Virtual Reality gaming PCs
Virtual reality is set to revolutionise gaming. Paul Monckton tests out the six best VR PCs
Forget 4K monitors and surround display setups; Virtual Reality headsets, such as Facebook’s Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive (read our review on page 78), deliver a huge step up in gaming immersiveness the likes of which simply cannot be achieved with mere monitors. However, they can also be picky in terms of the PC components they demand in order to run effectively. Here, we take a look at six brand new PCs suitable for range of budgets and designed specifically to deliver a great VR experience.
Buying advice
Consoles may get game releases sooner, but if you want the very best quality graphics and customisation options, only a PC can deliver the ultimate experience. Now with affordable VR kit available almost exclusively on desktop PCs, the gap has widened further – at least until Sony brings out its PlayStation VR system.
You can play most standard games with any modern processor paired with a half‑decent graphics card, but the current VR headsets have some very particular, and less than obvious, requirements that you’ll need to ensure your PC can meet for a good experience. So let’s get those recommended minimum specifications out of the way now.
If you plan on using an Oculus Rift, your PC will need at least: nVidia GTX 970 or AMD R9 290 with HDMI 1.3 output Intel i5‑4590 8GB RAM USB: 3x USB 3.0 and 1x USB 2.0 port Windows 7 Service Pack 1 or newer For the HTC Vive, you’ll need: nVidia GTX 970 or AMD R9 290 with HDMI 1.4 or DisplayPort 1.2 Intel i5‑4590 or AMD FX 8350 4GB 1x USB 2.0 or greater Windows 7 Service Pack 1 or newer i5‑6600 will give you a little more future proofing and boosted performance outside VR applications, while the overclockable version, the Core i5‑6600K, will get you significantly better speed for only a little more money, although additional cooling and power requirements will need to be factored in if you intend to go down the overclocking route.
Here we’ve reviewed several PCs running at stock speeds and also overclocked beasts, which deliver a lot more performance for your money.
Memory
The type of RAM you need will be determined by your motherboard. We’d recommend at least 8GB of RAM for a gaming PC. This used to be enough for just about any games, but new titles such as Microsoft’s Forza Motorsport 6: Apex are recommending a minimum of 12GB for 1080p gameplay, rising to a full 16GB for 4K resolution.
Motherboard
There are several points to consider when choosing the right motherboard for your PC, if you’re not into technical details you may be tempted to overlook the motherboard and concentrate on the processor and graphics, but the motherboard is equally important – and even more so when considering a VR PC.
You’ll find USB 3.0 available on all modern motherboards, but not all USB 3.0 ports are equal – at least when it comes to the Oculus Rift. Different USB controller chips yield different results, and some just don’t play nicely with the Rift despite nominally meeting the minimum spec. The official Oculus Rift compatibility test will spot these incompatible USB ports for you and suggest plug in cards to remedy the situation, but of course we have prechecked all of the review PCs to make sure they work.
If you want to keep costs down, you can go for an Intel H81 Express chipset. These boards will cost significantly less than premium motherboards based on