Oculus Rift Available for Pre-Order

Surprised this wasn't posted yet, but Oculus is finally available for pre-order. Unfortunately it looks like it won't be shipping until June 2016 and costs $599.

https://www.oculus.com/en-us/rift/

I'm still not sold on this whole concept. I know it's unique and all, but at $599 and requiring a $2000 PC really limits its user base.$599 is the cost of a latest release console with two controllers and a game. It's the cost of a high end video card. I just don't see this as an alternate to monitors any time in the near future. Maybe in 20 years when it's power and computing is self contained and the fidelity is near life-like.

 

I am very curious about it, but at 600dlrs, I would need to experience it first. Plus the hefty requirements.... I need to know how they will support mobile GPUs.

 

600 bucks is way too much for what would likely be a dizzying experience for me with my astigmatism...

 

I honestly don't think $600 is too bad, just higher than I was expecting. If it truly does what it says it does. But then I saw it needs four USB ports, assuming to power the damn thing. Why not just have a power plug instead? You're already connected by wires, so why not just a power plug instead of eating up four USB ports? I thankfully have a PC powerful enough to play it well, but I'd rather fork over for a large 21:9 LCD than that I think.

 

They're not serious, is all =D.

 

Hi HTWingNut,

Do you think the Sager NP9870-G you reviewed not long ago could power the upcoming rift? I don't recall you sharing if it was VR ready or if it had Optimus?

Your guidance would be greatly appreciated as I've preordered the rift and am now considering this notebook based on your review!

 

Yeah so a couple of things -
HD-DVD has taught me not to adapt a new tech too early, it might die
I'm a little reluctant on the type of game support for the rift. PC gaming in general is a bit of a Pandora's box between the quality nvidia drivers and well optimized games being released, I feel like I'd be rolling the dice...with the odds against me
I really want one, don't get me wrong; but I'm personally going to be slow walking on this purchase

 

NP9870 does not have Optimus, and I do not know if it will support Oculus Rift or not, but I would assume it would.

Same here. It's a NEAT-O idea and all, but not worth $600 if I only get a handful of hours of enjoyment out of it.

 

The 980 Notebook edition in the P870DM/NP9870 is Oculus certified. The 980M SLI is not. That was one of nVidias main selling points for the 980 Notebook edition.

http://riftinfo.com/oculus-gave-their-seal-of-approval-to-gtx-980-laptops

 

Nice.

"According to Nvidia, no performance loss was detected when testing their portable GTX 980 with the best and latest games. It’s safe to say it is identical to desktop computer performance.

6 laptops have already been plugged to this beastly card:
AORUS X7 DT (G-SYNC)
CLEVO P870DM (G-SYNC)
CLEVO P775DM (G-SYNC)
MSI GT80 (18,4″, SLI)
MSI GT72 (G-SYNC)
ASUS GX700VO (G-SYNC, Water-Cooled)

Another interesting news is that each and every one of them is overclockable. I am not exactly sure if this won’t be the case. "

 

So is the Rift like G-sync where it needs an officially "approved and licensed" hardware or setup in order to run? Or can you just run it and deal with whatever performance issues you may have if it doesn't meet requirements?

 

I've been excited about VR gaming for years (even got a Google Cardboard, it had my eyes stuck crossed for an hour after trying it, lol) but I don't know about dropping $600 on a Rift at this point. Last I heard, it wasn't mindblowing/seamless yet, but I'm hopeful for the future.

 

You can just run it and deal with the performance issues. A GTX 970 is the Oculus recommended spec.

http://www.tweaktown.com/news/48098/nvidia-geforce-gtx-970-power-everything-oculus-store/index.html

 

Thanks. I understood the recommended requirements, just that I keep hearing "Oculus certified" bantered about everywhere and figured it needed some special licensing or integrated key or something special about the hardware.

 

Nah, its just that the 970 is the card that all apps in their store will be optimized for at this point.

 

By the time this thing is readily available GTX 970 power should be pretty commonplace.

 

Yeah which is what I think was the goal all along.

 

I will stick with my 3D DLP projector (Ironically bought for $599 ) for my VR needs until Rift gets mainstream support.

 

My biggest problem is my usage scenario... I personally don't like the idea of being totally blocked off from the world around me. Wife, kids, dogs, work etc all come in to play. I like/need to be aware of what is going on around me most of the time, and my 34" Dell monitor does this perfectly.... having a cell phone type screen slapped to my face blocking everything else out for a full gaming session just isn't realistic at this point in my life.

20 years ago sure, when I could spend an entire weekend locked away in a room. Today just not happening.

Not to mention, how the heck do I find my beer without constantly knocking it over lol??

 

Well being blocked off has its advantages

 

Use the force!

 

So at work I was attending a meeting with one of the suppliers when their sales guy pulled out an OR to give us a virtual tour of their product and services. I cant say that the tour helped but it sure was an an LOL moment for all of us present. Thought I should share it here
I guess OR has more application then we think.