MSI VR One

The first thing you will notice after the unboxing is the striking design. The backpack reminds us more of a futuristic jet pack than an object to carry things around. Following its color and design language, MSI uses stylish shapes and black surfaces with red accents (more precisely red fan exhausts). Even though carrying a backpack is pretty strange at first, you will hardly notice the »companion« at all once you put up the VR headset.

MSI only uses high-end components to meet the high requirements for virtual reality. The processor is the Core i7-6820HK, which is usually running with clocks between 2.7-3.6 GHz under load, but it reaches up to 3.7 GHz thanks to the default factory overclocking (more on that later).

The graphics card is also overclocked by default. Instead of 1443-1645 MHz (core) or 4000 MHz (memory), respectively, the GeForce GTX 1070 reaches 1543-1745 and 4200 MHz. Those clocks can even be further increased via Dragon Center (see screenshots below) if necessary. Speaking of Dragon Center: MSI equips the central software with an additional function called »VR Ready«, which will automatically optimize the system when you use an HMD.

But back to the hardware. CPU and GPU are accompanied by 16 GB DDR4-RAM (2400 MHz) via two 8 GB modules in a dual-channel configuration. Storage is provided by a 512 GB m.2-SSD from Samsung (SM961) attached via the extremely fast PCIe interface. Network connections can be established wirelessly. The Killer module 1535 supports all common WLAN standards (including ac) as well as Bluetooth 4.1 and was specifically developed for gamers. MSI does not make any compromises in terms of operating system, either: The system is shipped with Windows 10 Pro.

The Core i7-6820HK always maintains its predefined Turbo of 3.7 GHz, even when you stress all cores simultaneously. The GeForce GTX 1070 also reaches pretty high clocks. We saw up to 2000 MHz (core) in the GPU-Z Render Test, so the GPU Boost is fully utilized. The Pascal chip leveled off at around 1650 MHz in the Unigine Heaven 4.0 benchmark, which is still a good result.

Similar to the VR article of the MSI GT83VR, we performed our practical tests with the HTC Vive, which retails for about 900 Euros. The biggest advantage of the Oculus Rift competitor is the practical and comfortable controller, which ensures better interactivity compared to common gamepads. That the VR One can definitely justify its existence is apparent after the initial attempts. While the connection cables from notebooks or desktop start to be very annoying after a couple of minutes (cables get tangled, you trip or pull out the cables by accident), the backpack ensures that you can move around more freely.

All tested scenarios – starting with videos and games all the way up to other virtual reality experiments – always ran smoothly thanks to the powerful components. Our subjective impression is supported by the SteamVR Performance Test, which shows a very good result for the backpack. If you like fresh experiences, virtual reality will be the right thing for you. It does not matter if you play entertaining (mini) games like »The Lab«, »Waltz of the Wizard«, »Trials on Tatooine«, »Surgeon Simulator VR«, and »Accounting« or watch emotional short movies like »Allumette« or use education applications »The Body VR« or »VR Museum of Fine Art«: The range of possibilities and different scenarios (entertainment, medicine, education, …) seems limitless. MSI actually takes a leading role in this respect.