VR gaming started out as an expensive hobby. Originally you needed a modern and top of the line gaming PC to even think about getting a Rift. Oculus has made some recent software improvements to lower demands on your PC which has made VR more accessible to everyone.
Right now you’re looking at a $1300 minimum cost for a Rift and capable PC.
- Oculus Rift – $599
- CyberPowerPC – Intel i5 – $699
This doesn’t include Oculus Touch but it does get your foot in the VR door with the option to add Touch any time in the future.
The key change for lowered requirements was a new technology called Asynchronous Spacewarp or ASW. The improvement here is that ASW allows games to run at a much lower frame rate with software filling in the gaps between frames. Essentially you’re getting more bang for your buck.
Oculus has been working with CyberPowerPC to release a $499 Oculus Certified VR ready PC which is an insane price point. This PC has not been released yet but will feature components that meet the new minimum requirements:
- AMD FX-4350 quad-core processor
- Radeon RX 470 4 GB graphics card
- 8 GB of dual-channel memory
In the meantime you can pick up the next cheapest thing which is an Intel i5 system with a RX 480 GPU. This may actually be a better option as it gives you a little more muscle under the hood.