QPORIT

qporit -- Quick Previews of Random Interesting Things

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

OCULUS RIFT + OCULUS READY COMPUTERS

PRE-ORDERING THE OCULUS RIFT

The Oculus Rift CV1 (Consumer Version 1) is about to ship. Pre-orders for the Rift and an Oculus Ready computer to operate the Rift are now being accepted.

The Oculus Rift is currently the most advanced, most powerful Virtual Reality system available to consumers.  The “system” consists of the Rift (a "headset", "head mounted display" or "HMD"), an Oculus Ready computer, a controller, a position sensor, a remote, and software.  

To operate the Rift it must be connected to a computer which -- it is "recommended" -- should have at least the following specs:

Video Card  >> NVIDIA GTX 970 / AMD R9 290 equivalent or greater

CPU  >> Intel i5-4590 equivalent or greater

Memory  >> 8GB+ RAM

Video Output Compatible >> HDMI 1.3 video output

USB Ports >> 3x USB 3.0 ports plus 1x USB 2.0 port

OS Windows  >> 7 SP1 64 bit or newer

Discounts are currently being offered for a "bundle" consisting of a Rift and an Oculus Ready computer. The minimum computer configuration can be pre-ordered together with a Rift, for about $1600 (total cost for the bundle).  Every order of the Rift includes a headset, sensor, remote, cables, Xbox controller, and "Lucky’s Tale".

It may be wise, especially if you wish to develop your own applications for the Rift, to use a computer which is more powerful than the minimum configuration. It might make sense, for example, to get more than 8GB memory, to get OS 10, and to get lots and lots of disk space. There are more powerful CPU's than the i5, and more powerful graphics cards than the 970. You may also want USB ports left over, after you connect the Rift.

The Rift and the computer can be pre-ordered from OCULUS or from one of its partners. As of March 29, they anticipate new orders will ship the Rift in July; (shipping the computers should be possible in just a week or so).

The Rift can be ordered from OCULUS here:

https://www.oculus.com/en-us/rift/

or more directly here:

https://shop.oculus.com/en-us/cart/

On this page, there is a download for a program that will check the computer you are using and will tell you what features are OK and what features are not powerful enough to run the Rift.

An Oculus Ready computer can be purchased from ASUS, DELL or ALIENWARE. (Dell also sells Alienware computers.)  There may be a discount when pre-ordering a Rift and an Oculus Ready Computer at the same time. However, you may need to obtain a "coupon," an e-mail, or something similar (verifying the Rift pre-order) from Oculus to use for the computer purchase to get the best discount "bundle" price.

There are lots of options, so make sure before you checkout from your cart that you have exactly want you want.

ALIENWARE

http://www.alienware.com/landings/oculus/

DELL

http://www.dell.com/us/p/xps-8900-se/pd?~ck=mn

ASUS

http://www.asus.com/event/2015/oculus-ready-pc/?utm_source=oculus.com&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=oculusmember

It is also possible to obtain a Rift/Computer bundle from Oculus' retail partners, Microsoft, Best Buy and Amazon.

MICROSOFT
http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/cat/categoryID.71021100

BEST BUY
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/oculus-rift-virtual-reality-headset-alienware-area-51-series-desktop-package/9999260600050004.p?id=pcmprd259000050004&skuId=9999260600050004

AMAZON
http://www.amazon.com/Oculus-Rift-Certified-G11CD-WS51-Desktop-Bundle/dp/B01BHFI4XG

MORE POSSIBILITIES FROM AMAZON

CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW FOR

OCULUS READY COMPUTERS & BUNDLES

AGAIN

There are lots of options, 

so make sure before you checkout with your cart

that you have exactly want you want.

MORE ABOUT THE RIFT!

Note: These pages are EN-US. Also, pages for setup and "experiences" may change frequently after April 2016, once Rifts are shipped and usage rises.

OCULUS RIFT SETUP PAGE
https://www.oculus.com/en-us/setup/

OCULUS RIFT "EXPERIENCES" -- AVAILABLE APPS
https://www2.oculus.com/experiences/rift/



If you want to create applications or videos for Rift, or just understand Virtual Reality, it may be worth while to become an "Oculus developer" (it's free) and check out the Oculus documentation.

OCULUS HOME PAGE
https://www.oculus.com/en-us/

OCULUS DEVELOPER SITE
https://developer.oculus.com/

Labels: Alienware, Amazon, Asus, Best Buy, DELL, Microsoft, Oculus, Oculus Ready, Oculus Ready computer, Oculus Rift, Rift computer bundle, Virtual Reality

# posted by QPORIT @ 5:34 PM