BUILD A BUDGET VR-READY PC

AMD’s RX 480’s VR claims are put to the test in a $699 rig

AMD’s RX 480’s virtual reality claims are put to the test as we piece together a rig for the wallet-friendly price of $699.

VIRTUAL REALITY: two words on the tip of the tongue of every tech journalist this side of the Pacific. And with good reason: As far as technological advances go, this is the biggest development in screen technology we’ve seen since CRT was retired in favor of LCD. But there’s one caveat, and it’s a big one: the price. It’s a heavy commitment—$800 for a headset, and $1,400 or more for a rig capable of powering it. Is it any wonder why we—and the critics— are holding our breath on this one?

What does VR need? In short, more uptake and a lower price point. We now know that there are over 40 separate headsets currently making their way to market, including more affordable—yet still high quality— products from the likes of DeePoon and other manufacturers. This is a huge leap forward, as far as media development is concerned, because it will encourage game developers to create titles specifically for VR, thanks to the increasing user base. So, that just leaves the system….

Let’s say, hypothetically speaking, of course, that we’re likely to see a headset in the region of $350—could we potentially game comfortably with VR for a little over $1,000 in total? That’s what we’re hoping to prove with this little build. Centered around AMD’s latest 14nm GPU (reviewed on pg. 76), and a budget FX system, we’re taking a look at exactly how you would go about building a virtual reality system on a budget.