Solved CPUs, VR and VAM

[Skua0169]

I recently purchased a Rift S. While being solely a Desktop VAM User, the experience with VR through VAM is amazing! Unfortunately, I am getting a lot of lag and stutter. My lasers are constantly moving so I have to feel like a sniper when trying to activate a button. So I knew coming in that my Desktop CPU would be challenged. While in VAM as VR, the cpu utilization is between 45 - 90%. In Desktop VAM, utilization is around 45%. I am running Intel I-7 -6700 cpu @ 3.40 GHz, 4 core. VAM on SS drive, RAM is at 16 Meg and using an Nvidia GeForce 1660 (6 Gig of RAM).

I have been looking to replace this PC and would like to know which CPUs and speed I should be looking at (I know I need to be at 32 Gig of RAM, a SS drive and at least a 2060 GPU). I do realize there is some next gen stuff coming out soon, so it may be worth the wait. However, in a perfect world what would be the recommendations for CPU performance to make the VR VAM experience smoother and faster. I do not do any other gaming other than VAM. Also, not based on any other than experience my preference is Intel and Nvidia, as I have never had issues with them. Also, looking to spend around $1,000 US, can go a bit higher for the PC.

 

[Deleted member 1503]

100% just personal preference here (since you asked): I'd wait for next gen. Then get the new AMD 3700x or equivalent (I have a 3900x and apart from some really poorly optimized single thread programs it is way overkill for me), a 30 series Nivdia GPU, 32gb of ram isn't needed but personally I've found I use mid-high 20's all the time now with mult screens/programs running, I'd splurge on a 2gb m.2 even if it means saving a month longer (I just bought one for ~260 ish bucks shipped from Newegg. Personally I like to run windows on 1 smaller m.2 and everything else on another. No good reason for it though) and a mid range cheap motherboard (AMD doesn't overclock well so no reason to go super pricey, I like to watch buildzoid on youtube or games nexus for reviews).

 

[TToby]

My old PC is a i7 4790k 16MB RAM gtx980 ti. According to "User Benchmark", my GPU is at best only 25-29% faster than yours depending on the tested games, my CPU is only ca 10% faster because of clock speed. I have a Valve Index with Lighthouse tracking, but keeping this aside, my system is not THAT much faster and i never have experienced such a bad behavior like you have described it. Are your VaM settings maybe too high? You may want to lower them in VR to avoid lags. Do you using the same big scenes like in desktop mode? That is too much for VR, even with high end GPUs. There is a very good performance threat here at the hub.

Coming back to your question: In ca 1.5 months there should be the release of the new NVIDIA "Ampere" cards, that should bring us an enormous performance jump (it is rumored that the 3080 is up to 25% faster than the 2080 ti and the "3080 ti" imight be up to 50% faster). Unfortunately the top tier GPUs will be first, the mid range GPUs will come out some months later. The new AMD "Big Navi" should come out in November-December and is rumored to be at min on pair with 2080 ti but much cheaper than the 3080. This rumored "price war" would mean that the prices will go down for all cards, old and new. In addition to that, the new Ryzen CPUs are rumored to come out end of the year, too. So, at the moment it is the worst time to do an upgrade decision.

I am looking for a major system upgrade, too, and I have decided to wait till end of the year. If you are in a hurry, you maybe could think about buying an used GPU for cheap to upgrade your gtx 1660 first. ATM VaM isn't really optimized for multi core CPUs. IMHO the rtx 2060 should be the absolute minimum to be a bit more futureproof. I am aiming for a rtx 3080.

 

[Skua0169]

My old PC is a i7 4790k 16MB RAM gtx980 ti. According to "User Benchmark", my GPU is at best only 25-29% faster than yours depending on the tested games, my CPU is only ca 10% faster because of clock speed. I have a Valve Index with Lighthouse tracking, but keeping this aside, my system is not THAT much faster and i never have experienced such a bad behavior like you have described it. Are your VaM settings maybe too high? You may want to lower them in VR to avoid lags. Do you using the same big scenes like in desktop mode? That is too much for VR, even with high end GPUs. There is a very good performance threat here at the hub.

Coming back to your question: In ca 1.5 months there should be the release of the new NVIDIA "Ampere" cards, that should bring us an enormous performance jump (it is rumored that the 3080 is up to 25% faster than the 2080 ti and the "3080 ti" imight be up to 50% faster). Unfortunately the top tier GPUs will be first, the mid range GPUs will come out some months later. The new AMD "Big Navi" should come out in November-December and is rumored to be at min on pair with 2080 ti but much cheaper than the 3080. This rumored "price war" would mean that the prices will go down for all cards, old and new. In addition to that, the new Ryzen CPUs are rumored to come out end of the year, too. So, at the moment it is the worst time to do an upgrade decision.

I am looking for a major system upgrade, too, and I have decided to wait till end of the year. If you are in a hurry, you maybe could think about buying an used GPU for cheap to upgrade your gtx 1660 first. ATM VaM isn't really optimized for multi core CPUs. IMHO the rtx 2060 should be the absolute minimum to be a bit more futureproof. I am aiming for a rtx 3080.

Thank you TToby. I have read your replies on similar threads and appreciate your wisdom. Which VAM Settings should I be looking at? I have soft Body Physics and collison off. I see there was a post/guide from a user about increasing FPS. Is that a good guide to decrease my VAM performance in VR?

 

[Skua0169]

Note: Just setting my Quality Settings to Mid enabled all the stutter and lag to go away. Seeing about 35 fps on VR, but no lag or stutter.

 

[Deleted member 1503]

My wife's PC is a 6700k (bought 2016) & 5700x GPU. I've been running a 1.4v OC at 4,700mhz for 4 years on it (water cooled). You might try a more aggressive OC if you are planning on upgrading anyway.

 

[TToby]

Yes, that is a very good guide. I am glad that you could eleminate the stutter, but 35 fps are not very much. For a good VR experience, you should aim for 80-90 fps. The best recommendation I could give you is to simply say goodbye to multi person scenes with multiple lights if you are in VR. I play most of the time with only one figure and one basic light source. If I am happy with those figures, I sometimes combine them to a two person, at max to a three person scene OR I use a multi light setting for screenshots, not both at one time (or I will get a slow slideshow, too). The worst performance killer in normal use besides of soft body physics and lights is IMHO the hair. If you have a hair style with multiple segments and very high physics settings (above 12-16) it is immediately visible in VR. In a newly downloaded scene I usually dial down the physics of the hair at once, then I delete all lights except one. Many of those creators seems to run a rtx 2080 ti....
The recommendations of 'Dre' are not bad, too. I did overclocking my CPU and my GPU for some extra fps some years ago, too. Sometimes even some cheap extra case fans can prevent the GPU from getting hot and to throttle down. The recommendated AMD Radeon rx 5700 xt is not such a bad idea. It is about as fast as a rtx 2070, but much cheaper. The price of it is dropping like crazy, now that everybody is waiting for the new NVIDIA and AMD GPUs. Best value for money ATM, I guess, If you don't mind the lack of hardware raytracing in some games. Though, I personally would not buy it, because I am waiting for a biger card.

 

[Universens]

Hi guys, You may already now but I found someting good for Oculus Quest users. I used to open Vam just by double click after I connect to virtual desktop via steam. But yesterday I tried to open it via clicking on virtual desktop stream's icon launch game... (next to windows date-clock) and it gave me so much better fps than steam gives.. Improvment was like 40fps to 75 80 fps (even quest can handle only 72) and quality is the same.