Recommended Graphics for the best experience is NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1070/Quadro P5000 or above, or AMD Radeon™ Vega 56 or above. NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon™ RX 480, equivalent or better. For additional graphics card options, view the complete list.
$499 for the Vive, $599 for the Vive Focus Plus, and $799 for the Vive Pro headset (plus the cost of tracking stations and controllers).
Price. Both headsets are a few hundred dollars less expensive than they were when they launched. The Rift is $399, down from $599, while the Vive is $499, down from $799. Since both now feature motion controls and whole-room VR in the box, the Oculus Rift is the better value.
Memory: 8GB RAM or greater. Video Output: Compatible HDMI 1.3 video output. USB Ports: 3x USB 3.0 ports plus 1x USB 2.0 port. OS: Windows 10 (Windows 7/8.1 no longer recommended)
Best Answer: The standard HTC Vive Cosmos is the best choice for most consumers, as it offers the same comfortable new headset design and sharp new display panels as the other models, along with the best inside-out tracking of any Vive Cosmos models.
VALVE Index System Requirements
- OS: Windows 10, SteamOS, Linux.
- Processor: Dual Core with Hyper-Threading.
- Memory: 8 GB RAM.
- Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 / AMD RX480.
- Network: Broadband Internet connection.
- Additional Notes: Available DisplayPort (Version1.2) and USB (2.0+) Port required.
Oculus Rift S minimum PC requirementsOS: 64-bit Windows 10. CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 / AMD Ryzen 3 1200, FX4350 or greater. RAM: 8GB. GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050Ti / Radeon RX 470 or greater.
Rec Spec
- Graphics Card: NVIDIA GTX 1060 / AMD Radeon RX 480 or greater.
- Alternative Graphics Card: NVIDIA GTX 970 / AMD Radeon R9 290 or greater.
- CPU: Intel i5-4590 / AMD Ryzen 5 1500X or greater.
- Memory: 8GB+ RAM.
- Video Output: Compatible HDMI 1.3 video output.
- USB Ports: 3x USB 3.0 ports plus 1x USB 2.0 port.
Once the Vive software install is complete, the app acts as an alternative portal to your Vive software library. It also allows you to initiate and control Bluetooth pairing with your Vive headset.
Bluetooth can be enabled/disabled in SteamVR from Settings > General > Enable Bluetooth communication. On the same page, there is a button for installing Bluetooth drivers. If your base stations are not utilizing power management settings or cannot enter standby, you might need to re-install the Bluetooth driver.
Installing SteamVR Base Station 2.0
- Mount the base stations diagonally at opposite corners of your space and near power outlets.
- Adjust the base stations so that the front panels are facing toward the center of the play area.
- Attach the power cables to the base stations, and then plug each of the adapter into a power outlet to turn them on.
Installing the base stations
- Mount the base stations diagonally at opposite corners of your space.
- Adjust the base stations so that the front panels are facing toward the center of the play area.
- Attach the power cables to the base stations, and then plug them each into a power outlet to turn them on.
HTC Vive
- Go into device manager on your OS and make sure all Bluetooth Devices are all removed.
- Start Steam VR software.
- Click on SteamVR drop down menu and select settings.
- Click on install Bluetooth driver.
- Go to device manager and your Bluetooth Devices should only show.
- Reboot your PC.
Using a micro-USB cable, connect the base stations to one of your computer's USB ports one at time. While pressing the Channel button at the back of the base station, plug in the base station's power adapter. Once the base station is detected by the SteamVR app, the firmware update will start automatically.
- Press WINDOWS + X.
- Click on "Device Manager"
- Click on "View"
- Click on "Show hidden device"
- Click on "Bluetooth"
- Right click on your bluetooth device.
- Click on "Uninstall device"
- Click on "Detecrts Hardware change" (monitor icon)
Do one of the following:
- Click > Devices > Update Device, and then select the base stations.
- If you see the icon, mouse over it to check if the firmware is out of date. If so, click Update Device.
Compare SpecsThe Best VR Headsets for 2020
| Our Picks | Oculus Quest 2 See it $399.00 at Amazon | Sony PlayStation VR See it $349.99 at Adorama |
|---|
| Editors' Rating | Editors' Choice 4.5 Editor Review | Editors' Choice 4.0 Editor Review |
| Type | Standalone | Tethered |
| Resolution | 1,832 by 1,920 (per eye) | 1,080 by 960 (per eye) |
| Refresh Rate | 90 Hz | 120 Hz |
The majority of VR headsets require at least 8 GB of RAM. The only exception is HTC Vive Pro and HTC Vive Pro Eye that can run with just 4 GB. HTC Vive Cosmos also requires 8 GB+ RAM.
Best Desktop PCs for VR 2021
- Best Overall: Alienware Aurora R11.
- Runner-Up: HP OMEN 30L.
- Lots Of Style: iBuyPower BB973 Gaming.
- Great Value: CyberPowerPC Gamer Xtreme.
- Best Customization: MAINGEAR VYBE.
If you'd like to land slightly better performance than the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT but also want to take advantage of NVIDIA RTX features like ray tracing and DLSS 2.0 when gaming on a standard monitor, the RTX 2070 Super should make a great choice. It does cost more, but it is a stellar graphics card for VR.
