With the final consumer version of Oculus Rift all set to roll out in the first quarter of 2016, Oculus is busy adding final touches to the virtual reality headset. The tech company announced the recommended PC specifications for the headset back in May, however, it looks like requirements are still being ironed out. Users will now need to free up even more USB ports on their high-end PCs to get the most out of Oculus Rift CV1 virtual reality headset.
The change in recommended system requirements was spotted by eagle-eyed Reddit user Kontis, who posted his discovery on the Oculus subreddit. Oculus founder Palmer Luckey replied to the thread, saying that the additional USB ports assumes that the Oculus Rift CV1 user will be "using Touch and an Xbox One gamepad at the same time." If you didn’t already know, the consumer version of the virtual reality headset will ship with an Xbox One controller.
Luckey added: "Many people will be able to reduce port utilization with hubs, but your experience will vary by computer and hub. We want to be totally honest with the maximum-use scenario so people can prepare and not have to swap ports around depending on the game they play.” The rest of the recommended PC specifications for Oculus Rift CV1 remain unchanged, except the 64-bit Windows, which likely seems to be a correction, as VR gaming on a 32-bit won't be smooth. You can check out the previous system requirements here, and the updated ones have shared below.
NVIDIA GTX 970 / AMD 290 equivalent or greaterIntel i5-4590 equivalent or greater8GB+ RAMCompatible HDMI 1.3 video output3x USB 3.0 ports plus 1x USB 2.0 portWindows 7 SP1 64-bit or newerThe consumer version of the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset is set to launch in the first quarter of 2016, which could be any time from January 1 to March 31. A specific retail cost for the headset has not been revealed yet, but Luckey has already admitted that it will cost more than $350 (£230).