VR graphics needs? WTF

[Commodore Sim]

OK so I'm confused by the actual needs of VR graphics cards wise.  I've heard the golden standard is like 4k at 90fps sounds like a job for a beefy GPU.  But then I've also heard vive and rift are only 1200x1080 per eye which I assume is 4:3 version of 1080p.  So that's less total pixels then 1440p.  So my numbers brain instantly is asking, "why the heck would you need more then a GTX 1060 to run these current VR?" 

 

Is it the 3D conversion?

Not enough fps on the 1060?

Some other horrid lack of optimization?

 

I run a OC GTX 1070 BTW.

[sazrocks]

This is pretty much why its hard to benchmark vr.

[RadiatingLight]

Well, Think of running a 1440p display at 90Hz. it would take at least a GTX 1060 6GB, right? Nobody would recommend a 1050Ti for a 1440p 90Hz display.

plus, the latency needsto be low enough to not cause motion sickness, so not only is the amount of frames important, but the time it takes for your system to generate a frame once you move your head matters a lot. if it takes a bit too long to generate that next frame, you'll start getting disoriented real quick.

 

[Commodore Sim]

7 minutes ago, sazrocks said:

This is pretty much why its hard to benchmark vr.

But aren't benchmarks just real world tests?

[The Sloth]

4 minutes ago, Commodore Sim said:

But aren't benchmarks just real world tests?

not really benchmarks are much more intensive 

[Commodore Sim]

11 minutes ago, RadiatingLight said:

Well, Think of running a 1440p display at 90Hz. it would take at least a GTX 1060 6GB, right? Nobody would recommend a 1050Ti for a 1440p 90Hz display.

plus, the latency needsto be low enough to not cause motion sickness, so not only is the amount of frames important, but the time it takes for your system to generate a frame once you move your head matters a lot. if it takes a bit too long to generate that next frame, you'll start getting disoriented real quick.

 

Here's the thing you will see people on internet saying you MUST have dual GTX 1080 SLI fur VR, meanwhile I have actual friends playing Elite Dangerous on 1060s happy as pie. 

 

Yet wouldn't a lag in frame generation have a compounding effect? Isn't this the reason for fps drops, because the GPU has to throttle it's output to compensate.

[ARikozuM]

You need at least a 960 for VR on Rift and a 970 on Vive. You don't need more, but you'll want more. Getting a 980 or 1060 6GB will do you very well.

[Commodore Sim]

4 minutes ago, ARikozuM said:

You need at least a 960 for VR on Rift and a 970 on Vive. You don't need more, but you'll want more. Getting a 980 or 1060 6GB will do you very well.

OK let's just for simply sake not talk about Maxwell cards as they scale just a little too weirdly to Pascal for my brain to handle.

 

Let's also please avoid "good enough" and aim for "just right".

 

There is a vocal crowd that says you need the baddest beefy GPU for VR, are these people on point or wasting everyone's money?

Edited January 12, 2017 by Commodore Sim

[ARikozuM]

6 minutes ago, Commodore Sim said:

There is a vocal crowd that says you need the baddest beefy GPU for VR, are these people on point or wasting everyone's money?

My lowest recommendation would be a 980 or 1060 6GB. With my experience with the Vive, those are definitely capable of pushing VR without too much variance in Hz. Getting anything higher is paying for a better experience with higher frame-rate, though the Vive is capped at 90Hz with any extra only being superficial for latency's sake.

 

To answer the question: No, you don't need the beefiest GPU for VR.

[sazrocks]

5 minutes ago, Commodore Sim said:

There is a vocal crowd that says you need the baddest beefy GPU for VR, are these people on point or wasting everyone's money?

Since the VR market is so new, it is reasonable that once generation 2 and 3 headsets come out, games will become much more power hungry, as they require higher framerates (90 and soon to be 120Hz), unlike normal PC games which can be enjoyed just fine at 60Hz. Combine this with the extra resolution needed to fool the eye, and you need a pretty beefy setup to enjoy vr once it moves beyond tech demos and proof of concept games. So yes, saying you need a beefy GPU is on point (except in the case of a Titan xp. Never buy a Titan unless you have money to burn.) because of the likelihood that anything less will soon become inadequate, and thus leave you throwing up on the floor from motion sickness caused by low FPS (not good imo).