Should I upgrade my rig or buy Rift ready PC bundle?

[JV2017]

Hey guys, I'm relatively new to VR but I got the chance to play some really exciting new Oculus games that will be revealed on Monday. I was so impressed with the technology that I have to go ahead and buy it.

The problem is that my machine fails the compatibility check in the following catagories: graphics card (GTX 960), processor (i7-2600k), and USB (Etron USB 3.0).
Here (http://imgur.com/a/osMP8) is a full look at my rig using CPU-Z. 

So here are my questions I'm hoping you all can help with:

* Should I try and buy separate parts and upgrade my PC to handle Oculus Rift?
* Is it more cost effective/easier to buy a new Rift ready PC bundled to save some money? This (http://www.amazon.com/Oculus-Rift-Ready-G11CD-WS51-Desktop-Bundle/dp/B01BHFI4XG) is the bundle I'm looking it.
* Will Rift ready PCs handle Premiere Pro and Photoshop just as well as my current rig? I use them for work daily.

Thanks in advance!

[Senzelian]

Upgrade your graphics card to at least an R9 390 or GTX 970 and you're good to go.
Your CPU is definitly good enough for VR.

New AMD and NVidia graphics cards are coming soon, so you could also wait for the new generation and upgrade then. Then you probably get more for your money.

 

[JV2017]

2 minutes ago, Senzelian said:

Upgrade your graphics card to at least an R9 390 or GTX 970 and you're good to go.
Your CPU is definitly good enough for VR.

New AMD and NVidia graphics cards are coming soon, so you could also wait for the new generation and upgrade then. Then you probably get more for your money.

 

Thank you for the response! I'm curious though about the CPU because Oculus' own compatibility check failed mine. Are you saying that mine should still work even though it failed the check? Also while I'm here, do you know if my motherboard supports a USB 3.0 expansion? I already have USB 3.0 but apparently mine just doesn't work with Oculus.

[Lotus]

If you're looking for the cheapest way to get VR ready, this is what I'd do:

 

Get a used R9 290 for ~$200

Get a proper USB 3.0 PCIE add-in board

Make sure you're CPU is overclocked well

 

done.

 

edit: and that "Oculus Rift Ready Bundle" isn't Oculus Rift ready. The CPU isn't up to snuff. The i5-6400 has too low clock speeds to handle the high framerate of demanding VR.

[Moonzy]

11 minutes ago, JV2017 said:

Will Rift ready PCs handle Premiere Pro and Photoshop just as well as my current rig? I use them for work daily.

VR ready pc comes in many shape and sizes,

it will run premier pro and photoshop, you can get stronger processors for it if you'd like lol

 

whole point of custom PC anyway

 

14 minutes ago, JV2017 said:

Should I try and buy separate parts and upgrade my PC to handle Oculus Rift?

if you mean upgrade your current one, i guess its time to replace the entire thing, sandy bridge isnt that new anymore lol

though you can squeeze more juice out of it, here's a video showing you how

Spoiler

 

you can upgrade and gpu and see how it handles VR

i recommend waiting for pascal

[Senzelian]

14 hours ago, JV2017 said:

Thank you for the response! I'm curious though about the CPU because Oculus' own compatibility check failed mine. Are you saying that mine should still work even though it failed the check? Also while I'm here, do you know if my motherboard supports a USB 3.0 expansion? I already have USB 3.0 but apparently mine just doesn't work with Oculus.

The Oculus compatibility check is stupid.
Your i7 still outperforms most newer i5s. Oculus just thinks your CPU isn't working because it's old but the age of a processor means nothing.

Oculus probably thinks your USB ports don't work because you're on an older platform.
All motherboards with a PCI-e slot support a USB 3.0 expension card. But I don't think you need one, because the Oculus only needs one USB port.