PC Build for VR

[mickyflinn]

Jb build is very good you can overclock the cpu if you want has 8 gb more ram but doesnt have an optical drive to install windowsand lacks storage.

My build is what you asked for in terms of case has usb windows, extra 1 tb sotrage hard drive and closer to budget.

Both will perform very much the same.

 

[mediaboy]

Ok thanks.

Windows is a must have course and I like the 1tb of storage.
i think I'd like extra RAM considering it's not much extra.

I think I'm getting closer.

Thanks the both of you. You've been a great help.

 

[mickyflinn]

I think I'm getting closer.

Thanks the both of you. You've been a great help.

Let us know when you finally decide.

 

[mediaboy]

Let us know when you finally decide.

Cheers will do.

I'll tell you now, i won't be overclocking, sounds like too much messing about for a beginner like me. So i want an out of the box type experience with the Rift running well without having to mess around with the CPU or anything else.

 

[Combat squirrel]

Don't get the 970 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It won't be powerful enough, VR requires 1080x1200 per eye and it needs to run at 75fps to maintain the illusion - a 970 in some stuff won't manage this consistently.

Minimum 980TI and then add another if that's not fast enough.

 

[mickyflinn]

Don't get the 970 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It won't be powerful enough, VR requires 1080x1200 per eye and it needs to run at 75fps to maintain the illusion - a 970 in some stuff won't manage this consistently.

Minimum 980TI and then add another if that's not fast enough.

Wow thats a £500 gpu.

 

[mediaboy]

From what I've read that's wrong information.

Why would oculus' own site recommend a 970??
Loads of crazy oculus fans on reddit recommend a 970 so I'm sticking with that without doubt.

From oculus:

"All Oculus Home games will have to run smoothly on these specifications to be approved, and most VR developers are targeting these specifications for their content. If you are building a PC or upgrading your PC for VR, the above specifications must be met."

That's based on a GTX970 so it's going to be fine.

 

[jbh110tdi]

even if the 970 were to struggle which I would unlikely as mediaboy has said oculas recommend the 970.. you could add another 970 through time and sli them if you were to find it lagging. the 970's should drop in price once the new cards are released later this year so even purchasing a second 970 to run sli you would still be under the price of one 980ti

 

[jbh110tdi]

here is another option from me.

again going with the 4690 non k chip and 16gb of DDR3.
Ive put it into a cube case and added the 1tb drive for extra storage.
I personally would spend extra on a z97 chipset but that doubles the price of the board.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Intel Core i5-4690 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail= £175.99
• 1 x KFA2 GeForce GTX 970 EX OC "Black Edition" 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (97NQH6DNB4TX)= £249.95
• 1 x Samsung 250GB 850 EVO SSD 2.5" SATA 6Gbps 32 Layer 3D V-NAND Solid State Drive (MZ-75E250B/EU)= £65.99
• 1 x Kingston HyperX Beast 16GB (2x8GB) PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (HX324C11T3K2/16)= £82.99
• 1 x Microsoft Windows 10 32/64-Bit - USB Pen Drive - Retail (KW9-00017)= £89.99
• 1 x BitFenix Phenom MATX Cube Case - Midnight Black= £64.99
• 1 x Fractal Design Tesla R2 500W '80 Plus Gold' Power Supply= £44.99
• 1 x Asus B85M-G Intel B85 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard= £55.99
• 1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache HDD - OEM (DT01ACA100)= £34.99

Total: £878.17
(includes shipping: £12.30)
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I would use this board personally. but then I would also spend the extra on the K chip for the option of overclocking.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Asus Z97M-Plus Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard= £108.95

Total: £119.45
(includes shipping: £10.50)
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[mediaboy]

Thanks Jbh.

You've both given me good choices. I'll have to see my funds before deciding on the better cpu.

Can you explain how the 970s differ?
You've both given me a few different models in your lists.

 

[jbh110tdi]

you get different brands that use different coolers. they have different clock speeds and stuff like that.

looking at the list I gave you last time I put in the wrong 970 as if you want to use the cube style case you would either need the Inno3D that mickyflynn listed or the gigabyte mini 970 due to the size restrictions in the case.

the main differences in the cards are clock speeds these determine a fair bit. also some cards tend to overclock better or run cooler than others.

you have already said that you wont be doing games its for media so really any 970 would really suit you well.

 

[mediaboy]

I will be doing some gaming though.
If the Rift is as good as they say I will want to use some graphical applications.
Is the only choice to go with a larger 970 and a taller tower/case?

 

[jbh110tdi]

I will be doing some gaming though.
If the Rift is as good as they say I will want to use some graphical applications.
Is the only choice to go with a larger 970 and a taller tower/case?

some folk do ame with the smaller 970's in the cube style cases and dont have any problems.

just personally for gaming I like to have a good cooler on the gpu hence the bigger case.

you should have a look through the cases though as you might find a larger case that you like.
have a look at the corsair air 540 you might like that. only thing is they come in a bit more expensive.

 

[jbh110tdi]

corsair 540
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/cors...-cube-case-black-cc-9011030-ww-ca-143-cs.html

 

[jbh110tdi]

corsair air 240. smaller case but would allow a larger gfx card

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/cors...ow-pc-case-white-cc-9011069-ww-ca-180-cs.html

I think I might go for this when I build my son a new pc if I can get in black.

 

[Escape]

Have you considered running Windows 10 on your Mac via Bootcamp?

If your primary use for VR is watching movies, then you can opt for a Steam machine + Vive, or PS4 + Morpheus. It's too early to comment yet on the preferred combination, but something to keep in mind before throwing down £1300.

 

[mediaboy]

Jbh.
Yeah I like that second case if I can get it in black.
I'm going to start amassing the components over the next couple of months starting next week.

If I'm going to build the PC what order do I install the parts?
I'll buy the case first and then what, power pack?

Escape.
I'm sticking with Rift. I use boot camp for certain stuff but it doesn't work well for me. I tried it with some windows only demos when I had a DK 2 and it was a royal pain in the ass.
I need a dedicated machine for the CV1.

 

[mediaboy]

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/fractal-design-node-304-htpc-chassis-black-ca-025-fd.html

How's that for the larger 970s?

 

[jbh110tdi]

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/fractal-design-node-304-htpc-chassis-black-ca-025-fd.html

How's that for the larger 970s?

http://www.fractal-design.com/home/product/cases/node-series/node-304-black

Graphics cards, up to 310mm in length, when 2 HDD slots (1 HDD hanging bracket total) are removed (Graphics cards longer than 170 mm will conflict with PSUs longer than 160mm)

if you remove the harddrive hanging bracket you should be fine up to 310mm

quick google search. looks like a full sized card.

very large picture so in spoiler

Spoiler

 

[james.miller]

even if the 970 were to struggle which I would unlikely as mediaboy has said oculas recommend the 970.. you could add another 970 through time and sli them if you were to find it lagging. the 970's should drop in price once the new cards are released later this year so even purchasing a second 970 to run sli you would still be under the price of one 980ti

970 is just a bad choice. they are good cards for 1920x1080 / 2560x1080 (just) at 60hz but like combat squirrel said the DC2 runs at 1080x1200 x2 @ 75hz. the 970 isnt the right card for that job. 980 isnt much better, so i agree with everybody else - 980ti is the minimum i would consider if i was buying in to VR and i own a 970. buying a 970 with the view to go sli down the road is an even worse decision given the huge number of issues people are having with sli and crossfire recently.

What about the fury nano? Bear in mind of course we have small pascal arriving soon. Might be worth waiting to see what happens.