It's kind of the opposite of what we've come to expect from PC gaming, but Oculus has announced it's done some optimisation from its end and it's managed to lower the Oculus Rift minimum system requirements originally announced back in mid-2015. Oculus has got tricksy with some new "asynchronous spacewarp" tech, eliminating dropped frames and allowing a game which runs natively at 45 FPS to be output at 90 frames per second.
From the sounds of things it's a similar technology to that being used in the PlayStation VR. That uses an interpolation method known as 'asynchronous reprojection' to double the frame rate from 60 frames per second to 120 FPS.
Oculus Rift New Minimum System Requirements
- OS: Windows 7 64-bit Service Pack 1 Or Newer
- CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7 GHz or AMD FX-4350 4.3 GHz
- RAM: 8 GB System Memory
- GPU RAM: 2GB Video Memory or greater
- GPU: GeForce GTX 960 or Radeon R9 380
- Inputs: 2x USB 3.0 Ports
- Output: Compatible HDMI 1.3 Video Output
Oculus Rift Previous Minimum 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
What it's meant is that both the graphics card and CPU requirements have taken a dip. While previously a GTX 970 or Radeon R9 290 was required, now all you need is a 2GB GTX 960 or Radeon R9 380. That's quite a jump down, meaning you now only need a mid-tier graphics card to run VR. On this basis I expect the upcoming GTX 1050 Ti will be perfect for it.
Processor demands take a similarly large dip. While the Core i3-6100 is a relatively new Skylake CPU, it's right at the low end of the spectrum. The AMD FX-4350 is positively budget these days as well, particularly considering the raft of price cuts AMD has brought in to shift excess units of its FX-4000 series in preparation for Zen.
All in it now means you can probably put together a VR-ready gaming PC for around $500, which isn't a bad deal at all. You'll then need the $600 Oculus Rift headset though. And the $199 Touch controllers. Oh, and the $79 tracking station. But you get my point.
With the system requirements dropping for the Oculus Rift does it make the headset itself a more tempting purchase? Or do you think these minimum specs are just going to be outdated quickly anyway? Let us know!
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yay i meet the mim for a gpu now :D
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same
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Is the rx 480x a thing? i can't find any legit information on it yet!
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It isnt , there are zero information about it
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They are still too expensive. I mean almost $1000 for the Rift and all of the needed attachments is an insane price for a gaming peripheral device. If or when an entire kit cost $300 more people will give it a try. Until then they will continue to be a niche device for gaming.
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Oh cool, this means I could bring my old Phenom II rig from retirement and use that to help my friend optimize the VR game he's making so more people can play it. Too bad the Rift still cost more than the Rig itself, I'd be nice if they could work on lowering that more next.
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I don't have USB 3 ports i have USB 2.0 ports.
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I'm afraid that IS a problem,
your only chance is to probably get PCI/PCIex USB 3.0 interface
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My plan is to sell my laptop at a loss in a few years and use that as extra funds for a much more powerful desktop. I would go 4K before I dropped money on VR, and I'm still not sure if I even want a 4K monitor.
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so I'm able to use VR now ?
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We wanted to make VR appeal to a broader audience, so we lowered the requirements. What? Lower the price? Who are you kidding?!
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I'm not stingy by a longshot. If it works as it should, I'm willing to put down 600 bucks the headset. But that's about it. 600.. maybe 650.
700+ is pushing it. And PC components are already the things I put the most money in.
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So I now have a PC powerful enough for VR, too bad it's still too expensive.
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CyberPowerPC has the VR Ready PC for 499$ and u can buy the Oculus with it for just 999$ ( the PC and the VR Headset )
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A cyberpower pc for $499? I would shoot myself in the face before I paid them $200 dollars to build me a $300 computer. Lol I built mine for just under $400
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Cool but I would still rather invest into a better pc than on a overpriced vr headset.
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it needs to be around 300 dollars for me to even consider it.
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Where does that leave the GTX 960M 4GB? This is a common graphics card for many laptops, including mine. As the 960M is not as powerful as the 960, but where will that stand?
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wondering about that myself. :/
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Unfortunately I believe the 960m is comparable to the 860m, which is about as good as the desktop 750ti. It's a long way off despite the naming :(
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The GTX 970m is the equivalent of the GTX 960, but maybe just a tiny bit better because of higher memory bandwidth. The GTX 965m wouldn't cut it, either.
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so means i am VR ready baby haha!
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me too haha!!
Funny how that makes you feel good even without owning any VR gear
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lol true xD
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As far as I'm concerned PC requirements were the least problematic part of VR. The headset price & silly games only make the purchase significantly less attractive.
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What do you mean the games are silly
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Was not even aware of this one.
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Hey, c'mon, it's in Early Access. There's a chance that it'll improve with time.... money, vision, and divine intervention could help with that.
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HAHAHAHA! But no, seriously, there actually are some good VR games: http://store.steampowered.com/app/436320/
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So it's a technology which create fake frames or better to say show a frame twice a time!? Ez frames!!!
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They would need to price warp the price to half if I was to ever consider buying one.
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half for the head set half for the controllers and half for the station is still 440$...whole month of work for me...(without food,bills and what not)
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Yeah, I'd rather spend that on a new CPU and mobo with DDR4 memory.
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let's hope they'll soon announce "asynchronous spacewarp 2.0" which will mean interpolation from 30fps lol :P
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LOL
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Cool but can my i3 model run it??
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But... will it be able to play Minecraft?
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can i do it ??