Residence > PC Builds > Alyx Necessities
Really helpful CPUs and GPUs for 90Hz, 120Hz, 144Hz (Low – Extremely Settings)
Final Up to date: September 27, 2021
If there ever was a sport worthy of upgrading or constructing a gaming PC for, Half Life Alyx is it. As a Half Life fan who fondly remembers HL1 as one of many very first PC video games I ever performed as a child, and in addition as a agency believer in VR (and AR) being the inevitable way forward for primarily all leisure, when Alyx launched to overwhelmingly optimistic reactions I used to be relieved and so glad Valve lived as much as the large pre-launch hype. Not that I ever doubted them, as they’re in Uncommon firm as builders in spite of everything (a reduce above the remaining). Nevertheless you take a look at it, the sport is a masterpiece that does not come round typically, and a must-play whether or not you are a Half Life fan or not. It takes so much to set off me, however in case you personal a VR headset and have not performed it, I am actually triggered.
However on a severe word, Alyx is properly and really the finest VR sport of all time (thus far). In case you have been ever on the fence about VR and its future, experiencing it first-hand will certainly shift your perspective and open your eyes to the limitless potentialities of this thrilling new medium (watching gameplay movies would not depend, because it simply can not do the expertise justice).See Additionally: Greatest PC VR Gaming Headsets
Even drawing in Half Life Alyx is sort of surreal and tremendous real looking (you’ll be able to even play a piano)
However let’s reduce the hype earlier than I begin sounding like I am auditioning for Valve’s advertising and marketing staff, and let’s get into particular {hardware} necessities for all ranges of efficiency. Irrespective of which body fee you search, and at which visible settings, I’ve performed the intensive analysis so that you can share my findings on selecting the perfect worth components for a easy Alyx expertise (beginning with 90Hz which is what most VR headsets run at, after which 120Hz and 144Hz for the headsets that help these quick modes). If you would like full PC construct examples primarily based on the present market to go together with this information (not simply CPU and GPU suggestions), try the finest PC builds for the cash collection alongside this information.
Minimal Necessities for Half Life Alyx
Let’s first go over the official naked minimal specs offered by Valve themselves if you wish to merely run the sport. A GTX 1060 6GB or RX 580 graphics card, paired with a modest i5-7500 or R5 1600 processor and not less than 12GB of RAM will assist you to run the sport comparatively okay-ish on low settings. However to keep away from dropped frames and stuttering, you undoubtedly need to purpose not less than slightly larger together with your {hardware} in any other case it isn’t going to be easy throughout.That mentioned, one of many million nice issues about Half Life Alyx is Valve have expertly optimized it very properly to run surprisingly properly on mid-range setups, so relying on the efficiency stage you are after (90FPS, 120FPS, and so forth), chances are you’ll not want as beefy a PC as you may think. Relative to how visually gorgeous the sport is with its painstaking consideration to element and meticulously crafted environments, the sport runs like a champ.
Half Life Alyx System RequirementsMinimum CPU: Intel Core i5-7500 or AMD Ryzen 5 1600Minimum GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB or AMD Radeon RX 580 8GBMinimum VRAM: 6GBMinimum RAM/Reminiscence: 12GBHard Disk Storage Area: 67GBOperating System: Home windows 10Source: Steam
Double Delight: The Greatest VR Sport But is Additionally One of many Most Effectively Optimized
Finances PC Builds for Half Life Alyx (90Hz Low/Medium)
The most typical refresh fee for PC VR gaming today is 90Hz, which is supported by the entire present finest PC VR headsets. Due to this fact, reaching 90FPS efficiency needs to be your goal, and ideally you need to keep above 90FPS always to keep away from dipping underneath. Everytime you dip underneath your VR headset’s refresh fee when gaming, the software program briefly permits a VR interpolation method referred to as asynchronous reprojection that mainly cuts your body fee in half and renders the sport at half your headset’s refresh fee to keep away from enter lag (so, 45FPS if gaming at 90Hz).Not the top of the world in case your sport kicks reprojection into gear each once in a while, but it surely’s not best if you would like the smoothest VR expertise as some folks will discover the distinction between 90FPS and a reprojected 45FPS, particularly in case you’re liable to movement illness. Dropped frames in VR is extra noticeable total in comparison with flatscreen gaming, which is why you need to use the suitable settings on your specific {hardware} to keep away from it as a lot as you’ll be able to.Valve lists a GTX 1060 6GB and RX 580 8GB as minimal advisable GPU for Half Life Alyx, together with an older Ryzen 5 or Intel i5, however these specs won’t provide you with a pleasant clear 90FPS and above always within the sport (not even on the bottom settings). For 90FPS on low settings, you may want a greater graphics card.Talking of decrease settings, don’t be concerned as a result of Alyx appears to be like completely unbelievable irrespective of the graphics settings, and it is genuinely onerous to inform the distinction between them until you actually cease and actively search for the distinction, which may really nonetheless be tough to discern in most scenes until you are evaluating say low vs extremely settings. In different phrases, low vs medium settings, or medium vs excessive settings – it is most unlikely you’ll discover the distinction. Even low vs excessive and low vs extremely is hard to identify, and I converse from expertise right here. After I performed by the sport final 12 months, I used a RTX 2060 Tremendous, and although I might simply run medium settings decently, I settled on low settings to keep away from reprojection all however utterly, and each single side of the sport regarded simply superb. After I examined different settings – even extremely – I hardly observed a distinction in visible high quality.
Half Life Alyx appears to be like phenomenal irrespective of which graphics settings you utilize
Have in mind this isn’t the case with most video games (VR or common), therefore why I am making some extent about it in order that persons are conscious to not be scared off by avoiding or suspending enjoying Alyx just because your PC is not adequate to run it at excessive or extremely (within the concern that you’re going to “smash” such a monumental sport). In lots of PC video games that boast stunning graphics, there can certainly be a stark distinction between settings the place enjoying on low might bitter the expertise considerably. However in Alyx, because of Valve, that is simply not a factor.I had that concern moving into, as I really feel a sport as uncommon as this needs to be treasured and skilled to its full potential, however that concern was rapidly squashed as soon as I rigorously in contrast low vs medium vs excessive vs extremely settings. Decrease settings took nothing away from the immersion: the environments, textures, results, character fashions, and so forth all look gorgeous irrespective of which settings are used.So, primarily based on the present technology of graphics playing cards – RTX 3000 and RX 6000 collection – for flawless 90FPS efficiency on medium settings, the perfect GPU for Half Life Alyx is a RTX 3060 or RX 6600 XT. These newest mid-range playing cards from NVidia and AMD can even do excessive settings fairly properly, however not flawlessly (you may get the occasional dropped frames and slight reprojection). For low settings, a RTX 2060 Tremendous or RX 5700 XT shall be flawless, although you might use these for medium in case you do not thoughts the occasional dip underneath 90FPS.
Greatest Worth Alyx Specs for 90FPS (LOW/MEDIUM)CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 or Intel Core i5 10400 / 11400GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 / RTX 2060 Tremendous or AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT / RX 5700 XTRAM: 16GB DDR4 (2x8GB, 3200MHz)
Going additional down within the graphics chain to a RTX 2060, GTX 1660 Tremendous, GTX 1660 Ti, RX 5700, or RX 5600 XT can be okay for low settings if you cannot afford a 3060 or 6600 XT (or 2060 Tremendous or 5700 XT), particularly if it is the 5700 or 2060 that are the quickest playing cards of that bunch.However I am unable to suggest these cheaper playing cards if you wish to assure a really easy expertise throughout the sport, and in addition with the unbelievable mods that are extra demanding than the principle sport since they’re much less optimized (and the mods are completely to not be missed in my view and I contemplate them integral to the general Alyx bundle). As a result of Alyx can actually eat up that VRAM simply, playing cards with 6GB of VRAM are high-quality if on a decent funds, however 8GB playing cards are extremely advisable if you would like the perfect expertise.As for selecting the perfect CPU for Half Life Alyx and getting probably the most bang on your buck, I extremely suggest a Ryzen 5 3600 or a latest Intel Core i5 just like the 10400 or 11400 (not a lot distinction between the 2). These CPUs are greater than sufficient for a constant 90FPS in Alyx, so no want for a stronger CPU until you are desirous to run 120Hz or 144Hz. As a substitute of spending extra to purchase a greater CPU than the 3600 or 11400, I might use that cash on a greater graphics card as an alternative (once more, until it is for 120Hz/144Hz wherein case your CPU necessities are larger). Actually, you might go cheaper on the CPU in case you needed and nonetheless have a easy journey in Alyx for probably the most half, similar to getting a Ryzen 3 3300X or Intel Core i3 10100 since these processors will not be far behind the Ryzen 5 3600. However personally, I might not, since these CPUs solely have 4 cores and for Alyx I undoubtedly suggest a 6-core processor. Half Life Alyx makes efficient use of a number of cores, and might preserve a 6 and even 8-core CPU busy. You particularly do not need to go too low-cost in your CPU if you wish to play the entire nice mods after ending the principle marketing campaign, as a result of Alyx mods might be extra CPU intensive since most modders understandably lack the optimization prowess (or time) of the geniuses at Valve.
Greatest PC Builds for Half Life Alyx (90Hz Excessive/Extremely)
In case you’re planning the very best PC construct for Half Life Alyx at 90Hz, to succeed in that golden 90FPS and above all through the sport on excessive or extremely settings, under are the perfect worth GPUs to get you to that promised land. CPU suggestions keep the identical as they have been for low/medium settings above, as a result of larger graphics settings predominantly place extra load in your GPU, and if a sure CPU can hit 90FPS on low settings it will be high-quality to do the identical at larger settings. In most VR video games, at 90Hz having a CPU bottleneck is unlikely when utilizing any half-decent trendy CPU similar to a Ryzen 5 3600, and also you’re nearly all the time going to be GPU-bound (as in, restricted in efficiency by your GPU, which is what you need). In different phrases, a Ryzen 5 3600 or equal CPU is totally high-quality to max out Half Life Alyx, and won’t bottleneck a RTX 3070 or RX 6800, so there isn’t any have to spend extra in your CPU until you need flawless 120Hz or 144Hz efficiency (put that cash in direction of the graphics card as an alternative).
Greatest Alyx Specs for 90FPS (HIGH)CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 or Intel Core i5 10400 / 11400GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti / RTX 2070 Tremendous or AMD Radeon RX 6700 XTRAM: 16GB DDR4 (2x8GB, 3200MHz)
Greatest Alyx Specs for 90FPS (ULTRA)CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 or Intel Core i5 10400 / 11400GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 / RTX 2080 Tremendous or AMD Radeon RX 6800RAM: 16GB DDR4 (2x8GB, 3200MHz)
HLA is a component shooter, half horror, so save a few of your funds for spare underwear
Final PC Builds for Half Life Alyx (120Hz/144Hz)
Once you transfer to 120Hz VR gaming – supported by the Oculus Quest 2 and Valve Index – you need to take a look at investing in a quicker processor if doable as a result of hitting such excessive body charges in Alyx would require a stronger CPU than is required for 90Hz. Particularly for a comparatively CPU intensive sport similar to Half Life Alyx. Positive, Alyx is rather more GPU intensive than CPU intensive total, and there are VR video games which might be a good bit extra CPU intensive than Alyx (like Boneworks). However hitting 120FPS persistently throughout the board throughout the entire of Alyx’s marketing campaign will take a reasonably quick CPU. The Ryzen 5 5600X is the perfect worth high-end gaming CPU total proper now, and is sufficient grunt for 120FPS in Alyx from what I collect. Paired with an RTX 3080 or RX 6800 XT and also you’re golden, even on maxed settings.
Greatest Alyx Specs for 120FPS (ULTRA)CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X or Intel Core i7 11700KGPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 or AMD Radeon RX 6800 XTRAM: 16GB DDR4 (2x8GB, 3200MHz)
Aiming to succeed in a constant 144FPS within the Valve Index’s unique 144Hz mode will increase each CPU and GPU necessities additional, so for the perfect expertise to keep away from dipping underneath 144FPS it is merely, and fairly clearly, a matter of getting the perfect gaming CPU and GPU you’ll be able to afford.
Greatest Alyx Specs for 144FPS (ULTRA)CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5900X or Intel Core i9 11900KGPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti / RTX 3090 or AMD Radeon RX 6900 XTRAM: 32GB DDR4 (2x16GB / 4x8GB, 3600MHz)
Observe on VR Decision Settings: Please bear in mind all suggestions on this information assume you aren’t growing both the SteamVR render decision setting or any in-game decision scaling setting. In case you improve these past their defaults, your GPU shall be hit more durable and you’ll require beefier specs than those I prompt.
Simply one of many many must-play customized maps within the Alyx mod workshop to get pleasure from after beating the sport
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Indie sport developer presently engaged on my first public launch, an atmospheric VR FPS created with Unreal Engine (to be introduced quickly right here). Additionally likes writing about {hardware} and gaming usually.My favorites of all time are OOT, Good Darkish, MGS1, MGS2, GE007, DKC2, THPS3, WC3, HL1, HL2, and KOTOR, with the latest addition to my checklist of immortals being the VR masterpiece Half Life Alyx. – Julz