Virtual Reality: The True Cost of Admission

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For those of us that are still a little confused about what it takes to run each of the upcoming VR headsets, what each one comes with and how much they cost, this article should come in handy.

What seems pretty cut-and-dry gets complicated in a hurry when you consider that none of these are standalone platforms; they all rely on additional hardware – be it a computer, a game console or a smartphone – to power the experience. To help make sense of it all, we've gone through the hassle of analyzing everything to see what the true cost of ownership looks like. Some of the findings may surprise you.
 
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With all this virtual reality stuff hitting the market; I'm guessing that Ernest Cline is very thrilled with himself.
 
Why does Occulus Rift require 4 USB ports? That is ridiculous. My PC has two USB 3.0 ports on the front and one in the back, nope.

"three USB 3.0 ports, a USB 2.0 port"
 
Why does Occulus Rift require 4 USB ports? That is ridiculous. My PC has two USB 3.0 ports on the front and one in the back, nope.

"three USB 3.0 ports, a USB 2.0 port"
When you are shelling out 600$+ for the vr kit alone, 30$ on a USB hub is splitting hairs no?
 
Why does Occulus Rift require 4 USB ports? That is ridiculous. My PC has two USB 3.0 ports on the front and one in the back, nope.

"three USB 3.0 ports, a USB 2.0 port"

That is why the Vive comes with a USB hub. With the rift, you have the two camera stands so there are 2 of the ports. Then if you use the Xbox controller you need a USB port for that, then if you use touch you need a port for that.
 
Playstation VR is the way to go. Can't wait. Preordered mine. October can't come soon enough. Gonna be a long wait.
 
Playstation VR is the way to go. Can't wait. Preordered mine. October can't come soon enough. Gonna be a long wait.

It's the way to go for the easiest route. For me, I'm going with the Vive because I trust Valve and love Steam as my PC gaming platform.

PlayStation VR scares me because they have so little power. I do not want to play The Lawnmower Man-style graphics. :)
 
It's the way to go for the easiest route. For me, I'm going with the Vive because I trust Valve and love Steam as my PC gaming platform.

PlayStation VR scares me because they have so little power. I do not want to play The Lawnmower Man-style graphics. :)

I agree!
 
Vive for me as well. Value is king. I pre-ordered it on the 29th, and shipping date says May. Sigh... My last big upgrade was a 980. Still doing fine for Graphics.
 
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