Best Pc Gaming Setup For VR In 2020

What should I buy PC if I’ll bet on virtual reality glasses such as Oculus or HTC Vive? Going to virtual reality is not just buying compatible glasses. This powerful initial investment, above 500 $s, has to be accompanied in many cases by a fairly significant renovation of the PC due to the high requirements of these first consumer VR desire.

If your current PC does not meet the minimum requirements for HTC’s Oculus or Vive glasses, you need to buy a new PC that is capable of providing you with a satisfactory experience.

In some cases like Oculus, there are even agreements with manufacturers to give some of their products for gamers a compatibility label. In others like HTC’s, there are recommendations for specific equipment as well as key components.

Minimum requirements to use Oculus Rift

We start with the minimum requirements that Oculus sets as a starting point to use its virtual reality glasses. Since the beginning of April, they can already be purchased for $ 600 with shipping to 20 different markets.

In the case of the Oculus Rift, you can also download an assistant that will check if your current PC is compatible with the glasses or not.

Minimum requirements to use the HTC Vive

The second virtual reality glasses that can already be purchased in different markets are the HTC Vive, which comes from Steam. They will be sent from the month of June and the reservation costs 899 $s plus shipping costs.

HTC also makes an application available to users on Steam so that they can easily check whether their current PC can be safely used with their Vive glasses.

Which PC should I buy to be able to use the Oculus or HTC Vive glasses

Once we know the minimum requirements for some of the key components of a virtual reality-ready PC, it’s time to decide on a specific model. Most of the equipment ready to use with virtual reality glasses are models with a gaming profile and quite powerful.

We have selected the best and most varied that we can find on the market , but if the one we like meets at least the requirements we have seen above, we should not have problems using them with our VR glasses.

A high-end PC is actually an entry-level for VR

Suppose we are willing to take the step and buy a virtual reality glasses like the Oculus or the HTC Vive, and we must renew the equipment. There are ready-to-buy models that meet just the basics at the level of components such as the processor, RAM or graphics card.

This trio of components is the foundation of a virtual reality kit . But be careful because what in the consumer PC world is considered a high-end equipment, for virtual reality it is only an entry model.

The most affordable that we can get already configured and assembled are the so-called Oculus packs . These are models that meet most of the minimum requirements and include Oculus glasses. They come out on average between 100 and 200 dollars cheaper than buying the equipment separately. For now they are only found in stores like BestBuy and Amazon, and in the US.

In these cases it is also possible to buy the equipment separately with the discount if when purchasing the glasses we indicate this in our purchase. Be careful because discounts of up to 200 $s when buying OCulus Rift glasses are only made with PC equipment that have the official compatibility certification.

ASUS G11CD

The most affordable desktop within the Oculus Ready range from ASUS is a classic tower model but with gaming touches in colors and design, which includes up to 8 USB ports, as well as good sound and a DVD recorder. It can be configured with better components like SSD or Core i7 processors.

Dell XPS 8900

One of the few desktop PCs that can pass as discreet by design. It is a special edition of the Dell XPS 8900 to which the GTX970 graphics card upgrade has been added.

AlienWare X51

The little Alienware desktop offers just enough to get into virtual reality with its attractive and compact design. If the basics fall short we can expand with improvements in the processor, RAM and hard disk (SSD units)

ASUS ROG G20CB

Available in two versions, the basic one is a good purchase for having all the advantages and expansion possibilities of this ROG chassis from ASUS, as well as its customizable appearance with LEDs

MSI Nightblade MI

MSI has one of the best options in compact type computers. Everything in its design has been thought for gamers, including numerous ports including fast charging USB (even USB-C), the cooling system and how ready it is (PCIE-Gen3) to expand components easily

If we abandon the basic range recommended by Oculus or HTC, we can enter models of more brands and that, with the starting point of the minimum graphics, improve other components to give more versatility to desktop PCs if the price shoots up in excess. In none of the cases do we exceed 2,000 $s.

Acer Predator G3

Based on the GTX 970 graphics, the Acer Predator G3 powers the computer at the processor and hard disk level, adding the speed of the SSD to the capacity of a traditional disk.

Mountain QUARTZ VR

Without reaching 2,000 $s, this Mountain QUARTZ VR is the basic but very interesting desktop model for your virtual reality sessions due to its compact design and silent operation

Lenovo Y900

The only one of our basic selection that bets on the superior GTX 980 graphics, as well as better processors and storage without the price skyrocketing

The most complete virtual reality PCs

As you may have seen, buying a PC ready for virtual reality , even the most basic, is on average above 1000 $s. They are models that perfectly comply with the requirements of Oculus and HTC Vive glasses and for this first generation it should be enough, as the manufacturers guarantee.

But what if I want to go further and buy the best PC already assembled for virtual reality? No budget hassles, these are some of the best high-end PCs for VR you can get.

Alienware Area 51

A very striking and unique design for the most powerful Alienware desktop, which we can configure with up to three GTX 970 graphics cards or opt for the GTX 980 with 4 GB DDR4

HP ENVY Phoenix 860

A certain gaming touch but keeping a more classic style than other gaming desktops. It is one of those expressly recommended by HTC for its Vive glasses and offers one of the best component-price ratios

ASUS ROG G20CB

Surely the compact desktop that can offer us more raw power with a striking design and good configuration to expand with the components that we want ourselves

Origin Chronos

Very expandable, especially in storage capacity and graphics cards, this Origin model is compact and balanced to withstand many years in the world of virtual reality

If I want to ride it myself, how much would it cost?

Whether you plan to update some components of your current computer or assemble one ready for VR from scratch, the money to shell out when you take care of the PC yourself is much less, being able to get a PC ready for virtual reality for less than 1000 $s.

The minimum requirements that glasses like the Oculus or the HTC Vive ask me to make it difficult for less than 1,000 $s to assemble a PC in conditions

In this section, we have selected the recommended basic components to get the lowest price for our VR PC equipment. From the outset, the minimum you should budget for your new PC is precisely the three key elements: graphics, processor and RAM.

• • The 3.3 GHz Intel Core i5-4590 can be found for just over $ 200 or you can check out the best processor for VR shortlisted by cpureview .
  • The base would be the Nvidia GTX 370, the most expensive component of our team. It goes for between 350 and 500 $s. A very interesting price would be the Gigabyte NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 that costs 325 $s. The minimum AMD version also costs more than 300 $s .
  • The minimum amount would be 8 GB, which would cost us between 35 and 60 $s. At Amazon, we have the offer of the HyperX Fury 8 GB 2133MHz DDR4 for 36 $s.

The minimum requirements that glasses like the Oculus or the HTC Vive ask me to make it difficult for less than 1,000 $s to assemble a PC in conditions

Other components that you should choose carefully are the motherboard and the power supply. The basic thing about the motherboard is that it is compatible with the previous elements, but we must not forget that it leaves us room for future improvement without changing too many elements, as well as enough expansion possibilities (an interesting one is that it allows having more than one graph) and ports.

• A highly recommended model is the Z170 motherboard. Gigabytes can be obtained for 115 $s.

As for the power supply, better not skimp because you will have components connected that do not settle for little. Nothing that is less than 750-1000 W. We can get it for about 50 $s.

Of basic internal components (we leave the box at your discretion) we are left to choose those for internal storage. Here there are no minimum requirements but it would be convenient to combine a good capacity of a classic disk (Barracuda of 1 TB at 7200 rpm costs 50 $s ) with an SSD of level and good capacity (a Samsung 850 Pro of 256 GB can be obtained for less of 150 $s )

In total, this PC ready for virtual reality that we would assemble ourselves is just over 950 $s, although not opting for an SSD we could reduce it to 800 $s without problems.