I have a decent gaming pc from some years ago

I have a decent gaming pc from some years ago.
>i5-2500k sandybridge
>8gb DDR3 RAM
>GTX 760
I want to get into the VR meme by getting a Vive.
What would you do in terms of PC upgrade?
For the price of an 1080ti I could get a decent VR ready laptop, and getting a 1080ti would mean sticking my perfectly capable 760 up my ass since I'd need another system to put it in. Is there too big of a difference between a 1080ti and a laptop for VR gaming? Does VR suck in laptops or it it similar to the desktop experience?
These options were just the first thing that came to mind, but if you'd make a different upgrade all ideas are welcome.

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There's no such thing as decent laptop, they are always worse than desktops even with the same specs since they are constantly throttled due to the hot nature of laptops.
Download SteamVR performance test and VRMark and they will give you a decent idea of what's lacking, I'd say your CPU is okish but the GPU is pretty bad and will certainly have trouble.

Don't get a vive, it's a meme. If anything wait for VR to get better, but if you want to try it out now even with the lack of games go for a windows mr headset. They're cheap, dont require cameras around the room, and have a better resolution than the vive. I got a lenovo explorer for $200, would reccomend.

you may need to upgrade your cpu. Definitely need to upgrade your GPU later. I have a 780 and can overclock it to meet steamVR minimum specs. I will probably get an AMD Navi card since it is more suitable for VR. Currently, I am waiting for GDC 2018 in 2 weeks since we may get more info on Valve's HMD and Knuckles controllers.
Problem with WMR is that is doesn't track your hands everywhere as well as lighthouse does. I would rather pay for better roomscale and tracking but I know the Vive and Vive Pro aren't worth it.

I had a similar system I upgraded to these parts:
- GTX 1080
- Ryzen 1600
- 16GB DDR4

Don't get a laptop. A lot of them use Optimus which doesn't support direct mode making the vive incompatible.

Is the tracking noticeably worse on them?

Yes the base station system Valve uses is the best tracking system bar none.

no compatibility issues between the nVidia card and and cpu?

No, not sure why there would be any

A 1080ti is overkill at the moment. I do fine on a 1070, but who knows where things will go from here. Quest may drag requirements down with it, or maybe Valve will release something that becomes popular enough to attract bigger developers capable of better graphics. Either way, I would consider following the advice here. I have a Vive, but at this point I would probably just go with something cheaper to hold off for something better later. Maybe wait for Valve to not announce anything at GDC. After they let every one down, you can then buy a Vive or Rift with more confidence.

The 760 is going to chug. I had the same specs and disregarded the recommendations. Sat on it for a while and was pretty crappy until I upgraded to a 1060 with 16 GB RAM

VR is a meme gimmick fad that is already over.

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Is DDR4 a meme? I have 12GB DDR3 but see no reason to upgrade my mobo when the biggest thing holding me back is my GPU.

12 GB is actually really bad because it runs single channel so it's slower than dual channel DDR3. Also the 2500k is getting really old, especially for VR which uses heavy CPU processing for things like predictive motion smoothing or Async Reprojection. DDR4 is really useful on modern platforms because it increases bandwidth significantly.

I have the i5-2500k and 8GiB of ram too but a better graphics card (GTX 1060)

I've never had any problems running games with my Vive. You'll probably fine. Don't get the pro model though.

Nice, what games do you play the most?

Have you tries other WMR headsets? From what I gather, the explorer seems to be the most recommended.

I see. I am a different user though: 4770k, 12GB DDR3, GTX 780. I am pretty sure my CPU will last a couple more years. Do you suggest me getting more RAM then, or can I upgrade my mobo to a DDR4 board and swap my LGA1150 cpu in? I bet Intel changed sockets again and will force a cpu upgrade too >.>

4770K will work fine. Definitely get two equal size sticks of DDR3 (preferably to two 8 gig modules) and upgrade your GPU.

will do, thanks. Hopefully we get an announcement and I can buy the valve HMD soon, and by the time it is in my hands I can upgrade my GPU to the fabled AMD Navi cards. I want to avoid Nvidia if possible this time around since I dual boot Linux

Make sure you use Kernel 5.0 to get async reprojection support with radv in steamvr.

kernel 5.0 just came out too! Sadly I think I will be spending most of my time playing VR games in windows since that is what the devs are focusing on. Maybe proton will work well enough for VR games though

I've actually used steamvr in linux with a nvidia card and the performance with proton is the same as native windows. Hell even games like beat saber show that they have a linux version when it's actually just running in proton. That's how good it is.

Awesome! I am interested in AMD cards this time around once Wayland becomes a thing, since Nvidia is not supporting it. But if I don't get enough performance I will just get a 2070 or something. I am also following VR news to see if anyone will adopt that usb 3.0 standard on the back of the Nvidia RTX cards, or if it will be a meme. At any rate, wireless VR will eventually become the norm and make everything a bit easier.

Hand tracking yes, but you eventually get used to it. It's only really a problem behind your back.

Head tracking is perfect

The Samsung Odyssey+ is the best out of all of them, but the price runs about the same as a Vive so there really is no point in not just going all the way.

The Lenovo is definitely the one you want. Not only for the competitive eye resolution, but also for it being the lightest and least-screen bleeding headset on the market currently

Nobody ever seems to mention just how comfortable the Lenovo is. It's like sex on your face.

sounds pretty impressive for such a cheap headset

imo it's the best headset on the market even with it's faults. I'd buy one over a Vive even if they were the same price

O+ was on sale at $300 a few days ago.

*Least light-bleeding

Still available for $450CAD but I am hesitant given how near GDC is

a lot of the popular ones

elite dangerous
beat saber (GOAT VR game)
keep talking and nobody explodes
the lab
superhot VR
pavlov
VR Chat
ultrawings

>want to use the superior vive platform
>run a threadripper
>vive wireless adapter is incompatible with Ryzen/TR due to incompetence
It isn't fair, bros...

Don't even bother with the wireless adapter, it still requires you to carry around a 2 lb power bank to power it.

I had a GTX 970 and i5 2500k and VR ran like shit. Neither are good enough for VR anymore. 2500k can't even play Job Simulator at full speed.

>I had a GTX 970 and i5 2500k and VR ran like shit. Neither are good enough for VR anymore. 2500k can't even play Job Simulator at full speed.

That's just wrong. I've been playing all these games at full speed no problem.

Does having a wire trailing around you make standing/crouching experience unpleasant? The Boneworks trailer and games like Blade and Sorcery seem to require a lot of movement.

No the wire is really long and durable so you can step on it and tug on it without noticing.