AMD will launch a low-cost VR graphics card to lower the threshold for VR experience

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Beijing time, June 1 morning news, AMD is committed to reducing the cost of virtual reality products. AMD plans to launch a new graphics card priced at $199, which is only half the price of similar products.

AMD said the first chips based on its Polaris design will be used in PC graphics cards by the end of June. AMD plans to reduce the starting price of a PC that supports virtual reality experiences from more than $1,000 to $799.

Current virtual reality devices are very expensive. For example, the Oculus Rift costs $599, while the HTC Vive costs $799. However, these devices require a PC with powerful 3D graphics display performance to use, which has become another obstacle to the popularization of virtual reality. In April this year, an online survey conducted by the Advanced Graphics Display Association showed that 68% of respondents believed that the cost of virtual reality devices was too high.

“Less than 1% of PC users have systems that are VR-compatible,” said Raja Koduri, senior vice president and chief architect of AMD’s Radeon Technologies Group. “The barrier to entry for VR is very high.”

AMD says its new Radeon RX graphics cards have been certified by HTC and Oculus VR, and their virtual reality performance is comparable to other $500 graphics cards.

Patrick Moorhead, an analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, estimated that the lowest price for other graphics cards comparable to AMD's latest product is $399. He called AMD's $199 price tag surprising.

Kelt Reeves, president of gaming PC maker Falcon Northwest, said: "It's a good thing to get more people using virtual reality."

AMD's main competitor in the graphics chip (GPU) space is Nvidia. Mercury Research estimates that Nvidia's market share in shipments in the first quarter of 2016 was 70.6%, while AMD's was 29.4%. AMD's stock price has risen 3% since the fourth quarter of last year.

In the GPU market, the general practice when launching new product lines is to first launch high-end graphics cards with higher prices and profit margins. Koduri said that AMD is trying to break this tradition and hopes that low-priced products will have a greater impact. Computer retailers are more inclined to purchase products priced below $999.

Nvidia launched its new flagship product, the GTX 1080, on May 7, priced at $599. The company also plans to launch a $1,000 product, the Titan X. In addition, Nvidia also launched the GTX 1070 graphics card, priced at $379, which may become a competitor to AMD's new product.

"Nvidia needs to come up with a low-cost graphics card," Morehead said.

An Nvidia spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

AMD plans to officially unveil the new chips on Wednesday at the Computax trade show in Taipei.