Welcome to the Oasis! Today, we’re diving into a new feature from Nvidia called VRSS. If you’re using a PC VR headset like the Valve Index, Pimax, Vive, Oculus Rift S, or Windows Mixed Reality, you’re probably wondering how to enhance your VR experience. Well, you’re in luck! In this guide, we’ll explain what VRSS is, why it’s important, how to enable it, and give you our verdict after testing it with some popular VR games. Let’s get started!
What is VRSS?
VRSS stands for Variable Rate Super Sampling. It’s a technique developed by Nvidia to improve image quality in VR games on PC without sacrificing performance. Super sampling is when you increase the resolution higher than your headset’s native resolution. This results in sharper images, making it easier to read text and see finer details in games.
How Does VRSS Work?
With traditional super sampling, the resolution increase is applied across the entire image sent to your headset. However, VRSS applies super sampling dynamically, up to eight times, but only to the center of the image. This is where your eyes are focused while playing a VR game. The edges of your peripheral vision, which you don’t necessarily notice in-game, are rendered at the default rate. This intelligent application of super sampling ensures higher image quality where it matters most, saving performance resources.
Enabling VRSS
To enable VRSS, you’ll need an Nvidia graphics card based on Turing architecture (RTX 2080, 2070, 2060, GTX 1660, or 1650). Make sure you’re using the latest Nvidia driver (v441.87 at the time of writing). Once you’ve updated your driver, right-click anywhere on your desktop, select the Nvidia Control Panel, and navigate to Manage 3D Settings. Scroll down to Virtual Reality Variable Rate Super Sampling and change the setting to Adaptive.
Please note that currently, only around 20 games are confirmed to be supported by VRSS. You’ll need to manually enable VRSS for each game you own. However, we hope Nvidia will introduce a global setting in the future.
Testing VRSS
After enabling VRSS, we tested it with Boneworks on the Valve Index. However, we were underwhelmed by the results. VRSS caused significant dips in framerate without noticeable visual improvements compared to traditional super sampling. We used FPS VR to monitor our framerates and found that traditional super sampling provided a smoother gameplay experience.
Conclusion
At the moment, we wouldn’t recommend enabling VRSS due to the performance issues it caused in our testing. Traditional super sampling with framerate monitoring is the better option for a smoother VR experience. However, VRSS is a step in the right direction for optimizing VR games’ visuals without sacrificing performance. We hope Nvidia addresses the performance issues and streamlines the process for future updates. As VR headsets with higher resolutions become more common, VRSS will make VR more accessible on modest hardware.
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FAQs
Q: Which Nvidia graphics cards support VRSS?
A: Nvidia graphics cards based on Turing architecture, such as RTX 2080, 2070, 2060, GTX 1660, and 1650, support VRSS.
Q: Can I enable VRSS for all supported games at once?
A: Currently, you need to manually enable VRSS for each supported game. We hope Nvidia introduces a global setting in the future.
Q: Is VRSS available for non-Turing Nvidia graphics cards?
A: VRSS is currently limited to Nvidia graphics cards based on Turing architecture.
Q: How can I monitor my framerates in VR?
A: You can use tools like FPS VR to monitor your framerates and ensure a smooth gameplay experience.
Conclusion
While VRSS may not be a game changer for VR at the moment, it shows promise for the future. Despite some performance issues, VRSS’s intelligent application of super sampling to the center of the image can enhance visuals where it matters most. With further improvement and wider support for more games, VRSS has the potential to make high-quality VR experiences accessible on more modest hardware. So, keep an eye on future updates from Nvidia!
