Valve is working on a solution to run SteamVR on weaker GPUs

A Valve employee is working on a Unity plugin to make rendering scenes in virtual reality less burdensome for GPUs. He states that he can run the Aperture vr demo with his plugin properly on an Nvdia GeForce GTX 680. That is a video card from 2012.

Valve programmer Alex Vlachos announced the development of the Unity plugin in a presentation at last week’s Game Developers Conference, UploadVR writes. Vlachos states in his presentation that ‘as long as a gpu can reach 45 hertz, we want them to be able to run VR’. Since a refresh rate of 90 hertz is needed to keep virtual reality convincing and prevent motion sickness, this means that the Vlachos plugin should be able to double the fps.

One of the ways this is achieved is through a technique called fixed foveated rendering. This means that the level of detail is scaled down to the periphery of the user’s field of view, where he or she is less likely to notice. Fixed foveated rendering is part of several techniques that Vlachos summarizes under the name adaptive quality.

Furthermore, Vlachos also speaks of reduced resolutions, which according to pictures of his slides go to 992×1102 with the GTX 680. However, the Vive and the Rift have a resolution of 1080×1200 per eye, so Vlachos is not far below that, assuming he has it too. about a resolution per eye. The Valve employee did not mention a release of his plugin at the presentation.

The GTX 680 that Vlachos gives as an example can no longer be bought new, but it can still be found at the time of writing at Supply & Demand for around 150 euros. That’s less than half of what a user would pay for a GeForce GTX 970, which is recommended for both the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive to hit that 90 hertz. Although the interest in VR is currently high, the investment required to experience VR is just as large. In addition to the costs for a suitable video card, users also have to pay a hefty amount for the headset itself. The HTC Vive costs 899 euros and the Oculus Rift 699 euros. For those who prefer to experience virtual reality on the PlayStation 4 than on a PC, there is the PSVR headset, which costs about 460 euros including the necessary camera.

Images: UploadVR