OK, I know its a weird title but I wasn't sure what to call it. I am not reporting any problems and solutions to any problems. I just want to tell my journey regarding virtual reality headsets; a journey far from over.

When the Quest 2 came out, I thought it was so cool, I just had to have one. So I bought one. At that time I only played stand-alone games. I was not a flight simmer yet. I loved it, but of course I didn't own anything to compare it to.

Move forward in time, the Quest 3 came out so I bought one of those too. I thought for me it would be the best compromise because I could still play all of my stand-alone games but it had a much better image for the flight simulator than the Quest 2 did.

When I started reading about some of the new display port headsets like the Pimax ones, and others, I started wondering how, at least different if not better, they were than the WiFi based one like the Quest 3.

But I didn't have the money to buy another expensive headset. So I went onto eBay and found a used HP Reverb G2 V2 with controllers, for $150. I thought, "great, it's display port so I'll get to see what I think of that".

Well I got busy and other than setting it up to confirm it was genuine and operational, I really didn't do anything with it.

Now I will say while I think the Quest 3 is an awesome headset, I would see through-the-lens videos on Youtube from different display port headsets and I would think 'The image I see never looks that realistic, no matter how much I make adjustments".

Forward in time again; My life was really busy for a while and I didn't use the Quest 3 at all. When my time freed up and I could start using it again, a strange problem had emerged. As soon as the Quest 3 would connect to the home WiFi, every device on my home network would lose internet connectivity.

I was an IT professional for almost 45 years so I know how to troubleshoot network problems and I know how to formulate a logical set of troubleshooting steps. Well, I tried everything I could think of. Then I tried everything I could find suggested on the internet. Nothing helped that problem. So I engaged the help of Meta. The headset is still under warranty. After testing all sorts of things that Meta wanted me to try, nothing seemed to cure the problem. So Meta agreed to replace the unit, which I mailed out to them a couple of days ago.

Then I had the thought, 'wait, I have another headset I can hook up'. I didn't expect much from the Reverb G2 but I felt it would be much better than not being able to use VR at all for a few weeks. So I set it up, fired up MSFS 2024, and went into VR.

I knew going in that the headset had a small sweet spot, and it does. However, I have never had such a clean image from the Quest 2 or the Quest 3. I know the Quest has a higher resolution, and that's great, but by being connected via display port, even with an old model headset, so much of the interference I would see while in the Quest (jaggy lines, wavering, etc.), was just gone. I truly learned how much better the image can be with a display port connected HMD. I can't afford to buy another one now but I believe I may just start using the Reverb G2 MSFS 2024 and use the Quest for stand-alone gaming. My brain is adjusting to the fact that in order to keep the image looking sharp, I have to move my head, not my eyes. While I am sure that if I tried something like a Pimax, I would probably then think that the Reveb was not good anymore. But for me, with what I have available to use, I am loving the Reverb G2 with the Oasis driver and Steamvr. 

5 hours ago, Rob G said:

a Pimax, I would probably then think that the Reveb was not good anymore

that is correct, I had all 3 of them, and only kept the Pimax Crystal Light. fluid 40-45 fps in VR since SU4. the Quest3 as you said is probably better only for specific room gaming where you don't need that much clarity but be free from any cables. But then even a Quest 3S might be good enough for those? My next one should have both: wireless AND cable or cable like quality. requirements for room  games, simulation and watching movies are just too different. future headsets will do all. and be lighter and smaller.

Edited December 14, 2025Dec 14 by turbomax

My quest 3 experience in msfa 2020 and 2024 has horrible performance and my system is pretty high end.

Nice to read your story.  I've seen too many Q3 owners go over the top on "its superiority" due to its lenses.  Not to be too judgemental here, but there is a saying in data and video processing: GIGO (garbage in, garbage out).  BTW, I'm not calling the Q3 garbage here, just that its limitations can't be overcome by its optics.

Edited December 15, 2025Dec 15 by TheFamilyMan

18 hours ago, Boomer said:

My quest 3 experience in msfa 2020 and 2024 has horrible performance and my system is pretty high end.

You don't show your system specs so "pretty high end" is a bit vague, but your comment may deter some from considering trying VR with a Quest 3". Coming from the Reverb G2 to a Quest 3 I can say that I get better performance and visuals with the Quest 3 and I only have a 3080TI. I is true that the image is not sharper than the sweet spot in the Reverb G2, but it is clear through nearly the entire FOV.

I  use Virtual Desktop set to Ultra and have a dedicated router within a few feet of where I sit. In addition, I use the OpenXR Toolkit because reducing the FOV in it (not in MSFS) to 84% results in a very significant improvement in clarity in the Quest 3 with no loss of performance. I also use 10% NIS sharpening in OXR Toolkit in addition to max CAS sharpening in MSFS. With these settings I can use DLSS Performance (using the latest DLSS file and Preset K) and get good visuals and maintain a smooth 72 FPS everywhere (36 FPS doubled with virtual desktop SSW. Works for me.

7800x3d, 4090, 32gb of 6000 memory

17 hours ago, turnandbank said:

72 FPS everywhere (36 FPS doubled with virtual desktop SSW.

72 Hz screen refresh is not the same as 72 fps, and it is definitely not doubled from 36 fps. there is no way a 3080 ti will drive  the Quest3 at 72 fps. I can select even 120 in my higher resolution Pimax, but again that is Hz as Hertz  in screen refresh, not 120 fps frames rendered by the game.🤣

4 hours ago, turbomax said:

72 Hz screen refresh is not the same as 72 fps, and it is definitely not doubled from 36 fps. there is no way a 3080 ti will drive  the Quest3 at 72 fps. I can select even 120 in my higher resolution Pimax, but again that is Hz as Hertz  in screen refresh, not 120 fps frames rendered by the game.🤣

Glad my post gave you a laugh! 😂 You are absolutely right—my language was imprecise, and Hz is not the same as FPS.

When I referred to "72 FPS," I was simply referring to what the Virtual Desktop performance monitor displays when SSW is active. This utility reports the resulting frame rate delivered to the headset, which, when successfully using SSW, is locked to the screen's 72 Hz refresh rate.

The underlying reality is that my 3080 Ti is consistently rendering 36 actual FPS, and Virtual Desktop's Synchronous Spacewarp (SSW) is generating the interpolated frames to smoothly deliver the full 72 Hz experience.

That smooth 72 Hz display is the core reason why the Quest 3 performance "works for me. If I turn off SSW I can maintain 36 FPS locked or between that and the low 40s unlocked, but the experience is not nearly as smooth. IMO SSW works very well if you  use settings that maintain the base framerate at at least 1/2 of the refresh rate.

Thanks for pointing out the correct terminology!

and thank you for explaing the Quest's interpolating feature, that I must have missed from your first post. I was not aware of that and what SSW is. interpolation does indeed then obviously generate somewhat 72 fps, but I doubt it is anything near to what Nvidia's AI based MultiframeGen achieves (requires a RTX 40 generation and up) but unfortunately not available in VR.

I have a Quest 3S, a Quest3 and a PICO 4 coming this week and will have to decide if any is worth keeping in addition to my Pimax Crystal light, perhaps only for wireless room gaming or an even smaller VR like the Beyond or Meganex, which no one here seems to have. good to see someone like you who has Quest VR experience. I take it you'll have to purchase virtual desktop and OpenXR toolkit from Steam, it doesn't come with the Quest? I just don't like the idea of multi-tool requirements, as if MSFS VR and AI traffic wasn't already complex enough.😀

8 hours ago, turbomax said:

I take it you'll have to purchase virtual desktop and OpenXR toolkit from Steam, it doesn't come with the Quest? I just don't like the idea of multi-tool requirements, as if MSFS VR and AI traffic wasn't already complex enough.

I have the Windows Store versions of MSFS 2020 and 2024, so I am not familiar with the differences with Steam. The Open XR Toolkit (Not to be confused with Open XR Tools) can be downloaded for free from https://mbucchia.github.io/OpenXR-Toolkit/ . You can download the Virtual Desktop streamer app at https://www.vrdesktop.net/ . That part is free, but you have to buy the Virtual Desktop App from the Meta Store and install it on your Quest. Virtual Desktop is not required, as you can also use Air Link or Cable Link to connect to your PC, but Virtual Desktop seems to be the preferred solution for most Quest users. It is comparatively easy to use and gives a good image quality providing you set up a dedicated router nearby.

1 hour ago, turnandbank said:

but you have to buy the Virtual Desktop App from the Meta Store and install it on your Quest.

And again for the Pico 4. This could get expensive!

I don't think the app is that expensive in the whole scheme of things. 

Can Virtual Desktop be used with a Pimax Crystal Light  instead of Steam VR  ?

https://pimax.com/blogs/blogs/using-a-vr-headset-as-a-monitor

Here’s how to set up your VR headset as a monitor

1. Go to Steam and search for Virtual Desktop.

2. Install it and run it, as well as SteamVR. It will load in your VR headset.

 

Edited December 17, 2025Dec 17 by turbomax

For me, visuals on the Quest 3 have gotten better and better.  Using a 4090, I set the resolution to 5000 horizontal with OpenXRToolkit and set Foveated Rendering to 35%.  With such a high horizontal resolution, it is not too blurred outside the central region.  With that setting, I can use TAA.  I use SSW and a 72 Hz refresh rate.  It seems so clear now that the urge to upgrade my headset is diminishing.