You have your eyes on a shiny new VR system, you have money in your hand, but do you have the computer to run it? The three big contenders, the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and Windows Mixed Reality (WMR) all have significantly different recommended system requirements. Here they are to ensure you get everything running as it should.
- HTC Vive system requirements
- Oculus Rift system requirements
- Windows Mixed Reality system requirements
HTC Vive system requirements
There are a few sets of system requirements to look at when considering the HTC Vive. The first, the minimum requirements, are what you absolutely need to have to properly run the Vive. The second, the recommended requirements, are what you should have to get the most out of your Vive. Now that the Vive is coming to Mac, we need to also take a look at those recommended specs.
There is a SteamVR compatibility tool available for download from Steam. Use it to test whether or not your computer is ready to run the Vive.
Recommended PC specs
These are the specs that HTC recommends to run the Vive. You can, of course, have better performing hardware than what is listed here.
| Category | Hardware |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i5-4590AMD FX 8350(equivalent or better) |
| Graphics card | NVIDIA GTX 1060AMD Radeon RX 480(equivalent or better) |
| RAM | 4GB or more |
| Video output | HDMI 1.4 or DisplayPort 1.2 |
| USB | One USB-A 2.0 |
| OS | Windows 7 or newer |
Minimum PC specs
These are the minimum specs your PC needs to properly run the Vive. The only thing that's really different from the recommended PC specs is the graphics card, and that's mostly thanks to asynchronous reprojection, a technology implemented in SteamVR that allows for a smoother VR experience from lesser hardware.
| Category | Hardware |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i5-4590AMD FX 8350(equivalent or better) |
| Graphics card | NVIDIA GTX 970AMD Radeon R9 290(equivalent or better) |
| RAM | 4GB or more |
| Video output | One HDMI 1.4 or one DisplayPort 1.2 |
| USB | One USB-A 2.0 |
| OS | Windows 7 or newer |
Minimum Mac specs
HTC Vive and SteamVR are coming to Mac, and many new, high-end iMacs will have support right out of the box thanks to a beefy Radeon Pro 580 GPU with 8GB of VRAM. The rest of the specs remain pretty much the same as the PC specs; you still need at least 4GB of RAM and a strong processor, both of which the new iMac crushes. You will, however, need to invest in a Thunderbolt 3 adapter or two in order to have the correct ports.
Don't forget, the new MacBook Pro has support for an external GPU, effectively making it an option as well as long as the rest of the specs match.
Oculus Rift system requirements
The Oculus Rift has two things working for it — Asynchronous Spacewarp and Asynchronous Timewarp — that help lower the load on your PC. For this reason, the Rift's minimum system requirements are quite a bit lower than the Vive's. There are still recommended system specs that will deliver the best Rift experience possible.
Oculus has a great compatibility tool that will scan your computer and tell you if you have what it takes to run a Rift.
Download the Rift compatibility tool
Recommended PC specs
This is the hardware that Oculus recommends for the best Rift experience. You can have a better processor, graphics card, and more RAM without causing any problems.
| Category | Hardware |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i5-4590AMD Ryzen 5 1500X(equivalent or better) |
| Graphics card | NVIDIA GTX 1060AMD Radeon RX 480(equivalent or better) |
| RAM | 8GB or more |
| Video output | HDMI 1.3 |
| USB | Three USB-A 3.0One USB-A 2.0 |
| OS | Windows 7 or newer |
Minimum PC specs
Because of Asynchronous Spacewarp and Timewarp, Oculus Rift has a considerably lower set of minimum specs.
| Category | Hardware |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i3-6100AMD Ryzen 3 1200AMD FX 4350(equivalent or better) |
| Graphics card | NVIDIA GTX 960 (4GB)AMD Radeon R9 290(equivalent or better) |
| RAM | 8GB or more |
| Video output | HDMI 1.3 |
| USB | One USB-A 3.0Two USB-A 2.0 |
| OS | Windows 8.1 or newer |
Windows Mixed Reality system requirements
WMR PCs come in two flavors: Windows Mixed Reality and Windows Mixed Reality Ultra. Standard WMR tops out at about 60Hz (60 frames-per-second), while WMR Ultra tops out at about 90Hz for a smoother picture.
Here's the hardware needed for your PC to make it both regular and Ultra. Notice that it's quite a bit different than what the Rift and Vive require.
Windows Mixed Reality
| Category | Hardware |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Mobile Core i5-7200UDual-core with Hyperthreading |
| Graphics card | Integrated Intel HD Graphics 620NVIDIA MX150NVIDIA 965M(equivalent or better) |
| RAM | 8GB DDR3 dual-channel |
| Video output | HDMI 1.4 or DisplayPort 1.2 |
| USB | USB-A 3.0 or USB-C |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 4.0 |
| OS | Windows 10 Fall Creators Update |
Windows Mixed Reality Ultra
| Category | Hardware |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i5-4590 Quad-coreAMD Ryzen 5 1400 Quad-core(equivalent or better) |
| Graphics card | NVIDIA GTX 960NVIDIA GTX 1050AMD RX 460AMD RX 560(equivalent or better) |
| RAM | 8GB DDR3 dual-channel |
| Video output | HDMI 2.0 or DisplayPort 1.2 |
| USB | USB-A 3.0 or USB-C |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 4.0 |
| OS | Windows 10 Fall Creators Update |
Your PC
Is your PC or Mac up to snuff for your preferred VR system? What are you running in your build? Let us know in the comments section!
Updated December 6, 2017: We've refreshed this list to ensure you're still getting accurate system requirements across VR platforms.
