So I recently acquired a Quest 2, I’ll save my thoughts on the headset and VR for another thread (mixed). My wife is however quite taken by VR, so definitely a good investment.
Currently we are running anything that is not a Meta app off my gaming rig, which kind of kills the ability for me to do any sim’ing while she’s in VR. Upgrading/replacing my rig is going to be an expensive endeavor that is probably at least a year or two down the road if not further. In the interim building a PC specifically for her VR gaming that I can leave setup just for that seems like a reasonable option provided the price is workable.
I’m also open to sugestions on a different headset for VR gaming (versus sim’ing), honestly having to mess with the link cable versus simply using a HDMI or display port has been annoying. If there is a good tech reason for using the link cable style system I’ll deal, but as far as setup and trouble shooting a straight graphics output seems much simpler and cleaner to me. So far we’ve been using Airlink or Steamlink primarily due to this and her low tolerance for “technicals difficulties” and it’s been pretty reasonable with what she likes to play, she’s more into puzzles and experiences than anything “fast twitch.”
Suggestions on what a reasonable processor, GPU, and RAM size would be appreciated. And if there are any recommendations on a different headset that has a cleaner system to connect to Steam for VR games I’m all ears as well. Ideally I’d like it to be future proofed a bit, as I will probably get her a current generation headset (Quest 3) before the year is out.
My home PC is optimised for DCS world, so has moved on some since this config. But an 11600K (a core i5 14400 is very similar), with 32GB of RAM and a GTX 1660 Ti or RTX 2060 (not even a super, I’d recommend either if you’re happy to find one secondhand) should run most things at better than 72 Hz (is that the refresh rate on the Quest?).
With that processor you’re not overclocking, so get the cheapest mainboard that has the other features you want. Also the intel box cooler that came with the 11400 was brilliant and very quiet for a box cooler, but I’m not sure if the 14400 still comes with one. Should be easy to cool anyway.
I can’t speak on AMD stuff, sorry, but I understand that if you’re in the US it can be much cheaper…
So partially some of the things she enjoys right now are on Steam. Partially we both find the meta store an absolute pain to find anything worth while. It reminds me of using the Google Play store, yes it functions in the technical sense, but it is horrible from the “find me something I want” sense. If it’s algorithmic like most things these days maybe it’ll improve over time, but right now it’s about 90% things that we’re not interested.
To complement him, from AMD side this means you need any of the following GPU:
RX 5700
RX 6600, RX 6700 or higher,
RX 7600 or higher
And for the CPU:
Ideally Ryzen 5 5500 or 5600 but a 3600 will do too. If the mainboard chipset is a 400 or 500 series (starts with B or X, i.e. B450, X570), you can put the latest firmware on it and upgrade to a Ryzen 5500 CPU for ~$100 if needed
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5500 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($86.67 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Gelid Solutions Tranquillo Rev. 5 65.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($17.98 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B550 Phantom Gaming 4/ac ATX AM4 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($64.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Lexar NM710 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($64.98 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Speedster SWFT 309 Radeon RX 6700 XT 12 GB Video Card ($329.99 @ Newegg Sellers)
Case: Montech X3 Mesh ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.90 @ B&H)
Power Supply: Corsair CX650M (2021) 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply ($69.98 @ Amazon)
Total: $784.47
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-02-26 08:03 EST-0500
Add a cheap Windows license from one of those webshops that sell surplus commercial licenses (10 or 20 bucks) and you’re done.
To save some money, you could skip the CPU cooler and choose the included one but it will be a little bit noisy. Worth 20 bucks to me.
You could get a smaller SSD, though it won’t be a big price difference. Probably 20 bucks at most for any reasonable size. Though you may be able to re-use an SSD from your or a friend’s pc.
And for the GPU, you could go for an RTX 3060 for a similar price (around $300). If you do, make sure to get a 12GB version, otherwise you are much better off sticking to the RX 6700XT. It has better processing performance and is more efficient. The 3060 is less powerful, but DLSS looks better than FSR, so in the end either option is fine as long as their price is similar.
TL:DR; A newly built pc with the specs we recommend is going to cost in the range of 650 to 900 bucks. Look for a used pc for $400 or less where you only need to replace 1 or 2 components to be happy.
I agree with Freak about DLSS - it’s going to be very good for some VR experiences (it’s not so great in DCS where you can really see the ghosting). That might be what would bump my recommendation up from the 1660 Ti/2060, particularly as it gives you some future growth potential.
If buying a new GPU, I think the AV1 encoder in the 4060 might make it preferable if you do go with the Quest 3. Assuming you can get it for a reasonable price that is. Quest 2 can’t use the AV1 encoding, so probably not worth the additional cost over a 3060 in that case.
Yes I did bump the GPU a bit from Torc’s recommendation. One tier lower (5600XT, 6600XT, 1660/2060) is fine too. But for new parts, $300 seems to be the price/performance sweet spot. For used parts, a pc with B450, Ryzen 3600 and GTX 1660 would probably be good enough. And if needed, you can always upgrade the GPU or CPU on it.
The youngsters here have great advice, but having been into VR since it’s inception, IMHO, I’d invest the most amount in your GPU. The RTX 4070 Super 12GB or 4070 ti seem to be worthy long term investments without blowing a budget. Especially if you plan run ray tracing.
100% agreed but given the budget, I focused on rasterized performance and/or DLSS upscaling in a used machine with 1 upgraded part. The RTX 4070 alone would consume the full budget and no matter how capable it is, it still needs a PSU, motherboard, CPU, RAM, SSD and ideally a case to play games.
True, but may I suggest that a satisfying VR experience and a bare bones gaming PC are somewhat contradictory. I’m probably in the minority, but maybe it might be better to take lunch at McDonalds a couple of months longer to save up for a really excellent VR experience. Or is @jenrick already part of the cult and we should feel confident that his VR budget will grow organically?
Agreed, at least in regards to DCS. I wouldn’t want to play DCS with everything turned down and then it still runs like sh*t if there’s a couple of strike eagles around because you don’t have enough/fast enough VRAM. Seriously, the difference between a 3080 and a 3080TI is bonkers in VR. That’s just a 2GB difference and you can still run into VRAM limits.
I don’t know how a 12GB 3060 will hold up but that 12GB VRAM is slower than the VRAM on the 3080TI
Now, you don’t need to get the latest and greatest, even vor VR, but you will be limited in DCS. Some multiplayer scenarios and servers might not be playable.
