$1,700 for a PC to play Oculus Rift?

Really, is this not off putting for some? I get that the company behind OR said that it's about a 1,000, which quite honesty it is. The reality is, big companies like Dell, Asus, Alienware, or HP don't sell it for that price. They drive the price as high as 1,700 up to a laughable 1,900 on Alienware site.

I feel like this will just make people not want to try OC or other VR tech.

This does not include the Oculus Rift headset. Yet, the company behind Oculus Rift (now facebook), claims (still does) it takes a $1,000 PC to run it at recommended spec.

then don't buy one of those?

VR tech can be achieved with much less, problem is, the PRIME of this technology is hard to power ... 30/60 FPS is not enough to handle our perception of motion ... 90 FPS is apperently the minimum for a truly smoother experience... then there are graphics... and ridiculous resolutions required.... hell people are debating wether 4k will be sufficient.

4k at 90 FPS? good luck....

I imagine it's off-putting for a lot of folks, but this is cutting edge tech, and VR's first release. I didn't own a cellphone in the late 90's, did you? Most people didn;t. They were bulky and expensive, and pretty much only used in business or by rich people. Vr is starting out in a much better place. You can probably build a PC for less than $1,000 capable of handling a really good VR experience.

This first release is for early adopters. People who aren't willing to fork over $1,000 or more will have to be satisfied with what consoles offer, or wait. In 2-3 years VR will be cheaper and better.

The recommended specs for an Oculus Rift aren't that bad.

Taken from here

• Nvidia GTX 970 or AMD 290
• Intel I5-4590
• 8 GBs RAM
• Motherboard with 3x USB 3.0 ports and 1x USB 2.0 port

I can throw that together on PC Part Picker for $1040.56 right now.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2C3PP6

Price on that link isn't 100% guaranteed to stay constant as it adjusts on that website due to lowest price per part.

I didn't skip on that PC at all. I picked good brands and a very nice case. You could save probably $200 on that build easily.

Most people interested in VR are going to be the type that know how to build computers or have the ability to build computers. That's Oculus's target market for the first gen. A $1000 PC is not outrageous for VR.

Oculus requires a pc that can play modern games at 90fps and 2k resolution. So the price of 1700 USD for a prebuilt that will do that is pretty reasonable.

90 stable fps in modern games is only achievable with the latest and most powerful gpus right now, like gtx989 ti wich is 650 bucks by itself.

6 core i7 are around 400 bucks and higher. Good mobas are around 150 bucks. 16 GB of DDR4 is another 120 bucks.

You can choose not to buy, my current setup is strong enough as it is and I'm planning on upgrading next year.

I think you meant 970 for the recommended video card which is fair enough and that's what I thought was the case originally. That's why I was surprised by the thread below claiming the 970 was a minimum req for OR which would have been kind of crazy.

970 can not do 90fps at 2k resolution. 60 fps, yes. 90, no way. And not in all games.

Advice - wait for Nivdia's Pascal and next gen AMD gpus.

Pretty much.

Relax people... it is PC. Graphics and performance can be scaled. Just lower the settings and you will be able to get 90fps.

GUYS! YOU COMPLETELY MISSED THE POINT!

I have a PC strong enough. I don't need to buy it. A computer with what Rift recommend is about 1,000 to build yourself. Yet, consumers are dumb, they buy without researching; they look at prices without researching My friend who was excited about it look at their website, they link website that have PC that is ready to play Oculus Rift, except they are 1699 at minimum price. SO what did my friend do? Obviously it put it off, why spend $1,700 (taxes not included) without keyboard, mouse, or the Oculus Rift itself? There goes one customer. He would have bought it for 1,400 like Oculus claim ( a PC that runs it and comes with a OR). Instead, their website links to various other website that the same $1,400 would cost somewhere around $2,100

Depends on the graphical demands of the game. I imagine that the games designed for VR have a performance target of 90fps on a 970.

That's not true. I can run Diablo 3 on 4k with a 970. It all depends on what game

Eve said that they want 90FPS with the recommended spec which is a 970.

Seems VR will be a distant future purchase for me.

Yeah just saw your post above, missed it first time sorry. Where are you getting your info from? So much misinformation being thrown around about OR at the moment it's all a bit confusing.

Why would they specify 90fps at 2K resolution and not 4K? Though like you said even 1440p at those frame rates is going to need at least a 980 ti. I don't get why you'd need an i7 either, i5 Skylake is fine for any video card currently available.

Regardless, if your info is correct this thing is going to flop so fucking hard it will be embarrassing. There aren't anywhere near enough enthusiast PC gamers in the world to buy into a complete upgrade just to play OR.

I agree. The PC can be built at about 1,050. Hell, that's pretty much what the company behind OR claimed as well. The difference is, on their website they link other sellers that sell PC's at $1,700 starting PC (just to run it). It's contradicting. Legit, my friend though it was $1,400 to start up with the OR in hand, instead he looked at prices of $2,100+

I've mentioned this before, but stop and think about serious hobbies for a moment. If you're serious into your gaming as a hobby, then even $2k is cheap when comparing it to just about any hobbies most adult males would have. If you're not a serious gamer, then you don't want any cutting edge tech much less VR with it's currently limited library of games. With any hobby, you have your starter sets and it goes from there, often that's where everyone starts and as it consumes them, it consumes their wallet as it moves forward with you often wishing you just opted to spend more to begin with. A serious fisherman is going to spend way more just for just parts for his boat for example. A friend of mine once spent $400 just for an R.C. motor no bigger than his fist. When I was more seriously into cars, I spent thousands and thousands before I was age 24 on my 64 chevelle SS and my 79 Camero while the older guys would spent quadruple that so they could race at the drag strip competitively. I also remember a cool couple grand + going towards a marine aquarium and some fish and that was basically just a starter set cause there's some crazy expensive stuff for those that get into aquariums.

Gotta keep these things into perspective, it's your entertainment value, it's your free time value and if it's something you really enjoy, where your extra cash goes should be no complaint. Otherwise, find a new hobby. Collect Pokemon cards or something.

My latest PC cost $1600, I've always spent around that for every PC i've ever owned I think. I always go high end for a reason, otherwise it might as well just stick to having a single console system, which is the equivalent of a gamer's starter kit. It's chump change really, I've bought car parts that cost more than that and served little more than just for looks. I'm actually glad I'm not into those kinds of hobbies anymore.

@blueinheaven: Right now they are targeting enthusiasts and early adopters that already have beast rigs. VR is a long term play. It will continue to grow and they are hoping that it will eventually become a mainstream product that is affordable and people take interest in. The success/failure of VR can't really be measured for another 3-5 years.

NO ONE is talking about what you think is a good price for a PC. The POINT is a $1,000 PC will run Oculus Rift AT RECOMMENDED SPEC. We know this because, we did it here and the company behind Oculus said it themselves. YET, they link sellers that have Oculus Rift Ready PC's that start at the Price of $1,700. If you are looking to start playing games. that price is off putting. It contradicts what the company said.

Yeah but it's still kind of an absurd entry level point. They are launching demanding kit that will be obselete next year when Pascal and the new AMD stuff hits as was said above. I suppose that will help drive down prices for a 980 ti as an i.e. but they shouldn't have a 970 as recommended specs if you need 90fps in 2K res I mean try play W3 maxxed at 1440p on a 970 and see what fps you get lol. I know plenty of games are less demanding but nobody wants to buy into new tech to discover the game they really want to play is beyond them because of their kit.

Also what kind of support will they have? I'm not knocking the concept, I love new technology and I get excited about the idea of a new way to play games but I think personally I'm going to sit back and see how this all pans out before I entertain the idea of jumping in.

@Berserker1_5 said:

@pimphand_gamer said:

I've mentioned this before, but stop and think about serious hobbies for a moment. If you're serious into your gaming as a hobby, then even $2k is cheap when comparing it to just about any hobbies most adult males would have. If you're not a serious gamer, then you don't want any cutting edge tech much less VR with it's currently limited library of games. With any hobby, you have your starter sets and it goes from there, often that's where everyone starts and as it consumes them, it consumes their wallet as it moves forward with you often wishing you just opted to spend more to begin with. A serious fisherman is going to spend way more just for just parts for his boat for example. A friend of mine once spent $400 just for an R.C. motor no bigger than his fist. When I was more seriously into cars, I spent thousands and thousands before I was age 24 on my 64 chevelle SS and my 79 Camero while the older guys would spent quadruple that so they could race at the drag strip competitively. I also remember a cool couple grand + going towards a marine aquarium and some fish and that was basically just a starter set cause there's some crazy expensive stuff for those that get into aquariums.

Gotta keep these things into perspective, it's your entertainment value, it's your free time value and if it's something you really enjoy, where your extra cash goes should be no complaint. Otherwise, find a new hobby. Collect Pokemon cards or something.

My latest PC cost $1600, I've always spent around that for every PC i've ever owned I think. I always go high end for a reason, otherwise it might as well just stick to having a single console system, which is the equivalent of a gamer's starter kit. It's chump change really, I've bought car parts that cost more than that and served little more than just for looks. I'm actually glad I'm not into those kinds of hobbies anymore.

NO ONE is talking about what you think is a good price for a PC. The POINT is a $1,000 PC will run Oculus Rift AT RECOMMENDED SPEC. We know this because, we did it here and the company behind Oculus said it themselves. YET, they link sellers that have Oculus Rift Ready PC's that start at the Price of $1,700. If you are looking to start playing games. that price is off putting. It contradicts what the company said.

What PC's are they linking for $1700?

It's called Mass appeal and Octopus Shit just don't got it.

@blueinheaven:

It will start slow for sure but it will expand down the road. It all basically comes down to one's gpu power. Next gen Nvidia's Pascal and AMD's Polaris promise a huge performance boost, like ability to do 4k at stable 60fps or 2k at 90. So it's just matter of time. In 2006, there were very few GPUs that could do full hd, but three years later AMD 5870 and GTX570 came out that could easily run 1080p and HD became a PC standard for the next 5 years. Oculus will become standard as well, as 4k tvs are becoming standard now.

@lostrib:

Same crap that's recommended

PS4 is were the true appeal is currently.

All I would need is a better GPU and I'm set.

You'd be lying to yourself if you though this wasn't just going to be for people with deep pockets.

define "deep"

Anyway I already have a PC ready to go. Sorry for those that don't. Still not sure i'm sold on VR yet. I might try that samsung headset to give it a go and see if it's something i'd like

I can't see it becoming a common thing for years to come, if at all.

It's brand new tech.

Suck it up or wait a couple years.

You don't need native 90 fps at 2k. You can get 60 fps and use interpolation for the other 30 and get a reasonably good picture quality. It's not as good as a native 90 fps for picture quality, but it'll prevent the motion sickness and lag that lower than 90fps is going to bring.

You would think people who have 63,000+ post on this website would by now learn how to read the opening post.

I'll wait for the HololensBox in 2020. :P

The Wii achieved success because it was cheap and yet provided a good low-tech version of motion controlled gaming. I feel the first VR to match this concept will be the most successful. It's the same reason smartwatches haven't taken off yet, too expensive for most consumers.

@Bread_or_Decide: smart watches lol

Common, if you see someone with one, you will still make fun of them; I know I will

I got my gf a smart watch. They're pretty cool. The only problem is they're expensive as fudge.

http://www.pcgamer.com/oculus-rift-will-cost-599-eta-march/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=pcgfb

600$!

depends on the watch? plenty of smart watches out there that are cheaper than my normal watch

The only worthwhile android smartwatch, imho, is the moto360. Prices range from $200-$400 dollars.

IMO, it's far too high for the broader market. But it's a starting point and provides a foundation from which to improve. This is why VR is going to be niche for some time, at least until competitors arrive and the killer app surfaces.

Seems about right to be honest. I mean according to Nvidia you need there absolute best graphics card on the market currently to come close to being able to use Occulus rift. Now with that in mind I still can justify spending 650 on that card plus the extra basic PC parts plus Occulus Rift itself. Yeah all together you're looking at about $1500 in cost and that's before you even bought a game that uses the rift.

I'm ready to rock! For some reason the Oculus tool doesn't recognize overclocks or SLI. Good thing I don't need them apparently.

@360ru13r:

I"ll just watched VR Troopers thank you very much.

@Berserker1_5 said:

@pimphand_gamer said:

I've mentioned this before, but stop and think about serious hobbies for a moment. If you're serious into your gaming as a hobby, then even $2k is cheap when comparing it to just about any hobbies most adult males would have. If you're not a serious gamer, then you don't want any cutting edge tech much less VR with it's currently limited library of games. With any hobby, you have your starter sets and it goes from there, often that's where everyone starts and as it consumes them, it consumes their wallet as it moves forward with you often wishing you just opted to spend more to begin with. A serious fisherman is going to spend way more just for just parts for his boat for example. A friend of mine once spent $400 just for an R.C. motor no bigger than his fist. When I was more seriously into cars, I spent thousands and thousands before I was age 24 on my 64 chevelle SS and my 79 Camero while the older guys would spent quadruple that so they could race at the drag strip competitively. I also remember a cool couple grand + going towards a marine aquarium and some fish and that was basically just a starter set cause there's some crazy expensive stuff for those that get into aquariums.

Gotta keep these things into perspective, it's your entertainment value, it's your free time value and if it's something you really enjoy, where your extra cash goes should be no complaint. Otherwise, find a new hobby. Collect Pokemon cards or something.

My latest PC cost $1600, I've always spent around that for every PC i've ever owned I think. I always go high end for a reason, otherwise it might as well just stick to having a single console system, which is the equivalent of a gamer's starter kit. It's chump change really, I've bought car parts that cost more than that and served little more than just for looks. I'm actually glad I'm not into those kinds of hobbies anymore.

NO ONE is talking about what you think is a good price for a PC. The POINT is a $1,000 PC will run Oculus Rift AT RECOMMENDED SPEC. We know this because, we did it here and the company behind Oculus said it themselves. YET, they link sellers that have Oculus Rift Ready PC's that start at the Price of $1,700. If you are looking to start playing games. that price is off putting. It contradicts what the company said.

That was already explained if you'd read. If it's off putting in your opinion, then your not that serious are you? If you want it bad enough, you'll pay what is necessary for the serious gaming enthusiast experience which will be VR.....VR is not a gamer's starter kit, it's for people that want to take the gaming experience to a different level. 3D movies is a different level, you pay $3 extra bucks for that at the theater, either it's worth it or it's not but doesn't make any new tech the next big thing, it can fail just as easily as they all did in the past. Otherwise, you're just complaining about the price to experience the bleeding edge thing...CD burner's once cost a $1000, what's your point?

@PSP107: pretty much but you know there are those who are will to flip the bill. Like you I'm going to have fun watching.

@360ru13r:

Is being an early adopter ever worked out?

@PSP107: Honestly I don't know. Never been one of anything. The only thing that is cool about being an early adopter is the pride of knowing you have it before everyone else.