Late last month UK-based Frontier Developments confirmed that it would soon be revealing the specifications needed to run the latest version of its ever-popular space simulation videogame, Elite Dangerous: Horizons, with a virtual reality (VR) head-mounted display (HMD). While the specs for running the standard version of the title had already been revealed, requirements for VR are understandably higher to ensure a smooth experience in-HMD. Today, the company has indeed revealed those specs, which can now be seen below.
To run Elite Dangerous: Horizons in VR players will need:
- OS: Windows 7/8/10 64 bit
- Processor: Intel Core i7-3770K Quad Core CPU or better / AMD FX 4350 Quad Core CPU or better
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: Nvidia GTX 980 with 4GB or better
- Network: Broadband Internet Connection
- Hard Drive: 8 GB available space
For comparison’s sake, here are the minimum PC specs for running the title on a standard display:
- OS: Windows 7/8/10 64 bit
- Processor: Quad Core CPU (4 x 2Ghz)
- Memory: 6GB
- Graphics: Nvidia GTX 470 / AMD 7240 (DirectX11 functionality required)
- Network Broadband Internet Connection
- Hard Drive: 8 GB available space
Elite Dangerous: Horizons kicks off a second season of content for the title, which first launched in December 2014. It’s set to include brand new features such as planetary landings in which players can for the first time set down on the surfaces of some of the videogame’s many planets. This also brings with it the first ground-based vehicles to explore these environments with. The experience is currently undergoing Beta testing.
Frontier Developments will soon be adding support for the HTC Vive HMD to Elite Dangerous: Horzions via a free update. The integration comes a few months after the developer made the decision not to update its Oculus Rift support to the latest versions of Oculus VR’s software development kit (SDK), which currently sits at version 0.8. However, Frontier Developments has recently stated that it is ‘continuing to work with Oculus’ on the support, and it’s hoped that the Oculus Rift might be reintroduced with version 1.0 of the SDK, due to release this month.
VRFocus will have you covered for any further updates to Elite Dangerous: Horizons in the future.
Looks like my Christmas list is sorted then. A GTX 980 and an i7 processor. 🙂
I’ll be waiting for the Pascal powered cards. The GTX980 is great, but I got my 770 mere weeks before the 900 series was released. I’m not making that mistake again. 😉
I’m awaiting an i7 6700K, a GeForce 980 Ti, 16 GBs DDR4 2400, an SSD, and Windows 10. Hoping to receive today and build this weekend. Looks like I’m basically right there or a little above for this game in VR. I’ve also got a 27″ 2560×1440 @144 Hz monitor on the way. I figured that resolution (which is a little higher than Vive/Rift combined pixel count) would be a good proxy for the type of frame rate I might get in the same game in VR.
I know this machine will not last long — games in VR will be pushing the above enough that I’ll have to lower settings. I may buy myself a little extra time with a second 980 Ti. The next line of octo-core CPUs, the Pascal architecture from NVidia (with 16 GBs of VRAM!), and 32 GBs of RAM will be minimum before long. Not to mention the next wave of VR headsets that push total resolutions to 3240×1800 @ 120 Hz and beyond.
Isnt i7, 980 and 16Gb of RAM is the *recommended* spec, not the *minimum*?
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=207419
to me it seems PC stayed behind of one generation compared to “tradition”.
today in terms of price performance it is to attain its goals without committing economic suicide for the consumer: are we close or far from this?
What about AMD graphics cards? Running a R9-290x
That is definitely the next step ahead for PC producers to ramp up beasts in terms of performance.
I mean, if even two Titan X in SLI can’t make it for recommended, we can all be prepared to patiently raise some money aside to buy the PC required to match these specs, which will likely be at around 3K :/
So what about AMD cards? I assume my R9 390X 8GB will be equivalent to the 980? Will the 4GB extra VRAM give better performance for VR since it does that at 1440p and 4K?