#vr pc

ZOTAC’s new VR GO backpack PC delivers a mobile VR experience

ZOTAC’s new VR GO backpack PC delivers a mobile VR experience

ZOTAC today announced the VR GO backpack PC, a truly portable product that has been designed to deliver a mobile VR experience. “The VR GO is an exciting innovation for everyone to finally enjoy VR the way it is meant to be experienced,” says Tony Wong, CEO, ZOTAC International....

HP just officially made backpack VR computers a trend

HP's recently launched Omen gaming line will soon include a high-end PC that's also a backpack, designed for walking around in virtual reality. Because we live in a strange world, this is becoming far less unusual than it sounds.

The unnamed backpack PC (technically part of a premium "Omen X" line) is apparently a work in progress, with HP set to start testing some demo units in about a month. The specs are vaguely similar to other VR-ready desktop PCs: it's got a new Intel Core i5 or i7 processor, up to 32GB of memory, and a graphics card that's still unknown. But the whole thing is crammed into the equivalent of a slender day pack that HP promises weighs under 10 pounds — the weight of a hefty VR-ready gaming laptop like Acer's Predator 17X. A pair of fans will dispel heat, and the waist belt incorporates two batteries that power the CPU and graphics card separately.

Ideally, this means that owners of an HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, or similar VR headset can plug it into this machine, put it on, and walk around without worrying about being tethered to a desktop computer or tripping over a cable. You'll theoretically get something more ergonomic, and less prone to overheating, than tossing a laptop in a normal backpack. And over the course of some focus testing, HP has added a lot of little details that do seem potentially useful. While the batteries only last about an hour, you can swap them out for new ones, while a smaller third battery stops the PC from shutting down during the change. There's also a wireless display, mouse, and keyboard as part of the package, so you can still use its ordinary computing functions without taking it off. (To be clear, that doesn't mean you'll be doing office work like this, but VR headsets require a lot of troubleshooting outside VR.) HP is planning to iterate on the design as more people try it, so new features could be coming before its unknown launch date.