After years in the Kickstarter wilderness, the Oculus Rift is at last ramping up to release. It's still some ways off yet, pencilled in for a Q1 2016 launch, but Oculus VR has made a big step towards it this week with the release of the recommended Oculus Rift system requirements.
Obviously the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset is a piece of hardware rather than software, but if you want your games running in top-top condition on Palmer Luckey's creation then you're going to need a beast of a rig. Oculus claim true VR presence is achieved by the right balance of content, VR hardware, and gaming setup, so if you want to prepare for gaming's next great leap then check out the system requirements below.
Oculus Rift Recommended System Requirements
- OS: Windows 7 64-bit Service Pack 1 Or Newer
- CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3 GHz or AMD FX-8350 4.0 GHz
- RAM: 8 GB System Memory
- GPU RAM: 4GB Video Memory or greater
- GPU: GeForce GTX 970 or Radeon R9 290
- Inputs: 2x USB 3.0 Ports
- Output: Compatible HDMI 1.3 Video Output
As expected, the recommended Oculus Rift system requirements are pretty massive, right near the top of the scale in fact. The reasons for this are threefold. Firstly, the Oculus Rift's screen runs at an impressive 2160x 1200 display, a leap up from your bog-standard 1080p. Secondly, the Rift's display outputs a 90Hz, meaning a consistent 90 frames per second is displayed for true presence. These two together mean roughly three times the GPU power is required in comparison to normal 1080p gaming.
Lastly. Oculus VR is targeting this set of system requirements across all of the software it is producing. Throughout the entire lifetime of the Oculus Rift headset, this set-up will be capable of playing every game tailored towards it, at optimum conditions. How long the Rift's lifespan is, is up for debate, but this lends a console-esque focused on fixed hardware which could prove vital to its success.
"The goal is for all Rift games and applications to deliver a great experience on this configuration," wrote Oculus VR. "Ultimately, we believe this will be fundamental to VR’s success, as developers can optimize and tune their game for a known specification, consistently achieving presence and simplifying development.
"All of the games and applications for the Rift created by Oculus will provide an incredible experience on this system."
Is your gaming PC ready for the Oculus Rift? Smart move by Oculus VR offering fixed requirements?
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Why is it taking so long to make this i mean its just trackir + 2x displays + headset
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Can i run it i want ockulus rift. it would be so awesome to have one. too bad its probably gonna cost 100 bucks or something.
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The DK2 cost 200$ as of right now.. sadly.. :/ I wanted to get one too but meh.
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where is that?? on the oculus website it costs 350$.
consumer version will probably be between 300 to 400$.
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just saying i'm scared for minimum specs
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same!
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Why buy ocolus rift if it costs more than your GPU and CPU?
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People this is hardware not a game if you can play games at that resolution you will be able to use oculus. Oculus is just 2 displays its like knowing specs for 4k monitor.
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I thought each display was mirroring each other in the Oculus. If so then it wouldn't be a 4K requirement, but the resolution stated above instead. 2160x1200 is no where close to 4K. It isn't even a full 2K (2560x1440) resolution. That is why they listed a 970 as recommended. If it was a 4k requirement they would have listed Titan X or 970 SLI.
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2K is 2048x1080p. 2560x1440p is 1440p (2.5K)
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I ment 4k as separate hardware not in oculus its like going on gta v thread and asking can i play this game in 4k not to some random monitor and asking can i play games on it its like what game what setting.
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Can screen size be lowered to reduce GPU load & increase frame rates on older hardware? -or does the Rift only support one single resolution?
For example, what if I want 2048 x 768 and I'm fine with 45+ FPS?
You can see in my specs, I don't technically meet recommended, but my rig is nice (in my opinion). I can max out pretty much every game ever made and get a decent frame rate.
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It's not a bad rig but it's ageing now. Also, I doubt occulus would easily allow resolution changes...
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Remember guys, these are the RECOMMENDED requirements, NOT the minimum. Surely most of you pc's will be able to use Oculus Rift VR just fine, just not as well.
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my gpu has 3gb VRAM will there be a problem?
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VRAM doesn't matter if you can run games at that resolution now you will be able to in oculus its just to be safe be cause you really dont want to have stutters in vr
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I don't think my PC will run it if that are the requirements :(
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So will my 780ti not work with 3gb vram. Also gtx 970 3.5gb?
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Sadly my rig wont support it, but i wont be buying it anyway so i dont care.
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Will overclocking solve my problem?
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I don't think so. I think your main problem would be being short 2gb VRAM. Not the clock speeds of your card.
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I'm ready for it
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I can but I won't. Not aboard the hype train
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Well I'm set. I can't wait to try out GTA V with it, but I'm more interested to see what some of the Indie developers do with it because I really think Indie games are where the Oculus Rift will shine because they will have more simplistic graphics making them easier to run at a constant 90fps and they won't be the same old AAA titles that we get every year.
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How well will my rig use this
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can we watch movies on it??? and will it require the same configuration on movies too??
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the oculus rift is just two monitors, requirements will vary for every game... I don't understand why there are any requirements for it... yes you will be able to watch movies.
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I wonder if my laptop can handle that, or if mobile hardware will get support for it.
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I just built my PC last year...
Oh well.
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Honestly I don't think you have to worry. Nice rig btw buddy :)
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Really? Awesome. Thanks. :)
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so how will i fare
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I think you'll be fine.
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Hmm, I'm betting a 750ti as minimum maybe. Or a 650. And a 4300 and core 2 quad maybe for processors? It's interesting really.
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I hope so :) if a gtx 750 ti would be the minimum, then maybe i could play with it to :D