PC gamers might need up to 7 times more powerful machines in order to get the best experience out of VR headsets, Nvidia says.
The PC GPU developing giant knows its numbers, and with virtual reality gaming closer than ever to public release, many PC users will have to seriously consider upgrading their rigs to leap forward into the ‘future of gaming.’
Speaking to VentureBeat, Nvidia representatives said that by the time the likes of Oculus Rift and HTC Vive virtual reality headsets are released, about 13 million PCs in the market will be powerful enough to run the technology in the right way.
Nvidia suggests that with its Gameworks VR software, they can extend the number to 25 million. Nvidia’s software makes the VR processing of games much more efficient, reducing the overall power demands.
It might seem like a sting by Nvidia to market its Gameworks software (which they have been doing aggressively the past few months), but another completely different company, Valve, has indicated something similar.
According to Valve’s Chet Faliszek (project leader of Left4Dead), VR headsets and VR technology are going to make 2016 the ‘year of higher-end PCs.’ This opinion coincides with Nvidia’s suggestion that more powerful PCs will be needed for optimal virtual reality experience.
“Thanks to VR, in this coming year we will see a resurgence of high-end PCs in the home,” the designer tweeted.
There are also suggestions that VR headsets would finally force a widespread leap from 1080p to 4K resolutions.
The most well-known of VR headsets, Oculus Rif, will be released in the first quarter of 2016. Other firms such as HTC, Valve, Sony, and Samsung are also developing their own VR headsets.
