I can give you some idea. Seeing as a 970 is close-ish to an OC GTX780 (of course an OC gtx 970 will be better but just to give you an idea to the reference model).
I have been able to run when testing three screens @ 5910x1080 games such as titanfall, BF4 on three screens with high settings at a smooth framerate (40+) when I removed each one in turn last year for testing OC stability on each card. So a 970 should be powerful enough on some titles for higher than 1080. For VR you will need a high FPS though.
A 970 should be comparable. So, that doesn't mean to say that you will be able to run the latest VR games on ULTRA settings, but ULTRA in VR doesn't really exist at the moment and is a very different story. For example, in Alien Isolation using the DK2 as an example with it's 1080 display, AA and certain more GPU as CPU intensive settings make absolutely no difference to the quality and are pretty much useless, as is motion blur, DOF, and all the other rubbish used on normal gaming. Seeing as you are at the level where the clarity is limited by the display used, and you want to turn off anything that will not be usable in VR, in most cases a lot of the post processing that are taxing have zero visible benefit in VR and so will not hit the GPU or CPU. I noticed very little difference with the previous generation of VR devices from medium to Ultra settings as a result.
As time goes on and we see much higher resolution screens that will change, but for now at least, in my experience it has made zero difference.
A lot of VR 'games' are fairly basic compared to AAA titles we run on a monitor and are still impressive. For example Vanguard V was one of my favorite VR games in the past two years, and it could probably be ran on a card four generations old or more. Therefore although with consumer versions of HMD's you will be pushing more pixels, overall the demand on the GPU MAY be similar or in some cases smaller, and a lot of existing demos and titles will not be as heavy as current AAA games.
Of course, the DK2 was 75hz @ 1080, the CV1 is 90hz 2160x1200, and Vive ??? will require a high FPS also.
So, I would guess that a single 970 will offer a good experience, in that you should be able to play a large amount of VR demos and content with that card. For other games say a year old or more like Alien Isolation (if it is compatible) you will probably also be fine. Some of the best VR experiences I have had have not been in fancy super GFX games at all, such as Senso Peso, aaaaaahoculus, basic rollercoasters, Virtual desktop, etc etc.
When the newer cry engine stuff comes out and other more demanding titles you may start to struggle to keep that frame rate though.
Of course, I am fighting with myself as to whether my rig will run my CV1 when it comes, but then that is an SLI thing rather than whether a single GPU will be sufficient. No one really knows until the headsets arrive on peoples doorsteps and they try it, so it's all just a guess atm.
I have been able to run when testing three screens @ 5910x1080 games such as titanfall, BF4 on three screens with high settings at a smooth framerate (40+) when I removed each one in turn last year for testing OC stability on each card. So a 970 should be powerful enough on some titles for higher than 1080. For VR you will need a high FPS though.
A 970 should be comparable. So, that doesn't mean to say that you will be able to run the latest VR games on ULTRA settings, but ULTRA in VR doesn't really exist at the moment and is a very different story. For example, in Alien Isolation using the DK2 as an example with it's 1080 display, AA and certain more GPU as CPU intensive settings make absolutely no difference to the quality and are pretty much useless, as is motion blur, DOF, and all the other rubbish used on normal gaming. Seeing as you are at the level where the clarity is limited by the display used, and you want to turn off anything that will not be usable in VR, in most cases a lot of the post processing that are taxing have zero visible benefit in VR and so will not hit the GPU or CPU. I noticed very little difference with the previous generation of VR devices from medium to Ultra settings as a result.
As time goes on and we see much higher resolution screens that will change, but for now at least, in my experience it has made zero difference.
A lot of VR 'games' are fairly basic compared to AAA titles we run on a monitor and are still impressive. For example Vanguard V was one of my favorite VR games in the past two years, and it could probably be ran on a card four generations old or more. Therefore although with consumer versions of HMD's you will be pushing more pixels, overall the demand on the GPU MAY be similar or in some cases smaller, and a lot of existing demos and titles will not be as heavy as current AAA games.
Of course, the DK2 was 75hz @ 1080, the CV1 is 90hz 2160x1200, and Vive ??? will require a high FPS also.
So, I would guess that a single 970 will offer a good experience, in that you should be able to play a large amount of VR demos and content with that card. For other games say a year old or more like Alien Isolation (if it is compatible) you will probably also be fine. Some of the best VR experiences I have had have not been in fancy super GFX games at all, such as Senso Peso, aaaaaahoculus, basic rollercoasters, Virtual desktop, etc etc.
When the newer cry engine stuff comes out and other more demanding titles you may start to struggle to keep that frame rate though.
Of course, I am fighting with myself as to whether my rig will run my CV1 when it comes, but then that is an SLI thing rather than whether a single GPU will be sufficient. No one really knows until the headsets arrive on peoples doorsteps and they try it, so it's all just a guess atm.
I don't know how to cancel the Oculus Rift pre-order either. Vive will be a better product by all accounts and would rather buy that.
