Virtual reality has made its mark on 2016, with the introduction of devices such as the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and PlayStation VR shaking up the gaming scene.
While there are a number of PC virtual reality games with impressive features, one of the biggest complaints from HTC Vive and Oculus Rift users is the tethered experience, with a constant danger of tangling or stepping on the wires connecting the headset to the PC.
Hardware manufacturers MSI and Zotac have been quick to offer a solution: VR backpack PCs.
Cramming powerful VR Ready into a slim form factor, these backpacks offer a completely untethered experience powered by large batteries and Pascal graphics cards.
Check out the backpack PCs below:
MSI VR One
MSI has currently not released specifications for its VR One backpack gaming PC, but it does include an Intel Core i7 processor and a Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 mobile graphics card.
The backpack features two hot-swappable battery packs, which allow the VR One to run for 1.5 hours under full load.
The entire rig weighs only 3.58kg, making it light enough to wear comfortably while still packing a decent amount of power and enough ports to run an HTC Vive.
The MSI VR One is expected to launch at the end of 2016.
Zotac VR Go
The Zotac VR Go is actually commercially available, and features a similar design to the VR One, with hot-swappable battery packs and HTC Vive compatibility.
The VR Go features high-level performance coupled with maximum comfort, check out the specifications below:
| Zotac VR Go Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i7-6700T |
| Graphics Card | Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 |
| Memory | 16GB DDR4 |
| Storage | 2.5-inch Drive Bay, 240GB M.2 SATA SSD |
| Battery | 2 x 6600 mAh Li-ion batteries, 2 hours play time |
| Price | $1,999 |
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The batteries are going to be stupid expensive. I wish they would just partner with a company like Bosch and use 18v powertool batteries