Laptop for VR

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Jamie_77

Commendable
Sep 25, 2016
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I haven't owned a PC in about 10 years, having gone Mac for everyday home computing and entertainment and using consoles for games. Then I tried VR on the Vive and I was blown away with it and believe I want to get seriously into it.

So I need to buy a PC and a pretty powerful one at that. I'm starting from scratch and have done a bit of research, but have never used a PC for games other than Minesweeper and Command and Conquer, so it really is research rather than experience.

Most of what I have read indicates that a desktop is much better value for money (upgradeable, can build yourself, etc). However, I really think that the convenience and portability of a laptop would make it my strong preference. My understanding is that for older laptop generations, the graphics cards were mobile versions but the new nvidia 10series they are the same and so it isn't as big of an issue regarding performance - it's more a price differential for convenience. Have I got this right?

So then it comes down to the card and laptop itself - which is where I am most uncertain around what I need. My understanding is that for VR the GTX1070 and GTX1080 are way ahead of everything else. I have seen a whole range of different laptops for sale, but will use these 2 MSI laptops as an example reference point. Option 1: i7 processor, 32GB RAM, 256GB SSD + 1TB hdd, 15" screen GTX1070 for ~$2000. Option 2: same but 17" screen and GTX1080 ~$3000. The crux of my question: For my purpose of running VR will the 1070 suffice or will it feel compromised when using the Vive - I think I would want to be able to use at highest level of detail possible with high 90 frame rate. Basically is larger laptop screen and 1080 worth an extra $1000?

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Not at all. 1070 is the sweet spot for VR right now, marginal benefit over 1080. Large screen doesn't really matter for you using VR as you will be in the headset. You could build a small pc for cheaper though if you don't really need the portability. VR will drain battery life much like gaming.
Not at all. 1070 is the sweet spot for VR right now, marginal benefit over 1080. Large screen doesn't really matter for you using VR as you will be in the headset. You could build a small pc for cheaper though if you don't really need the portability. VR will drain battery life much like gaming.
 
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