Vive star: how to build a proper VR-ready gaming PC

Vive star: how to build a proper VR-ready gaming PC

Ever bought a video game only to find that your PC isn’t strong enough to handle it? Well imagine the devastation as it crumples at the hands of HTC’s £799 Vive Pro VR headset. That’s a lot of dollar down the drain. To power the Pro’s 3K AMOLED displays, HTC has upped the recommended tech specs, so you’ll need something suitably beefy in order to own one. Fortunately, we’ve put together a list of eight components that’ll do your new toy justice.

1. The price of processor: Intel Core i5-4590 or AMD FX 8350, equivalent or better

You don’t actually need an ultra-powerful processor to get your Vive Pro up and running but you might as well future-proof your PC if you’re starting from scratch. We used the AMD Ryzen 7 1700 (£230), which has a whopping eight cores. With this much beef it’ll breeze through tasks without a whimper. Looking to be slightly more stingy with your money? The £150 Intel Core i5-7400 is a fantastic alternative, which will also ensure a smooth performance with the Vive Pro but for £80 less. Total rig cost so far: £230

2. Motherboard love…

This is where things can get complicated. You’ll need a motherboard that’s compatible with your CPU, which, it it’s AMD means you’ll need an AM4 socket, while Intel uses LGA 1151 ports. You’ll also need to ensure the motherboard’s chipset is compatible with the generation of chip you’re using, a DisplayPort for the Pro’s LinkBox and an HDMI output for connecting a monitor. We picked Asus’ Prime B350-Plus AMD B350 (£82) but the best motherboard for you really does depend on the other components you’ve invested in. Total rig cost so far: £312

3. Graphic detail: NVDIA GeForce GTX1060 or AMD Radeon RX480, equivalent or better

Since the Vive Pro’s main selling point over HTC’s standard headset is graphical fidelity, you’ll likely want to get the most out of it as you possibly can, without remortgaging your house. HTC recommends you get the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 at least, which costs £380, but we opted for the Asus GeForce GTX 1080 Turbo (£650). This was enough to see a huge difference in the likes of Thumper and Doom VFR with crisp detail and vivid colours. Yep, that’s a whole lot of dough, but generally the more you spend the better things will look. Total rig cost so far: £962

4. Memory lane: 4GB RAM needed

It’s easy to get lured in by bright lights and cool designs, but to keep costs down you should focus all your attention on getting speedy RAM. HTC recommends you get 4GB of RAM at the very least for the Vive Pro, but we went for 8GB of Vulcan’s T-Force memory (£75), as there doesn’t seem to be a dramatic price hike between memory sizes. Oh, and before you hit checkout, be sure to confirm that it’s compatible with your CPU. Total rig cost so far: £1037

5. Case the joint

Phew. Finally a respite from all those computer specs. As long as your case has a enough breathing space for ventilation and looks suitably badass, then you needn’t worry about much more. We housed our bits and pieces inside Phanteks’ Eclipse P400S Glass Midi Tower case (£84). It’s not too flashy, but still looks smart enough to make any gamer drool. The internals are easily accessible too, with a removable glass panel. Total rig cost so far: £1121

6. Smooth operator: Windows 8.1 or Windows 10

This one’s pretty much a given, but for those still living in the past, you’re gonna need at least Windows 8.1 or 10 (£95) to run the Vive Pro. Most of you probably already have this software, but we’d thought to mention it anyway, just in case you’re some hermit who’s still plodding away on Windows 95. Total rig cost so far: £1216

8. Keep your cool…

Forget to buy a fan, and your PC components will suffer a heat-equivalent to the Devil’s torture chamber. Well… hot enough to damage things at the very least. This will probably be the cheapest item on the list, but it’s still just as essential as the rest. Our custom-built computer enjoyed the cool breeze of the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO (£27). Considering its reliability and that low price, this is a solid investment. Final rig cost: £1313

9. Alternatively…VR-ready PCs

If all of that seems like a lot of hard work, you could just buy the complete package instead. The Titan Katana Overclocked Gaming PC runs the Vive Pro like a dream for £1470, while Dell’s £1499 Alienware Aurora (pictured) and HP’s £1199 OMEN 870-270na look to have the specs to tackle the headset in all its glory too.