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Backpack PCs for virtual reality gaming were all the rage at this year's Computex in Taiwan, but it looks like MSI is the first of that early batch to have a finalised product. Dubbed VR One, MSI's backpack PC looks nothing like
the prototype
, with the garish red design dropped in favour of a slimmer but altogether more "l33t gam3r" angular look. There is zero chance you are going to look cool with this thing strapped to your back.
On the plus side, MSI claims the VR One is the thinnest and lightest VR backpack around, weighing in at 7.9lbs (3.58kg). That makes it lighter than even HP's already svelte
Omen VR backpack
, which weighs in at 10lbs (4.5kg). The VR One is designed for use with the
HTC Vive
, and includes all the relevant connections and power sockets for the Vive's many, many cables and boxes. It'll also work fine with the
Oculus Rift
.
Inside the VR One is an "overclocked" Intel Core i7 CPU (likely the 6700K), along with an
Nvidia GTX 1070
graphics card, which is more than enough horsepower to deal with pretty much any VR game you throw at it. MSI hasn't revealed any other specs, but there's likely to be at least 8GB of DDR4 RAM inside and an SSD (moving parts and jumping around do not pair well after all). I/O consists of headphone and mic jacks, HDMI out, mini DisplayPort out, USB Type-C/Thunderbolt 3, and four USB 3.0 ports.
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Keeping the whole thing cool is a custom cooling system, which features two 9cm fans and nine heat pipes, along with a whole bunch of vents. MSI claims the VR One runs at a relatively quiet 41dBA at full speed.
As for the all important battery life, MSI claims that even while running at full whack with an overclocked CPU, the VR One will last around 1.5 hours. Two battery packs snap onto the left and right of the unit, and can be hot-swapped to keep the VR gameplay going. The latter will be a particularly useful inclusion for places like
The Void
, which uses backpack computers for its
Ghostbusters: Dimension
VR experience.
MSI hasn't revealed a price for the VR One—given the spec and the batteries, it won't be cheap—but promises it'll hit shops before the end of the year. If you're after a backpack PC right now, HP is
taking applications
from developers for its Omen X VR backpack, which is shipping out in limited quantities right now.
Listing image by MSI
