HiGame

Oculus promised it would unveil certified PCs and bundles that would meet the demands of its own VR solution. It’s now unveiled the first of those systems, as promised, though there’s been some confusion regarding price points and bundles. We’ll help you sort it out.

The first wave of systems consists of desktops from Asus and Dell (Alienware is a Dell subsidiary). The cheapest configuration is an Asus G11CD, a desktop tower with an Intel Core i5-6400, 8GB of DDR4-2133, a GTX 970, and a 1TB HDD for $1,049. Alienware and Dell both offer systems with identical specs for $1,199, which raises the question of why anyone would buy them when the Asus rig is $150 cheaper.

Bundles, discounts, and Oculus pre-orders

There’s been some confusion over which systems are bundled with an Oculus Rift and which are not, so let’s clear that up first. Bundled systems — by which we mean systems that include the Oculus Rift, an Xbox One controller, and all the software that the Rift ships with start at $1,499. But not every system sold above $1,500 comes with a Rift bundled — none of the systems on the Rift blog post actually include a Rift headset. Oculus notes that this $1,499 bundle price point is for a limited time only, implying that the cost of bundled hardware will rise afterwards.



Asus system specs

There is one caveat to this. The various manufacturers are offering a $100 discount if you already pre-ordered an Oculus Rift. The website notes: “For those who’ve already pre-ordered Rift, you’ll be able to purchase discounted Oculus Ready PCs in select countries and regions. To claim your discount, check your order status and opt into partner offers if you haven’t already. Offer codes will appear on your order status page February 16.”

more...