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It was way back in May 2015 that we were given a sneak peak at what the recommended specifications for the Oculus Rift CV1 headset would be and they weren't insubstantial: a GTX 970, i5-4590 and 8GB of RAM. You also needed two USB 3.0 ports, but that's now been updated to say you need three of those and another USB 2.0 port.
Spotted by the ever vigilant members of the Oculus Subreddit, the addition of extra USB port requirements has many speculating about what they could be for. The DK2, the most current Oculus headset available to end users and developers, required two USB ports: one for the headset and a second for the camera. So what are the others for?
Some suggestions have been that two of the ports will be for the Oculus camera sensors, two of which will come with the base set up. The third could be for audio power and possibly tracking data from the headset itself, while the fourth may be for the Xbox One wireless adaptor, as we know that controller is coming part and parcel with the Rift.
The other change made to the specifications is the requirement for 64bit Windows 7 or newer. That seems likely just to be a correction, as there's zero point in having more than 3.2GB of RAM while running a 32bit OS.
This is an interesting development considering how close we are supposed to be to the pre-order and eventual release of the first commercial virtual reality headset from Oculus. Initially pre-orders were slated to be this year, but Oculus founder Palmer Luckey claimed he may need a “rain check,” on that. At the very least though, we know CV1 is launching towards the end of Q1 next year, so this is an addition made in the 11th hour of its development.
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KitGuru Says: What do you think the additional USB ports are for? More importantly though, do you have four-free USB ports available on your PC? Maybe Oculus should bundle a PCIE USB 3.0 add-in card too.
hopefully some of those usb 3 ports will be lumped in with 3.1 type c down the line
I have 1 usb 2.0, 2 usb 3.0 and one usb 3.1 type c left, so i don’t meet the requierement, and i’m dissapointed, t’at’s too much!
You can just buy a 3.x USB HUB.. But I agree, that’s a lot of USB ports needed..
Durrrr. They are for Touch controllers, which will have zippy tracking requirements all their own. Everyone in Oculus Dev Forums already knew the XBONE controller or mouse/kb setup wouldn’t do VR right, despite any treaties with Microsoft.
Damn no a pci maybe, if they provide lots of ports, then i don’t think a hub will do, it reduce the data bandwidth
Keeping it simple is essential for VR success, between this and Playstation VR coming with an extra processing unit, I’m afraid 2016 won’t be the right year for VR either.
F*** me Oculus, you really sure 4 is enough!??? Why not go the whole hog and specify 8….
It should be fine. Most computers with USB ports built in usually just have one or two actually USB ports and just use an internal hub built on the mobo to produce all of the ports on the back and front of the pc. Personally I have 2 3.0 ports on the back and 2 3.0 ports on the front plus 8 2.0 ports on the back (but 3 are used for keyboard, mouse, and 360 controler). I will be fine but given that I only have 2 3.0 ports in the back I may end up buying a hub unless one of those 3.0 ports if for the headset in which case plugging into the front will be fine (unless it is in a bundled cable along with the HDMI cord and there isn’t enough length to reach the front of my PC in which case hub it is)
Are you shitting me, seeing as how most VR setups will be used with a Desktop PC for the needed power why not just give them a PCI-E card with just one port connector on as 4 cables is kind of a joke and what about other USB devices like your mouse, keyboard, controllers & webcams lol that might need the ports you just used up lol
+1 Was reading the article thinking, did you forget the touch controllers? They added those after the specs were released.
Just release the damn thing already.. geezz..
and, what if 1 of those USB disconnects? I bet, you’ll hallucinate in VR.
It does seem to account for all the sources of input necessary. For what it’s worth, people shouldn’t fret about a few more USB 3.0 ports: They are cheap to add, and a $15 external 3.0 hub/multiplier could probably fit the bill.
I do get tired of hearing the sensationalist “Oculus will cost ONE MEEEELLION DOLLARS!!!” headline, because you need a mid range (not high end) gaming capable PC. A $320 GTX 970 is NOT a huge cash drop. It’s firmly middle, with good gains for the price.
I’d venture to guess that the 970 is bare minimum, though. If you’re going to spend $600 on the Rift itself, you’re probably short changing yourself on the experience if you don’t have a GTX 980, 980Ti, or a TITAN X.
Bleeding edge technology ain’t cheap, but for the potential of what VR can be, I’m ALL IN!
That’s what i was thinking.
I would imagine that the wireless Touch controllers will have a Hub that they dock to in order to charge both. Otherwise you;d need two Micro USB leads to charge them . . .
I don’t understand this. I’ve been using my oculus with 2 USB ports, 3 if I use the oculus touch with an extra sensor. Why are you saying it requires 4?
Uh, the touch controllers sync directly with the headset. They don’t require a USB port if you’re already using two tracking cameras to begin with.