It appears the future is upon us as we head into the virtual age. Virtual Reality has come a long way and offers some incredible experiences. But with so many companies claiming to have the best version, which one should you be going for? Here’s a comparison to hopefully make the decision a bit easier.
Oculus Rift
- Price: $599
- Release date: March 2016
- Platform: PC
The Rift won’t be coming to South Africa at launch, so expect an even heftier price if you import it – sales tax and import duties aren’t kind to us. Speaking of hefty, the PC requirements are pretty substantial as well:
- NVIDIA GTX 970 / AMD 290 equivalent or greater
- Intel i5-4590 equivalent or greater
- 8GB+ RAM
- Windows 7 SP1 or newer
- 2x USB 3.0 ports
- HDMI 1.3 video output supporting a 297MHz clock via a direct output architecture
HTV/Valve Vive
- Price: $799
- Release date: April 2016
- Platform: PC
The HTC Vive is a rather pricey piece of tech, but of all the VR tech Alessandro tried out, it was his favorite. If you buy it in Europe, it will cost a whopping €899. I’m not sure where they got those conversion figures from, but that will make it even more expensive for those looking to ship it into the country. That hasn’t stopped people from pre-ordering it, though, with 15 000 units getting preordered in the first ten minutes. Here are the official PC specs for it – looks about comparable to the Rift, although at least you don’t need to worry about upgrading your USB ports.
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce® GTX 970 / AMD Radeon™ R9 290 equivalent or greater
- CPU: Intel® i5-4590 / AMD FX 8350 equivalent or greater
- RAM: 4GB+
- Video Output: HDMI 1.4 or DisplayPort 1.2 or newer
- USB Port: 1x USB 2.0 or greater port
- Operating System: Windows 7 SP1 or newer
PlayStation VR
- Price: $400
- Release date: October 2016
- Platform: PS4
PlayStation VR has taken a very different approach to the aforementioned headsets. It is aimed at the mainstream, using a more affordable model. Working with the PS4, people won’t need to upgrade their machinery in order to get their hands faces on a VR experience. However, the price is a bit misleading – users will also need some extra accessories like the PlayStation Camera and PlayStation move controllers if they don’t already have them. With the more mainstream equipment, we can assume that the visuals won’t be as impressive as those offered by the Vive or Rift, but that wasn’t a problem for me – I still enjoyed my time the PSVR the most.
Further Reading
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Last Updated: March 17, 2016
konfab
March 17, 2016 at 15:46
Where is the love for Google Cardboard?
Ottokie vs the forces of Evil
March 17, 2016 at 15:48
Have you been living in a box or something? 😛
konfab
March 17, 2016 at 15:55
I have been keeping to my safe space.
Alien Emperor Trevor
March 17, 2016 at 15:48
The OR is $600.
Greylingad[CNFRMD]
March 17, 2016 at 15:57
That still amounts to more than the national treasury so…
Pieter Kruger
March 17, 2016 at 16:14
I thought the PSVR was $560 in total(including camera and move controllers?)
HvR
March 17, 2016 at 16:40
Think the camera and move controller is around $100, bit cheaper if bought in a bundle.
Pieter Kruger
March 17, 2016 at 16:45
Don’t you need 2 move controllers though(for some games to function properly at least)?
rollingmol
March 19, 2016 at 13:09
There’s a bundle for 500 including a game ,headset camera and 2 move controllers
Kromas untamed
March 17, 2016 at 17:29
Here is what you really need to know. Social media support already confirmed for rift.
Gamers don’t want Facebook like notifications while playing games in Vr.
Vive FTW
geel slang
March 17, 2016 at 21:30
Recommended specs for the Vive: http://www.htcvive.com/us/product-optimized/
Her Highness the Hipster
March 18, 2016 at 06:51
awesome, thanks!
Deceased
March 18, 2016 at 10:56
Do we know yet when we can order the VIVE in SA? 🙁
I sooo badly need one
geel slang
March 18, 2016 at 21:20
its very tempting!