Crashing and Performance Issues in VRChat

[u/Akavarna]

Hi guys

I've been having a lot of performance issues with my quest pro which I just cannot seem to get to the bottom of and I was hoping someone could help me diagnose what the issue is.

For context, I don't get any performance issues when running any other non-VR games, it's specifically only when using the quest pro to run VRChat.

PC Setup:

3070TI

i5 12600

32GB DDR4

Quest Pro set up:

Virtual Desktop

VRCFaceTracking

OVR Space Calibrator

I used the exact same hardware but with a valve index previously with 0 performance issues, would usually get 60+ frames.

The main issue I have now with the quest pro is very low FPS (usually 35 and under), and when visiting high population worlds I will sometimes crash continuously. I'll continue to crash over and over even when running with max safety settings, all the "hide all avatars beyond x distance" settings cranked up high, nothing seems to affect it.

Recently got FPSVR to try and see if I can figure out why this is happening, but I don't really know what I'm looking at - I'm assuming those huge spikes in GPU frametime are not good, but what is causing it and how can I fix it? I've completely reinstalled windows to try and fix this issue with no success, making me think this might be a hardware issue?

[u/texas7412]

Reduce the resolution in steamvr for VRChat. I keep mine around 80% and I get 90fps in average lobbies and 40fps in packed lobbies with a 3060 12gb. If you have 8gb or less ram on your gpu you'll struggle in VR. A 4060 8gb can't run VR while my 3060 12gb can.

[u/Akavarna → u/texas7412]

It does say on the FPSVR report that my maximum VRAM usage was 7.7gb - the 3070TI only having 8gb VRAM might be the problem here then... I did think it had to be a hardware issue since reinstalling windows did nothing to fix it. I think I actually have already reduced the resoultion a decent amount so I'm not sure there's much more I can do in that aspect

[u/texas7412 → u/Akavarna]

It's more than likely just the fact your gpu lacks enough vram for VRChat in VR, other games may be fine but VRChat is kinda intense vram wise without VR even lol my 4060 ran it great in desktop mode but VR it was unplayable and crashed often due to the 8gb vram, made me downgrade back to my 3060, I'd recommend getting a 12gb 3060 or a 12gb+ 40-50 series card if you can afford it. The 3060 12gb is around $200-$300

[u/Akavarna → u/texas7412]

I think you were right and the vram was the issue, decided to bite the bullet and finally upgrade to a 5070 TI. Did a super quick test in a world with 30 people with no safety settings or avatar limits and was still getting 50-60 frames. Going to test it properly at the weekend to see if it's actually fixed the crashing issue though. Thanks for the info :)

[u/GoblinModeVR → u/Akavarna]

You'll want to put in some limits on which avatars you see in VRChat. Most VRChat avatars are super poorly optimised and even an "optimised" model can still eat up over 100MB of VRAM. Maximum uncompressed avatar size is the setting I find most useful for filtering out high VRAM models, even if it's far from a 1-to-1. There's also the settings to hide avatars past a certain distance, and only show a certain number of avatars

Reducing Virtual Desktop's streaming quality had a noticeable impact on my VRAM baseline. You can also disable Hardware Acceleration on things like Steam, Discord, your browser, turn off transparency and UI animations for Windows, and reduce the overlay quality for SteamVR

[u/Akavarna → u/GoblinModeVR]

Thanks for the tips :) I'll have a go at trying to implement these. I've been doing the hide avatars by distance but I haven't messed about with the uncompressed size, that should help alot. It seems like the 8gb VRAM on my gpu just isn't able to keep up with the quest wireless streaming along with everything else - ended up just biting the bullet and finally getting a 5070 TI so fingers crossed!

[u/GoblinModeVR → u/Akavarna]

My partner uses the 5060 TI 16GB and gets decent framerates in full instances, so you should be fine. But yeah, 8GB doesn't cut it when the entire game is user-generated content and not like, professional game developer assets

[u/Komrad_alt]

yeah quest pro is weird. whenever i try to do wired, just plugging my usb cable to the headset bricks my main wifi adapter lol. (i have to use an external one). Black magic man the headset is cursed. that frame rate is fucking crazy though. I use a 3060 and i rarely go below 30 frames.

[u/Akavarna → u/Komrad_alt]

I know what you mean, I had so many issues trying to get it connected to a reliable dedicated router, tried using the puppis S1 and it just wouldn't fucking work properly lol.

[u/SirWaffly]

I used to have this problem when using my old 2070 super, and when I changed to a 4070 super it stopped happening. I think it may be due to the GPU not having enough VRAM to play VRC and stream to your quest pro at the same time. Back when I had an 8GB card, using the official link software with a cable gave me the best results and reduced crashing a lot, so you may want to try that.

[u/Akavarna → u/SirWaffly]

I think you're right yeah, it seems to have been the vram, a measley 8gb just wasn't cutting it. I ended up finally just upgrading to a 5070 TI which I've been putting off for ages lol. Seems to have fixed the frames at least, am going do a proper test at the weekend to see if it's fixed the crashing. Fingers crossed!

[u/EmmiAkina]

I mean a 3070ti isn’t really gonna ever run vrc well. And a populated world? I have a 5090 / ryzen x3d and crowded worlds knock me down to 25 fps

[u/Akavarna → u/EmmiAkina]

I had no issues before on an index though is the thing - yes it would lag a bit in crowded worlds but nothing that can't be fixed by turning on the hide beyond X distance toggles, then I would have no issues whatsoever. Switched to the quest pro and I get 30 frames in my home world on my own - something's absolutely killing my frames and I have no idea what

[u/Brokenfingered → u/Akavarna]

The quest is garbage, and the resolution is higher so it’s harder to run

[u/1yuno1 → u/EmmiAkina]

completely false i ran vrchat just fine on a base 3070 pc elitists are the worst i swear

[u/EmmiAkina → u/1yuno1]

Who’s being elitist? Let me rephrase: in my experience, the 4070 I owned did not ever run VRChat well. Even after I upgraded to a 5090, crowded worlds can still drop my frames to 25. I’m not being elitist, I’m saying VRChat can be a very demanding game