HTC Vive System Requirements

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HTC VIVE Pro 2 Virtual Reality Headset with gradient background

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During its initial launch, the HTC Vive was given a recommended system requirement of an Intel Core i5-4590 / AMD FX 8350 plus an Nvidia Geforce GTX 1060 / AMD Radeon RX 480. This has since been adjusted to become the minimum since the release of all the other Vive VR headsets, with a more modern Geforce RTX 20-series or Radeon RX 5000 series requirement as the standard for its recommended GPUs.

Due to being one of the highest resolution VR headsets in the market, the HTC Vive series has demanded some of the highest PC specifications to achieve that true virtual reality experience. As such, paying for the already expensive headset itself is only a quarter of the investment required for its full setup.

How to Check Your Computer Specs

How to Check if Your Computer is VR Ready

Aside from comparing the relative performance of your individual CPU and GPU to systems that have been tested on actual VR games, you can also use several benchmarking tools to get a more quantitative measurement.

For example, the SteamVR Performance Test uses a 2-minute rendered in-game sequence, determining if your system can handle the resolution and can maintain the target 72 FPS throughout the brief session. Aside from a base performance chart and score, you will also get an assessment of which components are the bottlenecks, those that would require upgrades or replacement.

Other VR benchmarking tools available for the Oculus Quest and Quest 2:

  • VRMark – more benchmark fine-tuning options, frame-by-frame analysis
  • FCAT VR – Nvidia’s own VR benchmarking tool
  • OpenVR – optimized for actual headset testing and community comparisons

Official website: vive.com

HTC Vive Pro and HTC Vive Pro 2 System Requirements

Official minimum system requirements for HTC Vive Pro and Vive Pro 2

CPU Intel Core i5-4590
AMD FX 8350 or greater
GPU NVIDIA GTX 1060
AMD Radeon RX 480 or greater
Memory 8GB+ RAM
OS Windows 10, Windows 11
USB Ports 1x USB 3.0 port
Video Out DisplayPort 1.2

Ideal minimum computer requirements for HTC Vive Pro and HTC Vive Pro 2

Based on stable frame rates with low targeting per-eye 75 FPS with 80% or lower value resolution scaling on most mildly demanding VR titles. Use DLSS 2.3 and FSR 2.0 as necessary for either better framerate stabilization or to lessen dependence on resolution scaling.

CPU AMD Ryzen 3 3600 (6C/12T, Zen 2)
Intel Core i5 10400(F) (6C/12T, 10th Gen Comet Lake)
GPU NVIDIA Geforce GTX 1080
AMD Radeon Vega 64
Memory 16GB+ RAM
OS Windows 10, Windows 11
USB Ports 1x USB 3.0 port
Video Out HDMI 1.4 or DisplayPort 1.2

The ideal recommended computer requirements for HTC Vive Pro and HTC Vive Pro 2

Based on stable frame rates with medium to high settings targeting per-eye 80+ FPS 2448×2448 (Vive Pro 2) on most popular VR titles. Use DLSS 2.3 and FSR 2.0 whenever possible.

CPU AMD Ryzen 5 5600X (6C/12T, Zen 3)
Intel Core i5 12400(F) (6C/12T, 12th Gen Alder Lake)
GPU NVIDIA Geforce RTX 3080 Ti
AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT
Memory 16GB+ RAM
OS Windows 10, Windows 11
USB Ports 1x USB 3.0 10Gbps port
Video Out DisplayPort 1.4

HTC Vive Pro Eye System Requirements

Official minimum computer requirements for HTC Vive Pro Eye

CPU Intel Core i5-4590
AMD FX 8350 or greater
GPU NVIDIA GTX 970
AMD Radeon R9 290
Memory 4GB+ RAM
OS Windows 10, Windows 11
USB Ports 1x USB 3.0
Video Out DisplayPort 1.2

Ideal minimum computer requirements for HTC Vive Pro Eye

Based on stable frame rates with low settings targeting per-eye 75 FPS for 1440p full resolution. Use DLSS 2.3 and FSR 2.0 as necessary for even better framerate stabilization.

CPU AMD Ryzen 3 3100 (4C/8T, Zen 2)
Intel Core i3 10100(F) (4C/8T, 10th Gen Comet Lake)
GPU NVIDIA Geforce RTX 2060
AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT
Memory 16GB+ RAM
OS Windows 10, Windows 11
USB Ports 1x USB 3.0
Video Out HDMI 1.4 or DisplayPort 1.2

The ideal recommended computer requirements for HTC Vive Pro Eye

Based on stable frame rates with medium settings targeting per-eye 90+ FPS for 1440p full resolution.

CPU AMD Ryzen 5 5600 non-X (6C/12T, Zen 2)
Intel Core i5 12400(F) (6C/12T, 12th Gen Alder Lake)
GPU NVIDIA Geforce RTX 3060 Ti
AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT
Memory 16GB+ RAM
OS Windows 10, Windows 11
USB Ports 1x USB 3.0 port
Video Out DisplayPort 1.2

HTC Vive Cosmos and HTC Vive Cosmos Elite System Requirements

Official minimum computer requirements for HTC Vive Cosmos and HTC Vive Cosmos Elite

CPU Intel Core i5-4590
AMD FX 8350 or greater
GPU NVIDIA GTX 970
AMD Radeon R9 290
Memory 4GB+ RAM
OS Windows 10, Windows 11
USB Ports 1x USB 3.0 port
Video Out DisplayPort 1.2

Ideal minimum computer requirements for HTC Vive Cosmos and HTC Vive Cosmos Elite

Based on stable frame rates with low settings targeting per-eye 80 FPS for 1440p full resolution. Use DLSS 2.3 and FSR 2.0 as necessary for even better framerate stabilization.

CPU AMD Ryzen 3 3600 (6C/12T, Zen 2)
Intel Core i5 10400(F) (6C/12T, 10th Gen Comet Lake)
GPU NVIDIA Geforce RTX 2060 12GB
AMD Radeon RX 6600
Memory 16GB+ RAM
OS Windows 10, Windows 11
USB Ports 1x USB 3.0 port
Video Out HDMI 1.4 or DisplayPort 1.2

The ideal recommended computer requirements for HTC Vive Cosmos and HTC Vive Cosmos Elite

Based on stable frame rates with medium settings targeting per-eye 90+ FPS for 1440p full resolution.

CPU AMD Ryzen 5 5600 non-X (6C/12T, Zen 2)
Intel Core i5 12400(F) (6C/12T, 12th Gen Alder Lake)
GPU NVIDIA Geforce RTX 3060 Ti
AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT
Memory 16GB+ RAM
OS Windows 10, Windows 11
USB Ports 1x USB 3.0 port
Video Out DisplayPort 1.2

HTC Vive, Vive Pro, Vive Pro Eye, Vive Pro 2, Vive Cosmos, Vive Cosmos Elite Supported GPUs

Here is the official supported GPU list for the HTC’s entire Vive lineup. Keep in mind that some of these GPUs are well below our “actual” game specs, so double-check them before assessing whether VR gaming is possible for your system.

Nvidia GPUs

  • Nvidia Geforce GTX 780 Ti
  • Nvidia Geforce GTX 900 series
  • Nvidia Geforce GTX 10-series
  • Nvidia Geforce GTX 16-series
  • Nvidia Geforce RTX 20-series
  • Nvidia Geforce RTX 30-series
  • Nvidia Quadro RTX 8000/6000/5000/4000
  • Nvidia Quadro P6000/P5000/P4000
  • Nvidia Quadro M6000/M5000
  • Nvidia Quadro Mobile RTX 6000/5000/4000/3000
  • Nvidia Quadro Mobile P5200/P5000/P4200/P3200
  • Nvidia Quadro M5000/M5500/K6000
  • Nvidia Quadro Mobile M5500
  • Nvidia Quadro GP100/GV100

AMD GPUs

  • AMD RX 400 Series
  • AMD RX 500 Series
  • AMD RX 5000 Series
  • AMD RX 6000 Series
  • AMD Vega Series
  • AMD Radeon VII
  • AMD R9 Fury/Fury X
  • AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100/8200/7100
  • AMD Radeon FirePro W9100
  • AMD Radeon Pro Duo/SSG

NOTE: AMD RX 200 and RX 300 series were excluded due to AMD itself no longer providing driver updates for these GPUs. HTC still officially lists them as compatible.)

Final Thoughts

The HTC Vive was one of the products that immediately stood to challenge the impending monopoly of the Oculus Rift within the commercial VR space. Though it was able to triumph in terms of pure specs, its higher retail price made the bar to access VR even higher. Unfortunately, this did not help with the release of more Vive products, which seem to just increase the practical system requirements even further.

On the one hand, this ensures that VR remains a very enjoyable and immersive experience that doesn’t require too much software fiddling. But at the same time, this also makes the HTC Vive one of the most premium products in the VR industry, technically affordable to only those that can get the best of the best supporting hardware to optimize its use.

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