HP Launch Wearable VR Backpack PC In India

Companies are always seeking new markets to sell their products. Technology companies are definitely no exception. India is one of the world’s fastest growing economies, and has recently seen a growth in the immersive technology sector. HP are looking to capitalise on this by launching its wearable VR PC in the country.

The HP Z VR Backpack was described on its initial launch as ‘The World’s first professional wearable VR PC’. Designed for the professional sector, its advanced capabilities can be used in areas such as product design, architecture, entertainment and industry.

HP Z VR Backpack

The HP Z VR Backpack was created to be lightweight, at 4.6kgs, with a durable mesh harness. It boasts an Intel Core i7 vPro processor, Nvidia Quadro P5200 GPU and 32Gb of DDR4 system memory.

The package available in India comes with the HP Z backpack PC, along with harness, dock, hot-swappable batteries, battery clips and power adapter. The batteries provide approximately one hour of high-end VR on a full charge. The VR head-mounted display will need to be bought separately.

The docking system allows users to move easily between wearable VR and standard desktop functions, even supporting two 4K displays. The PC comes with a variety of ports to provide versatility: 4 USB 3.0 Type-A ports, USB Type-C port, HDMI 2.0 port, a mini-DP 1.3 port, audio combo jack, HMD power jack and standard power port.

Though the HP Z VR Backpack was launched in other regions in 2017, it is only now being made available in India. Other VR-ready PCs from HP are also going on sale, such as the HP ZBook 17 laptop, though the ultra high-end Omen X Compact Desktop is yet to see a launch in India.

The HP Z VR Backpack costs Rs 3,25,000 and is available directly from HP. For further news on product launches for VR equipment and accessories, keep checking back with VRFocus.

Oculus Offers Comprehensive List of VR GPUs Meeting Recommended and Minimum Specs

With so many choices for graphics cards out there, it’s hard to know exactly what you should buy to outfit your next VR-ready PC. To make things a little easier, Oculus recently published a list of GPUs that meet minimum specs, and a more comprehensive list of recommended GPUs so you can have what the company calls “the full Oculus Rift experience.”

Minimum Spec GPUs

While a high performance gaming GPU is necessary to run the sort of graphically intensive VR games you’ll see on either the Oculus Store or Steam, you’ll find that you can get away with a minimum spec card for many games. It’s true you’ll probably have to keep the graphics slider on the low side, but if you’re short on money, it could mean the difference between finally getting into VR, or still wishing you could.

The company does warn that some Rift content may require a computer that “exceeds Oculus’s minimum or recommended specs,” and that you should always keep an eye on the recommended specs when browsing content in the Oculus Store. That said, here’s the current list of min spec GPUs you’ll need to get started:

NVIDIA GTX 960 (4GB), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 (4GB), NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti, NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti (laptop), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M and AMD Radeon RX 470.

SEE ALSO
'Mixed Reality Ultra PCs' Will Run Windows VR Headsets With Higher Refresh Rates & Better Graphics

Recommended Spec GPUs

With the lesser performing cards in the recommended specs list, you’ll likely be able to turn the graphics slider from the lowest level up to medium, squeezing out a little more graphical detail with less chance of incurring skipped frames, or activating Asynchronous Spacewarp (ASW) – the band-aid Oculus created to smooth the transition between skipped frames. The highest end will of course allow you to crank the settings to ultra, even leaving some room for supersampling.

For what the company calls “the full Oculus Rift experience,” they recommend your PC has at very least an NVIDIA GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon RX 480 card or greater. Oculus also recommends the following desktop and laptop GPUs:

NVIDIA*
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (3GB, Desktop)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (6GB, Desktop)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 (Desktop)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 (Laptop)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (6GB, laptop)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Laptop)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 (Laptop)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN
NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN X
NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z
NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Black
NIVIDA TITAN X (Pascal)
NIVIDA TITAN Xp
NVIDIA Quadro GP100
NVIDIA Quadro K6000
NVIDIA Quadro M5000
NVIDIA Quadro M5500
NVIDIA Quadro P4000
NVIDIA Quadro P5000
NVIDIA Quadro P6000
NVIDIA M5000
NVIDIA M5500
NVIDIA M6000 (12GB)
NVIDIA M6000 (24GB)

*not in order of performance or price

AMD*
AMD Radeon R9 290
AMD Radeon R9 290X
AMD Radeon R9 390
AMD Radeon R9 390X
AMD Radeon R9 Fury
AMD Radeon R9 Fury X
AMD Radeon R9 Nano
AMD FirePro W9100
AMD FirePro WX7100
AMD FirePro WX7100 (laptop)
AMD Radeon RX 480
AMD Radeon RX 570
AMD Radeon RX 580
AMD Radeon RX 580 Mobile

*not in order of performance or price

If you’re in doubt about whether other parts of your PC need upgrading, download the compatibility check tool published by Oculus to see if your computer’s guts have what it takes.

The post Oculus Offers Comprehensive List of VR GPUs Meeting Recommended and Minimum Specs appeared first on Road to VR.

Razer Announce New Model of Razer Blade Pro Laptop

Well-known high-end videogaming brand Razer has announced the launch of a new model of its signature line of gaming laptops, which will feature a lower price point but will still be powerful enough to handle virtual reality (VR) applications.

The new version of the Razer Blade Pro will feature a 7th gen Quad-Core Intel Core i7 processor, a full 17.3 inch, 1920 x 1080 HD display powered by an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 GPU. The GPU is VR-capable, and though doesn’t offer quite the same level of performance as the more powerful Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080, is still capable of powering most VR applications and features new VR technology such as Nvidia VRWorks, Shadowplay and Ansel.

The new model comes with 16GB of RAM, which can be expanded up to 32GB, along with a 256GB SSD hard drive for speed and a 2TB HDD for high storage capacity, though an option for up to 4TB is available. The laptop is constructed with CNC aluminium of a grade often used for military applications, making the device sturdy, but only weighing in at 6.78 pounds (roughly 3Kg).

“The Razer Blade Pro is the ultimate gaming laptop that packs desktop-level performance with unmatched portability,” says Min-Liang Tan, Razer co-founder and CEO. “This latest iteration offers an optimized configuration for gamers and professionals that want a 17-inch display and top-notch build quality. The thin design houses the latest in performance components and features expandable memory and storage capability.”

The new model Razer Blade Pro is available for $2299.99 (USD) from the Razer store, or from retailers such as Amazon and Best Buy.

VRFocus will continue to report on new VR-ready hardware.

Lenovo Announces New Line of VR-Ready PCs

For those PC users who are not confident enough to build their own virtual reality (VR) rig, or for console gamers who want to test out PC VR but aren’t sure where to start, Lenovo have announced a line of three VR-ready desktop PCs.

The new Legion series by Lenovo comes in three variants, labelled, fittingly as ‘Easy’, ‘Medium’ and ‘Hard’. The Lenovo Legion Y920 Tower is the rig marked as ‘Hard’. For serious videogaming and VR use, the machine runs on Windows 10, and is powered by a 7th Gen Quad core processor, the Intel Core i7-7700K. Graphics power is provided by the top-of-the-line Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 8GB graphics card. Optional extras include 32GB of 2800Mhz Corsair DDR4 RAM and an optional liquid cooling system to facilitate CPU overclocking.

The Lenovo Legion Y920 will be priced starting at $1,999.99 (USD) and will be available on the Lenovo online store from October 2017.

The Medium option is the Lenovo Legion Y720. Also running on Windows 10 and featuring a 7th Gen Intel Core i7-7700 processor. The graphics card is a slightly less beefy Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 8GB, with the option of up to 16GB of Intel Optane memory. Prices for the Lenovo Legion Y720 start at $999.99 and will also be available from October 2017.

Finally the ‘Easy’ option for those on a more modest budget who nonetheless want to test out PC VR, there is the Lenovo Legion Y520. Like the other two, this variant also offers an Intel Core i7-7700, but has a Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 GPU, a card still capable of decent VR performance. Purchase of the Legion Y520 also comes with access to the Lenovo Entertainment Hub, which offers access to a large catalogue of popular videogame titles. The Lenovo Legion Y520 will be released on October 2017, priced at $899.99.

VRFocus will continue to bring you news on the latest VR-ready hardware.

How to Tell if Your PC is VR Ready

With affordable PC-compatible headsets like Quest 2 and soon even PSVR 2 support, it’s easy to jump into PC VR. For the gamers considering purchasing a PC VR headset, one major question marks the starting point on your journey to a decision: does my PC meet the minimum specs? Here’s how to find out.

Updated – June 3rd, 2024

VR gaming is much more resource intensive than monitor gaming. In short, that’s because the render resolution is much higher than the 1080p displays used by most PC users today. Not to mention, VR games must also be rendered in 3D and anywhere from 72 to 144 FPS depending on the headset. Here we’ve got the recommended VR system requirements for the most popular headsets.

Before we dive in, you’ll want to know a few things about your computer. First and foremost, PC VR headsets are not supported by MacOS. Next up, you’ll need to know your PC’s specs. Expand the section below if you don’t already know where to find that info.

To determine if your PC can handle VR, there’s four core things you’ll need to know:

  • Video Card
  • CPU
  • RAM
  • Video Output
GPU
  1. Press the Start button and type ‘device manager’, select it from the list
  2. In Device Manager, expand Display Adapters, your video card is listed beneath
CPU & RAM
  1. Press the Start button and type ‘about your PC’, select it from the list
  2. In the About window, scroll down to find ‘Processor’ (also known as CPU) and ‘Installed RAM’
Video Output

For this you’ll need to look at the back of your computer and see which ports are available on the back, specifically on your GPU (which is usually lower):

Image courtesy Alienware

The ports can look very similar, so look closely at the shapes of each. Remember that you will need a free port to plug your headset into.

Image courtesy Alienware

Most headset makers provide what they call a ‘recommended’ hardware configuration for virtual reality gaming. This gives VR developers a baseline hardware target so that they can ensure the consistent FPS requirement is met. If your hardware does not meet the recommended specification, you risk dropping under framerate which can result in a choppy and uncomfortable VR experience.

The recommended specs provided by each company are relatively similar but there are some key differences worth looking at in detail:

Meta / Oculus VR System Requirements

Image courtesy Oculus

Oculus Rift S Recommended VR Specifications:

  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1060 (6GB) / AMD Radeon RX 480 or greater
  • CPU: Intel i5-4590 / AMD Ryzen 5 1500X or greater
  • Memory: 8GB+ RAM
  • Video Output: DisplayPort
  • USB Ports: 1x USB 3.0+ port
  • OS: Windows 10+

Oculus Rift CV1 Recommended VR Specifications:

  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1060 (6GB) / AMD Radeon RX 480 or greater
  • CPU: Intel i5-4590 / AMD Ryzen 5 1500X or greater
  • Memory: 8GB+ RAM
  • Video Output: Compatible HDMI 1.3 video output
  • USB Ports: 3x USB 3.0+ ports, 1x USB 2.0+ port
  • OS: Windows 10+ (Windows 7/8.1 no longer recommended)

Meta Quest, Quest 2, Quest 3, & Quest Pro via Oculus / Quest Link

Meta Quest headsets can also play PC VR games via Oculus Link. See this article for the most up to date info on Meta Quest recommended specs and supported graphics cards.

Valve VR System Requirements

Image courtesy Valve

Valve Index Recommended VR Specifications:

  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1070 / AMD RX 580 or greater
  • CPU: Intel i5-7500 / AMD Ryzen 5 1600 or greater
  • Memory: 12GB+ RAM
  • Video Output: DisplayPort 1.2
  • USB Ports: 1x USB 2.0+ port (USB 3.0 required for camera passthrough)
  • OS: Windows 10+, SteamOS, Linux

Check your PC: You can automatically check that you meet these specifications with the ‘Are you ready for Valve Index’ app on Steam.

Sony PlayStation VR System Requirements

Image courtesy Sony

Important Note: PC VR support for PSVR 2 requires an official adapter available beginning August 7th. PSVR 2 on SteamVR is officially supported by Sony, but there are some caveats when used on PC compared to PS5; read more here.

PSVR 2 Recommended VR Specifications

  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1050 / AMD Radeon RX 5500XR or later
  • CPU: Intel i5-7600 / AMD Ryzen 3 3100 or later
  • Memory: 8GB+ RAM
  • Video Output: DisplayPort 1.4 ((must have a standard DisplayPort or Mini DisplayPort output port, adapters from other ports will not work)
  • OS: Windows 10+
  • Additional Requirements: Bluetooth 4.0 or later

PSVR 1

  • PSVR 1 does not support PC VR

HTC VR System Requirements

Image courtesy HTC

Vive 1 Recommended VR Specifications

  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1060 (6GB), AMD RX 480 or greater
  • CPU: Intel i5-4590 / AMD FX 8350 or greater
  • Memory: 4GB+ RAM
  • Video Output: DisplayPort 1.2+
  • USB Ports: 1x USB 2.0+ port
  • OS: Windows 7 SP1+

Vive Pro Recommended VR Specifications

  • Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 / AMD Radeon Vega 56 or greater
  • CPU: Intel i5-4590 / AMD FX 8350 or greater
  • Memory: 4GB+ RAM
  • Video Output: DisplayPort 1.2+
  • USB Ports: 1x USB 3.0+ port
  • OS: Windows 10+

Vive Pro 2 Recommended VR Specifications

  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 2060 / AMD Radeon RX 5700 or greater
  • CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 / AMD Ryzen 1500 or greater
  • Memory: 8GB+ RAM
  • Video Output: DisplayPort 1.4+
  • USB Ports: 1x USB 3.0+ port
  • OS: Windows 10+

Vive XR Elite

  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1060 (6GB) / AMD RX 580 or greater
  • CPU: Intel i5‑4590 / AMD Ryzen 5 1500X or greater
  • Memory: 8GB+ RAM
  • USB Ports: 1x USB 3.0+ port
  • USB Cable: Long USB 3.0+ cable for tethering to PC (our recommendation)
  • OS: Windows 10+
  • Router (for wireless streaming): Wi-Fi 5 / Wi-Fi 6 / Wi-Fi 6E

WMR & HP System Requirements

Image courtesy HP

General Windows Mixed Reality Recommended VR Specifications

  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1060 (6GB) / AMD RX 470/570 or greater
  • CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 / AMD Ryzen 5 1400 or greater
  • Memory: 8GB+
  • Video Output: HDMI 2.0+ or DisplayPort 1.2+ (may vary based on specific headset)
  • USB Port: 1x USB 3.0+
  • OS: Windows 10+ (Note: Not supported on N versions or Windows 10 Pro in S Mode)
  • Bluetooth Some headsets require Bluetooth 4.0 for controller connectivity

HP Reverb G1 and G2 Windows Mixed Reality Recommended VR Specifications

  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1080 / AMD RX 5700 or greater
  • CPU: Intel Core i5, i7 / AMD Ryzen 5 or greater
  • Memory: 8GB+
  • Video Output: DisplayPort 1.3+
  • USB Port: 1x USB 3.0+
  • OS: Windows 10 (may require latest updates)

Pimax VR System Requirements

Image courtesy Pimax

Pimax 8K X Recommended VR Specifications

  • Video Card
    • Upscale Mode: NVIDIA RTX 2060 or greater
    • Native Mode: NVIDIA RTX 2080 or greater
  • CPU: Intel i5-9400 or greater
  • Memory: 8GB+
  • Video Output: DisplayPort 1.2+
  • USB Port: USB 2.0+
  • OS: Windows 10+

Pimax 8K Plus Recommended VR Specifications

  • Video Card: NVIDIA RTX 2060 or greater
  • CPU: Intel i5-9400 or greater
  • Memory: 8GB+
  • Video Output: DisplayPort 1.2+
  • USB Port: USB 2.0+
  • OS: Windows 10+

Pimax 5K Super Recommended VR Specifications

  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1080 Ti or greater
  • CPU: Intel i5-9400 or greater
  • Memory: 8GB+
  • Video Output: DisplayPort 1.2+
  • USB Port: USB 2.0+
  • OS: Windows 10+

Pimax 5K Plus Recommended VR Specifications

  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1070 or greater
  • CPU: Intel i5-9400 or greater
  • Memory: 8GB+
  • Video Output: DisplayPort 1.4+
  • USB Port: USB 2.0+
  • OS: Windows 10+

Pimax Artisan Recommended VR Specifications

  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti or greater
  • CPU: Intel i5-9400 or greater
  • Memory: 8GB+
  • Video Output: DisplayPort 1.4+
  • USB Port: USB 2.0+
  • OS: Windows 10+

Pimax Crystal Recommended VR Specifications

  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 2070 or greater
  • CPU: Intel i5-12500/ AMD R7-3700X or greater
  • Memory: 16GB+
  • Video Output: DisplayPort 1.4+
  • USB Port: 1x USB 2.0+, 1x USB 3.0+
  • OS: Windows 10+

Pico VR System Requirements

Image courtesy Pico

Pico 4 Recommended VR Specifications

  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1060 (6GB) / AMD Radeon RX 480 or greater
  • CPU: Intel i5-4590 / AMD FX 8350 or greater
  • Memory: 8GB+
  • USB Port: USB 3.0+
  • OS: Windows 10+

The post How to Tell if Your PC is VR Ready appeared first on Road to VR.

CryptoCurrency Miners Causing VR-Ready Graphics Card Shortage

Various technical news outlets such as The Register and PC World have been reporting for the past couple of weeks that there has been a shorting of medium-to-high-end graphics cards. The shortage of cards on shelves both in physical stores and online has begun to get to the point where retailers are limited households to only two cards each. It has begun to cause issues for PC builders wanting to build a virtual reality (VR)-ready PC. What is causing it? In a word: CryptoCurrency.

Most people will be familiar with CryptoCurrency as represented by the infamous BitCoin, but there are several other types which exist, such as Etherium and Zcash and those can be ‘mined’ by solving complex cryptographic puzzles. A dramatic jump in the prices for the Etherium currency has seen a surge in demand for hardware the can handle taking on the cryptography. Savvy crypto miners have discovered that powerful gaming graphics cards are ideal for churning out new ‘coins’.

AMD cards have traditionally had the best reputation fro crypto-mining, so upon the Etherium price rise, AMD RX 750 and RX 580 cards suddenly began vanishing, with stores such as Amazon, New Egg and Best Buy being sold out rapidly. A run on nVidia GeForce 1050, 1060 and 1080 cards rapidly followed suit, with demand for the cards far outstripping supply.

nvidia geforce gtx 10 series

As a result, users looking to build a new VR-ready PC videogaming rig have seen cards that support VR, such as the GeForce 1080 being sold out or seeing a huge jump in price. This has left many consumers on a budget with no choice but to wait for a re-stock.

Several GPU makers have now begun to try and ease the strain by creating mining-specific GPU hardware, though the supply has not yet caught up with demand.

Analysts also warn PC builders that when the cryptocurrency bubble inevitably bursts, many graphics cards that have previously seen life running 24/7 mining crypto-currency could begin to flood the market, alongside the crypto-mining specific cards which are unsuitable for VR or videogaming functions. As such, consumers are being urged to tread carefully where ‘bargain’ second hand GPUs are concerned in future.

VRFocus will bring you further information on VR hardware as it becomes available.

See How Xbox One X Stacks Up Against VR Ready Graphics Cards In This Comparison

Microsoft’s E3 conference was a great showing for the publisher, with much of the spotlight turning to Xbox One X – the final name for Microsoft’s long-awaited Project Scorpio. Xbox One X promises true native 4K gaming – notoriously difficult, even for modern PCs – so how does it stack up against modern virtual reality (VR) ready graphics cards?

Both Nvidia and AMD offer a variety of VR-ready GPUs, powering the best-looking games available on HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. Take a look at the table below for a comparison between the power of Xbox One X’s System on Chip, and the most powerful PC graphics cards on the market.

GPU Memory Bandwidth (GB/s) Memory Size GPU Clock Speed (MHz)
Xbox One X System on Chip 326 12GB GDDR5 1172
Nvidia Titan Xp 547.7 12GB GDDR5X 1582
Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti 484 11GB GDDR5X 1582
Nvidia GTX 1080 320 8GB GDDR5X 1607
Nvidia GTX 1070 256 8GB GDDR5 1506
Nvidia GTX 1060 192 3GB or 6GB GDDR5 1506
Nvidia Titan X 336.5 12GB GDDR5 1000
Nvidia GTX 980 Ti 336.5 6GB GDDR5 1000
Nvidia GTX 980 224 4GB GDDR5 1126
Nvidia GTX 970 224 4GB GDDR5 1050
AMD Radeon RX 580 256 8GB GDDR5 1257
AMD Radeon RX 480 224 4GB or 8GB GDDR5 1266
AMD Radeon R9 390 384 8GB GDDR5 1000
AMD Radeon R9 390X 384 8GB GDDR5 1050
AMD Radeon R9 Nano 512 4GB HBM 1000
AMD Radeon R9 Fury 512 4GB HBM 1000
AMD Radeon R8 Fury X 512 4GB HBM 1050
AMD Radeon R9 290 320 4GB GDDR5 947
AMD Radeon R9 290 X 352 8GB GDDR5 1000

 

As you can see, Xbox One X compares well against some of the most powerful graphics cards on the market. It has 12GB of GDDR5 memory – as much as the best VR ready cards available – and has very respectable Memory Bandwidth and GPU Clock Speeds.

Of course, all we want to know is if Microsoft have any plans for the Xbox One X to power VR head-mounted displays (HMDs).

For a more detailed looks at PC graphics card, take a look at our comparison guides for Nvidia and AMD GPUs.

For everything on the latest in VR and E3 2017, stay on VRFocus.

HP Updates It’s VR-Ready Backpack PC

With wireless virtual reality (VR) headsets still not quite in the consumer mainstream, most PC VR users will run into the problem of trailing cables at some point. Whether it’s getting tangled up in the trail of cables, or snagging yourself on something in the room, until VR becomes untethered, it’s going to be an issue. HP offered VR users a something of a solution with a ‘PC in a backpack’ that came out last year. HP have now refreshed and improved the product with a redesign in an attempt to make it more attractive to the VR videogaming market.

With a thing, angular design and the new addition of a small form-factor docking station that seems to have taken notes from the Nintendo Switch, the Omen X Compact is a slender device designed to slip easily into a backpack to enable VR experiences on the go. The problem with the previous iteration was that it couldn’t function particularly well as a standard PC, but the addition of the docking station solves that problem by allowing extra ports such as additional USB, HDMI and display ports to increase versatility.

In terms of specification, the Omen X Compact is powered by a Kaby Lake i7 processor, one of the latest generation of Intel processors. Graphics are supported by a GeForce GTX 1080 graphics card, one of the cards generally recommended for users looking for a VR-ready GPU. 16GB and GDDR5X RAM and a 1TB SSD is also included. Designed with the HTC Vive in mind, the main unit also features a HTC Vive power out, mini display port and an audio jack.

The HP Omen X compact Desktop will be available for sale from July, at a cost of $2,499 (USD), with the backpack accessory costing an additional $599.

VRFocus will continue to report on new VR-ready hardware.

Apple Announces First VR-Ready Computers

Apple has finally made a commitment to VR, announcing on stage today at Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2017 that not only will they offer an external GPU developer kit for MacBooks capable of meeting the graphical demands of VR, but that both the new 27-inch iMac and the iMac Pro will be VR-ready out of the box.

Senior VP of software engineering Craig Federighi announced today to the WWDC crowd that Metal 2, the company’s updated hardware-accelerated graphics API, will be launching with support for external graphics as well as a set of VR-specific features to the newly revealed High Sierra macOS.

Dubbed ‘Metal for VR’, the update will include developer features such as a VR-optimized display pipeline, viewport arrays, system trace stereo timelines, GPU queue priorities and frame debugger stereoscopic visualization. The company says Metal 2 will also support Unity, Unreal Engine and the Steam VR SDK, making Apple’s new operating system a true VR-native.

The new external GPU dev kit, available today, is coming with a VR-capable AMD Radeon RX 580, which is somewhere between an NVIDIA GTX 1060 and 1070 in function. While it may not be specifically marketed for VR consumers, instead targeted towards developers, the external GPU enclosure would technically allow you to use a high-quality VR headset like a HTC Vive or Oculus Rift with a MacBook using the Steam VR beta.

image courtesy TIME

Apple VP of hardware engineering John Ternus later presented the new iMac lineup, concluding with the 27-inch iMac that’s finally packing a VR-ready GPU and making it the first out the door to have native VR support. Calling it a “great platform for VR content creation,” Ternus revealed that Lucas Film’s ILMx Lab has been using the 27-inch iMac and Unreal Engine to develop a new Star Wars themed real-time creation with the help of Epic’s Unreal VR Editor.

In the Star Wars-themed creation, Epic’s Lauren Ridge demonstrated by putting on a HTC Vive and building a basic scene by picking assets and resizing them, including an animated Darth Vader.

image courtesy TIME

27-Inch iMac Specs

  • Intel 7th Gen Core processor (“Kaby Lake”)
  • Radeon Pro 570, 575 and 580 graphics options with up to 8GB VRAM
  • New Retina 5K display (up to 500 nits, or 43 percent brighter)
  • Up to 64GB memory
  • Fusion drive (up to 50 percent faster, up to 2TB capacity)
  • 2 USB-C connectors with Thunderbolt
  • Starting at $1799
image courtesy TIME

iMac Pro, Apple’s high-sec 27-incher with Retina 5K display, is going to be VR-ready too, coming with a Radeon Pro Vega GPU which delivers up to 11 Teraflops of compute power for real-time 3D rendering and high frame rate VR. The iMac Pro is scheduled to ship in December starting at $4,999 (US).

The post Apple Announces First VR-Ready Computers appeared first on Road to VR.

Eurocom Launches VR-Ready Gaming Laptop Sky MX5 R3

For users of PC-based virtual reality (VR) devices such as the HTC Vive or Oculus Rift, it’s reasonably easy to put together a rig that will support the level of performance you require. There are plenty of website out there that will guide you in exactly what hardware parts to pick if you want to get the best performance put of your VR titles. For laptop users, however, the situation is trickier, it can be difficult to find a portable machine that offers the kind of performance needed without being overly heavy and bulky.

The combat this problem, hardware manufacturer Eurocom have launched their new lightweight gaming laptop, the Eurocom Sky MX5 R3. The laptop has a 15.6” display, making for a smaller form factor and an aluminium chassis means the weight is reduced considerably.

In terms of specs, the Sky MX5 R3 is powered by the latest generation of Intel Kaby Lake processors, the i7 7820HK, along with a Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 GPU to run graphics, up to 64 GB of DDR4 RAM and a maximum of 12TB of solid state storage, a package which is more than capable of supporting a HTC Vive or Oculus Rift.

The display is customisable, with a choice of four different display types:
– 15.6-inch (39.6cm); FHD 1920×1080; IPS; Matte; 700:1; NTSC 72%; LG LP156WF6-SPB1
– 15.6-inch (39.6cm); 4K UltraHD 3840×2160; Matte; PLS; 700:1; NTSC 72%; eDP; Samsung LTN156FL02-101
– 15.6-inch (39.6cm); 4K QFHD 3840×2160; IPS; Glossy; 1000:1; NTSC 72%; sRGB 100%; eDP; SHARP IGZO LQ156D1JX01B
– 15.6-inch (39.6cm); 120Hz FHD 1920×1080; Matte; 5ms; 700:1; AUO B156HTN05

Ports available include 1 HDMI port, 2 USB 3.1 type C, 3 USB 3.0, headphone, line-out, microphone and LAN port.

Prices vary depending on options, the basic spec costing $1599 (USD). Further information can be found on the Eurocom website.

VRFocus will continue to bring you news on VR-ready options for PCs and laptops.