Condor 3 try-before-you-buy options?

[TxBrit]

I want to find out if my computer and VR setup are good enough to run Condor 3 at an acceptable-enough standard.

I know there are published min sys reqs (https://www.condorsoaring.com/v3-requirements/).
But i also know that some people have found that it can work well-enough on systems with lesser spec levels than recommended.

So i figure the only way to find out if my PC will work well-enough is to just try it.

So my question is:
Rather than just buying it and hoping it'll work, Is it possible to get some kind of working demo version to see if it really will work?

Many thanks

[wickid]

There is no demo. Post your specs then maybe someone with a similar setup can tell you what their experience is. In general, when it runs DCS and MSFS2020, it is definately going to run Condor.

[TxBrit]

Here's the specs for my laptop:

ASUS X750JA
Intel Core i7-4700HQ CPU @ 2.40GHz (64bit, x64-based processor)
8Gb RAM
Intel HD Graphics 4600 (integrated on CPU chip, not dedicated stand-alone card)
750Gb HDD
Windows 10 Home, 22H2


And here's for the miniPC i'm in the process of thinking about to replace it:

ASUS NUC 14Pro+
Intel Core Ultra 7 Processor 155H
32Gb RAM
Intel Arc "GPU" (integrated on CPU chip, not dedicated stand-alone card)
1 Tb SSD
Win 11 Pro


I'll be running with a Quest 2 in the first instance, but have a Quest 3S (128Gb) coming

Will any of that be good for running Condor in multi-player online mode?

I think the miniPC may be good enough, even without a GPU, but not sure about the laptop...

[OXO]

No to the laptop.

The Intel Arc would run condor on a monitor, but not in VR.

[TxBrit]

Hi Chris

Thank you for your answer - i appreciate your patience with a newb's questions.

What would be the min required upgrade for the miniPC to be capable of driving the VR headset?

Am guessing i'd need to get an external GPU to plug into it, but what level/type of capability would it need?

Apols for all these basic questions - i know how to spell GPU, but i'm not a gamer, so don't yet understand what all the different model numbers mean/tell me!

The reason for the "min required upgrade" question is that i'm trying to keep costs down, as i'm already investing in the headset for other reasons (for some hang gliding team procedural/safety awareness training, we'll be using GliderSim, which runs natively on the Quest 2/3S/3 headsets)

[wickid]

Hi Chris

Thank you for your answer - i appreciate your patience with a newb's questions.

What would be the min required upgrade for the miniPC to be capable of driving the VR headset?

Am guessing i'd need to get an external GPU to plug into it, but what level/type of capability would it need?

Apols for all these basic questions - i know how to spell GPU, but i'm not a gamer, so don't yet understand what all the different model numbers mean/tell me!

The reason for the "min required upgrade" question is that i'm trying to keep costs down, as i'm already investing in the headset for other reasons (for some hang gliding team procedural/safety awareness training, we'll be using GliderSim, which runs natively on the Quest 2/3S/3 headsets)

VR requires a descent gaming PC with an good powersupply and cooling. A miniPC is not going to be enough.

[wickid]

To elaborate a bit. Condor does not run on the headset. It runs on the PC and sents the images to the headset. So you need a good CPU and GPU to run Condor in VR.

For the videocard a benchmark of at least 15.000 (nvidea rtx3060) is about the lower end i'd recommend. Pair that with a good CPU with high single core clock speeds (Mhz). Games usually run better with high clockspeeds not more cores.

[Vertigo]

What would be the min required upgrade for the miniPC to be capable of driving the VR headset?

These "miniPCs" never have a dedicated graphics card, and while its theoretically possible to use an external GPU connected via high bandwidth thunderbolt/USB4 ports, those cheap mini pcs will not have those ports and even if they did, an external GPU dock is not cost or performance effective.

Some highend minipcs may have more or less usable internal graphics (IGP, integrated in to the CPU), it may or may not be good enough to run condor on low settings, but you can safely forget VR.

If you want to minimize costs, look for an older second hand gaming PC. But unless you get very lucky, under 500 dollar/euro is probably not realistic.

[Zulu]

Hi TxBrit,

I'm not sure if this is the lowest level, but condor 3 works fine for me on an old gaming PC.
Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4690 CPU @ 3.50GHz 3.50 GHz; RAM 16.0 GB;
Windows 10;
HDD 500GB; SSD 500GB;
Nvidia Ge Force GTX 970;
Samsung 49" monitor 3840x1080, 120Hz;
In Condor 3: Vsync On; Grass distance Of; Msaa 8x; all other settings max.
I have stable 59-60 fps in many flights on different servers.
In case of extreme cloudiness and weather effects, the fps drops to 29-37 when turning the head to the side.
I don't know how it would be in an online race with a lot of participants, but so far I'm fine.

[kenz]

A bit of an oddball datapoint, but we use a three-year old Dell Latitude laptop connected to an eGPU (specifically an RTX 4070Ti Super). Works marvelously for VR at max resolution with max realism settings everywhere.

Without VR I saw 285fps (Shift-D in Condor to output the FPS). I forgot to measure with VR, but it doesn't seem to be too much worse.

[Kekelekou]

Maybe a time-limited option would be interesting. Like 10€ for 7 days.