Minimum Requirements for the Oculus Rift Published
The recommended requirements for the Oculus Rift have been released, along with information about the Oculus PC SDK 0.6.0 and the Mobile VR Jam 2015.
Anyone wanting a system that meets the minimum requirements for the Oculus Rift will need to dig deep into their pockets.
The recently acquired by Facebook team announced on their blog that to run their VR software satisfactorily, you will need at least:
- NVIDIA GTX 970 or AMD R9 290 Graphics Card
- Intel i5-4590 Processor (or equivalent AMD)
- 8GB RAM
- HDMI 1.3+ Output
- 2 USB 3.0 Ports
- Windows 7 SP1 or newer
With a quick search, if someone wants to buy a processor and graphics card to meet these minimum specifications, they will need to spend at least €600.
The team defended the high requirements, stating that they are crucial for the success of Virtual Reality, as this hardware will provide the optimal experience with the Oculus.
Additionally, Atman Binstock, Chief Architect of the Oculus Rift, published a detailed article explaining the rationale behind the minimum requirements.
According to Binstock, unlike their competitors, they chose to suggest minimum requirements for the Rift so that developers would have a solid base on which to develop their software without sacrificing functionality by trying to accommodate mid-range systems.
Of course, since these requirements will apply for the entire lifespan of the Oculus Rift, the cost of acquiring a system based on these specs will drop significantly in the near future.
However, due to these requirements, the development of the Oculus Rift is focused solely on Windows systems, as there is currently no Mac on the market that meets the conditions. And while one would expect support for Linux systems given that such machines can be set up and the prevailing trend of Linux gaming support, Atman clarified that support for Linux has also been discontinued.
Sidenote: Could this also be one of the reasons why Valve turned to HTC for their VR?
It remains to be seen whether the exclusivity to high-end Windows systems will be beneficial for the Oculus Rift or if it will lose customers to other competitive VR options.
As Binstock mentioned, we are in the period of establishing Virtual Reality. Soon, operating systems, graphics engines, and CPU and GPU architectures will provide support and better accommodations for VR devices.
In this way, VR costs will drop and it will enter the homes of more people. Until then, it remains a new technology in its experimental stage, and anyone who wants to own it will need a deep pocket.