Virtual Desktop

Virtual Desktop

26 ratings
Displayless Ghost VR Setup with Virtual Desktop
By Lanassassin
With the below setup, I run 2D games on massive VR Screens at 1920x1080 at 120FPS. The main monitor runs 120hz while the headset runs 90hz and there is no noticeable tearing or desync.
   
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VR HMD & Accessories
The Setup
First things first, put the energizer batteries into your controllers and plug in the headset, and follow Cortana's 5 minute instructions on setup.

After your room is setup, position the pulley's so that the last one before the cord reaches your headset is about 2 feet behind the center of your play space. Centering it in your play space actually causes cord entanglement issues, I found out the hardway.

On a regular monitor, install Windows Mixed Reality for SteamVR, you'll need it to play steam games, it's also what allows you to access the steam games from the Windows Cliff House.

Purchase and install Virtual Desktop next.

Launch Virtual Desktop either from Steam on your desktop, or from the Cliffhouse (cliffhouse will close when other VR apps open).

Mirror my settings below, or set them to whatever you are comfortable with. ***note, make sure you have Start When Windows Starts enabled!

Open Mixed Reality Portal, Goto Settings, Headset Display, Experience Options and Set the Visual Quality to HIGH.

Then under Experience Options, change it to 90hz.

Close Virtual Desktop, SteamVR and Windows Mixed Reality (Closing just Windows Mixed Reality should shut the others down also as well as put the headset to low power mode).

Power off your PC

Unplug your physical monitor(s) and plug in the 2 Display Ports and 1 HDMI port.

Boot your PC.

In less than a minute you should see your headset come on, at which point you can put it on and be in Virtual Desktop with 3 monitors.
Extras
I setup Chroma profiles on my Razer Keyboard/Mouse/Orbweaver to do different effects depending on the state of Virtual Desktop. For instance, the default Chroma proifle is that EVERYTHING breathes red. It does this while windows is booting, but as soon as windows launches Virtual Desktop, the Chroma profile switches to Virtual Desktop and everything changes to a Breathing Green instead. (Red = it's not ready, Green = All systems go).

But what about just shutting off VR and not wanting to power down the PC? I have bound my PAUSE key on my keyboard to launch Virtual Desktop and on all Chroma Profiles, this key stays a static Blue color. What this does is let me close VR when I don't want to use PC, then when I come back to it, I hit the blue key and it launches Virtual Desktop.
Gotchas
Keep a physical monitor handy. Just for those cases that windows doesn't boot, you can unplug your HDMI and plug in your regular monitor and troubleshoot.

It will take a bit of gettng used to, to not see your hands while you are typing and gaming, but it really only lasts a day or so. Eventually you have muscle memory for where everything is at.
31 Comments
Lanassassin  [author] 13 Jun, 2024 @ 3:48pm 
DOOD! Great find, saves $10+ on the headless ghosts.
FireWaran 12 Jun, 2024 @ 11:40am 
i have only one physical monitor, but i found a tool for Activating a Secondary Display on Windows 10 when no Monitor is Connected [www.amyuni.com] your guide works still perfectly with it.

Thanks for you guide!
Lanassassin  [author] 25 Jan, 2024 @ 3:28pm 
HEHEHE, I try!
havry 21 Jan, 2024 @ 11:44pm 
my man living the literal utopia dream:tsflirtydonlothario:
Lanassassin  [author] 5 Dec, 2023 @ 11:04am 
Of course, The Forest VR, Green Hell VR. Plenty of trees
NAPALM 5 Dec, 2023 @ 10:25am 
Do you go outside?
Lanassassin  [author] 9 May, 2022 @ 4:56pm 
Let me re-itterate, I want a 144hz headset that has a 4K resolution and links to the PC, ideally wireless with no latency, but wired if necessary.
◄FiNiTe► 9 May, 2022 @ 11:54am 
@Lanassassin ? i never said that
q2 is 120hz capable
Lanassassin  [author] 7 May, 2022 @ 12:18am 
@FiNiTe, are you saying you can get true 120hz out of non 120hz headset? if so, I bow before you fellow VR god, you are what I have been looking for. My holy grail has been to find a true 144hz display in VR.
◄FiNiTe► 5 May, 2022 @ 8:55am 
I personally use CRU (Custom Resolution Utility), while (afaik) it cant fake extra displays, it does let me run custom hz modes even when my real monitor is 60hz, when i switch to the custom hz mode my real monitor just gives me a no signal error, this lets me have a virtual 90/120hz display (i have a quest 2), without buying dp/hdmi emulators or whatever, and also without reboots

tho if u are ever stuck in no signal when using cru the only way to fix it is to boot to safe mode and reset resolution settings xd