Portable VR PC > Cheap :D

kjtaylor13 · 3 Mar 2017 at 09:02

Good Morning All,

I currently have a beast of a PC for my main rig. i7 OC'd twin 980's **** ton of memory etc.

Problem is, I want to be able to show of VR a bit, so need a 2nd more portable VR PC.

I don't want to spend a load. But would like to have one of the portable cases. Possibly with a handle.

Any recommendations for builds or systems would be greatly appreciated. Should be doable on the cheap now with the new minimum specs from Oculus.

But would performance suffer?

Thanks Guys.

Cheers

Kevin

RoyMi6 · 3 Mar 2017 at 10:35

Should be doable on the cheap now with the new minimum specs from Oculus.

But would performance suffer?

... yes.

Also, consider how finickity Oculus hardware is USB power. It's part of the reason I've put off building something myself in this regard. Can't remember where I last go when factoring in Oculus use but everything gets much simpler if you're just using a Vive, but since I have both I kind wanted it to work with both!

EDIT: Wait! I remember my additional problem - in addition to the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift (with two sensors) I've also got many additional USB devices. THAT's my problem, so you'll likely have much more flexibility.

But I'm trying to run and VR cockpit with its own keyboard/mouse along with my steering wheel and various other USB devices like...

2nd keyboard
2nd mouse
MS Sidewinder Joystick
Warthog joystick and throttle
G25 steering wheel
Rudder pedals
Webcam
Stand along microphone
USB Headset
Wireless Xbox one pad dongle
Wired keyboard gampad thing

So yeah... I'm stuck between case sizes as I want something small but something that can cope with that many USB devices - which means a dedicated USB card.

Yan816 · 5 Mar 2017 at 09:10

I am in the process of build a second light weight portable PC as I don't have room in my man cave for a standing experience. I have an Ubutto Revolution set up as my cockpit for flight and driving sims, but as its just a box bedroom there's not a lot of room.

My plan is to have a small PC in my front room using my tv as a monitor and mount 2 sensors either side of it. The PC will consist of:

Fractal Design Node 202 PC case
Gigabyte GA-Z270N Mini ITX motherboard
16 GB of Crucial Ballistix RAM
Intel Core i5 7600k 3.8Ghz processor
Samsung 960 EVO M.2 1TB drive
EVGA FTW GTX1080

The whole thing should be small and portable and all I need to do is unplug my Oculus Rift and plug it in down stairs in my front room whenever I want to play a standing experience based game. The PC should also be able to double up as a media centre. I will be using a Logitech K400 wireless touch keyboard and the Xbox controller that came with the Rift for any games that require other forms of input, and that keeps everything easy to transport about if I take it around a friends house.

Kurgen · 9 Mar 2017 at 20:02

you could always sell your dollies and toys

, that would make some room

Yan816 · 9 Mar 2017 at 20:12

Kurgen said:
you could always sell your dollies and toys , that would make some room

The dollies and toys are staying.

The room is only 9ft x 6ft and is an odd shape, besides it gives me an excuse to have a second PC in the front room. My build is finished, I just need to set it all up this weekend.

Kurgen · 9 Mar 2017 at 20:23

I have the same (not dollies) VR pc in living room.. only thing is it means I can only use it for roomscale walking games, and not driving or flight etc..

Yan816 · 9 Mar 2017 at 21:56

Kurgen said:
I have the same (not dollies) VR pc in living room.. only thing is it means I can only use it for roomscale walking games, and not driving or flight etc..

I now have the best of both worlds. I bought 2 additional Oculus trackers and have them mounted at the top corners of my TV, the Node 202 sits just under my HD player. The only thing I need to do is bring my Oculus headset down and pug it in for room scale games. If I want to play Elite or Project cars, I take it back to my main PC next to the Sim rig.