Not sure if you’re computer is going to be ready in time for March when your pre-ordered Rift ships? Oculus has just published a handy tool that assesses your system and simultaneously confronts you with the stark reality that you’re already dangerously close to the poverty line.

Update: We recommend checking out this article for more comprehensive information on VR Ready PC specs for the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.

The recently released ‘Rift Compatibility Check’ does a quick sweep of your system to determine where the sore spots are so that you can prepare your rig to “meet or exceed [the recommended] system specifications to power the full Rift experience.”

rift compatibility check

After download the tool and waiting a quick 5-10 seconds, you’re confronted with a list of problem areas that will need to be addressed to before that shinny new Rift carrying case finally hits your door step.

Download ‘Rift Compatibility Check’ Tool

I was given a failure mark on my GPU, a modest AMD R9 280X which runs my DK2 just fine. Due to the increased resolution of the consumer Rift, 2160×1200 resolution split over dual displays running at 90Hz, and consuming 233 million pixels per second, Oculus is recommending at very least a NVIDIA GTX 970 / AMD R9 290 to run the new Rift.

pc not ready for rift compatibility

Clicking on your problem area will open a drop down link to the Oculus support page giving you a list of possible upgrade options to choose from. As a GPU-poor Rifter, Oculus recommends the following:

NVIDIA

  • GeForce GTX 780 Ti
  • GeForce GTX 970
  • GeForce GTX 980
  • GeForce GTX 980 Ti
  • Quadro K6000
  • Quadro M6000
  • GeForce GTX TITAN Z
  • GeForce GTX TITAN
  • GeForce GTX TITAN X
  • GeForce GTX TITAN Black
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AMD

  • Radeon R9 390 / R9 290
  • Radeon R9 390 X / R9 290X
  • Radeon R9 295X2 (mini display posrt adapter required)
  • FirePro W8100
  • FirePro W9100
  • Radeon R9 Fury

Thankfully upgrading a GPU is as easy as maxing out your credit card and subsequently sabotaging a long-term relationship with a loved one, requiring little know-how to plonk in.

If you’re looking at a bunch of red ‘X’s down the line, you might consider an ‘Oculus Ready’ PC, with pre-order Rift/PC bundles starting in February starting at $1499.

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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • Tristan Harvey

    I have a Intel I7 cpu and the tool told me I had not enough power wich doesn’t make any sense. They are recommending buying a I5 5950K…probably a bug.

    • Aux

      check the single cpu performance ; ]

      • Aux

        single core*

        • Dennis van der Pool

          They just seem to check hardware id’s.
          I got an i7 4770K @3.2 Ghz which I can easily overclock and 690 GTX in Quad-SLI and it says it’s not ready. Also when overclocked.
          It should do an actual benchmark instead of checking white/blacklist of hardware id’s

          • Trisk

            Oculus has already stated that the Rift does not support SLI, only single GPU. That means you are running a single 680, which is not even close to enough. Time to upgrade.

          • Dennis van der Pool

            Hi, can you please give source? I haven’t seen it, would let me upgrade. Please also give your feedback on the following links?
            http://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/vr/technology

            “VR SLI: With VR SLI, multiple GPUs can be assigned a specific eye
            to dramatically accelerate stereo rendering. VR SLI even allows scaling
            for PCs with more than two GPUs.”

            http://devblogs.nvidia.com/parallelforall/vr-sli-accelerating-opengl-virtual-reality-multi-gpu-rendering/

            https://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/3gwnsm/nvidia-gameworks-vr-sli-test/

          • Dennis van der Pool

            Morty (Oculus Support)
            Jan 23, 12:12 AM

            Hi Dennis,

            Thank you for your patience.

            The Oculus compatibility tools searches for hardware known to work with the Oculus Rift, this includes CPU, GPU, and more.

            Currently Multi-GPU configurations are not supported. So I would definitely recommend a GPU upgrade.

            As these are not supported, and for NVIDIA the GTX 980 TI is currently their highest powered consumer card I wouldn’t expect you would need a second card.

            There are no specific features of the 980 ti specifically, however having the power to maintain high frames per second in VR is essential, as low frames per second is very disorienting in VR.

            Keep in mind however, that the GTX 970 is where the recommended specifications begin, so a GTX 980 TI would work just fine.

            I can’t comment on if it will max everything out, as that is up to the developers on how they optimize their games. But again, as Multi-GPUs are not supported, the 980 TI is the best you can currently get regarding graphics cards from NVIDIA.

            If you have any other questions or concerns, please let me know.

            Thank you

            Morty
            Oculus Support

          • klepp0906

            He’s misinformed which shocks me. Sli happens very far prior to oculus. Needs driver support (profile) and to be written into the games code.

            People have already used it. Even though I really don’t want to I’ll go find a source. Sigh

          • john

            rift does not support multiple gpus…what is that supposed to mean? it is up to the app developer not the monitor if multiple graphics cards are used.

          • klepp0906

            You may want to re read bud. Your info is a few years old.

          • xxritcheyxx

            Try doing the vive test. I believe they do an actual benchmark instead of checking a list.

          • Dennis van der Pool

            Will do, thanks :-)

    • OhYeah!

      Yeah I am getting the same thing with my i7 3770k. I think I will just see how it performs before I listen to Oculus’ advice. My old gtx 680 won’t cut it though for sure :(

      • Bob George

        I have an i7 3770k as well. Apparently they’re basing the specs on single-core performance. Overclocked, however, and we should easily exceed the recommended specs.

  • Robert Jenkins

    “your computer”….lol

  • Super Game-guru

    I’ve got a failure with my 8350…seem’s legit, but i overclocked to 4.7ghz. Maybe it can works…

    • Aux

      The fx 8350 was in the previous Oculus Rift’s recommended specs. It will run fine. Upgrade next year : ]

  • Just a thought, but how about an article on computers that do meet these specs? Low cost ones, please!

  • Hotkey

    rubbish. I’ve run Oculus DK2 on Nvidia GTX 780 full quality NO PROBLEMS…
    They just have kick backs / parnerships to sell graphics cards.
    Remember peeps, in the end you’re just running a PC game (UE4/Unity). Their specs don’t mean sh!t

    • Adam Broni

      This is bull. Consumer has a much much higher resolution and 30 fps more as standard. What you’re saying makes no sense at all. You are NOT just running a PC game (UE4/Unity). Every single player in VR has mentioned the opposite, as someone who follows VR, and has seen evidence pointing to the amount of power it takes to push such pixel refresh.. I can afire, this entire comment just speaks volumes in regards to your ignorance.

      • klepp0906

        Not exactly. You are just running a PC game. The difference is you need to have a smooth frame rate and high refresh for proper immersion (presence).

        The headsets use reproduction (asynchronous time warp) in order to fill in drops in framerate and can double refresh when/if necessary.

        Regardless all the requirements are baked in to that end. ATW takes very little power btw.

      • Hotkey

        wrong. Consumer is THE SAME resolution. You have no idea. I actually am using the fkin thing. You DO NOT NEED a 9 series card, that is marketing garbage. Oculus games are just standard PC games.

    • Buddydudeguy

      DK2 =/= CV1

      • Hotkey

        Yes it does. That is why the DK2 is used TO DEVELOP GAMES FOR THE CV1

        • Buddydudeguy

          The CV1 is improved and consumer ready with long term support. The DK2 is a DEVELEPOR KIT and pretty much not supported further. What are you confused about or attempting to argue?

          • Hotkey

            omg. how long does it take to get this through to you. anything that works on the DK2 with a 780 GTX will run games for the CV1. You don;t need a new graphics card. Duh

          • Buddydudeguy

            The hell are you on about? I didn’t say you need a new graphics card. But…you seem to be implying the 780 would be good for VR. It wouldn’t be. it’s on par with a 970 which is bear minimum. You do know the DK2 won’t be supported past 2016 right?

            Next time you want to argue, try and be more clear. I don’t even understand what you’re arguing about.

  • Wanderer

    @hotkey best of luck running a dv1 with your 780 lol. Why do people always cry conspiracy when faced with fact?. The dv1 has Much Higher requirements than a dk2 but feel free to stick your head i the sand:) Personally im rocking a 980ti so I Know Ill be able to run a rift.

  • Adam Broni

    It would be interesting to note, nothing has been said about overclocked and multiple GPUs, I use two 780s and they are hugely overclocked. I wish I had my computer with me to check if the tool takes this into account.

    • klepp0906

      I use quad Titans (essentially your 780 as I’m sure you know)

      It’s my understanding SLI is supported but as the usual song and dance – has to be supported by the dev/driver

    • Luke Tomaneng

      3 GB of vRAM may not be enough, as none of the supported GPU’s have less than 4 (well, only 3.5 of the 970’s vRAM can be used in some games).

  • Jakob

    Why is there no Radeon R9 Fury X on the AMD list?

  • klepp0906

    Thank god don’t need to buy new gpus yet woot! Means my quad Titans will last till pascal. GG. Also means my taxes = surround sound and not more geepeeuuus!

    Err assuming sli is supported anyhow.

    Anyone know if your locked in graphically with vr games or if they’re adjustable based on card?

  • john killingsworth

    i have a 980ti along with 3930 cpu and 16 gigs of ram and this is telling me my video card is not good enough…

    • Logan Zane

      Your video card is above the recommended?……the top of the page is a picture, not your result. Download the program and it will tell you. A 980 Ti is one of the best you can get right now. The thing I would worry about is that you have a 3930 cpu. Rift requires at least an Intel I7-4590 equivalent or greater. My problem is that I have a great CPU (Intel Core i7-5820K CPU), but my GPU is a dual sli geforce gtx 960….meaning if I overclock my GPUs I can run it at the lowest settings, or medium with some slowdowns but definitely not the recommended. I’ll be selling both my 960s to get one of the new GTX 1000 series when those come out in may or june before buying my Oculus.

      • Craig Patrich Ashton

        Hi Logan

        Rift accepts i5 higher generation processors too. I have an i5 6th generation CPU, and a Nvidia GTX 970. The Oculus compatibility checker says my set-up is just fine.

  • damn i have 2 cards R9 280x Sli

    • Joe

      Weird sli is nvidia

  • MysteryBounty

    Anyone know if having 2 graphics cards makes a difference for rift? My card failed but I have 2 Geforce GTX 675M cards.

  • Kelly126

    i have AMD Radeon HD 7470A does that work

  • Kelly126

    R5 235

  • DrN00b

    I have a geforce 960 with 4 gigs of ram, and a geforce 610 for dedicated physX. Pretty sure even if it says it failed I meet the requirement. The new directx 12 allows for mix and match video cards to boost performance.

  • Ori Lael

    I have a- Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3470 CPU @3.20GHz 3.60GHz
    and a nvidia GTX 960 with 4 GB ram…
    can i use the rift on those specs?

    • asd2223

      You need 8gb ram

      • Ori Lael

        I have 8GB ram on the computer
        but the video card have 4GB ram… I think…
        (It says- “total graphic memory avilable: 8172MB” and beneath that it says-
        “Dedicated video memory: 4096MB
        Shared system memory :4076MB”
        so I dont really know

        • Luke Tomaneng

          The R9 290, GTX 970, and GTX 980 all have 4 gigabytes of video memory (vRAM), and are supported.

    • Ori Lael

      PLS someone??

    • Anonymous Coward

      What did the tool discussed in the article say?

      • Ori Lael

        It said no…
        but i think i can use the rift on my specs
        I THINK…

        • Luke Tomaneng

          Yes, I’m pretty sure you can use that CPU. According to Usman Pirzada of WCCF Tech, “Intel processors including and upwards of the i5-2500k/i7-2600k should easily be able to handle VR – regardless of what the tool states.”

          Read more: http://wccftech.com/amd-processor-list-oculus-rift-vr-pc/#ixzz44OU9Jsxv

          • Ori Lael

            Thanks man i love you so much right now :)

          • Anthony Garcia

            Some may work, but You’re gonna need the gtx 970 at least to run most games.

          • Luke Tomaneng

            No problem, but Anthony is probably right about the graphics card. Perhaps you should consider getting another GTX 960 4GB for SLI/Explicit Multi-GPU, or wait for a Polaris or Pascal card. Alternatively, you may be able to run games decently at low graphics settings.

    • Guest

      If only there were some sort of tool to check with…

      • Ori Lael

        It says no but im asking if i can still use it

    • MrRistulimbi

      go to their official website and download rift combatibility software then run it and you’ll know

    • Kevin Riley

      Maybe. But, it will be laggy and wont look good. Just upgrade your pc

    • Collin Krasnai

      You need 8 GB of ram.

  • Logan Zane

    My problem is that I have a Intel Core i7-5820K CPU, but my GPU is a dual sli geforce gtx 960….meaning if I overclock my GPUs I can run it at the lowest settings, or medium with some slowdowns but definitely not the recommended. For some reason my GTX 960s don’t have 4 gigs of vram, only 3…so I can’t use just one to run, so unless it allows sli(in which case I’ll be fine to run rift) I’ll be selling both my 960s to get one of the new GTX 1000 series when those come out in may or june before buying my Oculus.

  • Luke Tomaneng

    HIgh-end Sandy Bridge and Vishera CPU’s should be able to handle the Oculus Rift, despite what the tool says.

    Source: http://wccftech.com/amd-processor-list-oculus-rift-vr-pc/

  • Anon

    This is funny, The Oculus VR application tells me I don’t have all the requisits for VR, but the Nvidia Gforce Experience says that my PC is READY for VR.. isn’t that funny… Oculus is trying to sell everyone a new pc and the fucking Glasses, are you kidding me? aren’t they charging enough 600€? for a crowdfunded project?

    • Buddydudeguy

      Why even instal noobforce experience?

  • jb0nez

    Too bad the “compatability checker” doesn’t detect my GTX 970 but my HD4000 instead. Derp.

    • Anon

      this may sound like a silly question but are you sure your bios is set to use your PCI-E graphics processor, or might it be using the built in?

      • jb0nez

        I have one monitor connected directly to my GTX 970, and one monitor connected to my HD 4000. I’ll have to check my BIOS, I believe it’s initializing the dedicated GPU first but that’s a great idea to check, thank you. I’m thinking this is a bug in the rift compatibility Checker to be honest.

  • Matthew

    I’m running a Fury X and it says my Graphics card is not Compatible, What am i missing here? lol or it is just a bug

  • mtin

    Oculus VR says my FX 8350 isn’t compatible with Oculus VR but both Nvidia and Steam say otherwise. I guess I will just have to go on the other VR system on the market. lol

  • Gabriel Fournier Filion

    I have a graphic card that worked fine in the last year with occulus rift DK2. I then tried to reinstall Occulus on windows 10 but got an error message during installation process saying ”update your graphic card drivers” during installation. I then installed AMD update 16.3.2 and restarted my computer but I still have this error message. What is the problem?

    But It is not listed on the official website of Occulus rift which I find odd as it is quite a powerfull graphic card: https://support.oculus.com/help/oculus/641494399323956

  • The InfamousPickle

    aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand gtx 1050 ti, i3 6100 and 8gb RAM compatible. Thanks ASW.

  • ＼上／

    Just tell how to use Rift with not ready PC. Or you said I can NEVER use Rift with it?
    One day, suddenly Oculus told me your PC is not ready, though I’ve been able to use it until then. Yeah, it’s OK that my PC spec does not meet your recommend. I don’t care your opinion. Just let me use it fuck