System Requirements for arivis Pro VR/VisionVR

This article discusses hardware requirements and considerations for arivis VR systems

TLDR

arivis recommends the following system configuration:

• an OpenXR compatible headset (e.g. Meta Quest3, HP Reverb G2 or Pico 4)
• Desktop system with 8-core CPU & 32GB memory
• NVIDIA RTX3080 or better

To find out more, please read on.

Introduction

arivis Pro VR/VisionVR is an image analysis software designed specifically to facillitate image analysis tasks that require manual interaction in 3D. This includes: navigation and visualisation, where VR provides much more realistic depth perception; manual distance, length and angle measurements; sculping of complex 3D segments; manual tracking and other tools.

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. 

Virtual Reality Graphics Considerations

Virtual reality is in some ways a relatively old concept, but recent developments in computing hardware and software have made this a lot more accessible to a much wider audience. Virtual reality differs from stereoscopic projection, as is common in 3D video systems, in a couple of significant ways.

First, pure stereoscopic projection systems do not account for the position of the observer and how their viewpoint might change. The view is stereoscopic (meaning that it is slightly different from one eye to the other), but the perspective is fixed and does not respond to the observer turning their head or changing position.

In contrast, VR systems recalculate the view as the user moves in the virtual environment which requires both situational awareness through the detection of head position and movements, and efficient recalculation of the point of view based on these changes. Atop this is also the requirement to calculate and render two separate points of view (one for each eye). 

Due to the specific impact of vision on human's ability to balance themselves, it is also very important that there be no perceptible lag between the user's head movements and the redrawing of the virtual reality scene. This generally means a lag of 5ms or less and a frame rate of 60Hz at least for a comfortable VR experience. 

Most modern GPUs are capable of achieving these frame rates for one render at a time, and in many cases, only if this is done by rendering polygons. This is a process that GPUs have been designed to do for many years and are highly efficient at. However, for the use case of visualizing 3D image data, the process of converting voxels to polygons is impractical in most cases and arivis VR relies instead on a method of direct voxel rendering requiring no or little pre-processing of the data prior to visualization. 

Because of all these factors, arivis VR requires a high-end GPU to provide a comfortable and useful VR experience, and therefore, the minimum supported GPU is the NVIDIA GTX1080Ti. Newer, faster cards exist and these are highly recommended. arivis typically recommends a minimum of NVIDIA RTX2080Ti, and an RTX3080 or above is preferred.

Note that these are gaming cards, rather than the "professional" Quadro/RTX range. This is because equivalent Pro GPUs that would offer a similar level of performance are typically much more expensive than the Gaming cards we recommend without offering any significant advantages with regards to how arivis VR performs. If your computer is already equipped with a pro card of equivalent specification to these recommended above, there is no need to replace those. Simply, if purchasing a system specifically with VR in mind, gaming cards offer a much better value proposition.

Please also note that the graphics card will need to support the connection method for your chosen headset. if your headset requires HDMI or DisplayPort, your GPU will need that port.

Virtual Reality 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:

* 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 requirements:

• Windows 10 64bit operating system
• Quad-Core CPU or better
• 16GB RAM or better
• 256GB 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 Hardware

The following hardware components and graphics cards have all been tested successfully with arivis VisionVR. Individual components may be discontinued by the manufacturer, however, we try to keep this list up-to-date and exchange those components for equal or better available alternatives

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