Best Graphics Cards for Virtual Reality (VR) Gaming

The craze for Virtual Reality (VR) is becoming more and more pronounced these days whether it is VR gaming or watching movies in a VR environment. Virtual Reality can be experienced at best by connecting a VR Headset and other VR devices such as sensors and controllers to your computer. Virtual Reality Kits require a lot of processing power, especially in the graphics department. Top VR headsets like Oculus Rift and HTC Vive have high system requirements and need a fast processor, powerful graphics card, and lots of RAM.

There are many applications of Virtual Reality but the most common ones include gaming and watching movies. VR has gained much popularity and now you can see more VR content being developed. You may also watch regular movies or play regular games in VR but to have the best VR experience you will need content that is being optimized for VR whether movies or games. A powerful graphics card is the top requirement for VR, so here in this post, I am listing down the best graphics cards for virtual reality.

Check out: Best Workstation Graphics Cards for Professional Work

Top VR Graphics Cards from Nvidia

Here are the top VR Graphics Cards from Nvidia to get the best Virtual Reality experience on your PC.

GeForce GTX 1060

GeForce GTX 1060 is a higher or topmost mid-range graphics card in the current Nvidia gaming graphics card series lineup. GeForce GTX 1060 comes in two variants, one with 3GB GDDR5 memory and another one with 6GB. Besides having lesser memory the 3GB version of GTX 1060 also comes with a lesser number of CUDA Cores as compared to the 6GB one. This results in a slight bit of performance decrease. The 3GB GTX 1060 comes with 1152 CUDA Cores and the 6GB one comes with 1280 CUDA Cores. The memory interface on both these variants remains the same at 192-bit.

GTX 1060 is based on the latest Pascal GPU architecture from Nvidia that delivers superior performance and lesser power consumption. Both these variants are VR Ready but personally, I would recommend 6GB GTX 1060 because it has more memory and processing power. If we talk about the VR Performance then GTX 1060 is about 3X times better than GTX 960 in the VR Barbarian benchmark. On GTX 1060 you can play latest games on Very high/ Ultra settings at 1080p.  You may get a GTX 1060 graphics card under 300 dollars which I think is the best affordable VR graphics card.

GeForce GTX 1060 Specifications
CUDA Cores	1152 / 1280
GPU Clock	1506 / 1708 MHz
Memory Clock	8 Gbps
Memory Size	3 GB / 6 GB GDDR5
Memory Interface	192-bit
Bus Interface	PCI Express 3.0
DirectX	12
OpenGL	4.5
Output Ports	DP 1.4, HDMI 2.0b, Dual Link-DVI

Buy GeForce GTX 1060

GeForce GTX 1070

GeForce GTX 1070 is a high-end graphics card from Nvidia and is the bigger brother of GTX 1060. It has about 40% higher performance than GTX 1060. GTX 1070 is truly a gamers’ card and you can play all the latest games including VR games at Very high / Ultra settings at 1440p. You can also play the latest games on 4K but for this, you have to lower down some of the in-game graphics settings.

GeForce GTX 1070 comes with 8GB GDDR5 memory having a 256-bit interface. The card consists of 1920 CUDA Cores and supports DirectX 12, Vulkan, and OpenGL 4.5. For high-end VR Games like Overwatch etc., it is one of the best graphics cards you can buy.  GTX 1070 is around 2.5 to 3 times faster than the older GTX 970 in VR performance. Unlike GTX 1060, GTX 1070 is an SLI Ready card which means you can use these cards in multi-GPU setup on the same motherboard. It also supports Nvidia G-Sync display technology. You can get a GTX 1070 graphics card under 500 dollars and it is available from different manufacturers like EVGA, MSI, ASUS, Gigabyte, etc.

Must Read: Best GeForce GTX 1070 Graphics Cards for 1440p Gaming

GeForce GTX 1070 Specifications
CUDA Cores	1920
GPU Clock	1506 / 1683 MHz
Memory Clock	8 Gbps
Memory Size	8 GB GDDR5
Memory Interface	256-bit
Bus Interface	PCI Express 3.0
DirectX	12
OpenGL	4.5
Output Ports	DP 1.4, HDMI 2.0b, Dual Link-DVI

Buy GeForce GTX 1070

GeForce GTX 1070 Ti

GeForce GTX 1070 Ti is the latest high-end Pascal graphics card from Nvidia and is one of the best cards for VR. The card sits between GTX 1070 and GTX 1080 in the GeForce 10 series lineup. It is a very powerful graphics card and it comes with 2432 CUDA Cores and 8GB GDDR5 memory. The main competitor of GTX 1070 Ti is Radeon RX Vega 56 which is a great card for cryptocurrency mining and 1440p gaming.

GeForce GTX 1070 Ti has a maximum power consumption of 180W and requires an 8-pin PCIe power connector for its working. The PSU requirement for this card is 500W which is quite reasonable for a card of this class. The card has great overclocking potential and you can get performance equivalent to GeForce GTX 1080 when overclocked. The connectivity options for this card include DisplayPort, Dual-link DVI, and HDMI port.

Check out: Best GTX 1070 Ti Graphics Cards for VR and 1440p Gaming

GeForce GTX 1070 Ti Specifications
CUDA Cores	2432
GPU Clock	1607 / 1683 MHz
Memory Clock	8000 MHz
Memory Size	8GB GDDR5
Memory Interface	256-bit
Bus Interface	PCI Express 3.0
DirectX	12
OpenGL	4.5
Output Ports	DP 1.43, HDMI 2.0b, DL-DVI

Buy GeForce GTX 1070 Ti

GeForce GTX 1080

GeForce GTX 1080 is the high-end or flagship graphics card from Nvidia which is based on the Pascal GPU architecture. It is one of the fastest graphics cards available today and is only behind Nvidia TITAN X (Pascal). GeForce GTX 1080 is a top-end gaming card and you can play latest high-end demanding games at Ultra settings on 1440p and 4K resolutions. For 4K gaming, you may have to lower down some of the advanced graphics settings but still, it would not affect the beauty of the games.

GeForce GTX 1080 comes with 8GB GDDR5X memory which is even faster than the GDDR5 memory used in the other powerful graphics cards listed here. It has got 2560 CUDA cores and is around 20% faster than GTX 1070. The card supports Nvidia SLI, Ansel, and G-SYNC. The VR Performance of GTX 1080 is around 3X times of GTX 980. On GTX 1080 you can really have the best next-generation VR experience. It is an expensive card and it costs around 600 – 700 dollars. You can get the best GTX 1080 for your VR ready gaming PC from the link given below.

Must Read: Best GeForce GTX 1080 Cards for 1440p & 4K Gaming

GeForce GTX 1080 Specifications
CUDA Cores	2560
GPU Clock	1607 / 1733 MHz
Memory Clock	10 Gbps
Memory Size	8 GB GDDR5X
Memory Interface	256-bit
Bus Interface	PCI Express 3.0
DirectX	12
OpenGL	4.5
Output Ports	DP 1.4, HDMI 2.0b, Dual Link-DVI

Buy GeForce GTX 1080

GeForce GTX 1080 Ti

GeForce GTX 1080 Ti is the bigger brother of GeForce GTX 1080 and is one of the fastest graphics cards in the world. GTX 1080 Ti is almost 35% faster than GTX 1080 and is even faster than Nvidia Titan X (Pascal).

GeForce GTX 1080 Ti comes with 3584 CUDA Cores and 11 GB of GDDR5X memory which has almost double the bandwidth of GDDR5 memory. On this top-end graphics card, you can play the latest games on Ultra settings at 4K resolution with comfortable frame rates. This is unarguably the best graphics card for Virtual Reality (VR) and is around 3.5 times faster than the older GTX 980 in VR benchmarks. The card supports SLI, G-Sync, and all the latest gaming APIs including DirectX 12, OpenGL 4.5, Vulkan, etc.

The maximum power consumption of the card is 250W and it requires one 6pin and one 8pin PCI-E connector and a minimum of 600W PSU for its working.  So if you do not have budget constraints and want the best graphics card for VR then this is the card you should get.

GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Specifications
CUDA Cores	3584
GPU Clock	1580 MHz
Memory Clock	11 Gbps
Memory Size	11 GB GDDR5X
Memory Interface	352-bit
Bus Interface	PCI Express 3.0
DirectX	12
OpenGL	4.5
Output Ports	DP 1.4, HDMI 2.0b, DL-DVI

Buy GeFroce GTX 1080 Ti

GeForce RTX 2060

GeForce RTX 2060 is the fourth card in the latest RTX 20 series. It is built on the Turing GPU architecture and comes with 1920 CUDA Cores, 240 Tensor Cores, 30 RT Cores, and 6GB GDDR6 memory having 192-bit interface. The GPU clock speed of this card is 1365 MHz for the base and for the boost it is 1685 MHz. The memory runs at a speed of 14 Gbps and generates a bandwidth of 336 GB/s. The card is 60% more powerful than GTX 1060, 10% to 12% powerful than GTX 1070, and is as fast or even better than the high-end GTX 1070 Ti from the Pascal series. When compared to RTX 2070 then it is around 13% slower, but on the flip side, it costs way less than RTX 2070.

The card is capable of running latest games at maximum graphics settings at 1440p and it also supports Real Time Ray Tracing and DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) in supported games. For power, the card requires an 8-pin PCIe connector from the PSU, and a good 500W Power Supply is needed for its working. Connectivity options include DisplayPort, HDMI port, DVI port and a USB Type-C port that supports VirtualLink for connecting next-generation VR Headsets.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Specifications
CUDA Cores	1920
GPU Clock	1680 MHz (Boost)
Memory Clock	14 Gbps
Memory Size	6GB GDDR6
Memory Interface	192-bit
Bus Interface	PCI Express 3.0
DirectX	12
OpenGL	4.5
Power Connectors	8-pin
Output Ports	DisplayPort x 2, HDMI x 1, USB Type-C, DVI-DL x 1

Buy GeForce RTX 2060

GeForce RTX 2070

GeForce RTX 2070 is the third graphics card in the RTX 20 series based on the Turing GPU architecture and includes support for Real Time Ray Tracing, DLSS, Deep Learning, and AI. This is a fully VR Ready card and is around 30% faster than GTX 1070 and 8% faster than GTX 1080. The card comes with 2304 CUDA Cores, 288 Tensor Cores, 36 Ray Tracing Cores, and 8GB GDDR6 memory having 256-bit interface. The card can run all the latest AAA games at maximum settings at 1440p and at very high to ultra settings at 4K with comfortable frame rates.

Here we have Founder Edition of RTX 2070 which is an Overclocked (OC) card having a GPU Boost clock of 1710 MHz which is 90 MHz more than the reference speed of RTX 2070. It is a beautiful-looking card with an aluminum shroud covering the whole card, and for cooling, it comes with a black heatsink with vapor chamber design and dual fans with 13 fan blades. It requires one 8-pin PCI-E connector as external power and a 550W PSU for its working. Connectivity options at the rear include two DisplayPort, one HDMI, one DVI, and a USB Type-C connector for connecting VR headsets directly.  

Check out: Best RTX 2070 Cards for VR, 1440p & 4K Gaming

GeForce RTX 2070 Founders Edition Specifications
CUDA Cores	2304
GPU Clock	1410 / 1710 MHz
Memory Clock	14000 MHz
Memory Size	8GB GDDR6
Memory Interface	256-bit
Bus Interface	PCI Express 3.0
DirectX	12
OpenGL	4.5
Output Ports	DisplayPort x 2, HDMI x 1, DVI, USB Type-C

Buy GeForce RTX 2070 Founders Edition

GeForce RTX 2080

GeForce RTX 2080 is a high-end graphics card in the RTX 20 series lineup and one of the most powerful graphics cards for gaming and virtual reality. The card is built on the Turing GPU architecture which is one of the most advanced GPU architectures ever made and it succeeds the Volta GPU architecture. This VR graphics card also supports Real Time Ray Tracing, Artificial Intelligence, and Deep Learning. The card comes with 2944 CUDA Cores, RT Cores for Ray Tracing, and Tensor Cores for AI & Deep Learning. It is equipped with 8GB GDDR6 memory having 256-bit interface.

RTX 2080 is around 30% to 40% faster than the GTX 1080 and about 5% to 6%  faster than GTX 1080 Ti which is the highest card in the GTX 10 series. It can run latest AAA games on ultra graphics settings at 4K resolution with 50 to 60 FPS on average. The card requires one 8-pin and one 6-pin PCI-E power connectors from PSU and a 650W Power Supply for working. Connectivity options include three DisplayPort, one HDMI port, and USB Type-C connector that supports VirtualLink to connect VR headsets directly.

Check out:

• RTX 2080 vs GTX 1080 Comparison
• RTX 2080 vs GTX 1080 Ti Comparison

GeForce RTX 2080 Specifications
CUDA Cores	2944
GPU Clock	1515 / 1800 MHz (Base / Boost)
Memory Clock	14 Gbps
Memory Size	8GB GDDR6
Memory Interface	256-bit
Bus Interface	PCI Express 3.0
DirectX	12
OpenGL	4.5
Output Ports	DisplayPort 1.4 x 3, HDMI 2.0b x 1, USB Type-C

Buy GeForce RTX 2080

GeForce RTX 2080 Ti

GeForce RTX 2080 Ti is the top card in the RTX 20 series and is the most powerful graphics card for gaming and virtual reality. The card is built on the Turing GPU architecture which is made on a 12nm fabrication process and supports Real Time Ray Tracing, AI, and Deep Learning. It comes with 4352 CUDA Cores and 11 GB GDDR6 memory having a 352-bit interface. In addition to CUDA Cores, it comes with RT Cores for Ray Tracing and Tensor Cores for AI and Deep Learning.

The card is around 25% to 30% faster than GTX 1080 Ti and can run almost any latest AAA game at max graphics settings at 4K with 60 FPS on average. It requires two 8-pin PCI-Express power connectors and a 650W PSU for its working. Connectivity options on the rear include three DisplayPort, one HDMI port, and a USB Type-C connector for VirtualLink to connect VR headsets to it.

Check out:

• RTX 2080 Ti vs GTX 1080 Ti Comparison

GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Specifications
CUDA Cores	4352
GPU Clock	1350 / 1635 MHz (Base / Boost)
Memory Clock	14 Gbps
Memory Size	11 GB GDDR6
Memory Interface	352-bit
Bus Interface	PCI Express 3.0
DirectX	12
OpenGL	4.5
Output Ports	DisplayPort 1.4 x 3, HDMI 2.0b x 1, USB Type-C

Buy GeForce RTX 2080 Ti

GeForce GTX 1660 Ti

EVGA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti XC Black GAMING

GeForce GTX 1660 Ti is the first card in the latest GTX 16 series from Nvidia. The card is built on the Turing GPU architecture having 12nm fabrication process, but it does not come with RT Cores and Turing Cores that are present in the RTX 20 series cards. GeForce GTX 1660 Ti comes with 1536 CUDA Cores and 6GB GDDR6 memory having 192-bit interface. It has got a GPU Base clock of 1500 MHz and Boosts clock speed of 1770 MHz. It supports DirectX 12, Open GL 4.5, Vulkan, OpenCL, G-Sync, GPU Boost but does not support SLI multi-GPU setup or configuration.

It is a powerful budget mid-range card that is around 40% powerful than GTX 1060 and its performance is equivalent to or slightly better than GTX 1070. This is a VR Ready card and can easily run all the latest AAA games on Ultra graphics settings at 1080p and 1440p with comfortable frame rates (60+ FPS on average). The card requires a single 8-pin PCI-e power connector, and the power consumption is rated at 120W, which is the same as of GTX 1060. The PSU recommendation for this card is 450 Watt. Display connectivity options include DisplayPort, HDMI, and DVI port.

EVGA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti XC Black GAMING Specifications
CUDA Cores	1536
GPU Clock	1500 MHz / 1770 MHz
Memory Clock	12000 MHz
Memory Size	6GB GDDR6
Memory Interface	192-bit
Bus Interface	PCI Express 3.0
DirectX	12
OpenGL	4.5
PCI-E Power Connector	8-Pin
Output Ports	DisplayPort 1.4, DVI-D, HDMI 2.0b

Buy EVGA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti XC Black GAMING

Top VR Graphics Cards from AMD

Here are the top VR Graphics Cards from AMD to get the best Virtual Reality experience on your PC.

AMD Radeon RX 480

Here we have a budget VR graphics card from AMD which is Radeon RX 480. This is one of the fastest graphics cards from AMD based on the latest Polaris GPU architecture. It comes in two memory configurations, one with 4GB GDDR5 memory and another one with 8GB GDDR5 memory. It is better to buy 8GB variant because it has higher memory and the price difference is also not much between the two variants.

Radeon RX 480 has got 2304 Stream Processors and comes with AMD LiquidVR technology that delivers beautiful rich and immersive VR experiences with advanced comfort and is compatible with all the popular VR headsets. The performance of RX 480 is comparable to that of GTX 1060 from Nvidia. RX 480 supports AMD FreeSync, DirectX 12, Vulkan and OpenGL. This is one of the best graphics cards to play Doom. You can get RX 480 at under 300 dollars and it is one of the best affordable VR graphics cards out in the market.

Radeon RX 480 Specifications
Stream Processors	2304
GPU Clock	1266 / 1120 MHz
Memory Clock	8 Gbps or higher
Memory Size	4GB / 8 GB GDDR5
Memory Interface	256-bit
Bus Interface	PCI Express 3.0
DirectX	12
OpenGL	4.5
Output Ports	DP 1.4, HDMI 2.0, Dual Link-DVI

Buy Radeon RX 480

AMD Radeon RX 580

Radeon RX 580 is the latest and most powerful graphics card in the newly launched Radeon RX 500 series which is also based on the Polaris GPU architecture. Radeon RX 580 is an upgrade over the Radeon RX 480 card and has slightly better performance over it. It also comes with 2304 Stream Processors and is available in 4GB / 8GB GDDR5 video memory variants.

This is a high-end VR Ready graphics card and you can play latest games or AAA games on very high/ultra graphics settings at 1440p. This graphics card offers an amazing VR Experience and comes with features like AMD FreeSync, AMD LiquidVR Technology, CrossFire, AMD Eyefinity Technology, and Vulkan. Currently, this is the best VR graphics card from AMD and is priced under 300 dollars most of the time.

Radeon RX 580 Specifications
Stream Processors	2304
GPU Clock	1257 / 1340 MHz
Memory Clock	8000 MHz
Memory Size	4GB / 8GB GDDR5
Memory Interface	256-bit
Bus Interface	PCI Express 3.0
DirectX	12
OpenGL	4.5
Output Ports	DisplayPort, HDMI

Buy Radeon RX 580

Radeon RX 590

Radeon RX 590 is an upgrade of the RX 580 card from AMD. The card is built on the 12nm FinFET process as opposed to the 14nm process used in RX 580. It is also based on the Polaris GPU architecture but uses a different GPU chip which is Polaris 30. It comes with significantly higher GPU clock speeds compared to the Radeon RX 580. It has got 2304 Stream processors and 8GB GDDR5 RAM @ 8Gbps having 256-bit interface, which is also the same as RX 580. The card is VR Ready and you may see a slight performance gain in virtual reality gaming over the RX 580. Other than a smaller manufacturing process and higher GPU clock, there is nothing different about this card when compared to RX 580. In conclusion, RX 590 is basically an RX 580 on Steroids.

Radeon RX 590 Specifications
Stream Processors	2304
GPU Clock	1469 / 1545 MHz
Memory Clock	8 Gbps
Memory Size	8GB GDDR5
Memory Interface	256-bit
Bus Interface	PCI Express 3.0
DirectX	12
OpenGL	4.5
Output Ports	DisplayPort, HDMI

Buy Radeon RX 590

Radeon RX Vega 56

Radeon RX Vega 56 is a high-end graphics card from AMD built on the latest Vega GPU architecture. This card comes with 3584 Stream Processors and 8GB HBM2 memory. The gaming performance of this card is better than the GeForce GTX 1070 from Nvidia. This is a VR Ready card and you can play latest games on Ultra graphics settings at 1440p smoothly. The main features include FreeSync2, CrossFire, AMD Eyefinity, AMD XConnect. The card has higher power consumption at 210W and requires two 8pin PCI power connectors and a 650W PSU for its working.  

Radeon RX Vega 56 Specifications
Stream Processors	3584
GPU Clock	1156 / 1471 MHz
Memory Clock	1.6 Gbps
Memory Size	8GB HBM2
Memory Interface	2048-bit
Bus Interface	PCI Express 3.0
DirectX	12
OpenGL	4.5
Output Ports	HDMI, DisplayPort

Buy Radeon RX Vega 56

Radeon RX Vega 64

Radeon RX Vega 64 is the most powerful gaming graphics card from AMD that is built on the latest Vega architecture. This high-end AMD flagship graphics card comes with 4096 Stream Processors and ultra-fast 8GB HBM2 memory having 2048-bit interface. The performance of this card is slightly better than GeForce GTX 1080 from Nvidia but lower than the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti. Radeon RX Vega 64 is available in both Air-cooled and Water-cooled variants.

The card packs a lot of advanced features and is ideal for VR Gaming and VR applications. This card can run all your latest AAA games on the highest graphics settings at 1440p and 4K (with some graphics settings lowered). The main features of this card include FreeSync2, CrossFire, AMD Eyefinity, AMD XConnect The card requires two 8pin PCIe power connectors from the PSU. The power consumption of this card is on the higher side and it requires a 750W power supply for its working.

Radeon RX Vega 64 Specifications
Stream Processors	4096
GPU Clock	1247 / 1546 MHz
Memory Clock	1.9 Gbps
Memory Size	8GB HBM2
Memory Interface	2048-bit
Bus Interface	PCI Express 3.0
DirectX	12
OpenGL	4.5
Output Ports	HDMI, DisplayPort

Buy Radeon RX Vega 64

Final Words

Virtual Reality is a very enjoyable experience but it does need a good amount of investment in the hardware department. These above-mentioned graphics cards are best for Virtual Reality and you can play demanding games like Overwatch, Watch Dogs 2, etc. in VR comfortably.