Fewer than 1% of computers can run tech for virtual reality

SAN FRANCISCO — Virtual reality (VR) is set to be a key element of this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which opens today in Las Vegas.

However, VR is beyond the capabilities of more than 99 per cent of the world’s computers running in 2016.

Only about 13 million machines can run the required sophisticated technology for VR headsets, including the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, according to graphics chipmaker Nvidia.

Rift, Vive and Sony’s PlayStation VR headsets are all expected to go on consumer sale within the first three months of the year, with Oculus set to open pre-orders for its completed Rift headset this week.

Powerful graphics cards such as the Nvidia GeForce 970 or AMD Radeon 290 are needed to display images on the headsets clearly at about 90 frames a second, when standard laptops run about 30 frames a second.

A common problem that plagues VR headsets is latency — the delay between moving your head and the pixels reassembling themselves on the screen, which can cause discord between your motion-detecting inner ear and what your eyes see, causing nausea. The lower the frame rate, the higher the chances you will experience nausea.

All three major players are expected to exhibit at the Consumer Electronics Show, alongside Microsoft’s augmented reality headset HoloLens. But in total, about 40 exhibitors are expected to demonstrate a form of VR, which is a 77 per cent increase from 2015, according to Bloomberg.

PlayStation VR is predicted to take an early lead as the highest-selling headset thanks to its expected lower price tag and established PlayStation gaming network, according to analyst IHS, which expects more than seven million headsets to be in use by the end of the year. The TELEGRAPH