Looking to build a VR machine

[absentmindedjwc]

Budget (including currency): Maybe around $1,500 USD - can spend more if necessary and the additional cost makes sense.

Country: US

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Looking to primarily use this for VR.  

 

Outside of that, just general gaming stuff that won't run on my Mac - which is a pretty long list since a lot of stuff doesn't seem to support the new M1 architecture yet.  I have a 4k monitor, but I imagine that if it were capable of driving VR, it probably would not have any problems with a 4k monitor.

 

 

[GhostRoadieBL]

for VR you will likely want to start with a 3060ti to keep the headset framerate up above the refresh rate of whatever headset system you plan to use. 

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel Core i7-10700K 3.8 GHz 8-Core Processor	$369.99 @ Newegg
CPU Cooler	Noctua NH-U12S 55 CFM CPU Cooler	$59.95 @ Amazon
Motherboard	MSI MPG Z490M GAMING EDGE WIFI Micro ATX LGA1200 Motherboard	$188.99 @ Newegg
Memory	G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory	$94.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Samsung 970 Evo 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$149.99 @ Amazon
Video Card	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti 8 GB Founders Edition Video Card	$399.00
Case	NZXT H510 ATX Mid Tower Case	$69.98 @ Amazon
Power Supply	SeaSonic FOCUS Plus Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$96.98 @ Newegg
Case Fan	Noctua P12 redux-1700 PWM 70.75 CFM 120 mm Fan	$13.90
Case Fan	Noctua P12 redux-1700 PWM 70.75 CFM 120 mm Fan	$13.90
Case Fan	Noctua P12 redux-1700 PWM 70.75 CFM 120 mm Fan	$13.90
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$1486.57
	Mail-in rebates	-$15.00
	Total	$1471.57
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-01-30 23:05 EST-0500

 

fast CPU, lots of cores to prevent slowdown from background processes, NVME drive has a cache so writes and repeated reads are faster all helping keep frame timing low which helps prevent motion sickness. Added the noctua fans so the case is very well cooled and can stay silent when not heavily taxing the system.

[absentmindedjwc]

Thanks!

 

I had commented on that last "bang for your buck" video on LTT asking if that would work on VR - but alas, no responses.  This'll be the first computer I've built in probably like 20 years, so wish me luck, haha.

[VEXICUS]

Maybe this will help you....

 

PCPartPicker Part List

 

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor ($299.00 @ Best Buy) 

Motherboard: MSI B550-A PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard ($139.99 @ B&H) 

Memory: Crucial Ballistix 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory ($86.99 @ B&H) 

Storage: PNY XLR8 CS3030 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($114.99 @ Amazon) 

Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 10 GB Founders Edition Video Card ($699.99 @ Best Buy) 

Case: Cooler Master MasterBox NR600 (w/o ODD) ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.98 @ Amazon) 

Power Supply: Phanteks AMP 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($115.98 @ Newegg) 

Total: $1526.92

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-01-31 09:18 EST-0500

[UpTheDons]

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/QnkrLP

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($194.99 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($179.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($76.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Western Digital Blue SN550 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 10 GB Founders Edition Video Card  ($699.00) 
Case: Phanteks Eclipse P300A Mesh ATX Mid Tower Case  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: be quiet! Pure Power 11 CM 600 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1410.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-01-31 11:43 EST-0500

 

The 3600 will service you needs well. Since you are going to have to wait for any 3080 stock it would be worth keeping an eye on the 5600x to see if it pops up at a reasonable price. You probably don't necessarily need a 3080 for most VR workloads (I do pretty well on my RX570 running the rift-s) so you could definitely lower the price by going for something like a 3070 if it comes back in stock sooner than the 3080.

12 hours ago, GhostRoadieBL said:

for VR you will likely want to start with a 3060ti to keep the headset framerate up above the refresh rate of whatever headset system you plan to use. 

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel Core i7-10700K 3.8 GHz 8-Core Processor	$369.99 @ Newegg
CPU Cooler	Noctua NH-U12S 55 CFM CPU Cooler	$59.95 @ Amazon
Motherboard	MSI MPG Z490M GAMING EDGE WIFI Micro ATX LGA1200 Motherboard	$188.99 @ Newegg
Memory	G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory	$94.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Samsung 970 Evo 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$149.99 @ Amazon
Video Card	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti 8 GB Founders Edition Video Card	$399.00
Case	NZXT H510 ATX Mid Tower Case	$69.98 @ Amazon
Power Supply	SeaSonic FOCUS Plus Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$96.98 @ Newegg
Case Fan	Noctua P12 redux-1700 PWM 70.75 CFM 120 mm Fan	$13.90
Case Fan	Noctua P12 redux-1700 PWM 70.75 CFM 120 mm Fan	$13.90
Case Fan	Noctua P12 redux-1700 PWM 70.75 CFM 120 mm Fan	$13.90
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$1486.57
	Mail-in rebates	-$15.00
	Total	$1471.57
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-01-30 23:05 EST-0500

 

fast CPU, lots of cores to prevent slowdown from background processes, NVME drive has a cache so writes and repeated reads are faster all helping keep frame timing low which helps prevent motion sickness. Added the noctua fans so the case is very well cooled and can stay silent when not heavily taxing the system.

 

Terrible case and no need for that many fans. Wouldn't advise getting that CPU either as it represents bad value for money compared to other options. Overpriced ssd too.    

[GhostRoadieBL]

30 minutes ago, UpTheDons said:

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/QnkrLP

 

Terrible case and no need for that many fans. Wouldn't advise getting that CPU either as it represents bad value for money compared to other options. Overpriced ssd too.    

The case is actually really good H510 Elite with all the glass is terrible this one actually has vents, better than the Phanteks for this use case, which doesn't even have USB-C on the front panel to connect to an Oculus Quest so you'd have to reach around the back all the time. 

CPU is perfect for this application as 99% of VR games are still single/sometimes 4 core optimized so Ryzen has a better price but lacks the core speed keep up for the next 5 years (the whole point of their last push 5000 series CPUs before changing architecture) Yes it costs more but will also stay ahead of the 3600 for longer as games get better multithreading optimizations. 

Samsung 970's are still king of the hill for latency, throughput and longevity so you could cheap out on the SSD and have a good experience but spending more within the budget for a better component isn't a bad thing it's just optimizing for a less often upgrade cycle. 

If you read what I said about the fans it's for better cooling and silence, a couple dollars on fans which keep your components at a more consistent temperature which causes the clock speeds to be more consistent which in turn keeps your frame timing consistent. This is far more important to VR than monitor gaming. Stutters on a monitor are annoying, stutters in a VR setup completely ruin the experience. 

 

Your build is good for monitor based gaming and is definitely a better bang for buck build, I built for VR experience not bang for buck. 

 

[UpTheDons]

10 minutes ago, GhostRoadieBL said:

The case is actually really good H510 Elite with all the glass is terrible this one actually has vents, better than the Phanteks for this use case, which doesn't even have USB-C on the front panel to connect to an Oculus Quest so you'd have to reach around the back all the time. 

CPU is perfect for this application as 99% of VR games are still single/sometimes 4 core optimized so Ryzen has a better price but lacks the core speed keep up for the next 5 years (the whole point of their last push 5000 series CPUs before changing architecture) Yes it costs more but will also stay ahead of the 3600 for longer as games get better multithreading optimizations. 

Samsung 970's are still king of the hill for latency, throughput and longevity so you could cheap out on the SSD and have a good experience but spending more within the budget for a better component isn't a bad thing it's just optimizing for a less often upgrade cycle. 

If you read what I said about the fans it's for better cooling and silence, a couple dollars on fans which keep your components at a more consistent temperature which causes the clock speeds to be more consistent which in turn keeps your frame timing consistent. This is far more important to VR than monitor gaming. Stutters on a monitor are annoying, stutters in a VR setup completely ruin the experience. 

 

Your build is good for monitor based gaming and is definitely a better bang for buck build, I built for VR experience not bang for buck. 

 

 

As I said I still really would not recommend due to it being a literal oven, you can consult gamers nexus review on the case for back-up. I doubt OP will have or be buying a quest it and they were I wouldn't recommend it due to oculus link still very much being in a development phase. My 2700x + RX570 runs most of my VR applications like a dream and 8 cores vs 6 cores wont make a big enough difference for the price. Crucial (in my experience) have very good quality SSDs and I really don't think your sacrificing any real-world performance its mostly just Samsung tax on those SSDs that hike the price up. Your right about the fans but the stock fans in the p300a and most mid to high end cases will do fine. OP can certainly go for more fans but as I said there is not a huge need for them.

[GhostRoadieBL]

2 hours ago, UpTheDons said:

 

As I said I still really would not recommend due to it being a literal oven, you can consult gamers nexus review on the case for back-up. I doubt OP will have or be buying a quest it and they were I wouldn't recommend it due to oculus link still very much being in a development phase. My 2700x + RX570 runs most of my VR applications like a dream and 8 cores vs 6 cores wont make a big enough difference for the price. Crucial (in my experience) have very good quality SSDs and I really don't think your sacrificing any real-world performance its mostly just Samsung tax on those SSDs that hike the price up. Your right about the fans but the stock fans in the p300a and most mid to high end cases will do fine. OP can certainly go for more fans but as I said there is not a huge need for them.

Gamers Nexus tests cases with significantly higher heat and stressed hardware than the average build. (which is great for testing, not for real world builds unless they also use the high wattage hardware) If we are basing it on YT reviews JaysTwoCents thinks it's a great case and tested a prebuilt from NZXT even overclocking an i9 to 4.9ghz all core with a 2080ti. This hardware isn't going to cook inside the case, the thermodynamics of watts of heat in to watts of heat exhausted don't support that theory until you put extreme build hardware into the case. I'm not saying it's the BEST case for cooling, never did, it is however one of the easiest to build in and with the front IO it is the most versatile at the price point. 

 

**edit** just looked at GN's 510Elite case review (they never reviewed this one but mention it being a good buy for $80 at the end of the elite review) overall it's one of the warmer cases when torture tested CPU+GPU (great for testing methodology, not realistic at all for users) putting aside the unrealistic testing their review adds similar noctua fans to what I recommended and it made the case rise to the same range as the meshify series which are fantastic airflow cases for way more $. 

 

your 2700x and 570 run "most" current VR apps really well, I'm assuming you also haven't done the VR optimizations all manufacturers recommend (turn off hyperthreading and SpeedStep, and exclusively run apps on SSDs with a cache) disabling hyperthreading makes more cores a requirement for the best experience, again, not looking at "will it run" but "what's the best experience you can get for the $" LTT did it with a 1060 and i3, doesn't mean it was a perfect experience, and definitely not futureproofed at all. This translates to any headset not just the Quest2 (which based on the build budget is the 90% most likely headset for the OP and 99% of people starting out in VR)

 

Crucial have quality SSDs, WD also have good SSDs at a good price, neither have a cache and are never tested as the top of a category. The OP can also go SATA SSD but that doesn't make much sense when the next generation of games are going to be built around faster load times of NVME, and cached NVME will always outrun non cached and that gap will only get wider as faster load speeds are becoming more desirable.  The Samsung "tax" isn't a very true term if they are making faster drives, it's like saying a "mustang tax" exists because civics are cheaper. 

 

the fans go back to the "will do fine" mentality again, if you have space in the budget and can have better cooling, get better cooling and don't trust a case manufacturer to include "good enough" fans when that is the first thing to cheap out on. $50 for fans is a great buy if it means the system will have more consistent frame timing, I could have also used the stock CPU cooler but that too will not be good for consistent clock speeds and holding the boost frequency as well. 

[UpTheDons]

2 hours ago, GhostRoadieBL said:

Gamers Nexus tests cases with significantly higher heat and stressed hardware than the average build. (which is great for testing, not for real world builds unless they also use the high wattage hardware) If we are basing it on YT reviews JaysTwoCents thinks it's a great case and tested a prebuilt from NZXT even overclocking an i9 to 4.9ghz all core with a 2080ti. This hardware isn't going to cook inside the case, the thermodynamics of watts of heat in to watts of heat exhausted don't support that theory until you put extreme build hardware into the case. I'm not saying it's the BEST case for cooling, never did, it is however one of the easiest to build in and with the front IO it is the most versatile at the price point. 

 

**edit** just looked at GN's 510Elite case review (they never reviewed this one but mention it being a good buy for $80 at the end of the elite review) overall it's one of the warmer cases when torture tested CPU+GPU (great for testing methodology, not realistic at all for users) putting aside the unrealistic testing their review adds similar noctua fans to what I recommended and it made the case rise to the same range as the meshify series which are fantastic airflow cases for way more $. 

 

your 2700x and 570 run "most" current VR apps really well, I'm assuming you also haven't done the VR optimizations all manufacturers recommend (turn off hyperthreading and SpeedStep, and exclusively run apps on SSDs with a cache) disabling hyperthreading makes more cores a requirement for the best experience, again, not looking at "will it run" but "what's the best experience you can get for the $" LTT did it with a 1060 and i3, doesn't mean it was a perfect experience, and definitely not futureproofed at all. This translates to any headset not just the Quest2 (which based on the build budget is the 90% most likely headset for the OP and 99% of people starting out in VR)

 

Crucial have quality SSDs, WD also have good SSDs at a good price, neither have a cache and are never tested as the top of a category. The OP can also go SATA SSD but that doesn't make much sense when the next generation of games are going to be built around faster load times of NVME, and cached NVME will always outrun non cached and that gap will only get wider as faster load speeds are becoming more desirable.  The Samsung "tax" isn't a very true term if they are making faster drives, it's like saying a "mustang tax" exists because civics are cheaper. 

 

the fans go back to the "will do fine" mentality again, if you have space in the budget and can have better cooling, get better cooling and don't trust a case manufacturer to include "good enough" fans when that is the first thing to cheap out on. $50 for fans is a great buy if it means the system will have more consistent frame timing, I could have also used the stock CPU cooler but that too will not be good for consistent clock speeds and holding the boost frequency as well. 

 

As I said I was basing it of my experience with VR and these particular parts. OP can decide to do what he wants and that was my recommendation, it looked like he/she clearly was looking for more of a cheaper build as mentioned in the original post he had a look at LTTs bang for buck pc build and may not even be aware of how much a dedicated PC VR headset is gonna cost. 

[absentmindedjwc]

10 hours ago, UpTheDons said:

 

As I said I was basing it of my experience with VR and these particular parts. OP can decide to do what he wants and that was my recommendation, it looked like he/she clearly was looking for more of a cheaper build as mentioned in the original post he had a look at LTTs bang for buck pc build and may not even be aware of how much a dedicated PC VR headset is gonna cost. 

I mean, as I said, I can spend more if it makes sense to.  I honestly have no idea how much a good VR setup costs... as I said, it's been damn near 20 years since I built a computer last - I was just targeting $1500 USD because I figured that would be ok - if not, then I can increase my budget.  

 

My wife bought me a Quest 2 for Christmas, so I'm probably not going to be upgrading that for a little while - so will just have to make due with Oculus Link.