PC for Virtual Reality

Lusocu

I'm going to be building a PC before the end of this year or early next year for the coming VR products, Oculus Rift and Vive. Everything will be bought new. I've never owned or built a desktop before.

I want to build a high end system and I'm estimating I'll need to spend around 2000 euro not including the price of the VR peripherals. I would be willing to spend more if I don't go beyond diminishing returns that are not worthwhile. I want to be sure it's very high end but not so much that I'm throwing money away when I could just wait for the next up to date graphics card for a worthwhile performance boost.

I've done some research into some components and I've only really settled on that I want gtx980ti graphics card. I'm not sure about what processer other than I want Intel because I read AMD specialise in mid range, plus hey it's Intel and it's a brand I recognise and hear good things about. Likewise with the motherboard I don't know what would be ideal. 16GB of ram is probably enough. I'm not sure what DDR3, 4 and 5 mean. But the best kind is what I'd be going for. Would SSD be advisable for performance increase of programmes? Power supply is another grey area I'm not sure about. I imagine liquid cooling would be the superior cooling method. I will use windows 10. And a really good looking case. I like the ones where you can see inside.

Thanks for any advice and suggestions.

Digital Solitude

1. What is your budget? [€xxx]

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? [Gaming/Video editing/3D Modelling/HTPC/Internet] (If gaming include which games)

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? [Yes/No]

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? [Hard drive/DVD Drive/Case/PSU/etc.] (If possible state brand and model of the parts to ensure compatibility)

5. Do you need a monitor? [Yes/No]

5a. If yes, what size do you need. [19'/20'/22'/24'/etc.]

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? [1920x1080/1440x900/etc.] [Yes/No]

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? [Keyboard/Mouse/Wireless Card/Card Reader/Speakers/etc.]

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? [Yes/No]

8. How can you pay? [Bank Transfer/Credit Card/Laser]

9. When are you purchasing? [In x days]

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? [South Dublin City/Cork City/Kerry/etc.]

Can you fill out that for me please?

Lusocu

No prob

1. What is your budget? [€2000]

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Virtual reality gaming

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? Yes

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? [Hard drive/DVD Drive/Case/PSU/etc.] (If possible state brand and model of the parts to ensure compatibility) No

5. Do you need a monitor? Yes

5a. If yes, what size do you need. [19'/20'/22'/24'/etc.] Average size.

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? [1920x1080/1440x900/etc.] 1080p should be ok. 95% of my gaming will be through the medium of VR.

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? [Keyboard/Mouse/Wireless Card/Card Reader/Speakers/etc.] Need keyboard and mouse. Googled wireless card and I don't think I'll need it. Don't need speakers.

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? No

8. How can you pay? [Bank Transfer/Credit Card/Laser] Visa

9. When are you purchasing? Jan-March 2016

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? Plan on building it myself.

Digital Solitude

Savage.

980Ti €750 EVGA
2tb HDD €90 WD RED
512gb SSD €170 Crucial BX100
Xeon 1231v3 €250 Intel
H97 motherboard €90 ASRock, Gigabyte, MSI, ASUS
Lian Li Case €150
600w PSU €75 BeQuiet
8gb RAM €50 Crucial
24" 1080p monitor €150 BenQ 2450 is a nice one but you've lots of choice
Total €1775

Windows 10 key is €40
Get a nice mechanical keyboard for €100 or so, but €50 into a nice mouse

Will finish at roughly €1950

That's priced an EVGA 980Ti (overpriced it too)
Lian Li are serious cases, beautiful looking. Link
You're welcome to pick any other cases you like obviously, post them here first though, there's more to a case than aesthetics.

Any questions ask away.

EDIT* I'll add brands actually, gimme a min

Lusocu

Thanks for your reply. After considering again, I might overclock in time as games become more demanding in order to breath new life into the system. In which case I should probably go with the Z97 motherboards and I5 4690k. I read that the I7 4790k doesn't make a difference in terms of fps. So it looks like I7 4790k is not necessary for gaming? Maybe it makes a difference for VR. I'll have to find that out. I may SLI in future if it becomes possible with low latency in VR. I would go with the see through cases if I thought I could get everything colour coordinated and neat looking. Is there an advantage to buying the 980ti from evga's version as oppose to directly from nvidia? Do cases differ in the amount of noise the fans make? What size would be appropriate?

Digital Solitude

Lusocu wrote: »

Thanks for your reply. After considering again, I might overclock in time as games become more demanding in order to breath new life into the system. In which case I should probably go with the Z97 motherboards and I5 4690k. I read that the I7 4790k doesn't make a difference in terms of fps. So it looks like I7 4790k is not necessary for gaming? Maybe it makes a difference for VR. I'll have to find that out. I may SLI in future if it becomes possible with low latency in VR. I would go with the see through cases if I thought I could get everything colour coordinated and neat looking. Is there an advantage to buying the 980ti from evga's version as oppose to directly from nvidia? Do cases differ in the amount of noise the fans make? What size would be appropriate?

There won't likely be a huge change between the i5 and i7, a Xeon is basically an i7. The i5 4690k is same price anyways, just add a cooler like Cooler Master Hyper Evo 212 and you're good.

SLI is generally not optimal, the 980Ti should carry you for a good while, I'd recommended sticking with single cards for as long as possible. You'll be wanting a more expensive motherboard if you do want to SLI.

EVGA are basically top dog at GPUs, they've great coolers and very good after sales support. Straight from nVidia is called a reference card, which normally will have a weak cooler and isn't overclocked. Any card from the likes of MSI, Gigabyte or EVGA will have a better cooler and is probably overckocked already to save you having to bother.

It would depend on the individual fans, Corsair and BeQuiet do some nice cases that are soundproofed either.

Once the case is ATX you're probably okay with it

Calibos

I'm waiting to build for VR too. Given that, I'll wait for Intels Skylake which have just gone on sale and with regard to GPU will be waiting for Pascal. I wouldn't be buying anything yet.

Lusocu

Calibos wrote: »

I'm waiting to build for VR too. Given that, I'll wait for Intels Skylake which have just gone on sale and with regard to GPU will be waiting for Pascal. I wouldn't be buying anything yet.

I'll probably wait a little longer too to see what's released and what the reviews are like. There comes a time when I'll just have to buy as there's always something else just over the horizon. The early reviews of the skylake say it's no faster than the I7 4790k but can be easily overclocked to 5 Ghz. Pascal is estimated quarter 3 2016 as far as I know. I've just been waiting for VR for too long already.

Calibos

Is it that long for Pascal? In that case I'd buy a min oculus spec GTX970 to tide me over. I certainly won't be buying a 980ti

Sonics2k

Calibos wrote: »

Is it that long for Pascal? In that case I'd buy a min oculus spec GTX970 to tide me over. I certainly won't be buying a 980ti

A 970 will do nicely for the Oculus Rift. If you can push the budget, go for the 980ti and you won't regret it at all.

Lusocu

Calibos wrote: »

Is it that long for Pascal? In that case I'd buy a min oculus spec GTX970 to tide me over. I certainly won't be buying a 980ti

There's no solid date for release as far as I can find, only rumours ranging from first quarter to third quarter 2016. Maybe we'll be lucky and it'll be out in first quarter in time for the rift, unless you can't wait and go with Vive at the end of this year.

With skylake you'll have to buy a new motherboard where you'll also have to use the more expensive DDR4 ram and there's no cooler included.

W0LFMAN

I built this for my Oculus VR and find it perfect for its needs.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057437387

Its also handy to move and bring for shows and Demos.

If your building for home use only then you could build this maybe slightly cheaper.

VR is going through alot of software changes, you'll find that stuff works one day then doesn't the next.

If you building just for gaming, then wait awhile longer, popular games like Project Car/Iracing/Elite Dangerious/Asseta Corrsa go though alot of patches and your rift might work one week then nvidia/AMD drives come alot and break it.

If your Building to Work in VR yourself, then understand most your time will be outside the rift (modeling-scripting-planning-designing). Your PC should be built for that purpose instead. (Fast HD, Highspeed RAM, Fast CPU)

Oculus's new PC run time Patch 0.7 will be released on August the 20th, It will make most previous games un-runnable in the rift. Now is not the time to be building a Oculus play PC machine. wait awhile longer, you'll save alot of money and get alot more power later.

drunkmonkey

Calibos wrote: »

Is it that long for Pascal? In that case I'd buy a min oculus spec GTX970 to tide me over. I certainly won't be buying a 980ti

I'm using a 970 with the i5 devil's canyon and it has no bother with the oculus, I'll probably sell the 970 at some stage but not until I know what's going to be needed for the future vr.

Camelcamelcamel can save you a fortune..