Pure VR build €1300 budget GPU/CPU discussion

jme2010

Hey guys,

Moved to Canada and sold my old rig, but started to love VR room scale with HTC vive before I left.
I want to build a dedicated VR rig that should stand up for the next 2-3 years of whatever VR can throw at us. I'm not concerned about gaming on a monitor - I will probably just go 1080 or 1440 27" max.

I'm looking for the GPU + CPU sweet spot without going super top end. I'd say 2000 CAD is the max for everything. But I only need advice regarding the best GPU and CPU - No AMD

My initial thoughts a few weeks back was gtx 1070/ti but now I was leaning more towards RTX 2060 founder edition. I don't care about ray tracing.

Another concern would be the need for usb-c / 'virtual link' seems this card would be used for VR. Is this feature better to have for future proofing than say getting an older beefer GTX card?

Regarding CPU I read a review that seemed to show huge differences in FPS based on cpu alone. I used to think cpu was not a factor much.

Any thoughts would be great.

Inquitus

No AMD?

TerrorFirmer

Not a VR expert but generally Intel and Nvidia are favored, Intel for the better IPC (high/stable framerate vital for VR) and Nvidia because there are generally less issues than with AMD cards using VR.

A build with a 9600K and RTX2060 sounds about right.

jme2010

Inquitus wrote: »

No AMD?

Yes, I've read a lot of buggy things about AMD and VR stuttering.

I started out AMD when I was low budget building but lets all not pretend that [intel + nvidia] isn't the superior combo

K.O.Kiki

jme2010 wrote: »

Yes, I've read a lot of buggy things about AMD and VR stuttering.

I started out AMD when I was low budget building but lets all not pretend that [intel + nvidia] isn't the superior combo

AMD offers 12 threads @ 4.2GHz for half the price of Intel.

jme2010

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

AMD offers 12 threads @ 4.2GHz for half the price of Intel.

What do I need that many threads for if I can't rely on the architecture to be compatible with a machine dedicated to VR?

killanena

I don't own one but I've borrowed a HTC Vive and my spec's are only a RX 480 4gb + Ryzen 5 2600. Ran perfectly fine a 1080p. I don't know how future proof it is but the games I played were skyrim VR, beat saber and gorn.

h0neybadger

Killanena, as soon as you put some visual mods into skyrim, that RX 480 + Ryzen 5 wouldn't hold up at 1080p.

Beat Saber and Gorn wouldn't be the most graphically intensive games available either.

K.O.Kiki

jme2010 wrote: »

What do I need that many threads for if I can't rely on the architecture to be compatible with a machine dedicated to VR?

Why/how do you think AMD "architecture" is incompatible with VR? :pac:

smacl

jme2010 wrote: »

What do I need that many threads for if I can't rely on the architecture to be compatible with a machine dedicated to VR?

Because in your opening post you stated you want "a dedicated VR rig that should stand up for the next 2-3 years of whatever VR can throw at us" but you're on a budget. Seems dubious to discount AMD based on previous performance when you compare the likes of the 8350 to the Ryzen. I think in the performance graphics domain, thread count will become far more important than IPC as a number of engines start utilising largely CPU based culling, e.g. Unity and Umbra. The Ryzen scores pretty strongly in the threads per dollar game.

TerrorFirmer

It's nothing to do with FX really, just purely down to VR's need to have a very high and stable framerate. Intel is generally prefered for that reason as it performs somewhat better, and Nvidia is preferred because AMD cards tend to have more issues with some aspects of VR.

It doesn't mean Ryzen + Vega (for example) wouldn't deliver great VR performance, just that if you're building a pure VR build like the OP described, Intel + Nvidia is generally the best combination for that unique purpose.

Now, on a budget, it could be argued that ultimately, a cheaper Ryzen CPU + an RTX2070 will deliver better performance overall anyway, due to the increased GPU horsepower.

Xenoronin

Guys, ye don't need to launch into an AMD vs NVidia/Intel debate at every opportunity. That budget is plenty for what he is requesting.
Back on topic, GPU is king for VR. The CPU just needs to be able to keep up, so a 9600K is plenty and even a little overkill.

Something like this comes in under budget for a Monitor: https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/M7qsQZ

So to chunk that down, an RTX 2070 and Intel i5 9600K are within budget.

Edit: It is worth noting that GPU requirements should decrease over time for VR. The new HTC Vive, aimed at businesses, has eye tracking for Foveated(sp?) rendering. So if you wanted to go with the "Budget" option, the RTX 2060 is a good bet. The RTX tensor cores might be useful in the next year or two for VR DLSS.