yeah I’m on chat with them right now. Ugh.
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So… As I hadn’t planned on getting the G2 this weekend, I had to rearrange my schedule. About to do the deed…
Before plugging this thing in, is there anything I should do first?
Uninstall the Oculus software?
Update windows?
Do I have to download and install WMR or is it part of Win10?
I already have Steam VR installed.
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No need to uninstall anything. Just plug it in an stuff should happen.
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Sounds like a leap of faith, if you ask me… But ok, that’s how it worked with the Oculus. 
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Make sure you run the most recent Windows 10 release and you should be fine.
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Checked!
Maybe update the GPU drivers…? Haven’t done that in months.
Yes, definitely. And then you‘ll also need the WMR thingy on steam. Should be easy to find.
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I am happy for you, @Troll 
I reached to Bestware asking about my G2 as they indicated it should have been on its way this week. The reply: logistic issues → so I have another week and a half to keep looking forward to it 
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I noticed this when I was browsing a while back:
"It looks like my left display is stretched, and the right display is off-centered and half black
This can happen when your headset is not running at the native resolution. Due to the nature of the high-resolution displays in the HP Reverb G2 HMD, not all systems will be able to render the native resolution. There is a fix coming in a future Windows Update that will address the rendering issue when the headset is not at the native resolution.
There are a few reasons why your system is not able to render at the native resolution:
- The DisplayPort on the system might not be 1.3 compatible, or it might not support all 4 lanes.
- If you are using an adapter, it might not support be HBR3 compatible, or it might not support all 4 lanes.
- If your system has a hybrid GPU, that might be limiting the bandwidth available to the DisplayPort."
Ok… Reverb G2 hooked up and tested!
Installation was pretty uneventful. The headset didn’t like the single USB-C port in my mobo. Used the A-C adapter and another USB port and all was well.
I kind of liked the WMR setup and home a little better than the Oculus equivalent.
Less fuss. More straightforward.
I wasn’t overwhelmed by the view. The Rift S is a good headset. This is better, but not overwhelmingly so. The view is clearer, yes, but there are some glare spots in the lenses that detracts a bit from the experience.
Manual IPD is good! I like that! The fixed IPD of the Rift S wasn’t that much off for me anyway. But absolutely a plus to be able to set it to my personal IPD.
My PC is a i7 8700k clocked at 5Ghz, 32 Gb RAM, M.2 drives and a 1080ti.
I never expected to be able to run the G2 without concessions, and I was right.
SteamVR placed the resolution at 88%. I tried IL-2 Great Battles and it was a pleasant experience. The SteamVR ASW (reprojection?) equivalent seems to be better than the Oculus one. In the Rift S the ASW was either on or off and the switching was very noticable. It seems to be…smoother…in SteamVR…?
I tried 50% and 100% resolution too. Can’t say there was a huge difference, either in looks or performance. A little.
One thing I absolutely hate about SteamVR is the horrible flickering that’s going on during menu loading…! Is there anything one can do about that?
I have read some place that it is possible to lower the refreshrate of the G2, down to 60hz. How?
I really should read up on WMR and SteamVR. Anybody got a good place to start?
I also tried DCS. The clarity of the cockpit text and dials is much better. But the reprojection kicks in and that makes the image a bit blurry once I move my head. But if I sit still, I can read everything. The area where everything is in perfect focus is very small. It’s hard to explain. The resolution is pretty even across the lenses, but there is a small area with sharper focus in the middle and less focus at the outer edges.
Sound… Well, everybody is talking about the fantastic sound of the Valve designed speakers. They are better than the stock RiftS solution, which was horrible, but not better than a audio headset. And I’m not sure what happened, but after I installed the G2, all sounds are lower. Including the bass shakers that I have hooked up to the onboard soundcard on the mobo. I have to crank everything up about 50%.
It’s a good headset.
But unless you have the hardware to run it in all it’s resolution glory, at 90 fps, the over all experience won’t be that much better than that of a Rift S. But it is better. And I will get a new GPU, soon. Perhaps a totally new PC. Waiting for the dust to settle and see if there is a ’best solution’ emerging. The G2 can certainly grow with new hardware and I’m happy to leave the Faceboculus connection behind…
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Oh, and the infamous cable clip…
WTH did HP think? Did they give the task of designing the cable clip to the newly hired intern…?
Here’s my solution. A velcro cable tie. At least 10 times better.
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Not that I know. Once the loading screen is off center, it gets way better. But it is annoying.
I have tried it on the G1 once and it was not worth it. Over at BoX forum people had many issues with that. Not sure about the G2 though. It is in the WMR settings but can’t point my finger on it now (not at my PC). I think it is labelled sth like ‘experience’ or so.
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To try 60 Hz, go to Windows Settings then Mixed Reality and finally Headset Display.
I use 60 Hz with X-Plane. It’s unplayable otherwise on my system. One thing I have noticed with the G2 is that because the screens seem a little brighter than the Rift S, there is a barely perceptible flicker if you look at a bright area (such as the sky)…but it isn’t too bad. With reprojection and 60 Hz, you only need a steady 30 fps with X-Plane.
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Awesome, thanks!
Wow, first time I’ve heard anyone say that. Note I’ve never used Oculus; WMR is all I know.
Yeah, I close my eyes. Seems that the only ‘fix’ for now.
On the O+ I experimented with this starting in WMR (Headset option I think): my choices were 90 or 60. 60 was terrible. Was hard on my eyes. Image was smaller. Never tried that again.
Right behind ya.
I dropped FB years ago. How did I survive?!
Has any Index owning Mudspikers jumped on the G2 wagon so far?
I would not like to part with the FOV and relatively big sweetspot of the Index (compared to Rift S) but the higher resolution of the G2 does make me curious.
Would it be worth it, or maybe wait a couple of years for next gen? hmm…
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Thanks! Will try.
That’s all I could think of too.
SteamVR was the same with the Rift S. But if you used native Oculus rendering, it was smooth…
I’m still on Facebook, but I dislike the idea of having to link Oculus with FB. Why?
I doubt it… You would gain resolution but lose FoV. My guess it would probably be better in some ways and worse in others.
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I think this setting helps a little - it is because DCS is hanging like it’s 2006 on the main UI thread.
Note that on a Reverb G2, the 100% SteamVR resolution is already the 1.4x ratio to allow for distortion. This is different from the G1 and Odyssey etc that need to be about 140-150% to be ‘native resolution in the middle where you look’. You can probably go down to about 50-60% on the G2 and it’ll look very clear in the middle.
Also, use the beta version of SteamVR and WMR for SteamVR apps in Steam (right button on their entries in your Steam library, chose ‘Properties’ and then the ‘Beta’ tab. Both have major updates for reprojection and performance.
For lots of reference info, check here for how it all works:
WMR has several types of reprojection, the ‘hard’ 45 fps limit and the more Oculus ASW like one that needs to be opted in. WMR is moving over to OpenXR (as is SteamVR) so it really isn’t too long before they all use the same API anyway. MSFS uses OpenXR exclusively and it seems far nicer than using the ‘Steam bridge’ technique that has always confused people of what to set where.
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And IL-2 is even worse…
Will try that fade to grid and see.
Absolutely. But that’s still a lot more pixels than the good ol’ Rift S.
I turned the resolution all the way down to 25% to get the performance I’m accustomed to in the Rift S. But hey, even at that resolution it looks as good as, or better, than the Rift S. The G2 is clearly better suited for faster PC’s 
Ah! Good advice.
Oh, and I tried 60Hz… No thanks! 