The year 2016 is definitely going to be the year of VR! If the 70% increase of VR presence on the CES show floor isn’t convincing enough how about the PC industry creating a whole new certification for machines that are VR Ready.
That’s what GPU maker NVIDIA has done to help consumers prepare to own a head mounted display (HMD) from manufacturers like HTC and Oculus. The program gives PC manufacturers a chance to market laptops and desktops to those in the gaming community looking to adopt VR into the mix. These systems will have GeForce GTX GPU’s and NVIDIA Game Ready Drivers that have been optimized to deliver low latency for a better virtual experience.
AMD also has their own program dubbed LiquidVR, and offers a place for consumers to go to find VR capable graphics cards ranging from $339 – $679.
Although HTC has yet to list minimum requirements for the HTC Vive, NVIDIA’s site says your PC will need the following resources if you want to VR.
- GPU: GeForce GTX 970 or greater
- PROCESSOR: Intel Core i5 4590 or greater
- RAM: 8GB+
- OS: Windows 7.1 or newer
- Outputs: 2x USB 3.0 and 1x HDMI
For those that are starting with a blank canvas or are considering buying an updated PC look for brands like: Alienware, MSI, iBuyPower, and HP, ASUS, Acer, and more. You will want to have something VR ready, but be prepared to spend a good amount of money on a new gaming computer.
Source: HTCVRGaming.com
