Following the troublesome release of Windows 10 Anniversary Edition, which “bricked” tens of millions of webcams around the world, Microsoft is turning its attention to “Windows 10 Holographic Edition”. Unlike the HoloLens stand-alone computer, Holographic Edition will run on PCs, targeting discrete VR HMDs such as HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and a numerous upcoming headsets based on OSVR and Intel’s own Project Alloy.
However, we would not advise you to expect rosy marketing statements to come true, promising Windows 10 Holographic Edition to run: “on an inexpensive and tiny Intel NUC at 90 fps.” Because that ‘tiny and inexpensive’ NUC is a 600 dollar Skylake-S based NUC6i7KYK, and secondly – the demo wasn’t being rendered and calculated with real world physics, but rather a passive playback of the interface. There’s no such thing as free lunch – and statements like these can only disappoint once real world demands kick in. For a full blown VR experience, you’ll probably need at least 16GB memory and a discrete GPU such as GeForce GTX 1070.
Microsoft and Intel are expected to reveal the Windows 10 Holographic Edition specs and 2017 PCs at the unveil of Kaby Lake processors, which should take place during the WinHEC Fall 2016 (Windows Hardware Engineering Community) conference which will take place in Shenzhen, China during December 2016.
