Half-Life Alyx: Everything you need to know to get the best gaming experience possible
Since 2016 when the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift came to market and brought VR into the mainstream we’ve been treated to a wide variety of immersive titles from a host of different developers. With the release of the Valve Index in June 2019, it’s no surprise that Valve’s latest release is made exclusively for the VR platform.
What better way to break into the market than with one of their most popular and anticipated franchises, Half-Life. Half life Alyx is the first game from the series we’ve seen since 2007 and is scheduled for Windows release on March 23rd 2020.
If you’re a huge fan of the Half-Life series and can’t wait to play the next installment, which fills the gap between the events of Half-Life and Half-Life 2, the fact that it’s exclusive to VR might present a problem. Not only are there various VR headsets to choose between but you also have to consider if your PC is capable of powering VR gameplay. After all, graphics have moved on quite a bit in the last 13 years.
What VR headsets can be used to Play Half-Life Alyx?
Half-Life: Alyx is compatible with a wide array of headsets, all with different features and some more affordable than others. I’ve picked out a selection of the best that work with Half-Life Alyx below:
Oculus Rift S
- 2560×1440 Resolution with a refresh rate of 80Hz.
- No external sensors. No complicated setup.
- Wired.
- Budget option at £389.99.*
Oculus Quest
- 2880×1600 resolution with a refresh rate of 72Hz.
- Stand alone system. Can play almost anywhere.
- Oculus Link required for Half Life Alyx.
- £498.95* for the Quest & £89 for the link cable.
Valve Index
- 2880×1600 resolution with a refresh rate of up to 144Hz
- Half-Life Alyx included for free.
- Widest field of view.
- Only available on Steam at £919.00.*
HTC Vive Pro
- 2880×1600 resolution with a high refresh rate of 90Hz.
- Only VR headset to have a beautiful Amoled display.
- Can be used wirelessly (Adapter sold separately).
- High end option at £1,118.99.*
*pricing correct at the time of writing but may change.
What hardware is required to play Half-Life Alyx?
At the heart of any VR setup you need a powerful gaming PC or even a gaming laptop if you want more portability. VR gameplay is notoriously more demanding than gaming on a monitor as not only is the resolution higher than the mainstream 1080p but you will also want to take full advantage of the higher refresh rates the headsets provide. A system that’s not up to the task will mean you get quite a few nauseating FPS drops ruining the experience. The specifications required for VR Gaming have stayed pretty consistent since it’s release. However with the introduction of the Valve index and subsequently Half-Life Alyx the components required have stepped up a notch. Now is a good time to invest in a new PC or upgrade your current system if you want to get the best experience possible while exploring City 17
Minimum specifications
The minimum specifications for Half-Life: Alyx are similar to the recommended specifications for most VR gaming headsets. And if you’re not familiar with the difference:
- Minimum is what is required to get the game working.
- Recommended is what you want to aim for to get the best experience.
A PC that once gave you the best experience for VR might only just about manage to play Half-Life Alyx. And if you’re investing in a new PC for VR gaming you want to ensure it can play the latest titles as well as any upcoming releases. I expect Half-Life Alyx to be the first of many new demanding AAA VR titles.
The minimum requirements can be found on the Half-Life: Alyx Steam page and are listed below:
- Operating System: Windows 10
- Processor: Core i5-7500 / Ryzen 5 1600
- Memory: 12 GB RAM
- Graphics: GTX 1060 / RX 580 – 6GB VRAM
The main one that stands out here is the 12GB of memory. Most VR headsets only recommend at least 8GB which won’t be quite enough for Half-Life Alyx. The Steam hardware survey shows the majority of gamers (46.37%) are using 16GB but make sure you’re not one of the 30.69% still only using 8GB. If so you might want to check out the wide range of kits available HERE.
RAM can be a quick and inexpensive upgrade but make sure to check compatibility with your current system first.
Recommended requirements
When it comes to the recommended requirements for Half-Life Alyx there has been no official announcement but with it being released alongside the Valve Index headset I’m going to make an educated guess and speculate that the recommended hardware requirements are going to be pretty similar and these are listed them below:
- Processor: Quad Core+
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 or better
- Additional Notes: Available USB (3.0+) port
As soon as more information is known about the official recommended specifications I will make sure to update this post but a fast quad core processor and high end GPU certainly make sense when it comes to a more demanding title.
What’s the Best Gaming PC for Half-Life Alyx?
There’s a lot of systems out there that would play Half-Life Alyx but there’s more to a Good Gaming PC than just the CPU or graphics card. If you don’t want to spend hours scouring the net then you’re in luck as I’ve picked some of the best Overclockers have to offer:
Best Value for money: The Firefly Essential. With a 6 core i5 9400F, RTX 2060 Super, which outperforms the GTX 1070 by a noticeable margin, and the option to have up to 32GB of memory this system will pump out plenty of FPS without breaking the bank at just over £900.*The Firefly Essential
Best for Performance: The Battlebox Ultimate. With an i7 9700K and RTX 2080Ti this PC will run pretty much anything you throw at it. It also has a 500GB SSD and 2TB HDD for plenty of storage all for £2399.99.*
Best AMD PC: The Falcon. If you’re team red and want a VR Gaming PC that also excels at CPU intensive tasks the R7 3700X and RX 5700XT are a great combination. You also get 16GB of RAM and an attractive Phanteks case included for £1399.99.* Th
What’s the best Gaming Laptop for Half-Life Alyx?
A desktop PC isn’t for everyone and if you’re after more portability for your VR setup then look no further than one of these great gaming laptops that have everything you need to run Half-Life: Alyx.
Best Value for money: Asus ROG G531GU. If you’re on a budget but still want a VR capable laptop that will manage to play Half-Life: Alyx this laptop comes in at just over £1000.* The 4 core i5-9300H, GTX 1660Ti and 16GB of memory meet the minimum specifications and it has the all important HDMI 2.0 and 1.4 DP connectivity.
Best for portability: Gigabyte Aero 15. This 15’6” laptop is small, thin and light but also claims up to 9 hours of battery life. With a HDMI 2.0 Port and DP 1.4 it has all the connectivity needed for a VR headset and the powerful i7 9750H, RTX 2070 and 16GB of RAM mean the required specification is covered. You also get the bonus of an 240hz Display all for £1899.95.*
Best for Performance: HP Omen 17. When it comes to performance this laptop makes no compromises with an i9-9880H, RTX 2080 and 32GB of RAM it will handle max settings no problem. Other worthwhile features include the thin chassis, 144hz IPS display and range of display ports that make it suitable for VR. You will have to pay for it though as it comes with a price tag of £2499.95.* HP Omen 17
- 7 min read
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