It’s Half Life Alyx day today!

[nigelpugh7]

Well my new build PC is all up and running now, I’ve been playing Black Mesa and Half Life 2 to get me in the groove.

Still no update on the steam store re shipping of my index to play Alyx on, its still saying delivery in 4-5 weeks.

Looks like I will be waiting some time!

[FourWheelDrift]

don't pet the head crabs it just makes them cranky - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWQZwboQJYQ

[okenemem]

Badgerboy said:

VR changes things. Head crabs have transformed from an annoyance to things of terror!

.

they always scared the hell out of me

[FourWheelDrift]

Have you tried the piano - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABrJfol5lxk

In the End, Linkin Park - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0_cdniUO3U

Edited by FourWheelDrift on Sunday 29th March 15:24

[CerbWill]

Just progressing through Chapter 3. I think I know who stockpiled all the loo roll now.

[130R]

I've played about 2 hours of this now. Amazing so far and the graphics really are a level above the VR games I have played previously.

[EK993]

I am a lifelong HL fan. I don’t have a PC gaming rig, I do all my gaming on an Xbox One X.

So - is HL Alyx a reason to invest in a gaming laptop and headset / controls? I could probably do with a new laptop - still running with a first generation Surface Book. Or - is it a good VR experience but still a novelty and flawed in comparison to normal games?

[MattyB_]

EK993 said:

I am a lifelong HL fan. I don’t have a PC gaming rig, I do all my gaming on an Xbox One X.

So - is HL Alyx a reason to invest in a gaming laptop and headset / controls? I could probably do with a new laptop - still running with a first generation Surface Book. Or - is it a good VR experience but still a novelty and flawed in comparison to normal games?

It's a big investment - you're looking at dropping near £1500 to play one game, as the requirements for Alyx are high. If you feel VR in itself is something you're really going to embrace going forward (for example, you're interested in flight sims, racing sims or otherwise) then...maybe. But not just for one game.

[rustyuk]

I'm about 5 hours in and it's easily the best VR game I've played. Some of the set pieces are spectacular!

It's only let down really by the need to tether to a PC. though I believe it's possible to run a hybrid a solution via virtual desktop on the Oculus Quest.

As has been mentioned it's probably about 5 years to early for the current hardware.

[rustyuk]

You could buy second hand kit and get up and running for about £500!

[EK993]

Ok been looking at gaming laptops (as mentioned I need a new one anyway so it wouldn't be a purchase just to run Alyx). Seen this Alienware M15 with an RTX2060 6gb. Would that have enough horsepower to run Alyx on an Index headset?

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/gaming-laptops/ali...

Or they have one with an RTX2070 8gb although the price is really getting up there...

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/gaming-laptops/ali...

[FourWheelDrift]

EK993 said:

Ok been looking at gaming laptops (as mentioned I need a new one anyway so it wouldn't be a purchase just to run Alyx). Seen this Alienware M15 with an RTX2060 6gb. Would that have enough horsepower to run Alyx on an Index headset?

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/gaming-laptops/ali...

Or they have one with an RTX2070 8gb although the price is really getting up there...

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/gaming-laptops/ali...

Remember a laptop's gfx card will be underclocked to keep the heat down, Alyx minimum stated requirements are GTX 1060 / RX 580.

RTX 2060 mobile is on here compared to GTX 1060 and RX 580. - scroll down to benchmarks graph, it's ahead of both - https://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-RTX-2...

Here's Linus from LTT testing a 1060 on low settings - https://youtu.be/UTwgInKmEHI?t=432 he still liked it.

[mackie1]

I say you’d struggle at bit with a 2060. It’s broadly equivalent to a previous gen mobile 1070. I have one and it’s fine for running a Vive on low settings most of the time. Forget getting the best out of an Index IMO.

[130R]

CerbWill said:

Just progressing through Chapter 3. I think I know who stockpiled all the loo roll now.

Yeah it gets a bit scary to put it mildly

[rustyuk]

I run Alyx on my Alienware laptop with a 1060gtx.

Runs great, no stutters always run everything on max.

[EK993]

Thanks for all the feedback guys appreciate it

This looks like a good option - has an RTX2070 and reasonable price

https://www.amazon.com/MSI-Leopard-10SFK-047-i7-10...

[Jonesy23]

EK993 said:

Thanks for all the feedback guys appreciate it

This looks like a good option - has an RTX2070 and reasonable price

https://www.amazon.com/MSI-Leopard-10SFK-047-i7-10...

Just avoid anything Max-Q, and check that whatever you buy has a chunky enough cooling to sustain the performance rather than just managing a few minutes at peak. Some systems also have quite low throttling thermal thresholds which cripple what should be good hardware.

[mackie1]

I’d seriously consider a desktop machine for gaming and especially for VR. I bought my laptop as a general purpose machine for occasional gaming and it just happened to be VR capable. Because of thermal and power limits it’s hard to get the most out of it even with careful tuning (re-paste, undervolting). It will stay stable under VR load for hours on end now though, no thermal throttling either.

That said, that thing looks like a bit of a beast.

[devnull]

Public Service announcement for those who have a laptop with a suitable graphics card and who also want an index - there is a very good chance that the index won't work.

Case in point - I have a fully specced Asus Zebook pro duo with the i9-9980HK and a RTX2060 - but it won't work with the index via a DisplayPort <> USB-C adapter. Why? The DisplayPort lanes are wired to the Intel Graphics, not the RTX! It also doesn't work with a Thunderbolt 3 dock.

Slight bummer.

If you have an Nvidia GFX chip, you need to look at your PhysX settings to determine how your machine is configured.

I also have a Thinkpad X1 Extreme which has a 1050Ti Max Q - the DisplayPort <> USB-C works with that, and the physX settings show the DisplayPort is wired correctly. The index is a bit laggy with this, but it does work.

I had enough of pissing around, so I've ordered a proper gaming desktop now.

I've played a bit of Alyx though, and it's pretty breathtaking. Can definitely see why Valve held off with HL3 now.

[Jonesy23]

The USB/Displayport thing is quite a common problem and not easy to find out how the port is wired rom published specs ahead of time, I cancelled buying an Alienware Area-51m because it has the same issue. My old Asus GL703 is OK. New machine - if I ever actually get it - is a Clevo based one and has two actual Displayports and no Intel graphics.

It's not a problem most of the time until you buy a headset that needs two Displayports to drive it and *really* need the USB one to work properly.

Desktop is a much easier and cheaper option!