new pc for VR

[teagonia]

1. Budget & Location

idk what to expect budget wise, i live in germany, berlin.

2. Aim

My current PC is an ASRock Z87 Pro5 with an Intel Core i5 4670, 2x4Gb + 2x2Gb ddr3 RAM @ 1600 and an AMD Radeon RX 480.

It currently has an ssd with 128Gb and a hd with 2Tb, both are shown almost full and as red in windows 8.1, mostly because of my steam library and junk i cant choose not to install on my small C-drive.

I talso has a dvd- and a blu-ray- drive, which i would probably not want to give up, the most difficult thing i can imagine is goint to be the drivers/player for the bd-drive.

 

I would want to use the new one for VR, aswell as the same as my current, being gaming, such as factorio (bottlenecks at ram speed and single core speeds), DOOM2016, watching youtube, programming, (dabbling with blender).

I got used to ubuntu 18.04 on my laptop, so i want to use linux as my main os, i know i probably need/want another hd with windows solely for steam games that dont/poorly run on linux, aswell as maybe visual studio (or even matlab if i have to).

I have space for VR in another room on another floor, so i probably want to move the pc every time i want to do vr-gaming, unless there is aother option which i am not aware of.

3. Monitors

I use this machine with two monitors, one to the side @1080p60 and one main with 1440p@144, if i had the third 1080p@60 monitor i would probably hook it up if i werent as lazy and made space on my desk.

4. Peripherals

I own a keyboard i am happy with, a new mouse is probably not needed, my sennheiser pc 363d 7.1 headset with a mic is also not needing replacement.

I'd need a VR headset, with all that comes with that, i have no idea which one, or what all the options really are.

5. Why are you upgrading?

I feel the performance lacking sometimes, its not bad, but i dont get to use my 144Hz WQHD monitor to its full potential, using vr is out of the question with this pc.

[BrinkGG]

2 minutes ago, teagonia said:

1. Budget & Location

idk what to expect budget wise, i live in germany, berlin.

2. Aim

I would want to use the new one for VR, aswell as the same as my current, being gaming, such as factorio (bottlenecks at ram speed and single core speeds), DOOM2016, watching youtube, programming, (dabbling with blender).

So a couple of things I want to ask before suggesting parts: 

What are you expecting from VR? Do you want "the best you can get" in terms of gameplay, graphical quality, and tracking? Or are you just looking to get into VR and start playing some of the top games like Beat Saber, Superhot, Gorn, or Vader Immortal? 

6 minutes ago, teagonia said:

I got used to ubuntu 18.04 on my laptop, so i want to use linux as my main os, i know i probably need/want another hd with windows solely for steam games that dont/poorly run on linux, aswell as maybe visual studio (or even matlab if i have to).

I have space for VR in another room on another floor, so i probably want to move the pc every time i want to do vr-gaming, unless there is aother option which i am not aware of.

VR and Linux do not mix well, if at all. The Oculus headsets only run on windows PCs as far as I've seen, and the SteamVR headsets run best in a windows environment. 

[teagonia]

6 minutes ago, BrinkGG said:

"the best you can get" in terms of gameplay, graphical quality, and tracking?

well maybe, since i dont know what that costs, i cant really make a judgement call on that. which parts would cost the most, the pc side or the vr-peripheral side? if its the pc side, i could skimp on that an dupgrade afterward if i find my performance lacking, if on the other hand i had to replace the whole vr-setup then i would probably not do that.

 

oh and since i forgot, i dont care about the case, no rgb, no bling, no windows, just a black box i dont look at under the table would be fine.

10 minutes ago, BrinkGG said:

VR and Linux do not mix well, if at all.

i see, so i want to double boot from different drives, so i can use linux as much where applicable

[BrinkGG]

31 minutes ago, teagonia said:

well maybe, since i dont know what that costs, i cant really make a judgement call on that. which parts would cost the most, the pc side or the vr-peripheral side? if its the pc side, i could skimp on that an downgrade afterward if i find my performance lacking, if on the other hand i had to replace the whole vr-setup then i would probably not do that.

 

oh and since i forgot, i dont care about the case, no rgb, no bling, no windows, just a black box i dont look at under the table would be fine.

i see, so i want to double boot from different drives, so i can use linux as much where applicable

So the best VR headset I recommend right now is the Valve index. The kit with the controllers, headset, and base stations is $1000USD. (I believe it's 1000euro, not sure) 

If you want a step down, look at the HTC Vive pro or Oculus Rift S. Vive pro is around $600USD, Rift S is around $400USD. If you want a headset that you could use as a standalone OR run off of a PC, look at the Oculus Quest (also $400, but lower refresh rate then I recommend for new people to VR). 

 

As for PC specs, it depends on the headset you want. The Index is 1440x1600 per eye resolution at 144hz requires a lot more GPU power then the Rift S. 

For Index, an i5 8400/Ryzen R5 2600 and GTX 1070 is my recommendation for a baseline.

For Rift S, an i5 7400/Ryzen R5 2500 and GTX 1060 or RX 480/580. Oculus' APK is better optmized than Valve's as well so you can run it on lower power hardware. 

 

Let me know if you have any more questions! 

[teagonia]

wow, so my current machine can already "support" the index. (costs 1079€ w/ everything). that "am i ready for valve index?" says yes.

how much of a yes is that with my current machine?

 

the only experience i have with vr is from an oculus rift at uni where i very much noticed the screen-door effect, aswell as with an escape room experience, where i got to use a rift for about an hour, same thing. i noticed the screen-door and how small the peripheral vision is, aswell as all the distortion at the edge of the lens.

 

if you say that i can have some enjoyment with the index and my current machine, i will get the index and then think about needing an upgrade down the line according to the performane i get with it.

[BobbyPdue]

What games do you plan on playing and if you were to upgrade to new hardware what would your budget be?  

 

I don't know how well a 480 would run VR.  I guess you'll have to let us know. 

[BrinkGG]

14 hours ago, teagonia said:

wow, so my current machine can already "support" the index. (costs 1079€ w/ everything). that "am i ready for valve index?" says yes.

how much of a yes is that with my current machine?

 

the only experience i have with vr is from an oculus rift at uni where i very much noticed the screen-door effect, aswell as with an escape room experience, where i got to use a rift for about an hour, same thing. i noticed the screen-door and how small the peripheral vision is, aswell as all the distortion at the edge of the lens.

 

if you say that i can have some enjoyment with the index and my current machine, i will get the index and then think about needing an upgrade down the line according to the performane i get with it.

So yes. An Rx 480 can "run" an index at 90hz, but you would probably see stuttering down to 75 fps depending on the game. From your current rig, I still really recommend a GTX 1070 or GTX 1660 and an upgrade to an i7 to use the index. (You could buy the i7 used on Ebay to save yourself from having to buy a new motherboard and RAM as well)