Valve Wants VR To Run On Graphics Cards From 2012

[Megalith]

The costs for the head units alone are already high, so this is good news for people who don’t have the means to also splurge on a new graphics card.

Alex Vlachos revealed plans to release a rendering plugin in the coming weeks for Unity, as well as its source code, that more efficiently renders scenes for VR. The efficiencies could mean older and less expensive graphics cards — even ones as old as the 2012 680 generation of NVIDIA cards — might be able to run SteamVR and, by extension, the HTC Vive. “As long as the GPU can hit 45 HZ we want for people to be able to run VR,” Vlachos told UploadVR after the talk.

 

[Ocellaris]

One quick way to ruin VR is to encourage people to run configurations that produce a bad experience.

 

[tetris42]

It all depends on the content really. If it's a modern semi-real looking game from this year, even a 970 may not hack it. It's something with cartoonish or stylized graphics that are easy to render, a 2012 card might work just fine.

 

[Probleminfected]

I understand why they want this, but why would you want to have such a shitty experience with vr.

I assume that to make vr look the way we all think it should, will take a few more years of video card development.

 

[Yakk]

Well 2x 7970/280x cards (7970 released in Dec. 2011 making the card almost 5 years old!) can score in the green in Valve's VR benchmark so it certainly is possible, in multi-card configurations are least. In a single card setup that still score respectively in the "capable" yellow.

 

[Jagger100]

One quick way to ruin VR is to encourage people to run configurations that produce a bad experience.

This is gaming, not VR for the VR experience. In order for VR gaming to happen you will need more users than the people can/will spend the $2000 or even the $1000 on VR setups will provide. You need a large base to have incentive to publishers to have VR incorporated into games.

If you actually want VR gaming, you want this work out.

 

[DPI]

I understand why they want this, but why would you want to have such a shitty experience with vr.

I assume that to make vr look the way we all think it should, will take a few more years of video card development.

No. It has to start somewhere. And this will also push video card development, if people are spending money for GPU's so they can run VR.

 

[noko]

Drink a lot of Ginger Ale and game away on that 680/7970 VR

 

[T_A]

I`m still afraid VR will run like shit my GTX 980 and they talk about 2012 lol

 

[GotNoRice]

"680 Generation"?

The 600 series was re-branded into the 700 series, and there was no 800 series. "680 Generation" is only one "generation" behind current cards.

 

[DukenukemX]

Nvidia will respond with a plugin as well, that will include GameWorks.

 

[cptnjarhead]

Nvidia will respond with a plugin as well, that will include GameWorks.

I dont see the motive for them to do so. Valve is trying to sell their VR and software, but AMD and Nvidia want us to buy new cards not keep our old ones from 2012.

 

[andrewaggb]

I dont see the motive for them to do so. Valve is trying to sell their VR and software, but AMD and Nvidia want us to buy new cards not keep our old ones from 2012.

Pretty much this. They can dump a bunch of engineers into it and maybe get a borderline acceptable experience or they can focus on their new cards. I don't think they have the manpower, they're already doing dx11, dx12, vulcan drivers and trying to optimize their current and new cards for VR. I don't think there is a bunch of spare software engineering resources in either company at the moment.

 

[DukenukemX]

I dont see the motive for them to do so. Valve is trying to sell their VR and software, but AMD and Nvidia want us to buy new cards not keep our old ones from 2012.

It was a joke. Obviously Nvidia doesn't want older graphic cards to be playable in new titles, as well as VR. That's what GameWorks is all about.