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00:00Hey, how's it going, guys? This is Dave2D, and this is the MSI VR1, and in late 2016,
00:12I think this is literally the best VR experience you can get on the market right now.
00:16So it's a VR backpack, and the very first time I saw a VR backpack was at CES 2016,
00:22and at the time, honestly, I thought they looked really silly, like just not very useful,
00:26but now that I've tried one, they're pretty awesome.
00:29By itself, it's a pretty unassuming box.
00:31I mean, if you just had this thing sitting around with a monitor connected to it, it
00:35wouldn't be that weird.
00:36It can function as a small and powerful computer.
00:39It's well-built, plastic, but durable, and you can power it with the AC adapter.
00:44But when you're ready, you attach some straps, unplug the power, connect your VR equipment,
00:48and it becomes this completely portable VR setup.
00:52So I use the HTC Vive, but it works with the Oculus Rift as well.
00:55There's a short cable to reduce some of the cabling from the Vive, and the rest of the
00:59cables can be tucked into the framing here.
01:01You just need to leave some to be able to move your headset around.
01:03Now, this thing was built from the ground up.
01:06It's not just a laptop strapped to your back.
01:08It's designed to fit very comfortably on your back for extended periods of time.
01:12I had this thing on once for over three hours without any issues.
01:15It's around 3.6 kilos, or 8 pounds.
01:18It's not super light, but it's a very manageable weight, and the strap system with the framing
01:23distributes the weight nicely.
01:24It's incredibly comfortable to use.
01:26You can access the internals pretty easily.
01:29There's a hatch that gives you access to the RAM slots and the drive bays.
01:32This unit comes with 16 gigs of RAM and a fast 512 gig SSD.
01:37There's room for a second drive, and on the inside, it's running a Skylake 6820HK and
01:42a GTX 1070.
01:43There's a lower specced model with a 256 gig drive and a GTX 1060, and when it's idle,
01:49it's dead silent.
01:50No fan spin, and under full gaming load, it's still really quiet.
01:54It's just over 40 decibels.
01:56You won't be able to hear this thing when you're using it with headphones, and the high
01:58hot air exhausts out the side, so you don't get sweaty from it.
02:02Battery life is estimated at 90 minutes, and I was able to comfortably hit that with every
02:06single charge.
02:07It's a pretty conservative estimate.
02:09There are two batteries, hot swappable, so you can eject one side and the system still
02:14works.
02:15Frame rates are poor when there's only one battery.
02:16You can't really play on one, but it allows you to pop in fresh batteries in the middle
02:20of a game, so if you have extra batteries and the external charger, you could theoretically
02:24play forever.
02:25Now you're probably wondering, what is the point of a VR backpack?
02:29Like what makes them special?
02:31So here's the deal.
02:32When you use a regular VR setup, there's always a bunch of cables that run from your headset
02:36over to the computer or the laptop or whatever you have running the setup, and your brain
02:40kind of subconsciously keeps track of those cables, so even though you get into your game
02:44and you're doing your thing, having fun, the moment your feet or your leg or your body
02:48touches that cable, it just pulls you back to reality a bit, and it's not enough to ruin
02:52the game.
02:53The game is still fun, but the immersion isn't 100%.
02:56So something as simple as Job Simulator, this is a game where you do a bunch of stuff while
03:00you're walking around in a really small area, and with cables on the floor, because you're
03:04turning around back and forth, you constantly need to step over your cables.
03:08With the VR1, there's none of that.
03:10Everything is contained, and the experience is so much more believable and enjoyable.
03:15And this applies to any type of game.
03:17It's especially pronounced in action games where you're ducking and dodging and just
03:20being super active.
03:22Those games are already a lot of fun, but playing them with the VR1 is a better experience.
03:50Now, there's clearly a cable running from my backpack off-camera.
03:54It's there because I had to connect a second monitor.
03:56It was the only way I could record gameplay footage.
03:59But when I was playing without having to record gameplay, it was so much better.
04:03Because pricing starts at $2,000, it's a pretty steep premium to get into the whole untethered
04:08VR space.
04:09But if you are a VR enthusiast, or you know what, if you're just someone who's interested
04:12in picking up a dedicated system for VR, take a look at this one.
04:16It's expensive, but it gives a unique, next-level VR experience, and if that's what you're
04:20looking for, this thing delivers.
04:22Hope you guys enjoyed this video.
04:23Thumbs if you liked it, subs if you loved it.
04:25It's been nice.
04:26I'll see you guys next time.