The AMD Radeon RX 480 could enable lighter and more compact VR-ready systems
At the PC Gaming Show at E3 today, AMD showed off a new Alienware reference PC with a Radeon RX 480 installed inside. The kicker was that the system was small enough to fit in a backpack, potentially paving the way for truly mobile VR experiences.
The Alienware system here has a Radeon RX 480 installed inside.
These days, it looks like all announcements pertaining to gaming graphics will find some way to squeeze in an obligatory mention of virtual reality. During its very brief unveiling of its new Polaris GPUs, the Radeon RX 460 and RX 470, at the PC Gaming Show at E3 today, AMD still managed to find time to show off some novelty technology revolving around VR.
CEO Lisa Su had a representative come on stage wearing a backpack with a new Alienware reference design PC – featuring the RX 480 – installed inside. VR backpacks are actually sort of a trend now, with brands like MSI, HP and Zotac having announced their own takes on it.
The point behind the demonstration was to underscore the potential the US$199 Radeon RX 480 has to enable small form factor systems capable of delivering decent VR performance.
And while we’re not quite sure that VR backpacks are the next big thing, or that they’re even the best application for what the RX 480 claims to be able to do, any progress that reduces the bulk of gaming systems is always welcome.
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