Do You Need the Best VR Flight Computer?

Categories: Equipment

Do You Need the Best VR Flight Computer?

When you are shopping for a VR flight computer system, I find it is easier to compare to one you have tried. I believe that best way I can help you is by showing you what I use. I can then show you two of my videos, where I am running X-Plane, FlyInside and Oculus with my current system.

If your interested in watching VR in action, take a look at a few of my videos.

Flying the 737 in VR with the Oculus Rift

X-Plane 11 VS Aerofly FS 2

X-Plane 11.20 Beta 11.20 – Flying the Cessna and Sikorsky in Virtual Reality

X-Plane VR Flight at Night with the Oculus Rift (GTX 1060)

X-Plane 11 in VR with Oculus Rift (GTX 1060)

With my system I am able to get about 30 to 40 fps with my Oculus running at approximately 90fps. The reason the Oculus runs at 90 fps, is because of Time warp. Time warp allows your head movements to be smooth as silk and will help keep you immersed in the game.

***Update***
I now am running X-Plane 11 without flyinside. This is because X-Plane 11 now comes with VR built into the program. With the new setup I have been reaching 60fps in the game. It still has the additional smoothing that happens to ensure it feels like you are running it at a blistering 90fps. This only happens when your computer doesn’t put out the 90 fps. 90fps is a very tough goal to meet and you would need an absolute top of the line PC to get there. 60 fps is still amazing and is perfect for me.

I have spent countless hours getting my settings just right. Here is a post where I describe my X-Plane 11 settings. Even though my system was a home built Desktop, a similar PC from the store would do just fine. I enjoyed building the PC, however I don’t think I saved much money doing it this way. I also don’t think I spent more, it just kinda balanced out. Although I didn’t save time or money, getting to hand pick each of the parts was a great bonus. If you are interested in building your own PC, take a look at https://pcpartpicker.com/, as this is where I parted together my PC. I have heard lots of people say that you need a top of the line computer with a GTX 1080, however that was not the case with me.

Please note, with VR flight sim, more is better. I was able to get this setup to work great with what I want, however if you want to crank up the graphics, I do recommend getting a top of the line system. Please be aware that I was able to overclock my CPU to 4.3 Ghz and my GPU slightly, and therefore will have slightly better performance then a computer without an overclock. While it did help a bit, I don’t think it made a huge difference. The overclocking I did was very basic, however I installed a CPU cooler and extra case fans to ensure my computer stayed cool. Update: I actually went back to a complete stock setting without the overclock. I did this as I was testing X-Plane 11 in Beta.

If you are interested in some VR computers, check out these two posts. Top 5 Things You Need for VR Flight, is a post where I go over what you need to get started in VR Flight. I go over several PC recommendations for a few price ranges. The second post is 5 Top Things You Should Understand When Buying a Computer. In this post I get into details about what makes a great flight computer. Warning on the last one, it get a bit more technical. If you just want to get up and running, go take a look at my recommendations in Top 5 Things You Need for VR Flight.

Here are my specifications:

My Current VR flight computer

CPU: Intel – Core i5-7600K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master – Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler

Motherboard: Asus – PRIME Z270-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard

Memory: Corsair – Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory

Storage: Western Digital – Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5″ 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive

Video Card: Asus – GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB Dual Video Card

Case: Corsair – 200R ATX Mid Tower Case

Power Supply: EVGA – SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply

Operating System: Microsoft – Windows 10 Home Full – USB 32/64-bit

Case Fan: Corsair – Air Series SP120 High Performance Edition (2-Pack) 62.7 CFM 120mm Fans

If you’re interested in my recommendations, I have included a few links below. Please note, that these are Amazon Affiliate links. This means I do get a small advertising fee if you use and purchase anything from my link. It doesn’t affect your purchase or price and helps me to keep producing great content for you. Don’t feel obligated to use my link, but if you do, I really appreciate it.

Computer Recommendations

Now, even the “Budget” PC I have listed is a very strong PC for almost any game or task. The only reason it is a budget PC in this case, is that it is a budget PC for the VR flight World. It will get you into flying VR, however it may not future proof you.