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Need Help Choosing a Desktop/laptop for my son without braking the bank for Oculus Rift S?

scullhangers430
Honored Guest
I recently purchased the Oculus Rift S for my son and his desk top does not support it and so we are trying to figure out which one to buy him next.  Mind you he is 12, I'd like it to last a few years but I don't want it to break the bank so I'm not willing to go over $1300.  We plan on setting the computer in the main living room area so everyone can use the Oculus and view it on our big screen tv.  We have a rule no gaming during school days.  Any suggestions which desktop or laptop would work best for us?
Any advice would be appreciated. 
9 REPLIES 9

Buck_Naked
Honored Guest
I would seriously consider building your own PC. I just built one myself , solely using YouTube videos as reference and had no problems at all, while saving a ton of money. It's actually not that difficult at all. Built mine for VR which came in less than the $1300 max you want to spend. I'm in Canada as well

Specs 
I5 9700
16 gigs of 3200 ram
500 gig ssd
1 TB hard drive
RTX 2060 video card

Runs VR with no problems at all

Buck_Naked
Honored Guest
PC parts picker site is a big help to if looking at building 

Umpa_PC
Rising Star
From reading on here there are a lot of home built PC's that are giving major issues every time  Oculus updates something.  I can recommend the MSI Trident 3, these are VR ready computers, look like a games console are available in many configurations and I have had no problem with mine.
This one from Amazon US should work well for a 12 yr old.  Mine is the same spec and have no issues.
/Trident-8RC-005US-Desktop-Computer-i5-8400/dp/B07YLDHGTT/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=msi+trident+3&qid=1579007290&sr=8-8
Oculus Rift S - Oculus Quest 128GB
MSI trident 3 7RB-200UK Intel Core i5-7400 3 Ghz x2
MSI GTX 1050 Ti (4GB) & MSI Aero GTX 1060 OC (6GB) & MSI Aero GTX 1070 OC 8GB
16 GB RAM x2, 1TB HDD x2, 1TB SSD x2
Windows 10 Home Edition Version 10.0.18363 Build 18363, Oculus version 17, Quest Version 17
Fan Cooling by Zotac FireStorm - AfterBurner cause me problems.

Morgrum
Expert Trustee
The only difference in Home built and factory built is a sticker on the front and the knowledge that you do not have cheap compnents such as ram in your system if you build it yourself.
Its all the same internals.
Oh and no bloatware if you self build.
WAAAGH!

Umpa_PC
Rising Star

Morgrum said:

The only difference in Home built and factory built is a sticker on the front and the knowledge that you do not have cheap compnents such as ram in your system if you build it yourself.
Its all the same internals.
Oh and no bloatware if you self build.


Not everyone can self build a rig, and looking at all the problems on here from 'knowledgeable' self builders I would hesitate to offer that advice to someone looking for a VR computer for there 12yr old child.  YMMV of course.
Oculus Rift S - Oculus Quest 128GB
MSI trident 3 7RB-200UK Intel Core i5-7400 3 Ghz x2
MSI GTX 1050 Ti (4GB) & MSI Aero GTX 1060 OC (6GB) & MSI Aero GTX 1070 OC 8GB
16 GB RAM x2, 1TB HDD x2, 1TB SSD x2
Windows 10 Home Edition Version 10.0.18363 Build 18363, Oculus version 17, Quest Version 17
Fan Cooling by Zotac FireStorm - AfterBurner cause me problems.

bigmike20vt
Visionary

Umpa_PC said:


Morgrum said:

The only difference in Home built and factory built is a sticker on the front and the knowledge that you do not have cheap compnents such as ram in your system if you build it yourself.
Its all the same internals.
Oh and no bloatware if you self build.


Not everyone can self build a rig, and looking at all the problems on here from 'knowledgeable' self builders I would hesitate to offer that advice to someone looking for a VR computer for there 12yr old child.  YMMV of course.


To each their own.... There is no doubt with that budget an off the shelf PC will do the job....... (I cant advise over the pond on models, IF i wanted a prebuilt in the UK I would likely look at occuk personally - though i would always self build myself).

but objectively building a pc is really not that much more than a 3D 10 piece jigsaw puzzle.   Just building the computer could be a really nice "project" to do with your child and 12 is a perfect age i think to learn about building your pc. A windows 10 key is about £4 / $5 off ebay.

I bought my 1st machine off the shelf... an IBM  486 DX3 75 which including a soundblaster 16 and 2 speed CDROM cost £1300.... and it was an utter utter dog, unstable AND slow. (this was 1994, before then I was an Amiga man)

This encouraged me to build my own, with help from a friend at the time and what I learned then has saved me so much money over the years.

to each their own and good luck to OP, but a bit of PC building DIY is a simple skill which can save you $s.

Fiat Coupe, gone. 350Z gone. Dirty nappies, no sleep & practical transport incoming. Thank goodness for VR 🙂

DTH
Heroic Explorer
With building your own make sure this works with that. Not all motherboard works with all parts. Try and buy everything at once and buy from a site that will work with you on buying parts and will till you what works with what.  The building the simple part.  Buying might be a headache. 

TomCgcmfc
MVP
MVP
Just go to a good local pc shop and they should be able to sort you out.
i9 13900K water cooled, RTX4090, Z790 MB w/wifi6e, 32Gb 6400 ram, 2x2TB SSD, 1000W PSU, Win 11, QPro, Q3, w/Link and Air Link, Vive Pro1 with Etsy lens mod and Index Controllers

scullhangers430
Honored Guest
Thank you everyone, I'm definitely not a builder.  But I appreciate all the input.