Rather than buying an already assembled VR Ready PC, it can be much more economical to mount your own computer. Learn how to assemble a computer calibrated for virtual reality for around $700 and beyond.
Virtual reality is a great, impressive, even revolutionary technology. Unfortunately, high-end VR headsets are expensive, and PCs that are powerful enough to support them are also expensive. In the trade, it is necessary to count at least $800 to $1000 for a desktop PC VR Ready of entry-level. For a laptop, the prices do not go below $2000.
The most advantageous solution is to assemble your own PC VR Ready, carefully choosing the cheapest components. Here is our selection of components to mount a computer ready for virtual reality at less than $700. Of course, do not hesitate to take your time and monitor the best promotions to buy each component at the best price and get away with it for even less.
Attention: Here we focus on the material part. VR Ready PCs are presented without OS, without peripherals and especially without the dedicated VR headsets. Our goal is to go from the minimum required to produce the desired effect to the utmost ease. We rely on component prices on Amazon.
Which components do you need to setup a cheap PC VR Ready?
$700: the PC VR Ready ticket without popcorn
$700 is almost the price of a VR headset, in any case that of the Oculus Rift CV1 at its release. The computer we offer here is intended for this headset. It runs the least resource-hungry games without problems, but will show its limitations on detailed effects applications. For example, Project Cars in VR will work perfectly with graphics set to high. Here we choose the no frills option. Be aware that in writing we have a preference for the chameleon brand, but the option AMD RX 480 4GB or RX 580 is possible to earn a few dollars. Note that some VR games feel more comfortable with Nvidia components.
Indeed, AMD offers powerful processors, largely compatible with VR. We ourselves have two machines equipped with the writing. The GTX 1660 far surpasses the GTX 1060 3Go previously shipped in this basket. Be aware that if you are an Amazon Prime customer, you can opt for the AMD Ryzen 5 2400G processor, a little less powerful. This gives you a margin of 50 euros that you can invest in a GTX 1660 Ti, for more potato.
Here is the PC VR Ready ticket entry
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 Socket AM4 6 cores 12 Threads 3,4 GHz, boost 3,9GHz
- Ventirad: Supplied with the processor
- Motherboard: Gigabyte B450M Micro DS3H ATX Socket AM4
- RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 8 GB DDR4 3,000 MHz
- Graphics card: MSI GeForce GTX 1660 Ventus XS 6 GB GDDR5
- Power supply: Seasonic S12II 520 Watts 80Plus Bronze
- Storage: SSD Kingston A400 480 GB Sata III
- Case: Aerocool A300 with window
Price: $651.21
Note: We have chosen a single RAM strip, but if you are straddling the response times, two 4GB barrels at the same rate do the trick. As for the graphics card, if you find a GTX 970, the price / performance ratio is interesting. New models are increasingly rare, but a little ride on the Bon Coin and you get an easy one under $250. It will be necessary to think to add an internal hard drive so as not to miss space in the future. A fan or two will not be too much either. Fortunately, a machine of this kind in 2019 can launch virtually all games in VR.
$1000: the comfort of the eyes above all
With $1000 and a little more, it is quite possible to build a powerful machine to enjoy games in virtual reality. Here we move up a gear, skip the steps and prefer to bet on the NVIDIA GTX 1070. Its 8 GB VRAM ensure you play in the best conditions. 16 GB of RAM, a slightly more powerful processor and a more scalable configuration give you long hours of diving in surprising worlds of incomparable beauty.
We can finally move to a new generation of graphics card and processor. With $1000 of budget, a RTX 2060 will do just fine. If it only has 6 GB of VRAM, the extra bandwidth puts it at the level of a well overclocked GTX 1080. What you make sure VR sessions without problems.
Here is the PC VR Ready eye comfort
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 2600x Max 6 Core 12 Threads 3.6 Ghz, 4.25 GHz Boost
- Ventirad: Artic Freezer 33 eSport One
- Motherboard: MSI B450M Micro Mortar ATX Socket AM4
- RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 3000 MHz
- Graphics card: MSI GeForce RTX 2060 Ventus 6GB GDDR6 OC
- Power supply: Seasonic S12II 520 Watts 80Plus Bronze
- Storage: SSD Kingston A400 480 GB Sata III
- Case: Cooler Master MasterBox MB600L
Price: $1009.41
Note: We made the choice of uncompromising performance by perhaps betting heavily on the graphics card. Knowing that the RTX 2060 is easily on sale for less than $400. Another option is offered to you: choose a GTX 1060 6 GB of which the best models are around $360. This allows directly to opt for a more consistent storage, a 1 TB SSD (110 euros at the moment) or a hard drive 2 TB 7200 rpm (preferably Western Digital brands and Seagate to $60).
$1500: With this PC VR Ready, everything rolls, it babble
This time, no compromise. This configuration to 1500 euros can afford an overclockable processor: the famous Intel Core I5 6600K. Above all, the GTX 1080 is coming into force and provides you with the best of VR. There is not much to add in order to mount a VR Ready PC. The pickiest among you will change the cooler in the future to gain precious degrees and customize the housing designed for modding.
To tell you, that things have evolved in three years, we can now have an Intel Core i7 in this configuration. Raising your VR Ready PC becomes a real pleasure with these ultra powerful components. This time we preferred to highlight the performance before aesthetics. At this point, you do not compromise on the graphics.
Here is the PC VR Ready everything rolls, it babble
- Processor: Intel Core I7 9700K (overclockable) 8 cores 8 threads 3.6 GHz to 4.9 GHz (turbo boost)
- Ventirad: Be Quiet Pure Rock 4
- Motherboard: Gigabyte z390 UD ATX socket 1151
- RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 3000 MHz
- Graphics card: EVGA RTX 2070 Black Gaming 8GB GDDR6 (5 years free warranty)
- Power supply: Corsair RM650X 650 Watts Modular 80 Plus Gold
- Storage: NVD M2 M2 Crucial P1 CT 500 GB
- Storage: Western digital Blue 2 TB
- Case: Cooler Master MasterBox MB600L
Price: $1515
Note: Here we are moving away from our budget. If you want to go below $1500, you can opt for SSD Sata III, or even upgrade to 1 TB of storage.
