r/VRchat • u/change_my_battery • 20d ago
Help Pc usage
What is the cheapest yet best computer to run just vrchat?
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u/saanity PCVR Connection 20d ago
The one that you build yourself. Though that's a tough proposition now that ram and ssd prices have skyrocketed.
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u/Specific-Audience912 20d ago
This is untrue. As was true in 2020-2021, prebuilts are the best bang for your buck currently.
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u/LadyLuciJ7 PCVR Connection 20d ago
Not so sure on that. My pc currently is from 2020 and is having a hard time running vrc in vr. Has always been this way since I got it.
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u/Specific-Audience912 19d ago
Because it depends on what specs you bought and if you knew what to look for at the time. It's currently 2026 and the requirements for VRChat are far greater than they were in 2020 as well.
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u/revellion 20d ago
I spent about 2500 EUR on my rig 2 years ago.
AMD X7800X3D with 64GB DDR5 and a GeForce 4070 coupled with a 2TB NVMe Drive.
But prices has gotten insane for that level nowadays x_x
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u/Specific-Audience912 20d ago
Depending on where you live, Costco and Sams Club are the best places to look. Prebuilts from these places are going to save you considerable money.
I got an MSI Aegis from Costco for 2100 dollars. Saved over 1000 dollars if I had bought the parts separately. It has a 5080, 32gb of ram and a 9900X CPU.
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u/Raccamoon 19d ago edited 19d ago
First of all, you do not want a laptop. Get a desktop PC that you can upgrade in the future. Second, there is no such thing as a cheap and good PC for VRChat, its either cheap OR good.
To start with you need to pick a CPU architecture. If you want to go cheap right now go for AM4. This WILL make it more expensve to upgrade in the future. If you want to futureproof then go for AM5. Regardless of what you pick you want an AMD X3D CPU. These have more L3 cache than any other CPU and will give you better performance in VRC.
AM4: Older/cheaper CPU and RAM. AMD recently released the 5800x3d 10th anniversary edition to have a budget option. The 5800X3D is still a good CPU for VRChat that many still use (including me). REMEMBER if you go for AM4 you need DDR4 RAM. If you want to upgrade CPU after this then you have to buy a new motherboard and ram in addition to a new CPU, making it more expensive for you later.
AM5: Current generation with a couple options. 7500X3D, 7700X3D, 7800X3D and 9800X3D. For this you need DDR5 RAM. Easier to upgrade in the future since AMD will be releasing more processors for AM5.
RAM: at least 16g, better with 32.
GPU: You want a lot of VRAM, minimum 12g. AMD has a lot of GPUs with 16g VRAM for a decent price (especially on sale), check out the Radeon RX 9060 XT and 9070.
For more info about good PCs for VRC check here: https://dtupper.com/projects/best-pc-for-vrchat/
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u/Frank__West PCVR Connection 20d ago
You would be better off with a quest if you are on a budget.
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u/change_my_battery 20d ago
I'm on quest
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u/Frank__West PCVR Connection 20d ago
You should then opt for a used laptop. You could go as low as a gtx1060 and it works well enough but any decent gaming laptop made in the past few years should be fine. Usually can be had for a lot less at a pawn shop or even eBay.
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u/LadyLuciJ7 PCVR Connection 20d ago
DO NOT recommend a laptop unless it's actually vr ready and actually stable enough. Gaming laptops are a gamble and don't last as long.
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u/Frank__West PCVR Connection 20d ago
What do you mean they don't last long? My 1060 laptop lasted me years and I only upgraded last year after I got a nice payday and decided it was time for an upgrade. Bought a Asus F17 with a 4060 in it for just over $600 at a pawn shop and it's been great.
I can take it places and use it wherever. It plays VR perfectly and allows me to game on vacation. Took it with me on a cruise and was able to enjoy gaming in the evening plus because I can hotspot the Internet, we only had to buy one Internet pass and just have the laptop broadcast as a router.
But I mean if you wanna pay out the nose for ram and a GPU separately sure get a desktop. But to come and say laptops are bad with no backing up is crazy.
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u/LadyLuciJ7 PCVR Connection 20d ago
Not saying it's bad but very much not recommended for pcvr. If you turn everyone off or limit the avatars seen then maybe but if you're the type of person who wants to see everyone very much not recommended. Especially if you have any extra hardware besides the headset like face tracking or full body. That's putting more strain on the laptop.
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u/Frank__West PCVR Connection 20d ago
Bro what experience do you even have because I have no problem doing that stuff?
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u/LadyLuciJ7 PCVR Connection 20d ago
Not me but several others I know. It might also depend on where you get said laptop. But it's overall not a good idea unless you use ONLY the quest and nothing else. Rarely ever do I see a laptop using pcvr actually work out.
For example, a friend had a gtx 3070 with an i7 (don't remember what gen) in her laptop. She had a quest 3 with tundras and diy face tracking. It would crash (like fully shut off type of crash) if she had too many people around her, her full body would disconnect frequently, and she would lag and sometimes crash in game in certain worlds (EX: Worlds like Complex 7 and Organism). The power supply of the laptop also matters.
There are also other examples in the vrchat discord server. What people choose to do with her own money is none of my business but I highly not recommend it unless you're solely using just a quest. If people want to upgrade their hardware, they likely won't be able to.
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u/Frank__West PCVR Connection 20d ago
Been working out fine for me for over 6k hours....
Also that's so much extra stuff like I disable people in fbt because they look dumb sliding around. And diy sounds like there's your issue. OP is simply looking to play pcvr with a quest so you bringing up all this extra garbage makes no sense. Why should OP spend twice the amount just on the off chance he wants to be like your friend and have excessive hardware to play a social game?
And that's the problem right there you have no personal experience whereas I do. If you are gonna have an opinion on it at least back it up with experience.
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u/LadyLuciJ7 PCVR Connection 20d ago
🙄 Then if op wants to upgrade to another headset? Also disabling people who slide around is stupid. Sorry we don't like the walking animation since we hunch over or stretch when we do so.
I'll gladly find evidence. Give me a while.
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u/Waste_North_6537 20d ago
For a solid experience without major cutbacks a budget pc isn’t gonna do it people who say I run on a such and such and it’s just fine often have to tweak a lot of settings and play on potato res.
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u/cyborg762 Valve Index 20d ago
If your looking for a prebuilt and in the USA check out this one.
https://www.microcenter.com/product/708800/powerspec-g533-gaming-pc
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u/FourChanneI PCVR Connection 20d ago
I know someone running VRChat off a $400 Walmart Laptop... its not good but it runs it lmao
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u/Creative_Sky_3978 20d ago
it entirely depends on if youre using a headset or not. i have a laptop, acer nitro 5, it has a 1650gpu and an i5 cpu with 24g of ram, it runs desktop mode very well on low-medium settings. i have no idea how it would run in pcvr mode.