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I wanted to play with the Rift and develop some apps for it, but the Mac isn't supported. So I got an external GPU to power it. Using Windows, because they aban

I wanted to play with the Rift and develop some apps for it, but the Mac isn't supported. So I got an external GPU to power it. Using Windows, because they abandoned Mac driver development. That's EUR 449 for the Rift and EUR 699 for the eGPU incl. the respective GPU. EUR 1198. I eventually returned the Rift because I couldn't find a reasonable way to get it working with my Mac. I was checking out the Vive because everyone seems to be using it for development. It's EUR 699. WOW. That's when I thought: "screw it." I would love to build something with it. It seems to have so much potential. But I really think that the current prices for the headsets are simply outrageous. For me, it's far too expensive for a hobby. Maybe when it's more affordable. I don't want to know how much the "Pro" will cost.

errantspark 9y ago
You can build a computer that has no problem running VR for like $700, less if you're willing to buy second hand. + $600 for the headset you're looking at $1300 for a whole dev setup, I think that's probably less than what your laptop cost.
corndoge 9y ago
I own both headsets and personally believe they are far from "toys for rich kids." I never thought a VR headset would provide so many new experiences and opportunities. Attending OC4 was a great experience and I made professional connects that provide me an avenue into the game industry should I wish to apply my skills there. Lots of new friends as well, the price point keeps the CoD crowd largely out of the mix; on that front it's like the friends you make on irc but you can talk to them face to face. Overall it has been very much a positive experience for me. Just my 2c.
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- mtnygard 9y ago
  I've mostly used mine for Elite:Dangerous. Can you recommend some other uses that you've appreciated?
  - balls187 9y ago
    Try Rec Room
  - corndoge 9y ago
    Echo Arena. Best VR game out there hands down.
dshankar 9y ago
> "almost no current laptops have the GPU performance for the recommended spec, though upcoming mobile GPUs may be able to support this level of performance." This WAS true in 2015 but is NOT TRUE today. All the Nvidia Pascal-generation desktop GPUs (2016) run extremely well on laptops. Since 2016, there is no more "mobile class" Nvidia GPU designation. The "VR Ready" laptops are popular, and they have a 1050, 1060, 1070, and even an Nvidia 1080 GPU. These are very powerful gaming laptops, and some are still in slim form factors like the Razor Blade, and relatively affordable for a laptop ($1400-2000)
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- Viper007Bond 9y ago
  Yep, my VR machine is an ASUS laptop with a 1070 in it because my desktop runs older cards in SLI, which isn't supported. I'm sure it cost less than their MacBook.
erikj 9y ago
It's funny to see a Mac user complain about toys for rich kids.
toomanybeersies 9y ago
> Toys for rich kids, really Alternatively, potentially valuable business tools, that return their investment in a short period of time. The most interesting uses of VR that I've seen have all been business related, rather than games or entertainment. Architecture is one obvious case (I almost took a job working for a company that did VR for architecture, until I found out I wouldn't be working with the VR part), it gives you an unprecedented sense of scale that's otherwise not possible in regular imaging. The business opportunities for VR are much more interesting than the entertainment ones, in my opinion.
- fijal 9y ago
  We developed a product for editing architecture models in VR (VRsketch.eu). I wonder what company did you try to work with? The potential is enormous, a bit unclear how to sell those though, architecture is a tricky market :)
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  - toomanybeersies 9y ago
    The company I interviewed at was Phoria. They're more of a VR digital agency than a company that specifically deals with architecture. I think that VR is one of those things where the best way to sell it is to do live demos. Most people have never tried VR, and it's an entirely new paradigm, people can't even conceptualise it before they try it. I never seriously considered buying a VR headset until I tried an HTC Vive for the first time. I didn't end up buying one, for financial reasons, but I considered it.
- strictnein 9y ago
  Anecdote: We're doing a sizable home remodel and our architect gave us a SketchUp model to take a look at. I threw it into VR and my wife and I started walking around the house giving them feedback. They asked to try it out and found it completely transformative. They're going into VR multiple times a day now for all of their work.
- 9y ago
ocdtrekkie 9y ago
If the Pro is marked up, it's going to fail hard. I can maybe imagine them introducing it at the Vive's original price point, leaving them free to continue selling the current Vive at a bargain price? The big question for me is, the Vive Pro will be sold headset-only for upgrading folks. What's that gonna cost, because that will answer a lot of questions about how expensive this hobby is to maintain over time.
strictnein 9y ago
Your biggest issue was not just abandoning the Mac completely, to be honest. And no, it's not far too expensive for a hobby. People spend more than that on lots and lots of hobbies.
whywhywhywhy 9y ago
I went through similar turmoil pricing out dodgy eGPU builds to do CUDA on my Mac. Eventually I realised it wasn't worth it and I may as well just build a PC with the ability to add more GPUs down the line. It was definitely the right decision, sucks they I had to move that part of my work away from MacOS but if Apple isn't interested in seriously supporting this work then why bother (This was long before the iMac pro was even announced and my current build outperforms it for less than half the price). The message from Apple is clear, this is not the platform if you are interested in working on the cutting edge. > I was checking out the Vive because everyone seems to be using it for development Not everyone, and the Rift is at a bargain price now. I was blown away with the Rift experience and quality of the product, definitely worth the asking price.

errantspark 9y ago

You can build a computer that has no problem running VR for like $700, less if you're willing to buy second hand. + $600 for the headset you're looking at $1300 for a whole dev setup, I think that's probably less than what your laptop cost.

corndoge 9y ago

I own both headsets and personally believe they are far from "toys for rich kids." I never thought a VR headset would provide so many new experiences and opportunities. Attending OC4 was a great experience and I made professional connects that provide me an avenue into the game industry should I wish to apply my skills there. Lots of new friends as well, the price point keeps the CoD crowd largely out of the mix; on that front it's like the friends you make on irc but you can talk to them face to face. Overall it has been very much a positive experience for me. Just my 2c.

deleted 9y ago
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mtnygard 9y ago
I've mostly used mine for Elite:Dangerous. Can you recommend some other uses that you've appreciated?
- balls187 9y ago
  Try Rec Room
- corndoge 9y ago
  Echo Arena. Best VR game out there hands down.

dshankar 9y ago

> "almost no current laptops have the GPU performance for the recommended spec, though upcoming mobile GPUs may be able to support this level of performance." This WAS true in 2015 but is NOT TRUE today. All the Nvidia Pascal-generation desktop GPUs (2016) run extremely well on laptops. Since 2016, there is no more "mobile class" Nvidia GPU designation. The "VR Ready" laptops are popular, and they have a 1050, 1060, 1070, and even an Nvidia 1080 GPU. These are very powerful gaming laptops, and some are still in slim form factors like the Razor Blade, and relatively affordable for a laptop ($1400-2000)

deleted 9y ago
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deleted 9y ago
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Viper007Bond 9y ago
Yep, my VR machine is an ASUS laptop with a 1070 in it because my desktop runs older cards in SLI, which isn't supported. I'm sure it cost less than their MacBook.

erikj 9y ago

It's funny to see a Mac user complain about toys for rich kids.

toomanybeersies 9y ago

> Toys for rich kids, really Alternatively, potentially valuable business tools, that return their investment in a short period of time. The most interesting uses of VR that I've seen have all been business related, rather than games or entertainment. Architecture is one obvious case (I almost took a job working for a company that did VR for architecture, until I found out I wouldn't be working with the VR part), it gives you an unprecedented sense of scale that's otherwise not possible in regular imaging. The business opportunities for VR are much more interesting than the entertainment ones, in my opinion.

fijal 9y ago
We developed a product for editing architecture models in VR (VRsketch.eu). I wonder what company did you try to work with? The potential is enormous, a bit unclear how to sell those though, architecture is a tricky market :)
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- toomanybeersies 9y ago
  The company I interviewed at was Phoria. They're more of a VR digital agency than a company that specifically deals with architecture. I think that VR is one of those things where the best way to sell it is to do live demos. Most people have never tried VR, and it's an entirely new paradigm, people can't even conceptualise it before they try it. I never seriously considered buying a VR headset until I tried an HTC Vive for the first time. I didn't end up buying one, for financial reasons, but I considered it.
strictnein 9y ago
Anecdote: We're doing a sizable home remodel and our architect gave us a SketchUp model to take a look at. I threw it into VR and my wife and I started walking around the house giving them feedback. They asked to try it out and found it completely transformative. They're going into VR multiple times a day now for all of their work.
9y ago

ocdtrekkie 9y ago

If the Pro is marked up, it's going to fail hard. I can maybe imagine them introducing it at the Vive's original price point, leaving them free to continue selling the current Vive at a bargain price? The big question for me is, the Vive Pro will be sold headset-only for upgrading folks. What's that gonna cost, because that will answer a lot of questions about how expensive this hobby is to maintain over time.

strictnein 9y ago

Your biggest issue was not just abandoning the Mac completely, to be honest. And no, it's not far too expensive for a hobby. People spend more than that on lots and lots of hobbies.

whywhywhywhy 9y ago

I went through similar turmoil pricing out dodgy eGPU builds to do CUDA on my Mac. Eventually I realised it wasn't worth it and I may as well just build a PC with the ability to add more GPUs down the line. It was definitely the right decision, sucks they I had to move that part of my work away from MacOS but if Apple isn't interested in seriously supporting this work then why bother (This was long before the iMac pro was even announced and my current build outperforms it for less than half the price). The message from Apple is clear, this is not the platform if you are interested in working on the cutting edge. > I was checking out the Vive because everyone seems to be using it for development Not everyone, and the Rift is at a bargain price now. I was blown away with the Rift experience and quality of the product, definitely worth the asking price.