The Many Virtues Of Virtual Reality

Virtual reality’s biggest and longest-awaited headsets, the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift, are good enough to make even the most skeptical people optimistic about the future of VR.

- Will Greenwald

I’ve been doing some unexpected things lately. I’ve watched Netflix movies on a towering screen. I’ve taken sightseeing jaunts on a rolling hillside and through a Venetian plaza. I’ve sculpted figures in clay and covered them with glowing streamers. Although I haven’t seen attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion, I’ve blown up dozens of enemy fighters in outer space. And I’ve done all of this without leaving New York—thanks to virtual reality.

We’ve been watching the development of the latest wave of VR technology for several years now. It’s taken some time, but the endless parade of crowdfunded headsets has finally evolved into consumer products. And now that the big VR names have made their cases, with the HTC Vive ($800) and the Oculus Rift ($599) first out of the gate, it’s clear that the concept of VR is at last much more than a gimmick or a toy.

The technology still has a way to go, but the Rift and the Vive are already proving that VR has a real place in our homes—and maybe even our offices—and that things are only going to get more amazing from here on out.

WHAT YOU NEED 

The Vive and the Rift have nearly identical system requirements. Both systems recommend an Intel Core i5-4590 or better CPU (the Vive also cites an AMD FX 8350 or better as workable), and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 or AMD Radeon R9 290 or better video card. In addition, the Vive wants 4GB of RAM, HDMI 1.4 or DisplayPort 1.2 video output, and a USB 2.0 port; the Rift asks for 8GB of RAM, an HDMI 1.3 output, three USB 3.0 ports, and one USB 2.0 port. Both headsets also need at Windows 7 SP1 or later.

VIVE LE VIVE