PC to my couch (PC setup in the living room).

Looking at the price of the DK2+970GTX, it seems I may have a reasonable avenue to assemble my virtual cockpit!
 

Lirezh

L
You will definitely have a great experience with your studio headphones. I use Bose headphones and it's really nice. Elite matches your head with sound, so if you move your head the sound is changed accordingly. That's more than surround usually can do.


Before I forget, you need a HOTAS and you need the throttle and joystick not "melted" togther. Maybe you already got it.
You should put your HOTAS controls exactly like it's in the cockpit. If you have your IPD correctly set (oculus config util does that for you) then you will have your arms join the virtual hands and every movement you make represented. That's one of the big effects that cause "presence".

The best experience is probably with a TM Warthog but that piece is too expensive for your budget, maybe after a while if you want to upgrade again. (It's the only HOTAS worth it's money imho)
If you go for a cheap HOTAS look for one with HAL sensors.
 
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phayzr

P
Lirezh said:
You will definitely have a great experience with your studio headphones. I use Bose headphones and it's really nice. Elite matches your head with sound, so if you move your head the sound is changed accordingly. That's more than surround usually can do.


Before I forget, you need a HOTAS and you need the throttle and joystick not "melted" togther. Maybe you already got it.
You should put your HOTAS controls exactly like it's in the cockpit. If you have your IPD correctly set (oculus config util does that for you) then you will have your arms join the virtual hands and every movement you make represented. That's one of the big effects that cause "presence".

The best experience is probably with a TM Warthog but that piece is too expensive for your budget, maybe after a while if you want to upgrade again. (It's the only HOTAS worth it's money imho)
If you go for a cheap HOTAS look for one with HAL sensors.
Click to expand...

I already play with an X52, so I'm set! (The PAX demo used the X52 Pro, so I'm assuming thats their HOTAS of choice)
 
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