ZEISS Knowledge Base

System requirements

The ability to visualize and navigate datasets in virtual reality is highly dependent on the capabilities of the system the software will run on, most specifically the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU/Graphics Card), but also on other hardware factors. This article discusses the hardware considerations and provides advice with regards to what systems are supported and recommended. In summary, we recommend the following system configuration:

Meta Quest 3 or Pico 4
Desktop computer with Quad-core CPU & 32 GB memory, see also detailed requirements.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER or better

To find out more details, please read on.

VR headsets and controllers

Up to version 3.4, arivis VisionVR only supports the Oculus Rift and Quest 2 VR systems.

The original Oculus Rift systems are now discontinued but still supported.

As of version 3.6, arivis Pro VR/VisionVR supports the Open XR environment, and therefore any hardware supported in Open XR.

The following Headsets are supported for VR in arivis with OpenXR:

Manufacturer	Headset	Controllers
HTC	Vive Focus 3* Vive Pro/Pro2 Vive Cosmos	Vive Focus controllers Vive Wand controllers Vive Cosmos controllers
Meta	Quest Quest 2* Quest 3* Quest 3S Quest Pro (requires Quest Link/Airlink)	Quest Touch Pro controllers MX Ink (MR Stylus for Meta Quest 3)
Oculus	Rift Rift S*	Oculus Touch Controllers
Pico	Pico Neo3 Link Pico Neo3 Pro Pico 4* Pico 4 Enterprise*	Pico controllers
Valve	Valve Index*	Index controllers* (Compatible with Steam VR tracking)
Varjo	Aero* VR-1 XR-1 VR-2 VR-3 XR-3 XR-4 with Varjo controllers	(Steam VR compatible controllers)
Windows Mixed Reality Headsets	Various (including Samsung, Dell, and Lenovo) WMR Headsets	MS Motion controller or other WMR-compatible controllers.
Other	all other VR headsets running with: SteamVR (incl. standalone headsets using SteamVR streaming) Windows Mixed Reality (Samsung Odyssey+, HP Reverb, Dell Visor,...) all-in-one VR headsets running with OpenXR are additionally supported via virtual desktop

* Recommended hardware

Note that the VR headset market is very dynamic, with new headsets becoming available frequently, and while we try to keep this list up to date it may well not be complete. Most new headsets come with OpenXR support and there is a high probability that any new headset would work with our software.

One additional point of note, the GPU computation time is significantly dependent on the total number of pixels to display. Therefore, high resolution headsets will likely benefit more from higher performance GPUs.

Computer requirements

Aside from the graphics card and VR headset, it is also necessary to use a computer that supports them and the software.

Generally, laptop computers are not recommended for this application. VR is a highly computationally intensive application for which the GPU requires a lot of power and this results in the generation of a lot of heat, which laptops are generally poorly equipped to disperse. Some high-end gaming laptops will support arivis VR but are often very noisy due to the fans and constrained thermodynamics of such compact systems, and therefore unsuited for long periods of use. They are also much more likely to drop the connection to the headset due to power saving features. Desktop systems are therefore highly recommended.

In terms of basic computing, the following are the minimum hardware requirements:

Windows 11 64-bit operating system
Quad-Core CPU or better
32 GB RAM or better
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER or better
256 GB NVMe SSD OS disk + any additional storage required
At least one full-height PCIe slot for the GPU
A powers supply that is able to provide for the motherboard, cooling, and graphics card (typically 750W minimum)
Enough USB 3.0 ports for any accessories one might wish to use. This typically means, at a minimum, 1 USB3.0 for the VR headset, one USB 2.0 or more for the mouse/keyboard, and one USB 3.0 port or more for any removable storage or other accessories. Note that several headsets, including the Meta Quest systems, can connect to the PC using either wireless or wired connections. Wireless connection requires a WiFi adapter. A wired connection requires a USB3.2 port and the cable to connect to the headset. Make sure to purchase the right type of cable for your PC (not all PCs have a USC Type-C connector).

Tested GPUs

This list summarizes GPUs that have been tested by arivis and deliver satisfactory performance in varying PC setups. In general GPUs with less than 6GB VRAM are not recommended.

NVIDIA Quadro GV100 Volta
NVIDIA Quadro GP100
NVIDIA GTX Titan X
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080Ti
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070Ti
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080Ti
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super
NVIDIA RTX 3070
NVIDIA RTX 3080
NVIDIA Quadro P6000
NVIDIA Quadro P5000
NVIDIA Quadro P5000 Mobile
NVIDIA Quadro P4000
NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000
NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000
AMD Radeon RX590

System requirements

VR headsets and controllers

Computer requirements

Tested GPUs

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