VR Logistics... Gonna be a pain?

[pipnina]

I had been thinking about a VR headset for racing games, Elite, and now HL:Alyx, but now that I have started to very seriously consider it I am not sure how I can fit it into my house.

I have a spare room full of junk that can be cleared, a little on the small side but plenty big enough for an unobstructed and near-square play area. The only problem is my PC is at the other end of the house in my bedroom. The PC is connected to the router (half way to the spare room) by cat5e, and I could put another cat5e through to the spare room from there if necessary, but I don't know if a mere 1Gb/s LAN connection is anywhere near good enough for the resolution and framerate of two screens in an index, if steam streaming would even work for VR at all?

 

The other problem is I'd want to use the play room for standing games, but my normal computer for simracing (because of the deskspace), I don't see any solution here except for buying a second set of base stations, or moving my PC into the spare room which would not be ideal (it gets very cold in winter, very hot in summer, and it is 90% windows which makes sunny days hell when trying to play a game with dark scenes).

Ironically, if my PC weren't in my room, It'd have enough space to set the VR up there... I could always sleep under my desk and get rid of the bed I suppose! /s.

 

Do you guys think there's a "best" solution to this conundrum? Have I maybe missed an option here that would really help me out?

[Sakkura]

Gigabit ethernet definitely isn't enough.

 

Many VR games can be played seated, with minimal space, so a lot could just be played where your PC is. But roomscale stuff would be a problem.

 

Extending non-VR connections would be easier, but it's still going to be annoying to have your monitor and peripheral cables running all the way through the house with extensions.

[pipnina]

1 hour ago, Sakkura said:

Gigabit ethernet definitely isn't enough.

 

Many VR games can be played seated, with minimal space, so a lot could just be played where your PC is. But roomscale stuff would be a problem.

 

Extending non-VR connections would be easier, but it's still going to be annoying to have your monitor and peripheral cables running all the way through the house with extensions.

I just did some research. There is a displayport 1.4 cable that is 30 metres long (though £70, ouch) and I might be able to use some USB to ethernet adapters at both ends to get the USB 3 signal to go the same distance? What do you think?

Displayport cable

Eth-USB converter

[Sakkura]

Make sure it's VR-capable. Just because it works with monitors etc. doesn't guarantee it will work with VR, where requirements are stricter.