Best VR Ready Laptop Under 1000

Literally, choosing the cheapest VR-Ready laptops from a bunch of variety laptops brands is very difficult. Especially when you have a short budget like $1000 to spend. In the event that the selection of a VR-Ready laptop goes wrong, this hard-earned money will be wasted. 

But the good news is there are some manufacturers that have been offering gaming laptops that are compatible with VR headsets. With a price of just under 1000 bucks, these laptops have superior graphics, CPU, and ports. Our “Up VR Fun” team made it possible through an extensive VR gaming test. We are grateful to be able to share it with you.         

The following laptops are our professional team’s top picks for VR-Ready laptops (by considering all brands of VR headsets such as HTC Vive, Valve Index, and Meta Quest). 

5 Cheapest VR Ready Laptop For Meta Quest 2

1/5

The powerful Acer Nitro 5 has everything you need for VR headsets. This is probably the most powerful and cheapest VR-ready laptop for under $1000 bucks. Due to the many advanced features, it is designed to deliver an iconic gaming experience. 

Display 

Acer Nitro 5 features a 15.6-inch widescreen LED IPS display with a refresh rate of 144 Hz. It has the power to produce visual intensity. By checking the color accuracy with Delta-E, we found it to be excellent, and according to NTSC, it is also acceptable. The brightness level worked great at 260 nits. Additionally, I found sRGB 66%, aRGB 44%, and DCI-P3 45%.

I/O ports

Acer left no stone unturned with this laptop to make it perfect for VR, especially in the port selection. You will get 4 USB 3.2 ports including USB-C, making it compatible with Quest 2. In addition, there are HDMI and gigabit Ethernet ports. In terms of port selections, this laptop will not disappoint you. 

CPU and GPU performance

This laptop has come with an Intel Core i5 and its processing power is quite enough to produce impressive VR performance. This laptop is also available with AMD processors. But in the case of CPU, the Intel-based version performs better. 

On the other hand, the latest GPU RTX 30 series can handle all modern games at a decent frame rate. We have no complaints about GPU performance.

The Acer Nitro 5 has some negative sides too. You may find the color gamut dropping at some point while streaming games. It is not a big issue as the contrast level was working great. Furthermore, the battery performance is not the most impressive, but it should suffice for occasional users.

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2/5

The Asus TUF Dash is a slim chassis and is a perfect VR-ready laptop. This is one of the most popular choices for those who want a double gaming session. Thanks to Asus for offering such a powerful gaming laptop for under $1000.

Display 

This laptop has a beautiful and blazing fast 15.6 inches display panel with a 240 Hz refresh rate. The brightness level is just right for a realistic VR gaming experience. 

We did not find any drops in the brightness session. You will get excellent color coverage (sRGB 62.8%). Besides, the screen response time (7ms) was quite fast compared to other expensive laptops.

The backlit bleed isn’t too bad, but there is a small imperfection on the top. You don’t need to worry about it.        

GPU and CPU performance

The performance of the GPU and CPU makes it a strong competitor for high-end laptops. Intel Core i7 and RTX 3050 ti combined have made this laptop a powerhouse. You can easily run and stream any type of game smoothly. This laptop offers stunning graphics and visual perfection.      

I/O ports

Asus has handled the port issues very well. USB ports are very helpful as linkers for VR headsets. It has multiple ports, including HDMI, Ethernet, Thunderbolt 4, three Type-A USB-3.2 ports, and a USB-C port.

On the whole, the Asus TUF Dash 15 is simply beautiful and it is just what you expected.

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3/5

The Lenovo Ideapad L340 is one of the most popular laptops among regular gamers. 

Display 

The 15.6 inches 60 Hz IPS  screen has a matte finish and a wide viewing angle. We measured the color gamut using Spyder 5 Pro and the result was quite acceptable (64% sRGB, 46% of NTSC, and 49% of aRGB). This laptop has the right combination of brightness (270 nits) and a color gamut that a gaming laptop needs. 

I/O ports

On the left from the back, there is a gigabit ethernet, HDMI 2.0, two USB 3.1 gen 1 ports, a USB-C 3.1 gen 1 port, and an audio combo jack. Unfortunately, there is no Thunderbolt port. 

CPU and GPU performance

During my stress test (tested by Aida 64), we found that the CPU and GPU combined can handle heavy workloads. We could play and stream most VR games. No thermal throttling is found in the CPU but in the GPU.

There are some drawbacks that we found in the test. Such as- the battery is not stable for gaming. It could take up to 2 to 3 hours. You have to play games under voting. CPU system gets hot quickly. But it was below 85 degrees. Compared to the CPU, the GPU was performing better. You can use a cooling pad if this happens.

4/5

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Finally, HP has brought an epic gaming laptop for the first time for under $1000. Through this balanced work laptop, you can enjoy Virtual Reality (VR) and Mixed Reality comfortably. It comes with some serious gaming features under the hood like an AMD processor, NVIDIA graphics, and better battery life. 

Display 

The screen is faster and more responsive than a traditional laptop’s 15-inch screen. This micro-edge bezel screen is 60 Hz. Not as fast as the Omen series in terms of the refresh rate. It is still able to produce a stunning and excellent visual performance because of the ray-tracing technology.

The color accuracy is on average 45% NTSC. It is not ideal for photoshop designers. But for gaming, it will not cause any issues.  

GPU and CPU performance

The GTX 1650 is built with breakthrough graphics performance and it works as a supercharger for today’s most popular games. You will be happy to hear that it is 70% faster than the GTX 1050 (as tested). 

On the other hand, the Intel Core i5 is a 10th-generation processor. It is said to be a high-end processor. 

However, combining high-grade graphics and processing power, it can deliver fast and smooth gameplay at 1080p.    

I/O ports

HP tried to offer gamers essential ports for this price. The HP Pavillion has got 2 Type-A USB 3.2 ports, a USB-C port, a full-sized HDMI port, and some other ports. We think this is enough to live stream VR games.

The issues we found here are- its battery life only lasts under 5 hours, there’s no USB port, and we wish the power button was on the side.         

We would like to say that it is a suitable package for any VR headset, such as the Valve Index or HTC Vive.

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5/5

This Acer Swift X SFX14 is a very powerful laptop that has met all VR requirements. If you want a laptop that has long battery life and solid game streaming, this laptop is highly suitable. 

It has a powerful CPU from Ryzen 7, a powerful GPU from NVIDIA RTX 3050 ti, 16 GB of RAM, and 512 GB of SSD. The port selection was also very satisfactory. Acer provided 3 USB 3.0 ports on this laptop. There’s nothing else you need to unleash the virtual reality experience!   

Display quality 

The Acer Swift X SFX14 has true visual representation capability for the VR headset. It has high color accuracy (sRGB 100%, ARGB 77%), brightness (300 nits), and a contrast ratio of 1290:1. This is absolutely outstanding for any VR headset owner. 

GPU and CPU Performance

AMD Ryzen 7 5800U mobile processors can help you stream VR games more quickly. On the other hand, the RTX 3050ti alone is enough to produce ultimate power for any VR player. 

During my test, we found that this GPU is truly effective for streaming the most realistic ray-traced graphics. It allowed me to stream and play most modern games with decent framerates. We found no issues with the GPU. 

Besides all of this, we liked the thermal system and fan noise performance which is quite acceptable. It was better than the HP Omen laptop. Judging all the features, we must say that this is one of the most impressive VR-Ready laptops for under $1000 from Acer.  

The things we didn’t like are the speaker and keyboard performance. As we play a game, we like to keep my speaker on high, but this laptop’s speaker has less power to provide that. Also, the keyboard felt a bit uncomfortable.

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Budget VR Ready Laptop Buying Guide

If you aren’t an expert, you need to pay attention to the hardware of VR-Ready laptops. Because there are several brands of VR headsets on the market and each headset have different PC requirements. 

For VR owners to experience smooth performance, our experts have clearly explained the buying guide considering all VR headsets.      

Balanced GPU and CPU

For VR gaming, the GPU is the first and foremost priority. No matter what VR company you own, start with the GTX 16 series (for NVIDIA). We did not say that the NVIDIA 10 series would not work. Of course, it will do. But your VR experience may not be fully immersive.

AMD or Intel processor? AMD and Intel both boost their clock speeds. AMD should start with Ryzen 5 and Intel should start with Core i5. This case will be unique to the Oculus VR headset. When it comes to getting the most efficient and smoothest experience, Core i7 is the right choice. For AMD, Ryzen 5 is good to go. 

Memory and Storage

Laptops with 8 GB or more RAM are enough for any VR headset. Also, make sure that your laptop has at least 256 GB of SSD 

Ports

This component is another crying need subject. For HTC Vive and Steam VR, you need a video output port which is called a Display port. But the problem is most budget gaming laptops do not have a display port. No worries. You can use the USB-C ports as a mini display ports. Because most modern gaming laptops’ USB-C ports can work as a mini display port using an adapter.            

For Oculus Quest 2 VR headset, it is mandatory to have a USB-C port on your laptop

Please note: Choose a laptop that has a minimum of 3 USB ports to get the maximum VR gaming experience. 

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VR Laptop Top Queries:

Can a regular laptop run VR?

To be honest, it will not suit your VR because of the insufficient management of GPU, CPU, and Ports. 

Can Ryzen 3 run VR?

The Ryzen 3 has 4 cores of CPU, the base clock speed is up to 3.6 GHz, and the max boost clock speed is 4.0 GHz. This is enough for delivering stunning visual graphics. But you can not run most of the heavy games.

Can my laptop run VR? 

Laptops that meet all the VR requirements can be compatible with Virtuality. To check the VR requirements click on Vive, Meta Quest, and Valve Index. 

Are most gaming laptops VR-ready?

Actually, I have seen that the gaming laptops that have been released in the last 6 years are VR-Ready. Then also it would be wise matter to check the requirements.  

Can HP laptop run VR?

Not all HP laptops can run Virtual Reality. The HP Pavillion gaming and Omen series have the compatibility of running VR headsets. 

Up VR Fun Opinion

Finding a VR-compatible laptop under $1000 is very tough as the available options have shrunk. No doubt that the laptops on this list are quite capable of handling VR headsets. From our usage experience, the Acer Nitro 5 and Acer Swift X were ahead of the other laptops. These two have excellent battery backup and deliver stunning graphics performance.