MSI VR One PC Backpack Brings GTX 1070 Graphics For Untethered Virtual Reality Gaming

by Brandon Hill — Tuesday, September 13, 2016, 10:55 AM EDT

Virtual Reality (VR) is the “next big thing” in the gaming arena, and MSI is delving into the market feet first with the world’s first VR backpack. Dubbed the VR One, MSI bills the device as the thinnest and lightest backpack PC system ever made.

While VR systems like the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift traditionally leave you tethered to your desktop (or laptop) with wires, the VR One gives you complete freedom to walk around and fully interact with your virtual environment with ease.

MSI describes the VR One as having a “futuristic robot machine style” and we won’t disagree with that assertion. If you’ve laid eyes on MSI’s gaming notebooks, the design should be familiar, and it houses plenty of high-end components that will ensure that you won’t have to compromise on VR performance by going mobile. Inside the backpack you’ll find an overclocked Intel Core i7 processor and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 GPU.

Powering the VR One are two battery packs that are mounted at the bottom of the backpack. The batteries are hot-swappable and combined allow for over 1.5 hours of VR gaming at a time. But if you have a couple of extra batteries at your disposal, you can extend that runtime even further.

With an overclocked Core i7 and a Pascal-based GPU on your back, you’re probably wondering about how hot this thing will get when you’re in the heat of battle. Well, MSI has equipped the VR One with dual fans and 9 heatpipes to quickly and efficiently wick away heat from the system. Likewise, under full tilt, the VR One’s sound output is measured at 41dBA, which means that it won’t intrude on your gaming experience.

As for connectivity, the VR One is equipped with one HDMI port, a mini DisplayPort, a Thunderbolt Type-C port and four USB 3.0 ports.

Despite the promising specs and functionality that the VR One offers, MSI isn’t ready to talk about pricing or availability at this point.

Tags: MSI, pascal, VR One, (nasdaq:nvda), geforce gtx 1080

Brandon Hill

Brandon received his first PC, an IBM Aptiva 310, in 1994 and hasn’t looked back since. He cut his teeth on computer building/repair working at a mom and pop computer shop as a plucky teen in the mid 90s and went on to join AnandTech as the Senior News Editor in 1999. Brandon would later help to form DailyTech where he served as Editor-in-Chief from 2008 until 2014. Brandon is a tech geek at heart, and family members always know where to turn when they need free tech support. When he isn’t writing about the tech hardware or studying up on the latest in mobile gadgets, you’ll find him browsing forums that cater to his long-running passion: automobiles.

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