Oculus Rift: You No Longer Need an Expensive PC for Oculus VR Headset

Fans of the Oculus Rift have something to be happy about, as the virtual reality headset no longer requires an over the top PC to run it. Thanks to a new update, users can now use the Oculus Rift on a standard PC.

The Oculus Rift is one of the best virtual reality headsets for the PC available in the market today, but many of those who want to get one are discouraged because of the demand of the Oculus Rift for the PC. Initially, a PC should at least run on an Intel Core i5 4590 and a NVIDIA GTX 970 graphics card, which are pretty high end. Anything below that will result in the Oculus Rift to not run properly, and it will also drop a number of frames, making the user nauseous, explains Engadget.

Luckily, Oculus has found a solution. Oculus co-founder, Brendan Iribe, spoke at the Oculus Connect 3 conference and announced the changes made to the Oculus Rift. Iribe stated that the VR headset would need 90 frames per second, but a standard PC capable of running would only be able to manage 45 fames, but thanks to the new "asynchronous spacewarp" technology, 45 frames would be enough.

What the "asynchronous spacewarp" technology does for the Oculus Rift, is that it takes two previously generated frames, analyzes the difference, and creates as "synthetic frame" that syncs the frames together when the player moves his/her head.

This allows the Oculus Rift to lower its PC spec requirement without having the need to change any of the VR headset's hardware. While it's not real 90 fps, it does away with the need for the steep PC requirements. Now, users' PCs would only need a Nvidia 960 graphics card and an intel i3-6100 or AMD FX4350 processor. Oculus also has a current offer for the Rift and a CyberPower PC for only $999, according to PC Magazine, which is significantly cheaper than the overall price tag of buying an Oculus Rift back in March, along with an upgraded PC.