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simonx314's avatar
simonx314
Honored Guest
11 years ago

Newbie Questions

I have briefly tried a DK1, but have little knowledge of how to setup my incoming DK2. I would appreciate any answers to my newbie questions.

Xbox controller
Can I get away with using an Xbox 360 controller and still have a decent experience? Is it a great experience? Does it work with most games/demos?

Keyboard and Mouse
Is it better to use a keyboard and mouse, rather than an Xbox controller? Is it a problem that you can't see the keyboard?

Mac Support
I have Windows 7 installed with Bootcamp. Should I just plan on running Windows 7 or are there enough Rift demos that run on Mac OSX? Do I need to buy Windows 8?

Intel Iris integrated graphics
I can play Half-Life 2 at 1920x1080 on my MacBook at 200 to 300 FPS, dropping to no less than ~90 fps when a bunch of barrels explode. Can I expect the same framerate when I play Half-Life on the DK2, or does rendering two different viewports at 960x1080 each reduce the FPS?

Besides old Source games, is anything else playable on Intel Iris? (just Iris, not Iris Pro).

Software
I assume I'll only have to buy games/drivers like VorpX, Elite Dangerous, Skyrim and Half-Life. Should I expect any other software expenses? The utilities and demos are free right?

Gaming PC - Nvidia 750 Ti
Will a GTX 750 Ti 2GB be enough for the DK2? I'm fine with lowering graphics details to medium as long as I can maintain 75 FPS. I want to spend as little as possible right now, and build a nicer gaming system for the CV1.

Overall Plan
MacBook until I get tired of playing Half-Life, upgrade to PC with i3/8GB RAM/750 Ti, then upgrade GPU when CV1 comes out. Is that a good plan?

I'm planning on buying a prebuilt gaming PC, the Digital Storm's Vanquish Level 2. While I have built my PCs in the past I would rather have a 4-year comprehensive warranty than have to deal with individual component warranties.

4 Replies

  • mariom's avatar
    mariom
    Honored Guest
    11 years ago
    Hello.

    Xbox controller really depends on individual games/demos. Some work some don't because they weren't designed for it.

    Not being able to see the keyboard sometimes is indeed an issue, again it depends on the demo, simple is best.

    I think Windows 7 is fine, I have Windows 8.1 but I haven't seen any demos that require Windows 8.

    About your integrated video card, you are going to have a hard time with any demos that aren't very simple. Just make sure you are running at 75 Hz and 75 fps.

    The GTX 750 TI isn't that bad although not the highest range, it will probably be fine (at lower than highest settings) in lots of stuff, just don't expect to play something like Metro: Last Light in Ultra in the DK2 :P ( juts a hypothetical example).

    I don't recommend an i3 processor, you should try to get at least an i5.
  • simonx314's avatar
    simonx314
    Honored Guest
    11 years ago
    Thanks! I'll avoid the i3.

    I'm still confused about whether the DK2 (with twin 960x1080 viewports) will run at the same FPS as a single-viewport game at 1920x1080. In order to determine if my Intel integrated graphics would be able to run Half-Life 2 at above 75 FPS, I tested the game in a 1920x1080 window, so I am wondering if that was a valid test or if twin viewports for each eye will lower that frame rate. My integrated graphics just barely managed to run Half-Life 2 without dropping below 75 FPS.
  • kojack's avatar
    kojack
    MVP
    11 years ago
    It depends on many factors (the engine used, the kind of rendering being done, shader use, etc).
    Here are some of the issues:
    - Vertex data is doubled compared to normal. Twice the vertex work will be bad if you have very high triangle counts or heavy vertex shader processing.
    - Visibility calculations could be doubled. This is a cpu hit rather than gpu. It depends on the engine as to how it's culling.
    - To achieve best quality, the SDK recommends using a render target of 1.5 times the resolution of the rift (this is to counteract the reduction of quality caused by the barrel distortion). This means 2.25 times the number of pixels need to be rendered. For example, 1920x1080 on the rift is really rendered first as 2880x1620. The actual resolution used is up to the game, but this is approximately the res recommended by the SDK.

    VR rendering will be slower than normal, but how much depends on these issues and others.