HTC Vive PC Requirements

HTC Vive PC requirements will likely be its biggest disadvantage initially, but that shouldn’t pose a problem looking into the future.

HTC Vive headsets upcoming arrival to the markets has been compared with some of the most important events in gaming industry thus far. One thing, however, might spoil the fun since virtual reality headset has plenty of potential issues that might need to be ironed out. Everyone immersed into the topic already knows that very few systems will be able to run things smoothly and effortlessly.

For now, however, it might be. Before you decide to order HTC Vive it’s better to take a look at its minimum and recommended system requirements. You should treat the VR headset like a new AAA game with stunning graphics which only works optimally on high-end gaming machines.

Minimum HTC Vive PC Requirements

While nothing is still official, HTC Vive should work with some systems that aren’t considered high-end any more. Let’s start with the graphics. Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 or AMD Radeon R9 290X should be able to power up Vive without too much trouble, provided they’re supported by other components. Intel Core i5-4590 or AMD FX-8350 are some rather strong CPU’s, even if not the strongest available. While weaker options should be able to do the job as well, it’s recommended to have at least something similar to the aforementioned. If your system already has equivalent or stronger graphics and processor, then 4 GB of RAM memory is likely enough for you. If, on the other hand, you’re running on lower specs, 6 or 8 GB would be recommended to compensate for graphic card’s slight shortcomings.

Now, for somewhat more trivial, but still necessary matters. HTC Vive will require a motherboard with at least one USB 2.0 port in order to accommodate all necessary peripherals. While every motherboard within last 15 years or so easily accomplishes that feat, not every one of them can accommodate the required GPU and CPU units. Vive will also need HDMI 1.4 or DisplayPort 1.2 support and Windows 7 with service pack 1 or newer.

Let us recapitulate. Here’s what HTC Vive requires from your computer component by component:

•GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 or AMD Radeon R9 290X
•CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 or AMD FX-8350
•RAM: 4 GB
•Output: HDMI 1.4 or DisplayPort 1.2
•Input: 1 USB 2.0 port
•Operating system: Windows 7 SP1

Recommended Requirements

While HTC Vive is supposed to run with minimum specs listed above, it’s still uncertain how the frame rates will fare on some more demanding games. That’s why it’s always better to be on a safe side and upgrade your computer’s specs to a higher level.

Same Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 should be good enough here as well, but Radeon users might as well get themselves R9 390 in order to be sure that their system will run smooth and sound with Vive. As far as CPU’s go, Intel Core i7-4770K or AMD FX-9590 are more than fine choices, especially if coupled with 8 GB of high-clock DDR4 RAM. As far as the rest of necessities go – it’s all pretty much the same as with minimum requirements. So, one more time:

•GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 or AMD Radeon R9 390
•CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K or AMD FX-9590
•RAM: 8 GB
•Output: HDMI 1.4 or DisplayPort 1.2
•Input: 1 USB 2.0 port
•Operating system: Windows 7 SP1

Finally, don’t forget the basic of the basics. You’ll need at least 1.5 x 2m (5 x 6.5 feet) of free room space in order to bundle all of HTC Vive headsets components in place. If your system meets the necessary requirements, there’s no reason not to give HTC Vive a try.

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