Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive have come a long way since their release. The Oculus Rift has had the touch controllers released and the prices slashed down since the release of its consumer versions and the Vive has the most anticipated eye tracking device up for a release by the end of the year.
So there is a lot to talk about when it comes to these two VR headsets since they are the Damsels in distress who have been through a lot of ups and downs after their releases, LOL.
However, it is a fact that both of them are the best VR headsets one can own and comparing them would be a really good way to understand which VR headset gives a good run for your money.
Table of Contents
Design and Display
Both the VR headset has a slightly different design, both the Rift and the Vive are black in color, although the Vive has a lot of indents on the front of the VR headset and the Rift, on the other hand, looks a bit smaller and compact.
But let’s not go on looks since both the VR headset weigh the same and that is 470 grams. Both the VR headset weigh pretty less than the PlayStation VR headset.
Comfort does matter with these two VR headsets since you are going to wear them for a really long time. These headsets are not meant for a 15-minute gaming session but are the ones that are for the long run so comfortable with these headsets is a pretty important factor.
Comparing the comfort level on these headsets I can say that both the headsets are equally comfortable and it is a really tough call to say which one is better.
The Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive come with the same resolution and in the case of the display, they are almost the same with the Vive being slightly better.
Although the numbers for both the VR headsets are the same I think I felt that the Vive was slightly better and let me tell you that it is my personal opinion.
If not better the least you can say is that both are the same and the winner among the two for this feature is really difficult to decide.
If not better the least you can say is that both are the same and the winner in this feature should be the one which seems more comfortable and t, me I think it would be Oculus since it comes with inbuilt headphones, unlike the HTC Vive.
The Vive will come with an audio strap enhancement in the next few months as well and I guess then both the VR headsets will be at the same level and it would be really difficult to choose among the two. Till then it is a tie between both the VR headsets.
Refresh Rate and Field of View
The Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive have the same refresh rates and Field of view. Yes, both the VR headsets have a field of view of 100 degrees and refresh rates of 90Hz.
Both the VR headset have almost the same features and the larger the FOV the better the VR experiences.
Both the VR headset offers the maximum FOV in comparison to any other VR headsets in the market.
Although you may see many sellers claiming FOV more than 110 degrees in many cases but in reality they just end up having a FOV less than 90 degrees.
In reality, these two VR headsets provide the exact 110 degrees FOV and are the best VR headsets out there.
For PC gaming the refresh rates are pretty good although you would find that the PlayStation VR has a better refresh rate to offer.
However, since most of the features of these two VR headsets are better than the PlayStation VR and even the refresh rates have not created any issues so it is best to say that these two VR headsets are way better in comparison to the PlayStation VR.
Controllers and Positional Tracking
Coming to positional tracking, the HTC Vive comes with room-scale tracking and it does it accurately with the help of the sensors mounted on the headset and the lighthouses that detect the position of these sensors.
The Vive has an amazingly accurate tracking and the VR headset is definitely every penny you spend on it and even more.
The Positional tracking is very accurate and with the two controllers, you can even interact with the objects present in the Virtual world.
It is amazing and HTC Vive was the first VR headset that had actually launched the touch controllers. The Oculus Rift released its touch controllers months after the HTC Vive did which is in the month of December 2016.
The Oculus has the room scale tracking and both of them are accurate and have a really immersive gaming experience.
The touch controllers on the Rift are more comfortable since they fit on your hands like gloves and are really easy to use during the entire gameplay.
The Vive has a slightly larger controller in comparison, however, both are equally good although the touch controllers come with the feature of tracking your finger movements as well which is another fine detailing to the movement tracking altogether.
The Vive has a slightly larger controller in comparison, however, both are equally good although the touch controllers come with the feature of tracking your finger movements as well which is another fine detailing to the motion tracking.
Specifications for the Vive and the Oculus Rift
The HTC Vive needs a powerful PC which would help it run smoothly. These are the specifications required for the HTC Vive-
- Nvidia GTX 970 / AMD Radeon R9 290 graphics card or later.
- HDMI 1.3 output.
- 2x USB 3.0.
- Intel Core i5-4590 (or equivalent)
- 8GB of RAM.
- Windows 7 SP1 or later.
The graphics requirements may drop down after the release of eye-tracking peripherals by the HTC Vive which would be released later this year.
The Oculus Rift needs a powerful PC as well which would help it run smoothly. There have been a couple of changes in the specifications with time but the final specifications as of this year is-
- Nvidia 960 or greater (down from Nvidia GTX 970 / AMD 290 equivalent or greater)
- Intel i3-6100 / AMD FX4350 or greater (down from Intel i5-4590 equivalent or greater)
- 8GB+ RAM
- Compatible HDMI 1.3 video output
- 1x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0
- Windows 8 or newer
As you can see that they have dropped down the graphics card specs from the time when Oculus was released last year. Now, more laptops and PC’s are affordable and they are VR ready. You can easily get a VR ready laptop with a budget of around $1000.
Games on the Vive and the Oculus Rift
The games on both the Vive and the Oculus Rift are almost the same and trust me when I say that because they are actually the same just with different release dates, LOL.
But it is actually worth saying that all the games on both the VR headsets are the best so far and something that you really cannot complain about.
They have the best game collections when it comes to PC VR headsets and the best part about them is that most of the big PC games that decide to launch in the VR world use them as their platform but don’t they have any exclusives? Yes, they do but most of the games sooner or later release on the other VR headset platform as well.
Now moving on to the quality of games that these two VR headsets have, well we have seen some really cool game titles on these two VR headsets like The Assembly, Edge of nowhere, Chronos and many others but well even the Vive has got a few really sick games on its side like the Arizona Sunshine, Vanishing Realms and Onward Alpha.
Cost of the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive
The price of the Oculus Rift and the touch controllers has been slashed down from $599 and $199 to $499 and $99 respectively. This makes it around $200 cheaper than the Vive and the price can a major reason for people to choose the Rift over the Vive.
It may be a little messy since the Vive was involved in legal cases but that really does not matter since I think the Rift here is to stay and with PC specs lowering down, the Rift would be a better choice than the HTC Vive as of now. The Vive costs around $799 and it is the most expensive VR headset but is it worth that money?
One can expect the prices to fall down once the Eye tracking peripheral device releases as it is going to reduce the specifications of the PC drop down which can possibly make things easier for an HTC Vive owner but only time could tell that. For now, the clear winner is the Oculus Rift!
So, go ahead and check out the Amazon reviews for both the products and if you have any questions or queries leave them in the comment section below!
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