Best GPU for Oculus Rift VR system

[picard]

Hi,

I am getting an Oculus Rift VR system and,as my current system is not up to handling it,I am starting on a new build.As everyone does I have been researching the best components I can afford and when it came to the GPU my choice was between the GTX970 or the R9 390x.Now,I favour the R9 but I feel it's worth asking here to see if anyone has a good reason for going the other way (card-wise that is )

Thanks for any thoughts.

[shaithis]

I would hold off, with those cards being bare-minimum, wait for the new cards to come out and re-asses the market.

[picard]

The thing is the Rift is due in March - I know this date is not cast in stone but it is the current projection - and,as I have no knowledge of new GPU specs or release dates I really have little choice.According to Occulus the 970 is fine and the R9 390X,as for as I can see,exceeds it.

[kalniel]

The thing is the Rift is due in March - I know this date is not cast in stone but it is the current projection .

So wait until it's released at the very very minimum - in fact, wait until games have proven working, and we will know more then.

[picard]

I accept your very sensible point but I counter it with - It's been a long time since I was excited for new tech and ,as such,I have become very keen to get it.Therefore new m/c required.However,I will now leave the GPU to be the last piece (it is easy to add to the case last).

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

IMHO,probably an R9 390 or perhaps a Nano if looking at the £250 to £350 mark.

[picard]

Yes,the R9 was my preferred choice - the SAPPHIRE NITRO R9 390X Tri-X is leading the way.I'm sure every builder gets to the point of over-researching items so I just wanted to check I hadn't missed anything.

[Ttaskmaster]

I accept your very sensible point but I counter it with - It's been a long time since I was excited for new tech and ,as such,I have become very keen to get it.

If you're THAT desperate to drop THAT much money on something simply because you have Shiny Kit Syndrome and want it now, rather than waiting a bit to see if the other VR products are superior and for the next gen GPUs (which will either be far better and/or will make the current ones cheaper)... then you might as well go get a Titan X and be done with it.

Me, I can't afford any of that anyway, but you can bet your backside I'll be saving up, deciding what combo of VR/GPU is best and only then pulling the trigger.
At my level, a 980Ti would be the choice, if not the newer Pascal thing which should be cheaper by the time VR is also affordable...

[picard]

Surely,waiting a bit longer for the next development in reality means you never upgrade.The current state of PC tech is that it is evolving all the time and therefore you should 'always wait a bit longer'.

[shaithis]

Surely,waiting a bit longer for the next development in reality means you never upgrade.The current state of PC tech is that it is evolving all the time and therefore you should 'always wait a bit longer'.

If you can't see how jumping on VR in it's initial incarnation and talking about entering with a bare minimum spec is different to the standard CPU/GPU upgrades, then I wish you and your money luck

[Ttaskmaster]

Surely,waiting a bit longer for the next development in reality means you never upgrade.

No....
If that were the case, staying off the now-packed bus and waiting for the next one would mean you never got on the bus either.

I simply said 'the next', not wait for the best possible one ever, ever, ever....

The Next in this instance means the very next one, that is just around teh corner and will be with us, for sale, likely well before 2016 is over. As in wait a few months.
Reason being the next gen will likely make your 970 a near-complete waste of money.
Why pay for something 20% better when you *know* there is something 30% or even 50% better just about to be released?

I have a GTX780 and while a 980Ti would normally be a worthwhile upgrade, I'd not even consider it now I know an even better one is definitely on its way. If it was going to be a couple of years, then maybe... but it will almost certainly be later this year... and even if it's not, nothing else will be coming out before and it would then be a few years before another worthwhile upgrade comes out, so it's still better to wait for a short while.

Add to that the likely teething problems and issues of Oculus Rift, that will delay the release of the HTC Vive while they make sure theirs doesn't have the same bugs, thus making a better product until OR CV2 comes out...

The current state of PC tech is that it is evolving all the time and therefore you should 'always wait a bit longer'.

Or just know roughly when the next gen is due and jump in at the optimum time, rather than right before what you just bought becomes old hat... especially when you'e buying the absolute minimum spec!!

Look at it this way - Holding off a little while gives you time to save even more money and instead of buying the 'X100' (or whatever they call it), you can then buy the 'X120Ti' model and have it even better!!!
If none of that is your bag and you're set on the 970, then at least wait for other people to buy the newer stuff as the 970s will then get cheaper too!!

Or just buy now and watch in abject sorrow as everyone else gets the newer stuff and double your framerate in higher res...


Your call, but I think you'd be very silly to buy right now.

[jigger]

AMD has a lot of dedicated asynchronous compute engines and spent a lot of time working with Oculus. The two cards aren't even comparable really.

No question the R9 390X is the way to go.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would go with the £350 R9 Nano OcUK have on offer ATM - it is the most feature complete GPU for VR as it has some features like fine grained pre-emption the R9 390 series lack.

[jigger]

I would go with the £350 R9 Nano OcUK have on offer ATM - it is the most feature complete GPU for VR as it has some features like fine grained pre-emption the R9 390 series lack.

Yeah for that money the Fury Nano is a really great deal. I didn't realise the Nano had dropped in price that much.