CES was full of PC gaming and virtual reality system announcements. In some cases, companies showed off both, in gaming systems that are not only well suited for pushing serious frame rates in the most demanding modern titles, but also for powering superior VR gaming experiences.
Asus had a number of announcements covering both topics, and not all of them involved ultra-expensive machines at the very high end. One of its most interesting new products, in fact, is the much more compact VivoPC X system offering solid performance in a small and portable chassis. Now, Asus has finally announced pricing and availability for the new machine, as Tom’s Hardware reports.
As a refresher, the VivoPC X is most notable for packing some real power into a tiny frame. It utilizes the latest seventh-generation Intel Core i5 CPU with Nvidia’s popular GeForce GTX 1060 GPU. While neither component is the most powerful option available, they combine to provide enough horsepower both for running modern titles at high-quality settings in 1080p resolution and powering VR systems like the Oculus Rift.
Now, Asus has let everyone know how much the PC is going to cost, and it’s sounding like Asus intends to offer some serious gaming and VR value. Details are a bit sketchy, but it appears that the VivoPC X with Core i5-7300U, GeForce GTX 1060, 8GB of DDR4-2400MHz RAM, and a 512GB SATA SSD will run $800. That’s solid pricing for a highly portable and apparently well-designed gaming PC that’s capable of driving games and high frame rates, and powering VR.
In addition, Asus is bundling the VivoPC X with the Oculus Rift VR system for a cool $1,300. The bundle apparently includes the Oculus Rift headset, a Touch controller, and four VR-enabled gaming titles. Tom’s Hardware suggests as well that the bundle might include two Touch controllers, which would be more logical and in line with the usual Oculus Rift system offering.
The VivoPC X should be available from the Asus online store and retailers like Best Buy and Amazon sometime soon. The Oculus Rift bundle is going on sale for a limited time, specifically April 25 through June 13, 2017.
