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Computer Setup Guide TheComputerSetupGuidecontainseverythingyouneedtosetupacomputerfor

VRexperiencesandprojectcreation.RefertotheseparateRiftSetupGuideforinformationonhowtosetupyourOculusRift.

Bytheendoftheguide,you’lllearnaboutbasiccomputertermsandtechnologiessuchasgraphicscardsanddrivers.

Table of Contents YourTechStartComputer ------------------------ 2GraphicsDrivers ------------------------ 5VRReadyComputers(Optional) ------------------------ 9ComputerSupport(Optional) ------------------------ 11

Let’sgetstarted!

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Your TechStart Computer SectionGoal:LearnaboutandsetupyourTechStartcomputer.

Opening Your Computer TechStartprovidesa“VRReady”laptop,theAcerHelios300(ItemNumber:

PH317-51-787B).Tobegin,obtaintheboxforyourAcerHelios300.

AcerHelios300

Theboxshouldcontainthefollowing:AcerHelios300laptop,twocableswhich

connecttoformthelaptopcharger,anAcerenvelopecontainingcomputerandsupportinformation.

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AcerHelios300Box

ContentoftheAcerHelios300Box

Setting Up Your Computer PluginyourlaptopchargerandpressthePowerbuttononthetoprightofthe

keyboard.Followtheon-screeninstructionstosetupyourcomputer.Importantpointstokeepinmindduringsetuparelistedonthenextpage.

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• Ateacherorotherpersoninchargeofequipmentshouldsetupthecomputer.• Keeptrackoftheusernameandpassword.TechStartwillnotbeabletohelpwith

lostusernamesorpasswords.• Onthepagetitled“Getgoingfast”select“UseExpresssettings.”• Somestepscontainanoptiontoselect“Skipthisstep”or“NotNow”.Youcan

selectthesewhenevertheyarepresented.

Somestepscanbeskippedorconfiguredlater.

You’llknowyou’redonewhenyouseetheWindowsmainscreen.

IfyouseetheWindowsmainscreen,you’realldonewithsetup!

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Graphics Drivers SectionGoal:LearnhowtoinstallacriticalcomponentforVRandotherhigh-endgraphicalexperiences:agraphicsdriver.

Installing a Graphics Driver TounlockthepoweroftheRift,you’llneedtoinstalla“graphicsdriver.”

1. VisittheNVIDIADownloadDriverspageonline.Youcanfindthepageinoneoftwoways.

• Enterthelinkinawebbrowser:nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx• Searchfor“nvidiadriverdownload”onlineandselectthe“Download

Drivers”result.

AnonlinesearchwillshowalinktotheDownloadDriverspage.

InCaseYouWereWonderingAgraphicsdriverissoftwarethatcontrolsthegraphicscardinyourcomputer.Imaginethegraphicscardisavisualtool(likeapaintbrush)andthegraphicsdrivercontrolsthetool(likeapainter).Thegraphicsdrivermanageshowthegraphicscarddrawsvisualsonthescreenandoccasionallyneedstobeupdatedoccasionallytoworkwithnewapplications.Youcanlearnmoreaboutgraphicscardsinlateroptionalsections.

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2. Thecorrectpageisshownbelow.

DownloadDriversPage

3. Selectthecorrectoptions(listedbelow)fromthedropdown,thenhit“Search.”

• ProductType:GeForce• ProductSeries:GeForce10Series(Notebooks)• Product:GeForceGTX1060• OperatingSystem:Windows1064-bit• Language:English(US)

Makesureyousearchforthecorrectgraphicsdriver.

4. Onthefollowingpagesofthewebsite,select“Download”then“Agree&

Download”then“Save”tostartthedownload.

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Select“Download”(notpictured)then“Agree&Download”then“Save”tostartthedownload.

5. Select“Run”thenfollowthestepstoinstallthegraphicsdriver.Whenprompted,

youcanchoosethe“Express”installationoption.Installationmaytakeafewminutesandrequireyoutorestartyourcomputer.

Installing a Graphics Driver Youjustdownloadedthemostup-to-dategraphicsdriverforyourcomputer.Yourcomputermaypromptyoutomakeupdatesinthefutureoryoumaywanttocheckforupdatesifsomethingisnotworkingproperly.Let’scoverhowtoupdateyourdriver.

1. OpentheNVIDIAGeForceExperienceonyourcomputerbyclickingonthedesktopiconorsearchingintheWindowssearchpanel.TheGeForceExperiencewasaddedtoyourcomputerbythedownloadintheprevioussection.

ToopentheGeForceexperience,clickonthedesktopiconorusetheWindowssearchpanel.

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2. Loginusingaprofileofyourchoice.Thenselect“Drivers”and“CheckforUpdates.”GeForcewillthenshowupdateinformation.Youwilleitherhavethelatestupdateorneedtodownloadanewupdate.

Select“DRIVERS”thenhit“CHECKFORUPDATES”forupdateinformation.

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VR Ready Computers (Optional)

SectionGoal:UnderstandwhatmakesacomputercapableofrunningVRexperiences.

Minimum Specifications WhatmakesaVRReadycomputerspecial?VRReadycomputerssatisfythe“minspecs,”orminimumspecifications,foracomputertoworkwiththeOculusRift.Mostoften,theGraphicsCard,MemoryandUSBPortsarethemostimportantspecifications.

Graphics Card NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti / AMD Radeon RX 470 or greater

Alternative Graphics Card NVIDIA GTX 960 4GB / AMD Radeon R9 290 or greater

CPU Intel i3-6100 / AMD Ryzen 3 1200, FX4350 or greater

Memory 8GB+ RAM

Video Output Compatible HDMI 1.3 video output

USB Ports 1x USB 3.0 port, plus 2x USB 2.0 ports

OS Windows 8.1 or newer

InCaseYouWereWonderingAcomputer’sgraphicscardhandlesshowingthevisualsonthescreen.Mostcomputershavebasicgraphicscards(called“integratedgraphicscards”).VRReadycomputersinsteadcontaingraphicscardsspecializedtodisplayhighqualityvisuals.RAM,orrandomaccessmemory,storesfrequentlyusedinformation.RAMislikeyourcomputer’snote-takingsystem.Insteadoflookingupinformationfromscratch,RAMisashortcut.WithmoreRAM,yourcomputerisfaster.4GBofRAMiscommon–VRReadycomputersneedtwiceasmuch!

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Agraphicscard,theNVIDIAGTX1060.

Checking Minimum Specifications TechStartprovidesVRReadycomputerstoeligibleschools.IfyouwanttocheckifothercomputerscanworkwiththeOculusRift:

1. DownloadtheOculusCompatibilityTool.1. Linkhttps://ocul.us/compat-tool.

2. Openthetoolandclick“Start.”ThetoolwillletyouknowifthecomputerisVRReady.

YoucanuseTechStartVRviewerstoexperiencebasicVRexperiencesonsmartphones.Smartphonescanonlyrunbasicandnon-graphicallyintensiveVRexperiencesformanyreasons.Forexample,today’ssmartphonesaretoosmallforhigh-endgraphicscards.

AVRViewer,theTechStartHackybot1.0

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Computer Support (Optional)

SectionGoal:Understandresourcestouseifyourunintocomputerissues.

Acer Information TheAcerenvelopepackagedwithyourAcerPredatorHelioscontainsuseful

computerandsupportinformation.

AcerEnvelope

Theenvelopecontainstwoguidesandapostcard.Theguidesprovidesupportonsettinguporusingyourcomputerifyougetstuck.

SetupandQuickGuides

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Thepostcardexplainsimportantsupportinformation.TechStartdoesnotprovideawarrantyonthecomputer,soyouwillneedtoaddressanycomputerissueswithAcerdirectly.

AcerPredatorPostcard

General Support PleasenoteTechStartcannotsupportcomputerissues.Ifyourunintocomputerissues(brokenscreen,computerwillnotturnon,computerisslow,etc.)pleasecontactAcer(contactinformationisprovidedontheAcerPredatorPostcard)oryourschool’stechnicalsupport.PleasedonotcontactOculuswithcomputerissues.