Setup help (Moving from Console to PC)

[deanowolves 8]

Hello Everyone!

 

First of all I'd just like to say what an amazing community you guys have here! Some great info flying around!

 

I'm in the process of moving from console racing on the couch to PC racing with a Rig and need some help. I appreciate that there are a million posts like this, I hope you don't mind me posting another as I guess everyone's situation is different! I have just a few questions at the moment, but I'm sure I may have more later as this post develops.

 

I'm looking to spend around £1200 - £1500 and already have a T500RS with standard GT wheel and F1 Wheel to start with. I also have a 40" TV to start out, although I'm not sure if I can use this with PC for gaming (See below)!?

 

1. Ideally I'd like a triple monitor display (eventually) so want to get my PC ready for this. What graphics card will be suitable for this?
2. Sorry if this is a stupid question, but is there a difference between 'monitors' and standard 'TV's'!? I'm sure there will be some eye-rolls here, but I'm honestly not sure of the difference, as modern TV's are pretyy much monitors anyway aren' they!?! Is running a PC/ Sim racing game through a standard 'high spec' TV ok!? I know I can display my PC on my HDTV but not sure if it could cope with game play.
3. I love open cockpit/single seat racing the most, so I'm looking at the rseat 'Formala RS' rig at the moment - its around £800 so will blow over half of my budget on its own! Any other thoughts on Rigs?

This is my TV > http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001RCU7GM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Obviously if I can use my current 'TV' to start out it will be a help on budget, otherwise I think I'm going to need to be less ambitious with my rig!!

 

That's it for now but I may have a few more questions

 

Thanks for your help!

 

Dean

[wilson_c 19]

1.  Graphics card requirements really depend on the sims you're running.  iRacing is relatively undemanding and you can do fine with triples on a moderate card, but a sim like Assetto Corsa will take all you can throw at it, so you'll need two beefier cards in SLI if you want high frame rates *and* high quality images.

 

2.  The answer is sometimes.  The biggest difference is that HDMI won't carry anything faster than 60Hz.  If you spend money getting a graphics card that can crank out the high-framerate smoothness, you probably don't want to be limited to 60fps.  That said, if you want higher framerates, you need to make sure you buy monitors with a high frequency refresh rate (and a low latency too) that will actually take advantage.  You'll need to use DVI or display port connections for that.  Until then, most cards have HDMI output, so starting with a TV is definitely okay.

 

3.  If budget is an issue, look at the DIY deathmobile rigs and worry about building a proper single-seater later.  Just get a car seat from a junkyard (more comfortable than anything made for racing) and $40 worth of lumber and you're most of the way there.

 

Good luck!

 

cheers,

Chris