Oculus Rift CPU Upgrade - Worth the Investment?

[KingThursday]

Over the last few weeks I've been upgrading my build for the first time since 2012 to get prepped for my CV1 Rift, which came in yesterday. The only thing I haven't replaced is my i5-3550 (@3.6GHz) CPU, which is below recommended specs. I've used a dev version of the Rift before and was impressed with the quality--my time yesterday was mixed, mostly positive but still plagued with several stutters and resolution issues.

I've seen a lot of threads downplaying the importance of the CPU and a lot of conflicting opinions on which perform the best when it comes to VR--Has anyone has experienced jumping up from a below spec CPU to an over spec and can share what marked improvements they saw? I'm hesitant to invest another good chunk of change (my motherboard would also need an upgrade) if the return on investment is fairly low.

My specs:

Mobo: Gigabyte H55-1155-DS3H (LGA 1155)
CPU: i5-3550
GPU: Nvidia GTX 1080 Founders Edition
RAM: 24GB Corsair Vengeance
SSD: OCZ Vertex 340GB
HDD: Seagate 3TB Internal

Any advice would be appreciated--thanks!

 

[Tri23]

No experience with upgrading the CPU alone.
My experience is with going from a Dk2 on a old nvidia card to a 780. That removed the choppiness.

I would just suggest running the performance tests for VR and if you are over 70 frames, the I wouldn't spend the $$$.
You would be better off picking up a nice set of wireless headphones. Or in your case, saving the $$$ for the controllers, when they are released.

 

[Ripthruster]

I started with my Rift on a 2600k and a GTX970 and had no issues. Recently installed MSI gtx1080 X and now everything is super smooth. I'm going to mess with the sdk and try and push it harder. I wass initially going to upgrade CPU but didn't feel going from a 2600K to a 6700K was a worthwhile jump. Hoping to wait another generation or two.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

if you have to upgrade, you'll need CPU, MOBO and RAM:
this is what I'd get, as a minimum:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($197.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($45.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: GeIL EVO POTENZA 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($50.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $294.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-21 11:33 EDT-0400

 

[KalTorak]

Over the last few weeks I've been upgrading my build for the first time since 2012 to get prepped for my CV1 Rift, which came in yesterday. The only thing I haven't replaced is my i5-3550 (@3.6GHz) CPU, which is below recommended specs. I've used a dev version of the Rift before and was impressed with the quality--my time yesterday was mixed, mostly positive but still plagued with several stutters and resolution issues.

I've seen a lot of threads downplaying the importance of the CPU and a lot of conflicting opinions on which perform the best when it comes to VR--Has anyone has experienced jumping up from a below spec CPU to an over spec and can share what marked improvements they saw? I'm hesitant to invest another good chunk of change (my motherboard would also need an upgrade) if the return on investment is fairly low.

My specs:

Mobo: Gigabyte H55-1155-DS3H (LGA 1155)
CPU: i5-3550
GPU: Nvidia GTX 1080 Founders Edition
RAM: 24GB Corsair Vengeance
SSD: OCZ Vertex 340GB
HDD: Seagate 3TB Internal

Any advice would be appreciated--thanks!

That 24Gb of ram, is that a matched 8X2 and a matched 4X2, or 8X3?

It could be that you're slowing the system by now allowing the 8X2 its full potential. I dont think that would be it, but I'm surprised you hit problems with your current rig.

Could you check for cpu utilisation during a gaming session and if you find it to be high, it might be time for an upgrade 🙁

 

[brennon7]

Try overclocking to 4ghz.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1281920/successful-overclock-to-4-0ghz-with-i5-3550-now-with-a-guide-to-oc-it

 

[turkey3_scratch]

The minimum specs are quite flexible I would think. It is very difficult to directly compare CPUs across different generations of architectures, just as it is difficult to create a minimum specification for a product without taking into account countless numbers of possibilities. I would at least try out your current system and see how well it does with your CPU. I think with the massively powerful GPU you have, I think you will be fine for the vast majority of games. Not all games are created equally, remember, so it's even possible that there will be a game or two out there that doesn't run well even at the recommended specs and requires something better. But an Ivy Bridge CPU is not a slouch yet, and I think you will be fine.