PC maker Dell has upgraded its workstation line to support virtual reality (VR) in the enterprise.

The company unveiled new, recommended minimum system hardware configurations for professional users with HTC Vive or Oculus Rift VR solutions.

The VR-ready solutions will have a minimum CPU, memory, and graphics requirement, as well as graphics drivers that are qualified to work well with VR.

They will be subjected to performance tests by Dell so that they work well with head-mounted display suppliers, ISVs or 3rd party benchmark.

In addition, the company upgraded its Precision Tower and Rack Workstations for VR content creators using professional applications in engineering, science, energy, and entertainment.

As for the hardware, Dell upgraded its Precision Tower 5810, 7810, and 7910 Workstations and Rack 7910 with Intel’s Broadwell processors, the latest professional graphics technology from AMD and Nvidia, and high-speed PCIe drives with up to four times performance than traditional SATA SSD storage and up to 1TB DDR4 memory.

The inclusion of the new Intel Xeon processor E5 v4 family in Dell’s new Precision Tower Workstations will help professionals realise the benefit of VR in how they create, model and analyse their work.

Apart from the performance improvements, Dell has also expanded its liquid cooling offerings which enhance system acoustics by about 38%.

The enhanced workstations will be available starting 5 April 2016.

Dell Precision workstations executive director and general manager Rahul Tikoo said: "Dell Precision has been delivering immersive computing experiences for many years including 3D immersive caves, simulation and military applications. This next generation of VR brings immersive visualisation to the masses by democratising the technology.

"The implementations are endless, and Precision aims to address the need for more rigor when professional creators demand the utmost in performance and reliability while building incredible VR content."

The VR industry is set for an uptake this year, as almost all tech giants enter the game, from Samsung, to Facebook, HTC, Microsoft and Google.

The VR market is set to be worth $70bn by 2020 propelled by consumers’ increasing interest in new audiovisual experiences.

Researchers predict VR hardware will account for $20bn while software will reach $50bn.