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Oculus Rift: Start saving money for a high-end computer, and it won’t be a Mac

Published May 18th, 2015 7:45AM EDT
Oculus Rift Hardware Requirements Windows
Image: Oculus VR

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The Oculus Rift is finally nearing mass-production, but that’s not necessarily good news for anyone looking to purchase one of Facebook’s virtual reality headsets, because the VR gadget will require a very powerful computer, one that’s going to be rather expensive. And it apparently can’t be a MacBook Pro or any other Mac OS computer, as the Oculus Rift will only run on Windows devices for the time being.

DON’T MISS: Oculus Rift to finally begin shipping in early 2016

According to Business Insider, Facebook has revealed the technical requirements for Oculus Rift, which include a $300 graphics card. Building one such computer right now costs around $1,000, the publication says.

This Oculus Rift VR computer needs an Intel i5-4950 processor or later, NVIDIA GTX 970 / AMD 290 graphics card or later, at least 8GB of RAM, HDMI 1.3 video, 2 USB 3.0 ports and Windows 7 SP1 or later. On the other hand, seeing such high-end requirements isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as this means the VR headset might offer access to some amazing VR experiences.

Moreover, component prices will likely drop before the Oculus Rift launches in the first quarter of 2016, but that still means you’ll likely have to buy yourself a brand new computer to enjoy VR games and other content at home.

A few days ago, Facebook announced that the first consumer version of Oculus Rift will hit stores in early 2016, without sharing more details about the headset’s price.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.