Gadgetory

I'm gonna come right out and say it there's just no way to look cool wearing a virtual-reality backpack and while not exactly fashion-forward the msi vr1 does set out to solve a very legitimate problem with current gen VR you're usually tethered to a PC by a big umbilical cable which inevitably gets tangled underfoot and restricts free movement so think of the V r1 as a battery-powered V already desktop that you strap onto your back inside the plastic case is an Intel Core i7 CPU and NVIDIA GeForce 10 70 graphics card and a pair of hot swappable batteries the vive headset plugs directly into it so there's no long cable anchoring you to a stationary PC it's surprisingly light on seven pounds and not really that awkward once you're fully suited up but getting there can be a journey you almost need a VR caddy to help you put the whole thing on including the shoulder straps the belt strap the headset the headphones and the controllers but once you're properly strapped in the really amazing thing about the MSI VR one is that it actually works in games like space pirate trainer I usually move very cautiously so as to not yank the vive cable I had to convince myself to move more freely I wasn't used to having this kind of free rein in VR battery life is about 60 to 90 minutes but people usually don't use VR for more than maybe 20 or 30 minutes at a time still this may all be a moot point as useful as a VR backpack is we're expecting several wireless transmitter add-ons for VR later in 2017 which will cut the headset cord once and for all as tempting as a VR backpack is I'd probably wait to try one of those before turning yourself into a walking human-computer hybrid you