This might be an easy and cheap option (I'm assuming you can dual boot these with Windows) to have a PC to go with an Oculus Rift.
I'm a Mac user and don't really want to buy or build a gaming rig just for VR. This is an interesting option that seems to meet the Oculus recommended specs.
Syber's "Steam Machine X" is the only one which meets (or rather, exceeds) the Oculus Rift recommended specs. The critical component is the GPU, and Oculus recommends a GTX 970. This one has a 980.
At $1419 it's quite fairly priced for the components it includes (just check logicalincrements.com), but I wouldn't really call that cheap.
yeah that's pretty pricy. I didn't look very closely at the prices. The low end ones are basically laptops!
I still wish there was a generic off-the-shelf computer that everyone agreed was best for VR. I'm not a gamer and don't have the time or interest to build something just for Oculus. I'd be willing to pay a little bit extra to have the comfort of knowing other people will be troubleshooting the same problems I'm having on the same hardware.
They look like they only take half-height cards - apparently they do sell half-height 970s but you'll have a better selection of cards with a larger case.
It's a bit early to say whether these are compatible with the Oculus Rift, but it's a near certainty that they will be compatible with the HTC Vive, given Valve's involvement there.
Easy, maybe. Cheap, no. You're paying for the brand, the flashy case and parts that fit a smaller form factor (the Alienware machines are using laptop GPUs instead of desktop ones, I am not sure they would support Oculus at all). Cheaper just to assemble it or buy a gaming PC that isn't constrained to the HTPC form-factor.
I'm a Mac user and don't really want to buy or build a gaming rig just for VR. This is an interesting option that seems to meet the Oculus recommended specs.