Getting VR to run as intended will require a fairly decent rig. Actually scratch that, it will need a straight up gaming PC. With the system requirements for HTC and Valve's Vive being similar to those for the Oculus Rift, Valve has released a handy tool that will give you detailed feedback about your PC.

And in the nicest way possible, break the bad news. This isn't merely a system check, and weighing in at around 5GB this is a comprehensive app that also doubles as a benchmark tool. You can grab it here (direct link). Plus, it's Portal-themed. Which kind of makes it instantly the best benchmark tool out there.



And for reference here are the minimum specs for both the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. As you can see they're pretty similar.

HTC Vive

Graphics card: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970, AMD Radeon R9 290 equivalent, or greater
Processor: Intel i5-4590, AMD FX 8350 equivalent, or greater
RAM: 4GB+
Video Output: HDMI 1.4, DisplayPort 1.2, or newer
USB Port: 1x USB 2.0 or greater port
Operating System: Windows 7 SP1 or newer

Oculus Rift

Graphics card: NVIDIA GTX 970 / AMD 290 equivalent or greater
Processor: Intel i5-4590 equivalent or greater
RAM: 8GB+ RAM
Video Output: Compatible HDMI 1.3 video output
USB Port: 2x USB 3.0 ports
Operating System: Windows 7 SP1 or newer

And just like with the Rift, HTC is partnering with PC manufacturers to sell Vive-Ready PCs.