QOTW: Is your gaming PC deemed VR ready?

by Parm Mann on 24 June 2016, 16:31

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The gaming world is buzzing with the excitement surrounding virtual reality. If you believe the hype, this is the year in which VR gaming will hit the mainstream.

There are no shortage of suitors when it comes to VR headsets, but in the PC space they're all going to be relying on one crucial element: systems that can chop out the framerates required for a high-quality VR experience.

It's no surprise, then, to find that practically every new graphics card is being introduced as 'VR ready.' Nvidia has already set its sights on the ultra-high-end space and AMD reckons it can bring virtual reality to the masses.

Either way, VR is being positioned throughout the industry as the next big thing, and plenty are hedging their bets on virtual reality serving as a catalyst for hardware upgrades.

One of the most pressing questions for consumers will be whether or not existing systems are deemed sufficient for a high-quality VR experience. There's no set criteria as such, and minimum requirements will vary based on usage scenario, but software developer Valve does offer a free tool to check your rig's VR readiness.

It's dubbed the SteamVR Performance Test and, in the developer's own words, "measures your system's rendering power using a 2-minute sequence from Valves Aperture Robot Repair VR demo."

"After collecting the data it determines whether your system is capable of running VR content at 90fps and whether VR content can tune the visual fidelity up to the recommended level. For machines that are not VR Ready the tool can help determine whether capabilities are bound by Graphics Card, CPU, or both."

A quick, free and helpful assessment, so for this week's question we're asking: is your gaming PC deemed VR ready? Download and run the SteamVR Performance Test and let us know how you fare in the comments section below.



HEXUS Forums :: 41 Comments

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Yes It passed all the tests, even though I am personally not interested in getting VR myself.
“There are no shortage of suitors when it comes to VR headsets”
Really?
There's only two at the minute, with Razer trying to own the OSVR side…

“Is your gaming PC deemed VR ready?”
Yes, no, maybe, depends….
My 780 Lightning is not good enough…. unless you overclock it a bit, whereupon it suddenly is just about in the green and so good enough. Certainly it worked fine on Rift DK2.
But then my CPU was the problem, despite it also working fine even without an overclock.

If you want über high-end output, probables not ready, no… but tweaking things down a touch, it could be a yes.

The more pertinent question is whether my *wallet* is VR-Ready!!
It is too early with VR still, likewise 4K still sort of is a myth at minimum 60FPS total
Yep, but I built a PC especially for VR so I would hope so :) 6700K, GTX 1080…and it eats every VR game I have played so far for breakfast.

I did have it running fine on low settings with a GTX960 though, so you can get away with less..but the difference between low and “ultra” in VR is very noticeable, and imo it's worth spending the extra to get a better setup. I don;t think a 970 really cuts it, you need a 980 or higher for a truly good VR experience across all games.
My PC is VR ready but my wallet ain't.

I find it funny that company's like AMD keep talking about the RX480 being an affordable way into VR, if I have enough disposable income to afford a £700 VR headset then the price of a GPU is the least of my worries…

Sorry AMD just using you as an example, love you.