When it comes to VR, Desktop PCs are the way to go! There are some good VR laptops out there as well if you need portability, but with the requirements of VR, laptops tend to overheat easily and there is little ability for upgrading laptops if you ewant better specs. If you need something smaller/more portable than a desktop tower, perhaps check out one of the mini PC’s.

We’ve gone through and found the best deals for Desktops, Laptops and Mini PC’s at a range of prices and laid out the necessary information you’ll need to buy a VR Ready PC.

If you’re also looking to purchase a VR headset/accessories either for yourself or as a present, you can check out our VR gift guide here.

The prices mentioned in this post are subject to change.

General VR Minimum Specs:

(May differ dependent on the headset)

Below are the minimum requirements for VR. Please bear in mind that these may differ between headsets and some games may have higher requirements to play. If you have any particular games in mind that you would like to play please check the minimum requirements for these before you purchase a PC.

Graphics Card (GPU): NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti/AMD Radeon RX 470 or greater (GTX 970 or RX 480 for Oculus Quest)

Processor (CPU): Intel i3-6100/AMD Ryzen 3 1200, FX4350 or greater (i5-4950 or Ryzen 5 1500X for Oculus Quest)

Memory (RAM): 8GB

Ports: 1 x USB 3.0 port (HDMI port required for HTC Vive and some other headsets)

What to look for:

GPU (Graphics):

Ideally, aim for a minimum of GTX 1060 (6GB) or AMD RX 480 – you can get by with the minimum specs but it may cause issues in some games. With the GTX 1060 you’ll still be playing a lot of games on the minimum graphics settings but shouldn’t get lag in most games (although always check the minimum requirements for the game before you buy it as there are some that require higher specs e.g. Medal of Honor requires GTX 1080). It’s worth just spending a small amount extra to not have to worry about that (and the VR sickness it may cause). Below are some suggestions of good options based on budget.

If you’re unsure if a graphics card is good enough type it into google and “vs GTX 1060 6GB” (or one of the GPU’s below based on your budget). Look for the UserBenchmark link and compare the rankings!

One final thing to note about GPU’s is that laptop GPU’s generally aren’t as powerful as desktop GPU’s. So that’s definitely worth taking into consideration if you’re planning on buying a laptop.

Budget: GTX 1060 6GB or AMD RX480

Mid-range: RTX 3060 or AMD RX 5600XT

High-end: RTX 3080 or AMD RX 6800XT

CPU (Processor):

Again, you can go for minimum specs but it can cause issues in some games. We recommend a minimum of i5-4590/Ryzen 5 1500X. Below, we’ve noted some good options for CPU’s based on budget. Its important to note that an i5 processor isn’t necessarily better than an i3 and a Ryzen 5 isn’t necessarily better than a Ryzen 3 – its all about the generation (i.e. the numbers that follow).

As with the GPU, if you’re unsure if a CPU is good enough type it into google “vs ryzen 3 3300X” (or insert CPU from below based on your budget). Look for the UserBenchmark link and compare the rankings!

Budget: Ryzen 3 3300X or i3-9100

Mid-range: Ryzen 5 5600X or i7-9700k

High-end: Ryzen 9 5950X or i9-10900k

RAM (Memory):

8GB RAM will be enough for a budget PC, although 16GB is recommended. RAM is fairly easy to upgrade if you want more in the future though. You’ll usually see RAM as something like: 8GB DDR4 2133mHz – most RAM that you’ll be looking at will be DDR4 and the MHz number is basically the speed of the RAM, bigger MHz is faster and faster is better. There are some VR Ready PC’s with DDR3 RAM, which is okay but we wouldn’t recommended unless you are on a tight budget as it is very limited if you want to upgrade in the future. A motherboard with DDR3 RAM slots won’t support DDR4 and is limited to a maximum of 2133MHz (the minimum of DDR4) and to a maximum of 16GB RAM.

Storage:

If all you plan to use your PC for is VR, then storage may not much of an issue as long as you have enough space to install Oculus/SteamVR and the games you want. However, if you want to use it as your main PC to store lots of document and apps etc on then you’ll need to make sure you have plenty of space; especially if you go for a laptop!

If you’re on a budget, we recommend having a large HDD (e.g. 500GB-1TB) to store most of your games/applications on, and a small SSD (e.g. 128GB) that Windows is installed onto (and maybe any more intensive VR games) to make things run quicker than with a HDD alone. Just make sure not to fill up your SSD with unnecessary apps/files – look up how to change the drive of things like your documents folders and automatic app install location (which will automatically go into the drive that Windows is installed on, i.e. your SSD) or at least create new folders in your HDD drive to use. SSD’s are able to read and write data much quicker than HDD’s (approximately 4 times quicker), however with faster speeds, comes a higher price. When it comes to SSD’s there are various different options. We won’t go into them all here but will cover the important aspects.

Your standard 2.5″ SATA SSD is the most affordable SSD and will be compatible with any PC. These are the bulkiest type of SSD, although still a lot smaller than a HDD.

M.2 SSDs are a small card type interface that fits into a slot on your motherboard. Its important to check the compatibility of your motherboard before getting an M.2 SSD, some may not have an M.2 slot, others may have one M.2 slot that also doubles as your WiFi card slot. Either way, the number of M.2 slots will be limited. There are a 2 types of M.2 SSD. The M.2 SATA SSDs hac similar performance to the standard 2.5″ SATA SSDs but take up less space – this is particularly useful in gaming laptops.

NVMe M.2 SSDs are the way to go for the best performance, however as with everything, the better performance is reflected in the cost.

The pictures below show what each hard drive looks like (left to right: HDD, SATA SSD and M.2)

Motherboard:

If you are buying a VR Ready PC, you shouldn’t need to worry about the motherboard too much as it will have been chosen based on the other components. Although if you’re planning on upgrading in the future it may be worth checking that the motherboard is compatible with the parts you are planning on upgrading to. Its also good to double check that it has the necessary HDMI and USB 3.0 ports – ideally you’ll want 3.1 gen 2 USB ports.

If you are building your own PC, you’ll need to check the compatibilty and choose the motherboard based on your CPU and other parts, which you can do with PC Part Picker (discussed later on). Best thing to do is search Google for the ‘best motherboard for…’ and add in the CPU you want, then look for compatible parts based on the motherboard you choose – remember, google is your friend!

Shadow PC:

Instead of having to buy a whole new PC, another option is to get a subscription to Shadow PC, where you can use a VR ready PC’s with your VR headset remotely from most computers with an internet connection! You can get mid-range specs for just £12.99/month

Used/Refurbished PC’s:

Buying a used PC can be a big gamble. Its very possible that you could buy a PC with an underlying problem that won’t be immediately noticeable and would cost you more to fix than buying a new PC in the first place. If you do decide to go for a used PC, make sure to check it thoroughly. This website has some good tips on what to do before buying a used PC. Ultimately, if it seems like the deal is too good too be true, it almost certainly is.

Refurbished PCs are a great option to get more for your money – especially if you are on a tight budget! But make sure it has a warranty, just in case.

Build it Yourself:

If you want to save some money, potentially look into getting the parts and building it yourself! It’s easier than you think and there are lots of guides on Youtube for how to build a PC. Check out PC Part Picker to piece together which parts to buy and ensure compatibility!

Here is a potential build for a low-end VR PC around £600!

CPU: Ryzen 3 3300X

Motherboard: MSI B450M-A PRO MAX

GPU: RTX 570

RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury 8GB DDR4 2666mHz (bear in mind that 16GB RAM is required for the Oculus Quest)

SSD: Adata 128GB

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB

CASE: Deepcool Matrex 30

PSU: Corsair 500W

OS: Windows 10

Pre-Built PC Recommendations

(Please note that that these prices and links may change)

Low End PCs (<£800)

Custom Refurbished – Desktop: £449.99 – £614.99

Not suitable for the Oculus Quest

Play around with the specs you’d like but make sure you meet the minimum requirements. Some good options are shown below but bear in mind that these specs are the bare minimum requirements for VR so may struggle in some games, even on the lowest settings:

Bare minimum (£449.99) – CPU: i5-2400, GPU: GTX 1050Ti, 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD

Best for getting the most for your money < £500 (£479.99) – CPU: i5-2400, GPU: GTX 1050Ti, 16GB RAM, 1TB HDD & 240GB SSD

Balanced performace & budget (£614.99) – CPU: i7-2600, GPU: GTX 1650, 16GB RAM, 1TB HDD & 240GB SSD

Best options if you’re on a tight budget! A lot of the time these sellers will also give you the option to choose your case if you ask – just have a look at their other PCs for sale.

Custom – Mini PC: £578 – £683

Make sure to select at least the following specs:

CPU: i5-9300H, GPU: GTX 1650, 8GB RAM, 128GB NVMe SSD

This Mini PC is perfect for if you don’t want a big desktop tower taking up space and much more portable! Lower end graphics card but decent RAM, CPU and NVMe SSD! The GPU could always be upgraded in the future.

We definitely recommend to spend an extra £51 on an additional 1TB HDD though or you’ll run out of space fast. Also upgrading to 16GB RAM for an additional £54 is recommended (essential if you plan to use it with the Oculus Quest)

Medion Erazer – Laptop – £599.99 – £699.97

E10 (£599.99) – CPU: i5-10300H, GPU: GTX 1650, 8GB RAM, 512GB M.2 SSD

You can upgrade to the E25 (£699.97) which has an RTX 3050 by clicking it under ‘more options’ through the link above.

As mentioned previously, its generally not possible to upgrade laptops much. This laptop is suitable for low-end VR, however only has 8GB RAM, which doesn’t meet the specs for the Oculus Quest. it also only has 512GB of storage space so it might be necessary to get an external hard drive in the future if you fill that up.

Cube Sidewinder V2 – Desktop: £619.99

Upgradable for a higher budget

CPU: i3-10100F, GPU: GTX 1050Ti , 8GB 2666MHz RAM, 240GB SSD

Base PC only comes with a 240GB SSD so you’ll likely want to add an additional HDD for £40. Also only 8GB of RAM so if you plan to use it with the Oculus Quest you’ll need to upgrade to 16GB RAM for an extra £40. You can also upgrade to the GTX 1650 graphics card for an extra £60 (recommended if you have the budget).