Nvidia makes system requirements for virtual reality

Virtual reality glasses for PC will set sky-high hardware requirements, even for those who only intend to reach some form of minimum level. This became apparent when Oculus released system requirements for the consumer version of the Oculus Rift, which is expected to be released early next year.

In a new tab in the Geforce Experience software, Nvidia lists its own recommendations for virtual reality. For graphics cards and processors, Nvidia recommends at least one Geforce GTX 970 and quad-core Intel Core i5-4590, respectively, for a good experience. This is followed by at least 8 GB of primary memory and the Windows 7 or later operating system.

If the recommendations are already recognized, it is not funny. This is because it is exactly the same as the Oculus – with one important exception. For some funny reason, Nvidia chooses to only highlight graphics cards in the Geforce family and omit the AMD Radeon R9 290 option.

Three times more demanding than 1080p

Regardless of system requirements, substantial donations will be required to operate VR glasses satisfactorily. Both the Oculus Rift CV1 and the HTC Vive have 2,160 x 1,200 pixels divided into two screens, which in practice means 1,080 x 1,200 pixels per eye. At the same time, the refresh rate is set to 90 Hz for the duo.

Resolution, refresh rate, and custom rendering techniques mean that a graphics card must be able to process approximately 400 million pixels (with shaders) per second. It is estimated that this means that a typical VR game will require approximately three times more computing power than a corresponding traditional game title in 1080p and 60 Hz.